Peter King has signed a multiyear contract extension with the Sports Illustrated Group. King will continue in his role as Editor of TheMMQB.com football destination launched in 2013. King, Three-time National Sportswriter of the Year and one of the most-followed journalists (with 1.7 million Twitter followers), joined Sports Illustrated in 1989. In other sad Behind the Mic news Turner Sports' Crag Sager says his cancer has returned for a third time and Hall of Fame announcer Joe Garagiola passed away last week at the age of 90. Meanwhile, Tony Siragusa is out as an NFL Analyst at Fox, while Matt Hasselbeck signed on with ESPN earlier this month (signaling the end of the NFL Countdown line for Mike Ditka, though he re-upped with the network in a SportsCenter-focused role).SI's Peter King
After his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback column for SI.com became an extremely popular read, SI and King launched a year-round digital destination-TheMMQB.com- in 2013, where a team of journalists deliver multimedia NFL coverage from around the league
Turner Sports' Craig Sager announced last week that his cancer has returned for a third time. In statement, Sager said: I'm grateful to HBO for telling my story and I'd like to thank everyone for their ongoing support. I have acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive type of cancer. The typical prognosis is 3-6 months to live, but I would like to stress that is for a patient who is not receiving treatment. Fortunately, I am receiving the best treatment in the world and I remain fully confident I will win this battle.
In more sad news, Hall of Fame announcer Joe Garagiola died last week in Arizona at the age of 90. Best remembered as a part of NBC's national broadcasting team from 1961 to '88, Garagiola spent nine years in the major leagues as a catcher from '46 to '54 and went on to became one of the most iconic American broadcasters of the modern era. Between pre-game and in-game duty, Garagiola was part of NBC's television broadcast team for 18 World Series from 1961 to '88. He later called Diamondbacks games from 1998 to 2012. In addition to calling baseball he served two separate stints on NBC's Today Show (from 1967 to '73 and '90 to '92), was an occasional guest host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, hosted multiple game shows on the network, and co-hosted the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on the USA Network from 1994 to 2002. (SI.com)
NFL analyst Tony Siragusa is out at Fox, according to the Big Lead. The former Colts and Ravens defensive tackle had been a broadcaster there for nearly a decade and was most notable for serving on the sidelines during the broadcast rather than in the booth. He spent eight of those seasons supplementing the announce team of Daryl Johnston and Kenny Albert; this past season he worked with Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis. (The Big Lead)
Earlier this month, NFL quarterback Matthew Hasselbeck announced his retirement from pro football after 18 season and immediately joined ESPN as a NFL analyst. The three-time Pro Bowler who played his final NFL season for the Indianapolis Colts in 2015, will be part of Sunday NFL Countdown andMonday Night Countdown. Beginning this fall, Hasselbeck will appear on Sundays from ESPN's Bristol, Conn., studios, and he will travel to the site of the weekly Monday Night Football game for the Countdownpregame show. Hasselbeck will also make occasional appearances on other ESPN studio shows and platforms, including NFL Live where he will work alongside his younger brother Tim, the former NFL quarterback who has been an ESPN studio analyst since 2008. Hasselbeck is the second major addition to ESPN's NFL roster this offseason, joining nine-time Pro Bowler Charles Woodson, who will also be part of both Countdown shows
In a related move ESPN NFL analyst Mike Ditka signed a two-year extension to remain at ESPN in a new role as a contributor to SportsCenter. Hasselbeck will takeover Ditka's previous role on NFL Countdown, however. Ditka will contribute to the network's flagship news and information program on a year-round basis beginning in September. Ditka has been part of ESPN's commentator team since 2004
Veteran national TV anchor Robert Flores has joined MLB Network and NHL Network as a studio host and will appear across both networks' programming. Flores made his debut on MLB Tonight on March 21, followed his debut as host of NHL Tonight for on March 23. As part of the digital media rights partnership between the NHL and MLB Advanced Media, NHL Network's daily on-air operations are based out of MLB Network's headquarters in Secaucus, N.J. Further, Flores will have a key presence across digital media properties, including MLB.com and Sports On Earth. Flores joins MLB Network and NHL Network from ESPN, where he most recently anchored SportsCenter, ABC's College Football Studio Updates, and ESPN2's Fantasy Football Now. Flores joined ESPN in 2005 as an ESPNews anchor and later contributed to a variety of studio shows, including Baseball Tonight, NBA Fastbreak, and Friday Night Fights
Michele Tafoya, Emmy Award-winning sideline reporter for NBC Sports' Sunday Night Football, will join Golf Channel's coverage team as a reporter for the 2016 Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, airing live from Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday, April 3. Tafoya will report from on the grounds at Augusta, conducting interviews with juniors from across the U.S. and Canada having advanced into the 80-person field (boys and girls, age 7-15) by way of local qualifying, subregional and regional qualifying events. A part of NBC's Sunday Night Football, she'll also lend her voice to narrate select feature stories, providing viewers with a closer look at the personalities of a f
