Tag: Ian Eagle

Blake Griffin is a perfect choice for Amazon’s studio coverage of the NBA next season

Blake Griffin WILL make you laugh.

Amazon will begin coverage of the NBA next season and they have already made some amazing decisions, including reportedly hiring Blake Griffin.

According to The Athletic, the former No. 1 overall pick and six-time NBA All-Star will co-host a studio show for Prime Video. He will be joined in the studio by a former NBA Finals and NBA MVP with Dirk Nowitzki also on the show.

Prime Video has an 11-year partnership with the NBA. The studio show is based in Culver City, Calif. on the Amazon MGM lot.

“I’m unbelievably excited to join the Amazon family,” Griffin said in a statement. “Basketball has obviously been a huge part of my life, and I consider myself a true fan of the game. I’m excited for a new opportunity to share some of what I have learned over the years with other NBA fans. I have been incredibly impressed with Amazon’s NFL programming for Thursday Night Football, and my conversations with the team around the NBA partnership have been equally inspiring. I’m honored to be a part of this launch and a new era for Prime Video sports.”

Taylor Rooks, who has done incredible work with Turner Sports, will host the program. Ian Eagle, one of the best broadcasters in the game, is the lead play-by-play announcer for the network. It is unclear who else will join him in the booth.

“We are thrilled to have Taylor, Dirk, and Blake on board as the foundation for our NBA studio coverage,” added Jared Stacy, Global Head of Production at Amazon. “Together they bring a mix of credibility, charisma, and unique insight on the game that will inform and entertain NBA fans starting this fall. Taylor is one of the most well respected and thoughtful people working in NBA media today, while Blake and Dirk are legends of the game ready to share their insightful analysis and sense of humor with NBA fans.”

All in all, this seems like a great start of hiring decisions for Amazon. But with the Inside the NBA crew getting syndication on ESPN, fans should feel particularly excited about Griffin’s arrival to the scene.

He will have plenty of connections around the league as he only recently retired. But he is also genuinely hilarious and could have had a career in entertainment independent of his athletic prowess, evidenced by his various stand-up comedy sets and roast appearances over the years.

Griffin takes this very seriously, appearing on comedy podcasts and late-night talk shows. He was brilliant on Comedy Central’s Broad City and he was hilarious during a live read of Space Jam.

He has worked with a wide range of brilliant comedians, including Norm McDonald and Eric Andre. Griffin founded a production company, Mortal Media.

Amazon reportedly wants Griffin to play a Charles Barkley-like role for their show and he has the chops to do it.

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Announcers set for Chiefs vs. Panthers Week 12 game

See which broadcasters will be calling the Kansas City #Chiefs’ Week 12 matchup against the Carolina #Panthers on Sunday, November 24.

In Week 12, the Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) are heading to visit the Carolina Panthers (3-7) in hopes of beginning a new winning streak after their loss Week 11 when the Buffalo Bills (9-2) ended their nine-game streak that kicked off the season.

Sunday’s Week 12 tilt is scheduled to air on CBS with kickoff taking place at 12:00 p.m. CT. Ian Eagle (play-by-play) and Charles Davis (analyst) will be the commentators calling the game for fans watching on TV.

The Chiefs were competitive against the Bills last week however some notable failures by the team led to a 30-21 loss to end the hopes of a perfect season for Kansas City. Allowing Buffalo to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter ensured the Chiefs’ first defeat.

Fortunately for Kansas City, the Panthers look to be a much easier club than the Bills. If the Chiefs play the way did while they were on the winning streak, they look good to finish it ahead by two touchdowns.

Ian Eagle sounded so concerned about Justin Tucker after his second brutal miss against the Steelers

Something is seriously wrong with Justin Tucker.

For over a decade, we’ve grown accustomed to Justin Tucker being absolutely automatic from any distance while kicking field goals for the Baltimore Ravens. For all intents and purposes, his resume is that of one of the best kickers of all time.

But something appears to be off about the five-time First-Team All-Pro this season. And we saw it firsthand in an important AFC North rivalry game with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In a matchup where it seemed like points were at a premium, Tucker missed not one but two early field goals on the road in Pittsburgh. While a 47-yarder and 50-yarder are by no means “easy kicks,” they usually have been for Tucker. That’s the concerning part.

This led to CBS announcer Ian Eagle acknowledging the elephant in the room after Tucker came up empty for the second time:

Tucker’s overall resume means he has earned some grace when he’s not up to snuff. But the last time the 34-year-old kicker missed more than a handful of kicks was in 2015. He already has four misses so far in 2024. This is probably something to monitor moving forward if you’re the Ravens.

Non-football Eagles to be featured on Netflix Christmas Day games

Who will call Netflix’ NFL games on Christmas Day?

The Philadelphia Eagles won’t be playing on Christmas Day. However, a pair of announcers with the surname Eagle will work the NFL doubleheader.

Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported Thursday that Ian Eagle and his son Noah Eagle will do play-by-play on each game.

Per Marchand:

The play-by-play broadcasters for the doubleheader will be the father-son combination of Ian Eagle and Noah Eagle, while the analysts will be Nate Burleson, J.J. Watt and Greg Olsen.

In the early game between the Steelers and the Chiefs, Ian Eagle will be joined by Burelson and Watt. Adding to the family theme, T.J. Watt, J.J.’s brother, is the Steelers’ star pass rusher.

The late matchup featuring the Ravens and Texans will include Noah Eagle and Olsen.

Why Ian Eagle and not Jim Nantz is calling 2024 March Madness games with Bill Raftery and Grant Hill

Here’s the answer.

If you’re tuning in to 2024 NCAA men’s tournament and you hear the familiar voices of Bill Raftery and Grant Hill on a broadcast, you know it’s truly March Madness.

