Behind the Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including deals, departures, and new assignments. In this week's edition, Adam Schefter signs a new deal with ESPN, Turner Sports signs the recently-retired Kevin Garnett, Mike Tirico finally breaks in the NBC's NFL booth, Troy Aikman reportedly signs a three-year extension at Fox Bode Miller joins NBC Sports Group's FIS World Cup skiing coverage, Jay Mohr returns as host of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards, Rob Parker joins FS1 as a contributor to Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, ESPN adds reporter Tisha Thompson to Outside the Lines, ESPN re-signs Dan Dakich, Fran Fraschilla and Jay Williams to its college basketball squad, and more. ESPN has signed NFL Insider Adam Schefter to a new multi-year contract extension. In addition to his prominent NFL studio role, Schefter will join Monday Night Football's Lisa Salters as a sideline reporter during ESPN's NFL Wild Card game telecast in January. He will also have the chance to work as a reporter during occasional ESPN NBA games. Schefter will also launch a new football-centric weekly ESPN Audio podcast in January, tentatively titled Know Them from Adam - The Adam Schefter Show, that explores the personalities of people with connections to football. Schefter, who joined ESPN in 2009, will continue to appear on SportsCenter, NFL Insiders, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown while also contributing to other ESPN platforms.
Schefter has covered the NFL since 1990. Before joining ESPN, Schefter was a reporter/analyst for NFL Network (2004-08) and a sportswriter for the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News for more than 15 years, where he covered the NFL and the Denver Broncos. A former president of the Pro Football Writers of America, he is also the author of four books
Turner Sports inked a multi-year agreement with 15-time NBA All-Star and 2008 NBA Champion Kevin Garnett to serve as a contributor on TNT's NBA coverage. The former NBA MVP appears weekly throughout the season providing raw insight and commentary from a custom standalone set. Garnett is joined by special guests from the worlds of entertainment and sports and give fans a colorful look at the game from his unique perspective. Content around the segments are distributed across multiple platforms including NBA on TNT, Turner-owned Bleacher Report and social media channels. The former Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets star played 21 seasons in the NBA after being drafted fifth overall in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Timberwolves
Al Michaels returned to the NBC booth last night (Dec. 1) to call the Dallas Cowboys at the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football. Michaels had taken a mid-season break, allowing NBC's Mike Tirico to handle play-by-play for Green Bay-Washington on Sunday Night Football on Nov. 19, Pittsburgh-Indianapolis Thanksgiving night game, and the Kansas City-Denver Sunday Night Football game on Nov. 27. Tirico will return to the booth, joining analyst Chris Collinsworth, to call the N.Y. Giants-Philadelphia NBC Thursday Night Football game on Dec. 22 and will join Doug Flutie in the booth for the Dec. 17 Miami-N.Y. Jets and Dec. 25 Baltimore-Pittsburgh games, which will be televised on NFL Network
NFL analyst Troy Aikman has signed a three-year contract extension with Fox Sports, according to Sporting News. The Pro Football Hall of Famer will continue to work with play-play-announcer Joe Buck and sideline reporter Erin Andrews on Fox's No. 1 NFL announce team. Aikman will call Super Bowl LI in Houston on Feb. 5, 2017 - his fifth Super Bowl for Fox
NBC Sports Group's FIS World Cup skiing coverage this weekend is highlighted by the men's alpine events in Val d'Isere, France, which will feature Bode Miller, the most decorated U.S. Olympic skier in history, as a color commentator on NBC and NBCSN's telecasts. Former World Cup ski racer Steve Porino will call the men's downhill action alongside Bode Miller this weekend .
Grammy-nominated actor, comedian and radio personality Jay Mohr will host the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards at Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, Dec. 2. Jay Mohr, who will host the event for the sixth time, is the host of Jay Mohr Sports on FOX Sports Radio, a daily sports talk and entertainment show, syndicated in more than 150 markets
Longtime journalist Rob Parker joins FS1 as a contributor to Skip and Shannon: Undisputed. Early in his career, Parker became the first African-American sports columnist at the Detroit Free Press in 1993 and New York's Newsday in 1995. Parker has since written for a number of publications, including nearly a decade as a columnist at the Detroit News (2000-2008), and currently writes for The Shadow League. Parker has been a mainstay on Detroit sports television since 1994, when he became a contributor to WDIV's Sports Final Edition. He held that position until earlier this year, when he transitioned to his current role as the sports anchor for WXYZ/WMYD's nightly Action News. Parker made the jump to national sports television as a contributor for ESPN in 2005. Having previously made regular appearances on ESPN's First Take
ESPN has announced that 22-time Emmy award winning reporter Tisha Thompson has joined ESPN's investigative unit. Thompson will begin reporting for Outside the Lines on January 2 based out of Washington D.C. Thompson worked as an investigative reporter at WRC News 4 in Washington D.C., for the last five years where her stories have led to the creation of new laws and regulations and multiple firings and corporate changes. Prior to joining WRC, Thompson worked as an investigative reporter for WTTG-TV in Washington D.C., and WMAR-TV in Baltimore. She also worked as a reporter and anchor at WPSD-
