College Gameday is adding a “Week 0” edition this season. Also: Ed Werder is back on ESPN, the MLB season will get off to an even earlier start, and Tiki Barber will work games on both CBS and FOX this NFL season.
Gameday headed to Disney for “Week 0”
ESPN announced Tuesday that College Gameday will make its season debut August 24 for “Week 0” of the season, marking the first time the show has aired prior to Week 1. The show will be headed to Orlando for the Miami-Florida game, but instead of visiting the site of the game at the Citrus Bowl, it will instead originate from ESPN parent-company Disney’s theme park.
As previously noted, Gameday is also headed to Clemson on August 29, the opening Thursday of the season. That edition will also play a synergistic purpose, taking place from the site of ACC Network’s first college football game. [ESPN PR 8.13]
ESPN re-hires Ed Werder
ESPN announced Monday that it has re-hired NFL reporter Ed Werder, who was included in the company’s massive talent layoffs in 2017. Werder will resume his role as a Dallas-based reporter primarily covering the Cowboys. He appeared on NFL Live and SportsCenter Monday. Werder spent 28 years with ESPN in his first stint with the company. [ESPN PR 8.12]
Opening Day gets earlier and earlier every year
Opening Day of the 2020 Major League Baseball season is scheduled for March 26, the earliest start to the season on record, excluding international games. Next season will be the third straight to begin with the earliest Opening Day on record.
Among the new items on next year’s schedule will be a Yankees-White Sox game from Dyersville, Iowa, where the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” was filmed. The game will take place exactly one year from now, on a Thursday night in primetime on FOX. [USA Today 8.12; MLB 8.8]
Barber to work NFL games for CBS, in addition to FOX
CBS Sports Radio host Tiki Barber will serve as a game analyst on the NFL on CBS this season, working alongside Beth Mowins, it was announced Tuesday. Barber is also listed as an analyst for FOX this season, where he has occasionally worked games alongside his twin brother Ronde Barber. It is not clear how many analysts, if any, have worked games for both the NFC and AFC broadcast partner in a single season. [CBS]
