College football’s bowl season will look a bit different as a result of the new playoff format. Plus: ESPN signs NHL analyst Mark Messier to an extension; Jim “Bones” Mackay is returning to NBC full-time as an on-course analyst.
Bowl season sees schedule shakeup
The college football bowl season will begin a week earlier than usual to accommodate the new College Football Playoff format. Under the bowl schedule announced this week, the first two bowl games of the year will now coincide with the annual Army-Navy game on the Saturday following conference championship week (December 14). Those bowls — the Celebration Bowl at Noon ET on ABC and the Camellia Bowl at 9 PM ET on ESPN — will not compete directly with the traditional 3PM ET kickoff for Army-Navy.
There are no non-playoff bowls scheduled for December 21 — which ordinarily would have marked the beginning of the bowl season — or on New Year’s Day, both of which will feature a College Football Playoff tripleheader. A combined nine games were played on the equivalent dates last season.
The non-playoff slate will stretch further into January this year as the First Responder Bowl will be played on January 3rd and the Bahamas Bowl on January 4th. The final non-New Year’s Six bowl last season was played on December 28th. View the full bowl schedule here. (ESPN, 6.6)
Mark Messier signs extension with ESPN
ESPN NHL analyst Mark Messier has agreed to a multi-year extension with the network, ESPN announced on Thursday. Messier joined the network in 2021 when the NHL returned to ESPN airwaves as part of a new media rights agreement which goes through the 2027-28 season. The press release indicates that Messier will continue in both a studio and in-game analyst capacity. ESPN’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals begins on Saturday, where Messier will serve in the studio alongside fellow analyst P.K. Subban and host Steve Levy. The same crew will host hourlong editions of ESPN’s NHL studio show The Point prior to each game. (ESPN, 6.6)
Jim “Bones” Mackay returns full-time to NBC
Caddie and NBC golf analyst Jim “Bones” Mackay will return to the network in a full-time capacity, NBC disclosed Thursday in a press call outlining U.S. Open coverage plans. NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood said on the call that Mackay “will be part of NBC Sports for years to come.” Mackay had previously been announced as part of the U.S. Open broadcast team, though his full-time return to television was not made public until today.
The longtime caddie has appeared with NBC on and off since returning to the bag for Justin Thomas in 2021. Prior to the Masters this year, Thomas opted to relieve Mackay of his caddying duties. Now, Mackay sees television as his “number one priority,” per an interview with Golfweek on Thursday. (NBC, 6.6) (Golfweek, 6.6)
