I could have come up with something really solid, you know, something about Directv offering top-notch sports programming or a wider variety of HD channels. Sure, that would be true and all, but it wouldn’t be nearly enough of a reason to switch to Directv from your typical cable company. Alas, for all of you who have resisted the movement, myself included, you now have an outstanding reason to switch to the dish: Bryant Gumbel is out from NFL Network. From the press release:

Bryant Gumbel has decided to give up his duties as the play-by-play voice for the NFL Network’s eight-game package of NFL games, NFL Network announced today. Gumbel served as the play-by-play announcer for NFL Network’s Thursday and Saturday Night Football games for the past two seasons.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to call NFL Network games the past two years, which was a new experience for me,” said Gumbel. “But we’ve agreed that we’d all be better served going in different directions. There are a lot of talented people at NFL Network. I thank them, I wish them well, and I have no doubt that they will be very successful going forward.”

I just want to ask what took so long. Man, I really thought that you had to put in actual effort to be that bad at play-by-play. I mean Gumball was awful, AWFUL, horrible. He single-handedly ruined games — or made them must-listen TV, depending on your viewpoint. The guy butchered names, got strategy wrong — he was just utterly clueless in the booth. Your typical fan could have done better — and that’s not even a stretch. So like I said, for all you contemplating making the switch, add this news to the “pro” section when you’re weighing your decision.

Flipping through stations along the dial on my way home from work Tuesday night, I stopped on 97.1 FM to hear them talking — oddly enough — about sports. Didn’t take long before I realized why — Roger Lodge and Dave Smith were on there to promote a new show they’re debuting in LA on Monday. From what I could gather, it’s a new show called The Sports Lodge with both Roger and Dave. The show starts at 6am and will be heard on 830am — Arte Moreno’s station. That’s quite interesting considering the Angels and Ducks are both on that station now that Arte’s assumed control of his Angels radio broadcasts.

Perhaps LA is headed for a third sports station? I don’t know, but I think most sports fans would be in favor of increasing their programming options. Congrats to Roger and Dave on their new show. Both are good dudes who have been in the business for quite some and have hosted in LA previously. So keep it in mind: Monday morning, you have a new show to check out.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been waiting patiently to replace last year’s SI swimsuit edition in your collection. Lord knows we could all use some new bathroom material. And I do have to say, the 2007 edition was somewhat misleading, if not disappointing. Beyonce graced the covers which is ordinarily a blessing, but in this case she hardly showed any skin which wasn’t too conducive for our purposes. This year however, it will be stellar model Marissa Miller on the cover. Heck, they even produced a billboard of her in NYC that was revealed on Letterman. Another cool item this year is that select NFL cheerleaders will be featured as well. And just for those still debating whether or not they’re going to hit the newsstand, here’s a little sneak preview of the cover shoot:

Read The Full Story…

I realize I’m doing myself a bit of a disservice hoping for such a fate, but I can’t help but speak in total honesty. Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk (via Ballhype) is saying that ESPN will be dropping sideline reports on Monday Night Football, a trend I would like to see proliferate. Sure, the job market narrows somewhat for someone like me, but honestly, what role do sideline reporters actually play? As in most assessments, the first question you must ask is what does the item/person in question bring to the table? Well, for sideline reporters, it’s the occasional injury update and interview of moderate significance. Outside of that, like 90% of sideline reports are absolutely useless.

What do they really give us? A human interest story of little interest (that can easily be told by the play-by-play or color man)? An uncomfortable and strained interview with a player or coach during the heat of battle who won’t be revealing anything interesting until after the game actually ends? An injury update that circulates through the press box anyway? Honestly, what good are they? I am in no way picking on either of Monday Night Football’s reporters, and for that, I won’t even mention their name because this has nothing to do with them. I’ve just always felt that sideline reporters were utterly useless, and this story by Florio actually seems like good news to me.

So no, don’t be mistaken, this is not a commentary on individual sideline reporters or the quality of their work; it’s strictly about the specific job. Much like Smykowski in Office Space, Lil’ Jon in rap songs, and the chilled salad fork at dinner, sideline reporters don’t bring anything to the table and are generally pointless. We could easily do without them.

As odd as it sounds for a kid on the West Coast, I love Mike and Mike. I have no shame or qualms about it. Most of my friends have no clue about them since they come on at 3am PT, but that’s like prime-time for me (yes, I live a strange life). So anyway, I saw this little nugget while skimming through the radio news site All Access. Much like when Golic had his son come on and announce his intention to attend Notre Dame on the show (where the two almost committed a violation it seemed), Jr. will sign his letter of intent on the show Wednesday:

The son of ESPN RADIO “MIKE AND MIKE IN THE MORNING” co-host MIKE GOLIC will commit to play football for NOTRE DAME, his father’s alma mater, on WEDNESDAY’s edition of his father’s show.

GOLIC SR., a defensive tackle, was a 10th round pick in the 1985 NFL draft and played for the HOUSTON OILERS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES, and MIAMI DOLPHINS. MIKE GOLIC JR. is a center from WEST HARTFORD NORTHWEST CATHOLIC high school and a member of the EAST squad in JANUARY’s U.S. ARMY ALL-AMERICAN BOWL.

Whoever authored that press release needs to kick back on the caps lock key just a bit. I guess national signing day is like a big deal and all since it receives television coverage (which it shouldn’t — none of these guys have done anything at a level that matters), but I have to say that’s a pretty cool stunt. Hope the youngster’s an early riser so I can catch the moment before bed.

I’ve been sitting on this exciting piece of news for a few weeks and alas, it is time to share. After five and a half years of service with the fantastic FOX Sports Radio Network, I am moving over to Sporting News Radio. You can catch me midweek (usually Tue-Thur) doing sports flashes from 4pm PT through the late evening and on the weekends from 3pm PT through the late evening. Since you’re all pretty internet savvy, you can just head over to sportingnews.com and click on the “radio: listen live” icon on the top right corner to check me out. If you have Sirius Satellite radio, we’re on Ch. 123, on XM144, and if you’re in the So. Cal area, you can pick me up on 1090 — Double X Sports Radio (when they don’t have local programming running). Otherwise, check out your local Sporting News affiliate to listen.

I’m pleased to be joining the team at Sporting News where no doubt the brand is on the rise. Just this week it was announced that Dan Shanoff would be writing alongside many prominent bloggers for The Sporting Blog. In light of their recent additions, SPORTSbyBROOKS, Darren Rovell of CNBC, and Michael David Smith at FanHouse have all recognized the re-emergence of Sporting News as a player on the sports media scene. I am excited to be a part of the brand name and maybe we can even make that whole “blogger radio” idea become a reality. Before I move on to the next chapter though, some thanks are in order.

I would like to thank all my colleagues and friends at FSR for making my time there so enjoyable. A big thanks goes out to my bosses Andrew Ashwood and Annie Zidarevich for having faith in me and for giving me the opportunity to start my on-air career at the network level. A big chest bump goes out to all the hosts who shouted out the site and helped it gain some respectability and prominence at a national level — Chris Plank, John Fricke, JT the Brick, Tomm Looney, Jim Rome, Denny Hocking, Andrew Siciliano, Ben Maller, Jorge Sedano, Chris Moore, and Bryan Weeber (gotcha!) — you guys are the best. And huge thanks to everyone on the anchoring, producing, and editing staff who read the site — it was your constant feedback that gave me the motivation to keep posting and I hope you continue to read. Here’s to a new chapter …