ESPN set to change up ‘MNF’ booth
ESPN is finally making a change in its “Monday Night Football” booth after a couple months of speculation.
Play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore and analyst Booger McFarland will not return to their roles in 2020, according to The Athletic.
“ESPN is going to have a new Monday Night Football booth,” media reporter Richard Deitsch tweeted. “Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland will not return, via sources. The successors will be internal. No decision has been made yet. Both Tessitore and McFarland will remain in prominent roles at ESPN.”
According to the New York Post, Steve Levy, Dan Orlovsky, Louis Riddick and Brian Griese are the favorites as internal replacements.
Over the past few months, reports have indicated that it’s clear ESPN wanted to make a change. The network reportedly reached out to Peyton Manning to pair with NBC play-byplay announcer Al Michaels, but NBC reportedly declined the offer for Michaels.
ESPN was also reportedly targeting CBS analyst Tony Romo before he agreed to return to the network on a contract that will pay him $18 million per season.
Now, it appears the network is in a place to move, with Deitsch reporting that Tessitore and McFarland are on the outs. Tessitore and McFarland lasted two seasons in their roles, including one season in 2018 in a three-man booth with Jason Witten.
Auto racing: Denny Hamlin closed NASCAR’s iRacing Series with a victory at a simulation of throwback North Wilkesboro Speedway. The Daytona 500 winner was instrumental in organizing his fellow Cup drivers for the invitational series that started after the series was suspended. Hamlin, who races barefoot on a top-of-the-line simulator, won the opening iRacing event on March 22. To win at North Wilkesboro on Saturday, Hamlin on four fresh tires chased down leader Ross Chastain and nudged him out of the way. Chastain retaliated by hitting Hamlin’s car after the checkered flag. NASCAR is scheduled to resume racing next Sunday at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, where the series will compete without spectators. “Can’t wait to get back. Can’t wait to see you guys in the real world starting next week,” Hamlin said.
Baseball: Mary Pratt, who played for the Rockford Peaches and Kenosha Comets in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, has died. She was 101. Pratt died on Wednesday. Her nephew, Walter Pratt, told The Patriot Ledger she passed away peacefully at a nursing home. The Bridgeport, Conn., native pitched in the women’s league from 1943-47. The league was profiled in the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own.”
Colleges: Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, football coach Paul Chryst and men’s basketball coach Greg Gard are being asked to take a 15% pay cut over the next six months as part of the school’s response to the pandemic. Wisconsin officials believe this plan should help save the athletic department about $2.8 million.
NHL: The NFL’s successful virtual draft and uncertainty surrounding the resumption of hockey this season have raised the possibility of an NHL draft held before the Stanley Cup Final. After postponing its draft scheduled for June 26-27 in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the NHL is considering having it earlier in June with the season in an indefinite suspension. Unlike the NFL, which held its draft as usual in the middle of its offseason, the NHL would face several wrinkles going forward with a draft held before the season is complete: Teams would not be able to trade players, there would be a lack of clarity over next year’s salary cap and the draft order could be determined before all games are played.
Soccer: Spain’s association of soccer players has complained about the publication of the identity of an Atletico Madrid defender who tested positive for COVID-19. Spanish media reported Friday that Atletico’s Renan Lodi had tested positive for coronavirus. On Saturday, Atletico posted a message on an official club social media channel with a picture of the Brazilian. The players’ association said in a statement that the revelation of Lodi’s identity violated Spanish law protecting his privacy. It is not clear how Lodi’s name was first reported.