Earnhardt Jr. headed to broadcast booth
NEW K
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will join NBC Sports Group’s coverage of stock car racing next year — and there may be more options for NASCAR’s most popular driver once he retires.
The agreement with NBCUniversal will allow Earnhardt to pursue “a wide range of opportunities in the company’s media businesses, including movies, television, podcasts, and other areas.” The agreement was announced Monday by NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus and NBC Sports Executive Producer and President of Production Sam Flood.
“We are excited to welcome Dale Jr. to our team — both on and off the track,” Lazarus said. “As a company, NBCUniversal allows for talent to stretch themselves across not just their field of expertise, but across other areas of their interests in the media world.”
Earnhardt announced in April he would retire after this season, in part because of his injury history. Two big crashes last summer forced him out of the final 18 races, and he missed two races during the 2012 playoffs also because of concussion- related symptoms. The 42- year- old Earnhardt intends to compete in two Xfinity Series races next season and plans to be involved in the sport in other ways — when his broadcasting duties allow it.
The NASCAR races next year will air on either NBC Sports or Fox channels. This year, NBC Sports Group will air the final 20 Cup Series races and the final 19 Xfinity events.
“It is a tremendous honour not only to join NBC Sports next year but to begin a new career alongside people who love NASCAR as much as I do,” Earnhardt said. “To be reunited with Steve Letarte, to be able to call legends like Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty teammates rather than just friends, to be able to continue going to the track and connecting with race fans, it’s a privilege I don’t take lightly. I will devote my heart and soul to this broadcast team and pledge my very best to the millions who watch it.”
Earnhardt has 26 career victories, including the 2004 and 2014 Daytona 500, putting him 29th on NASCAR’s all- time race winners list. His father, Dale Earnhardt, won seven Cup titles and 76 Cup races in his storied career.
NBC said it was also partnering with Earnhardt on some of his other businesses, including Dirty Mo Media and Hammerhead Entertainment.
fly with a winning time of 55.53. That was just 0.05 seconds off the Swede’s gold- medal triumph at Rio. Toronto’s Penny Oleksiak just missed the podium, finishing fourth in 56.94 seconds.
MINEAPOLIS
Before Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, before Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown, even before Red Auerbach, there was John Kundla.
Kundla, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Minneapolis Lakers to five NBA championships, died Sunday. He was 101.
Son Tom Kundla said his father died at an assisted living facility in Northeast Minneapolis that he called home for years.
With George Mikan in the middle and Kundla the calm, steady hand directing the team, the Lakers won the 1949 championship in the BAA — the league that preceded the NBA — and NBA titles in 1950 and 1952 to ’ 54, cementing the franchise’s place as the league’s first true dynasty. The Lakers also won an NBL title in 1948, but the NBL marks are not included in the NBA’s records.
“On behalf of the entire Lakers organization, I’d like to express our sadness at the passing of John Kundla,” Lakers President and coowner Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “John played an important role in the history of the Lakers organization ... In addition to his numerous contributions to the Lakers and our legacy, John was a wonderful man and will be remembered fondly.”
Kundla was the oldest living Hall of Famer in any of the four major pro sports.
Kundla was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995. A year later, he was named one of the league’s 10 greatest coaches as part of the league’s “NBA at 50” celebration.
He was hired at 31 and resigned at 42 with a career record of 423302, happy to cede the attention and the accolades to his players over himself. He was known for his understated sideline demeanour, which was unique compared to the fiery drill sergeants of the era.
“John wasn’t a screamer and was very mild- mannered, but he’d let loose when we deserved it, and usually I was the first one