NEW YORK, NY — As the year turned, so did the sports calendar with the NFL Playoffs now in full swing and the Winter Olympics soon to begin.
Whitestone native, Bayside High School alum, and the face of NBC Sports, Mike Tirico, will be a very prominent media personality next month. He will be calling Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California on February 8. As soon as he presents the Lombardi Trophy to the players, coaches, and owner of the victorious team, he will jet off to Milan, Italy where he will anchor coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Image Credit: 2026 Winter Olympics
Tirico, along with many other NBC air personalities and executives, took part in a network press event to promote its major winter sporting events. He told me he was not daunted by what would be a killer traveling schedule for most mortals.
Aside from the grueling travel, getting familiar with the names of Olympic athletes in various sports from around the world, right after having to do play-by-play for the most watched television program annually, must be a stressful challenge. Mike seemed unfazed by what lies ahead. In his remarks, it was clear he had been preparing for Milan for quite a while. He listed several athletes from both the US and elsewhere who will be competing for the gold without the aid of a Teleprompter.
Cris Collinsworth will be Tirico’s partner in the broadcast booth at Super Bowl LX. “I will probably want to throw up right before gametime when I realize over 130 million people will be listening to my analysis!” he joked. He told me later that by the middle of the first quarter, the Super Bowl hype retreats and it becomes yet another NFL game for him.
Image Credit: NFL
Collinsworth also played in the Super Bowl as a wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. I asked him if the players get overwhelmed by the Super Bowl aura, or if they can treat it as any other NFL game. “Of course, I was caught up in the hoopla before the game started. It quickly became just another game when I got hit after making my first reception!”
In addition to the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics, NBC will be televising NBA All-Star Weekend from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA during Presidents’ Day weekend. Noah Eagle, the son of highly regarded broadcaster and Forest Hills High School alum Ian Eagle, will call the action.
Eagle will have Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony as his game analyst. The All-Star Game has been a joke in recent years as players have exerted little energy playing defense. Anthony feels the format of this year’s game, American-born NBA stars versus foreign natives, will force everyone to take the game seriously, especially since it will occur smack dab in the middle of the Olympics.
Image Credit: NBA
NBC is using celebrities such as Dua Lipa, Scarlett Johansson, Jon Hamm, Matt Damon, and Forest Hills’ own Ray Romano in TV spots to promote its Olympics coverage.
Peacock providing a new viewing experience for 2026 Winter Olympics
NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, will allow viewers to get access to areas which cannot be seen on the main Olympic television presentation. For example, if a skater falls on the ice after failing to complete a triple lutz, you will be able to see the reaction of the skater’s coach. The Peacock app will also provide a listing of the times of all the upcoming Olympic events, as well as replays of events you might have missed because of the six-hour time difference.
Even though they were spun off from Comcast, NBC’s corporate parent, and are now part of Versant Media, Olympic events will air on both USA Network and CNBC as they have in the recent past.
Mets hire Andy Martino as team reporter and host
The Mets have hired Andy Martino to be a team reporter and host. While the press release announcing his hiring did not specify his duties, my guess is he will provide between innings commentary for fans at Citi Field regarding minor league prospects, as well as having prerecorded interviews with Mets players, coaches, and executives.
Image Credit: Latino Sports
Martino has been a baseball columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Daily News. He was most recently an air personality for the Mets cable home, SNY.
NY Post Sports’ Steve Serby named 2025 New York Sportswriter of the Year
Congratulations to longtime New York Post sports columnist and Bayside resident Steve Serby on being named New York Sportswriter of the Year for 2025 by the National Sports Media Association. Although he has been a press box fixture in these parts forever, Steve has lost none of his passion and acerbity. Then again, he is helped by the perennial anemic state of our two NFL franchises.
National Sports Media Association awards Chris Carrino as Best Local Sportscaster
The National Sports Media Association also named Brooklyn Nets radio voice Chris Carrino as the best local sportscaster. Carrino is excellent at what he does, but he has flown under the radar because (1) the Nets’ fan base is heavily dwarfed by that of the Knicks, (2) the team always seems to be in a rebuild which means winning games is the exception and rarely the rule, and (3) the Nets do not seem interested in marketing to customers outside of Kings County.
Image Credit: Latino Sports
While the Nets’ fan base is small, given they are part of the nation’s largest market, they are passionate about their team based on what I see on social media. It would be understandable if Chris Carrino called games as a homer by saying things as “We need a bucket now and then a defensive stop!” the way Tom McGinnis, the radio voice of the Philadelphia 76ers, routinely does. To his credit, he calls things down the middle and never insults the intelligence of his listeners.
Chris Carrino is also the Dorian Gray of sports media. He looks the same as he did when he was calling Fordham Rams games on WFUV.
Craig Carton’s return to WFAN
It was a solid start for Craig Carton on his return to WFAN for the third time. He was able to land a pair of boldfaced names to sit down for interviews, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, and Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan. While he is known for making “shock jock” outrageous statements to get ratings, Carton reminded us that he can be a skilled and prepared interviewer.
Image Credit: WFAN
Interestingly, James Dolan, who has a reputation for not being fond of the sporting press, appeared totally at ease, and enjoyed chatting with Craig Carton. He displayed candor and a quick wit. He could be a terrific sports talk show host if he ever wants to make a career change.
It is debatable as to which local sports storyline has become more monotonous: “Will the Mets sign Kyle Tucker?” or “Will the Giants land John Harbaugh to be their next head coach?”
Awards Season in Entertainment Industry
It is “awards season” in the entertainment industry. The Directors Guild of America, which is best known for the motion picture industry, to its credit, recognizes the work of directors in all media, and that includes the work of televised sports. Fox’s Rich Russo and Matthew Gangl have been nominated for DGA honors for their work on Super Bowl LIX and the 2025 World Series, respectively, while CBS’s Steve Milton is up for his work on the 2025 Masters golf tournament.
Watch “Best Medicine” on FOX
If you were a fan of such terrific network physician-based television dramedies as “Northern Exposure” and “House,” then do not miss “Best Medicine” which stars Josh Charles as a curmudgeonly surgeon who relocates from sophisticated Boston to the fictional town of Port Wenn, Maine.
Image Credit: FOX
The dialog is crisp and the residents of Port Wenn quickly become memorable characters. Sitcom veterans Didi Conn, Annie Potts, and Abigail Spencer also help make “Best Medicine” a delightful watch. The show airs Tuesdays at 8PM on FOX.
You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.
