Former Miami Heat player Shane Battier will call a game involving his former team Friday night. In other news, ESPN Monday Night Football producer Jay Rothman is staying put, and ESPN executive Al Jaffe is retiring.
Battier to Call Heat Game Friday
- ESPN college basketball analyst Shane Battier will be part of the broadcast team for Friday’s Mavericks/Heat NBA regular season game, working alongside Mike Breen and Hubie Brown. Battier was part of Miami’s back-to-back championship teams in 2012 and 2013 and played for the team through last season. (ESPN Media Zone)
MNF Producer Rothman Staying Next Season
- ESPN Monday Night Football producer Jay Rothman will not leave his post next season, as was originally planned. Rothman is taking on new responsibilities this year — overseeing ESPN’s MNF and MLB productions — that seemingly necessitated his leaving the production truck. According to Sports Business Journal, however, he was able to persuade ESPN higher-ups to let him continue producing MNF in addition to his new duties. (Sports Business Journal)
ESPN Exec Jaffe Retiring
- ESPN executive Al Jaffe, perhaps best known to the public for his stint on ESPN’s reality show Dream Job, is retiring effective Friday. Jaffe joined ESPN in 1987 and has been ESPN’s vice president of talent negotiation and production recruitment since 1996, having hired numerous high-profile personalities at the network. Fellow ESPN executive John Walsh is also retiring in the coming days. (ESPN Front Row)
