NBC announces its broadcasting booth for next season’s primetime Big Ten matchups. Plus: ESPN’s lead soccer analyst moves on; ESPN tabs a legendary composer for the new College Football Championship theme; the Buffalo Bills play-by-play voice suffers a stroke.
NBC’s Big Ten team will be Todd Blackledge and Noah Eagle
NBC Sports will pair longtime ESPN college football analyst Todd Blackledge and up-and-coming play-by-play voice Noah Eagle on its primetime Big Ten college football games next season, the New York Post reported Friday. Blackledge, 61, was ESPN’s No. 2 analyst after Kirk Herbstreit. Eagle, 26, is the voice of the Clippers and has worked NFL games for FOX and NFL Network. He is also the son of CBS Sports’ Ian Eagle, making him the third son of a famed broadcaster to be hired by NBC, joining Jac Collinsworth and Chris Simms. Blackledge and the younger Eagle will handle the Saturday primetime Big Ten slot, with the studio coverage hosted by Maria Taylor. (Marchand 1.6)
Taylor Twellman leaves ESPN
ESPN lead soccer analyst Taylor Twellman announced via his Twitter account Friday that he is leaving the network. Twellman spent 13 years at ESPN following his retirement from professional soccer in 2010. In addition to soccer, he had also recently branched out into non-soccer studio shows such as hosting SportsCenter and contributing to Get Up. The move comes amid ESPN losing additional soccer rights. This year will mark the first time the network will not air any MLS games. It also lost USMNT and USWNT rights to Turner Sports last year, Italian league Serie A to CBS Sports in 2021, and the largest international tournaments, the World Cup and the UEFA European Championships (Euros), to Fox Sports.
Twellman did not announce where he was headed to next, but it will likely be to either Apple, who now owns MLS rights, Fox Sports, Turner Sports or some combination of the three. (Twellman/Twitter 1.6)
John Williams writes the new theme for the College Football Championship
Famed Oscar-winning composer John Williams has composed a new theme for ESPN’s coverage of Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship, Variety reported Friday. Titled Of Grit and Glory, the 3 1/2 minute piece marks the first time Williams has composed a television theme since 2009. Williams, 90, has written several notable sports-related compositions, including NBC’s Olympic and Sunday Night Football themes. According to the Variety report, Of Grit and Glory is ESPN’s largest-scale musical commission ever. Currently there are no plans for a commercial release following the game, although ESPN could use it in future broadcasts. (Variety 1.6)
Buffalo Bills play-by-play man John Murphy suffers stroke
Buffalo Bills play-by-play announcer John Murphy suffered a stroke this past weekend and is said to be recovering at his home. Murphy missed Monday’s abbreviated Bills-Bengals game — halted after Bills S Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field — due to “feeling under the weather,” as reported at the time by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Murphy has held the play-by-play role since 2003 and the Bills expect him to return at some point in the future. (Bills/Twitter 1.6)
