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Michael Kay: Alex Rodriguez Really Wants to Be Great in the Booth

“I do know that he really wants to succeed in broadcasting,” he said.

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KayRod

The first season of the KayRod Cast alternate feed of Sunday Night Baseball for ESPN has been deemed a success, and before the inaugural run concludes, Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez will be featured during the Phillies/Cardinals wild card series.

Kay spoke to Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman on a recent episode of their New York Post baseball podcast The Show, and when he was asked what he knew and learned about A-Rod doing these shows, Kay said it was clear that the former Yankee slugger was dedicated to doing well in calling games.

“I do know that he really wants to succeed in broadcasting,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of big name people go into the booth, and they just go into the booth with their name and their mind. But Alex prepares like you would not believe for the KayRod Cast. I’m sure he’s going to be all over the St. Louis series as well.”

“He has treated me very, very kindly, and I think he works really, really hard,” Kay added.

Kay said before the first edition of their show aired, he wanted to make sure Rodriguez was cool with Kay making jokes about him, busting his chops and asking tough questions. He mentioned that A-Rod said that was no problem whatsoever.

“He stayed true to his word. I joked about the fact that (Ben) Affleck got engaged to J-Lo, he didn’t blink,” Kay said. “We talked about PEDs, he answered the questions, about the fact that he’s never gonna go to the Hall of Fame, and I give him credit for that.”

But Kay said ultimately A-Rod has not put on some facade and that based on their interactions off-camera he is who he really is.

“I believe that he’s a legitimately decent family guy and that he really wants to succeed in this,” he said. “He’s got a lot of pride in being a good broadcaster.”

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Sean McManus: LIV Golfers Won’t Get Different Treatment During The Masters

“We’re not gonna put our heads in the sand.”

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CBS Sports is preparing for coverage of its 68th consecutive year of The Masters, but the 2023 event could prove to be unlike any before it, and CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus is cognizant of the situation.

After several former Masters champions departed the PGA Tour for the upstart LIV Golf, many pondered what that meant for the sport’s major championships. The Masters decided to continue to allow the golfers who are now playing exclusively with the Saudi-backed league to compete for the green jacket. McManus shared that CBS will continue the showcase the golfers as it always has.

“We’re not gonna cover up or hide anything,” McManus said, as reported by Golf Digest. “As I’ve said so often, our job is to cover the golf tournament. We’re not gonna show any different treatment for the golfers who have played on the LIV tour than we do the other golfers. And if there’s a pertinent point or something that we need to, or we feel that we should bring up in our coverage on Saturday and Sunday, or on our other coverage throughout the week, you know, we’re not gonna put our heads in the sand.

“Having said that, unless it really affects the story that’s taking place on the golf course, we’re not gonna go out of our way to cover it. I’m not sure there’s anything that we could add to the story as it already exists. We’ll cover it as, as is suitable.”

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NFL Owners Not Voting on Flex Scheduling For Thursday Night Football

“The owners have simply decided to wait until May to make their decision.”

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Thursday Night Football

Amazon will have to wait for flex scheduling. NFL owners decided to table a proposal that would allow the league to create more compelling matchups for Thursday Night Football later in the season.

That doesn’t mean flex scheduling won’t be a reality on Thursday nights this season. The owners have simply decided to wait until May to make their decision.

Earlier this week, Peter King of NBC Sports reported that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is pushing the idea. Coaches have been outspoken about how much they dislike it, complaining about managing injuries and the competitive disadvantage that would come with finding out you suddenly have a shorter week of preparation than expected. According to King, Goodell is trying to make Amazon happy after the first season of Thursday Night Football failed to deliver projected audience numbers for Prime Video.

League owners did take a step they hope will lead to fewer games between losing teams. Last season, teams could only be scheduled once for a Thursday night game. The owners decided to bump that limit up to twice per season.

Goodell defended the proposal against accusations that the league is prioritizing revenue over player safety. 

“We always look at the data with respect to injuries,” he told the media gathered at the league meetings. “That is what drove our decisions throughout the first 12 or so years of Thursday Night Football and how it’s evolved. I think the data was very clear: it doesn’t show a higher injury rate. But we recognize shorter weeks. We went through this with COVID, too.”

When the idea of flex scheduling is revisited in May, it will require the support of 24 team owners in order to become a reality. 

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Eric Shanks Got Approval From Alex Rodriguez Before FOX Hired Derek Jeter

“Why wouldn’t we reach out?”

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Derek Jeter is going to work a very limited schedule for FOX next season. Still, before he came on board, FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks wanted the support of Jeter’s former Yankees teammate and on-again/off-again friend Alex Rodriguez.

Andrew Marchand is reporting that Shanks reached out to ARod personally. Rodriguez gave his approval to the network.

“Why wouldn’t we reach out?” a Fox Sports spokesman said when The New York Post reached out for confirmation.

While Derek Jeter is now part of the FOX family, fans shouldn’t expect to see him every time baseball is on the network. He is only scheduled to work “marquee events”. This season, those include the London series, the All-Star Game, and the World Series.

He will be at the desk alongside Kevin Burkhardt, David Ortíz, and Rodriguez.

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