But the play-by-play man isn’t longtime CBS legend Jim Nantz. Nope, that would be fellow basketball announcing legend Ian Eagle.

Why is that? You’ve come to the right place for the answer.

As you may remember, Nantz decided to step away from calling the tournament after one final tournament call in Houston in 2023. He signed off with an emotional message after the national title game.

He’s still working for CBS, but now Ian Eagle is on the lead team.

There you have it!

Noah Eagle’s sharp announcing during Texans-Browns drew rave reviews from NFL fans

It was a joy listening to Noah Eagle call the Texans’ playoff win.

In the absence of the legendary Al Michaels, we heard a relatively new voice call the Houston Texans’ resounding 45-14 win over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday afternoon. It was young play-by-play commentator Noah Eagle — son of Ian, CBS’s No. 2 NFL announcer — who got the booth with partner Todd Blackledge.

And in the aftermath, the general consensus seems to be that Eagle did quite well while setting up a fantastic moment for the city of Houston.

For one, there was this excellent call after a second Texans’ pick-six to ice the victory:

There was also this reference to Houston offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik as a “young man.” Note: Eagle is 26.

Eagle will be NBC’s No. 2 playoff announcer this postseason. Judging by the early returns, the network made a smart decision to give the mic to the rising announcer.

Ian Eagle gave a brilliant play-by-play breakdown of Travis Scott spilling his drink on himself

Ian Eagle: “I don’t know if I’ve seen celebrity spillage to that effect.”

While sitting courtside at Barclays Center to watch the Nets, a loose ball went out of bounds and knocked directly into rapper Travis Scott.

Ian Eagle, a longtime broadcaster who was just named the best announcer of the year by Awful Announcing, was ready with a perfect summary of exactly what happened.

As noted by Eagle, the ball came off Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley and made its way directly toward Scott’s drink. Eagle had some terrific calls as it happened.

Here are some of the highlights:

  • “BANG! Right there. Oh wow. That’s a geyser.”
  • “Look at that. I don’t know if I’ve seen celebrity spillage to that effect.”
  • “Oh. He’s just going to open up another can. When you’re Travis Scott, you just go to the next can.”
  • “Think about where this has to hit. Right there and then boom: an eruption. That’s like lava.”
  • “The man just wanted to have a drink.”

This was just brilliant work by Eagle, who is considered one of the best in the business for a reason.

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Ian Eagle found the smoothest way to narrate a wayward James Harden pass landing in his lap

Ian Eagle is one of the best for a reason.

Sports broadcaster Ian Eagle showed why he’s the consummate professional on Wednesday night when a wayward pass from Los Angeles Clippers star James Harden landed right in his lap.

Indeed, while Eagle was helping call the Clippers road game against the Brooklyn Nets, Harden’s pass went flying right into his possession, and Eagle provided moment-by-moment commentary of the entire moment.

Eagle joked that his call might’ve been the best in NBA history and added that the ball hit some tea that spilled all over his lap.

Hey, at least the longtime broadcaster had a sterling sense of humor about the on-court snafu.

We commend Eagle for finding a way to make it through having a ball fly his way, as this shows why he’s one of the best in the business.

Dealing with the unexpected is part of the job, and Eagle played this hilarious moment as well as anybody could’ve.

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Jaguars vs. Steelers broadcast map: Where will the game be on TV?

What areas will have the Jaguars vs. Steelers on their local TV station?

The Sunday contest between the 5-2 Jacksonville Jaguars and 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers is one of only two games in Week 8 between teams with winning records.

For the Jaguars, it’s a chance to hit their Week 9 bye with their best start through eight games since the turn of the century. For Pittsburgh, it’s an opportunity to earn some respect as back-to-back wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Rams hasn’t convinced many that the Steelers are a real contender.

The road game for the Jaguars at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday is set to kick off at 1 p.m. ET with coverage on CBS. In-market fans will have the game on their local CBS affiliate and can stream the game on fuboTV.

Ian Eagle will be on play-by-play coverage in the booth with Charles Davis providing analysis.

Fans in the red area on the map below will have the Jaguars vs. Steelers game on their local CBS station, according to 506sports.com:

It’s not often that the Jaguars are the team in the national spotlight during the 1 p.m. slate, but only a few pockets in the country will be watching something else on CBS.

Those who aren’t in an area highlighted red will need NFL Sunday Ticket, now offered by YouTube, to watch the Jaguars as an out-of-market game.

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NFL Week 2 Awards: Not even Sean Payton could fix the eternally broken Broncos

Sean Payton is already falling flat on his face trying to rebuild the Broncos.

The Denver Broncos thought Sean Payton would, at the very least, bandage up their fatal flaws. But no coach, regardless of their track record, can help fix a team with a semi-washed-up quarterback (Russell Wilson), an offensive line that can’t block, and a defense letting inexperienced quarterbacks (Sam Howell) cut it up.

And so, after an offseason of promise and platitudes, Payton’s Broncos are 0-2 with two losses at home against two traditionally moribund teams, the Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders. Denver hasn’t played any of the AFC’s heavyweights yet and must already dig itself out of a hole. Brutal, in every sense of the word.

It is, indeed, just two games. But this is precisely the nightmare start the Broncos needed to avoid if Payton was going to “fix” them. Now, they’ll be fighting uphill for a little while, trying to get a breath. The good news? They must visit the high-flying Miami Dolphins in hot South Florida next week. Wait. Wait, no. Wait, that’s bad news.

Not everyone had a poor Week 2. Geno Smith showed us we shouldn’t doubt him so readily. Meanwhile, Brandon Staley is starting to feel the heat amid another terrible Chargers’ start.

Let’s hand out some awards after another wacky Sunday.