Pioneering broadcaster George dies
Phyllis George, the former Miss America who became a female sportscasting pioneer on CBS’s “The NFL Today” and served as the first lady of Kentucky, died Thursday after a long fight with a blood disorder. She was 70.
Miss America in 1971, George joined Brent Musburger and Irv Cross in 1975 on “The NFL Today.” Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder later was added to the cast.
“Phyllis George was special. Her smile lit up millions of homes for the NFL Today,” Musburger tweeted. “Phyllis didn’t receive nearly enough credit for opening the sports broadcasting door for the dozens of talented women who took her lead and soared.”
George spent three seasons on the live pregame show, returned in 1980 and left in 1983, winning plaudits for the warmth of her interviews with star athletes. She also covered horse racing, hosted the entertainment show “People” and coanchored the “CBS Morning News.”
George was briefly married to Hollywood producer Robert Evans in the mid-1970s and to John Y. Brown Jr. from 1979-98. Brown owned Kentucky Fried Chicken and the NBA’s Celtics and served as the governor of Kentucky.
Neal Pilson, a former president of CBS Sports, called George’s hiring as part of “The NFL Today” team a “groundbreaking decision” that “changed the face of sports television.”
Colleges: UCLA hired Martin Jarmond as its AD. Jarmond, 39, becomes the Bruins’ first African American AD in the school’s 101-year history, the Los Angeles Times reported. Jarmond, who had been the AD at Boston College since April 2017, will become the highest-paid AD at a public school in the Pac-12.
Golf: In a return to official live tournament golf, Park Hyun-kung shot a final-round 67 to win the Korean Ladies Professional Golf event in Seoul by one stroke. Park finished at 17-under 271. The tournament was played without fans and with players using hand sanitizers and following social-distancing rules.
NFL: Giants CB DeAndre Baker and Seahawks CB Quinton Dunbar were released from Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale, Florida a day after surrendering on felony charges stemming from a cookout at a Miramar home. Baker is charged with four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm in the Wednesday incident. Dunbar is charged with four felony counts of armed robbery. ... Bills DL Ed Oliver was arrested during a traffic stop in the Houston area Saturday night and charged with drunken driving and illegally carrying a handgun. Oliver is from Houston, where he also played his college career. He was released from custody Sunday morning after posting bond, the Houston Chronicle reported. ... Vikings S Anthony Harris signed his franchise tender, ESPN reported. Harris will be paid a guaranteed salary of $11,441,000 for next season if he and the Vikings have until the July 15 deadline to agree to a long-term contract.
Soccer: Seven-time defending champ Bayern Munich returned to action with a 2-0 road win as the restart of German soccer continued in empty stadiums. As at all games in the Bundesliga over the weekend, players wore masks when not on the field and substitutes sat apart from one another in the stands. Police were stationed outside stadiums to deter any gatherings. Across eight Bundesliga games Saturday and Sunday, only one ended with a win for the home team, Borussia Dortmund, which beat Schalke 4-0 on Saturday. Bayern leads secondplace Dortmund by four points in the current standings with eight games left. ... English Premier League clubs will try on Monday to agree on protocols to allow a return to training during the coronavirus pandemic. Teams have already started checking players and coaches for the coronavirus, with a total of 1,600 weekly tests anticipated across the 20 clubs in England’s top division. The Premier League has government backing to pursue restarting games in June if there is no new spike in COVID-19 cases across the country. ... All Spanish league clubs can begin group training sessions this week despite stricter lockdown restrictions remaining in place in parts of Spain because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league told clubs that on Monday all players can start small group sessions regardless of the lockdown phase in their regions.