Behind the Mic: Players Join ESPN, CBS Sports for Super Bowl LIII Coverage; USA Women's Hockey Star Kendall Coyne Schofield Serves as Analyst for Pens-Lightning

Behind the Mic: Players Join ESPN, CBS Sports for Super Bowl LIII Coverage; USA Women's Hockey Star Kendall Coyne Schofield Serves as Analyst for Pens-Lightning By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor

Friday, February 1, 2019 - 9:00 am

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Behind the Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, NFL players join both CBS Sports and ESPN for programming leading up to Super Bowl LIII, Kendall Coyne Schofield provided analysis for NBC Sports' broadcast of Penguins vs. Lightning, Fox Sports signs NASCAR analyst Ricky Craven and motorsports journalist Bob Pockrass, the network also discloses their broadcast team for PBC Fight Night, and SiriusXM Radio adds Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Danielle Trotta, and Brad Faxon.

Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen will be a special guest analyst on ESPN's four-hour Postseason NFL Countdown pregame show (10 a.m. ET) for Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, Feb. 3. The three-time Pro Bowler will join host Suzy Kolber and analysts Louis Riddick and Steve Young on ESPN's set at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Olsen, who played in Super Bowl 50, is making his second straight ESPN appearance on Super Bowl Sunday. A year ago, he joined Kolber, Riddick, and Young in Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII.

We're really fortunate to have Greg join our big Super Bowl Sunday Countdown pregame show for a second straight year. Greg has played in the Super Bowl, he has terrific insights on the game, and he knows the personnel of the Rams and Patriots and how these two teams match up, says Seth Markman, ESPN vice president, production.

In addition to the stadium set led by Kolber, Sam Ponder will co-host Countdown from ESPN's set location in Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta with Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Rex Ryan, and Charles Woodson. Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter will also contribute to the show, while Sal Paolantonio (Patriots) and Josina Anderson (Rams) will have the latest updates on the teams.

According to a tweet by Richard Deitsch, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller will be guest analysts on CBS Sports' pregame show The Super Bowl Today

2018 Olympic gold medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield joined NBC Sports' coverage for this week's Wednesday Night Hockey matchup between the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Coyne, who currently plays for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), became the first woman to compete in an NHL All-Star Skills Competition event this past weekend when she participated in the fastest skater event.

Coyne was featured on NBC Sports' commentary team throughout the night, joining NHL Live pre-game coverage, providing reaction and analysis during intermissions, and serving as an Inside-the-Glass' analyst, and booth analyst.

Coyne joined the broadcast team of John Forslund (play-by-play), U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire ( Inside-the-Glass' analyst) for the call from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Wednesday night

Ricky Craven, veteran NASCAR driver and longtime television analyst, joins the Fox NASCAR on-air team in 2019.

Craven, the 1991 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and multi-race winner across NASCAR's three national divisions, lends his well-regarded perspective to NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, NASCAR practice and qualifying shows, and other weekend programming emanating from Fox Sports' new virtual studio in Charlotte.

Prior to joining Fox Sports, Craven spent 11 years at ESPN (2008-2018) as a NASCAR analyst, frequently appearing on SportsCenter, NASCAR Now, and other news platforms, in addition to calling select Xfinity Series races through 2014

Award-winning motorsports journalist Bob Pockrass joins Fox Sports in 2019 as a Fox NASCAR insider.

Pockrass, the NASCAR industry's beloved encyclopedia of racing knowledge, contributes breaking news, analysis, and inside information across Fox Sports' linear and digital platforms, beginning with the season-opening Daytona Speedweeks.

Prior to joining Fox Sports, Pockrass, who has covered NASCAR since 1991, wrote for ESPN.com's NASCAR and motorsports sections from 2015-2018. He also penned NASCAR stories for The Sporting News from 2012-2014 following his role as associate editor for NASCAR Scene and SceneDaily.com from 2003-2012.

Pockrass was twice honored as Writer of the Year by the National Motorsports Press Association (2009 and 2013) and has earned multiple writing awards. Also on two occasions, he was named to SI.com's Twitter 100 list of 100 must-follow sports personalities in 2011 and 2012. Pockrass has been called upon dozens of times as a NASCAR expert for television and radio interviews

Legendary boxers Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera join Fox Deportes as commentators for the highly-anticipated bout between three-time WBC Featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz and Rafael Rivera on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 8:00 PM ET.

Renowned play-by-play announcer Adrian Garcia Marquez, veteran boxing broadcaster Jaime Motta, and Emmy Award-winner Jessi Losada round out Fox Deportes' boxing talent lineup

SiriusXM announced today that JR Motorsports owner Kelley Earnhardt Miller and veteran NASCAR reporter Danielle Trotta are teaming up to host a new weekly show on the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio channel. Beyond Racing will debut on Thursday, February 7, and air every Thursday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm ET.

Born into a racing dynasty that produced some of the greatest and most popu

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