ESPN college basketball analyst Dan Dakich does not expect to return next season. Plus: football’s “The Spring League” is headed to broadcast TV, CBS has lined up veteran NASCAR broadcasters for its Superstar Racing Experience, and ESPN’s Ariel Helwani could be on the way out.
Dakich expects ESPN to drop him and does not care
ESPN college basketball analyst Dan Dakich said on his radio show Tuesday that he does not believe ESPN will retain his services for next season. Dakich, per the Indianapolis Star: “I don’t know if ESPN is going to have me back. I assume they won’t. Who cares? Who cares, man?”
Per the Indianapolis Star, ESPN declined comment about Dakich’s comments on Wednesday.
Dakich, who has been with ESPN since 2010, is well-known for his testy social media exchanges, including one earlier this year that resulted in him deleting his Twitter account. [Indy Star 4.14]
Spring League football to get broadcast TV exposure
The FOX broadcast network is slated to carry seven games from football’s “The Spring League” this season. The games are scheduled to air on consecutive Saturdays from May 8 through the championship game on June 19. All-but-one of the games are set to air in the 3 PM ET window. This is the second straight year that FOX has carried springtime football; the network broadcast XFL games during that league’s brief resumption last year.
Fox Sports acquired rights to The Spring League last fall.
Veteran NASCAR broadcasters to work SRX on CBS
CBS Sports announced this week that former SportsCenter anchor and TNT NASCAR host Lindsay Czarniak will serve in that role on its Superstar Racing Experience telecasts this summer, with veteran lap-by-lap voice Allan Bestwick, former ESPN analyst Brad Daughtery, and pit reporter Matt Yocum rounding out the regular cast. Current and former IndyCar drivers Danica Patrick, James Hinchcliffe and Dario Franchitti will serve as “driver analysts” for two races each.
Helwani, ESPN, could part ways
ESPN is in the “late stages” of contract negotiations with MMA reporter Ariel Helwani that could go either way, according to the New York Post. Helwani is not well-liked by UFC president Dana White, with whom ESPN has a significant financial relationship. In a statement to the Post, ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said Helwani “does great work … and we expect that to continue going forward.”
