The middle of the week wasn’t slow as major broadcasting news came out along with some startling team and player related moves: Brent Musburger announced he’s retiring, Fox has unveiled its plan for covering Super Bowl 51, the New York Knicks attempted to trade for Kevin Love, Roger Goodell loves Thursday Night Football, and Tiger Woods signed with TaylorMade.

Brent Musburger to retire next week

New Mexico v UNLV

Brent Musburger is currently one of the best broadcasters in the business and will always be known as one of the best. Sadly, his brilliant career will be coming to an end on January 31st.

ESPN announced on Wednesday that Musburger will be calling just two more college basketball games before stepping away from broadcasting, with the final game coming on January 31st as Georgia takes on Kentucky in Lexington.

Here’s the farewell statement from Musburger.

“What a wonderful journey I have traveled with CBS and the Disney company,” Musburger said. “A love of sports allows me to live a life of endless pleasure. And make no mistake, I will miss the arenas and stadiums dearly. Most of all, I will miss the folks I have met along the trail.

“But the next rodeo for me is in Las Vegas. Stop by and we’ll share a cold one and some good stories. I may even buy!”

Wait, Las Vegas? Yep – according to the Associated Press, he’ll be starting a sports handicapping company with his family.

Musburger, who is 77 years old, plans to move to Las Vegas and help his family start a sports handicapping business.

Luckily, fans of Musburger who still want to hear from him can look no farther than his very own personal Twitter account that he launched Wednesday.

Fox’s Super Bowl 51 Coverage Lineup Debuts

Skip-Bayless-eyes

The details of Fox’s Super Bowl 51 coverage lineup have been rumored and practically public news for a while. On Wednesday, our own Ken Fang did a deep analysis of the lineup.

With Fox airing Super Bowl LI from Houston this year, it means that it will have plenty of programming on FS1 during the week. Among the highlights during Super Bowl Week will be daily editions of Garbage Time With Katie Nolan and Fox Sports Live With Jay and Dan. And on Super Bowl Sunday, there will be a special edition of Undisputed with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe that will air on the Fox mothership.

Yes, Skippy and Shannon will move from cable to broadcast for one day and hopefully one day only with their Undisputed show. Unlike their daily edition which runs for 2½ hours, the Super Bowl Sunday version will be on from 1-2 p.m. ET.

The official description of the Super Bowl Sunday Undisputed show is as follows:

“SKIP AND SHANNON: UNDISPUTED SUPER BOWL SPECIAL covers the hottest topics leading up to the big game. Award-winning TV host and author Skip Bayless and three-time Super Bowl Champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe lead the fearless debates alongside moderator Joy Taylor.”

Here’s the schedule for Fox’s coverage the day of:

11 a.m. — Road to the Super Bowl: The annual NFL Films-produced special
12 p.m. — Undisputed: See above
1 p.m. — Fox Super Bowl Kickoff: Charissa Thompson hosts
2 p.m. — Fox Super Bowl Pregame: The Fox NFL Sunday crew will be live from Houston
6:30 p.m. — Super Bowl LI (Live)
10 p.m. (approximate) — Super Bowl Post Game
10:30 p.m. (approximate) — 24: Legacy

FS1 will air a Super Bowl Postgame show at 10:30 p.m.

The New York Knicks tried to acquire Kevin Love… for Carmelo Anthony

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 04:  Shane Larkin #0 and Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks chase after the loose ball with Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden on December 4, 2014 in New York City.The New York Knicks were called for a back court violation. The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New York Knicks 90-87.NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.  (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 04: Shane Larkin #0 and Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks chase after the loose ball with Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden on December 4, 2014 in New York City.The New York Knicks were called for a back court violation. The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New York Knicks 90-87.NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

That’s right, the New York Knicks offered the Cleveland Cavaliers Carmelo Anthony for Kevin Love straight up. Unsurprisingly, the Cavs said no thanks.

LeBron has been vocal in wanting not only a playmaking point guard to help out the Cavs, but another big man in order to help fill the void that Matthew Dellavedova and Timofey Mozgov left this offseason. However, ESPN reported that the Cavs aren’t willing to trade Kevin Love after the role he played in helping the Cavs win their first championship.

When Melo was asked about LeBron’s recent comments and whether they were intended to subtly hint at management to move for him, he responded this way:

“You ask me a question if he thinks I’d want to play with him?” Anthony told reporters. “Yes. I do think he’d want me to play with him. I don’t think he wouldn’t. But I don’t know if that comment was about me. I don’t think I’m the only playmaker in the NBA.”

And on whether he’d want to play for the Cavs:

“I don’t think about it — [that’s] not something I think about right now. As far as playing with him, I don’t think about that. I can’t think about that. You know I’m not thinking about that.”

Roger Goodell thinks Thursday Night Football is good quality football

Dallas Cowboys v Los Angeles Rams

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently hopped on Colin Cowherd to discuss none other than, the NFL! On the show, he made an interesting statement:

“We’re more than just optics. We’re into facts. There are actually less penalties, less turnovers,” Goodell said. “Almost by every barometer of the quality of the game is better on Thursday night…”

Let’s repeat that:

“Almost by every barometer of the quality of the game is better on Thursday night,” Goodell said. 

Wait what.

Here’s the full interview:

Tiger Woods is taking his talents to TaylorMade

13 Apr 1997: Tiger Woods of the USA celebrates after sinking a 4 feet putt to win the US Masters at Augusta, Georgia. Woods won the tournament with a record low score of 18 under par.  Mandatory Credit: Stephen Munday /Allsport
13 Apr 1997: Tiger Woods of the USA celebrates after sinking a 4 feet putt to win the US Masters at Augusta, Georgia. Woods won the tournament with a record low score of 18 under par. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Munday /Allsport

Back in August, Nike announced it would no longer be making golf clubs, balls, or bags. When the news broke, speculation began of where Tiger Woods would take his talents now that his equipment supplier was out of the business.

Five months later, Tiger has finally made his announcement. The 41-year-old will take his talents to TaylorMade.

Woods could debut his new TaylorMade clubs this weekend when he plays in the first two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. However, he has not announced whether or not he will be using his new clubs during the event. Jason Day and Dustin Johnson, the world’s number 1 and 3 players respectively, will also be using TaylorMade clubs, as they’ve been playing with their clubs for a while.

While Woods may or may not be using his TaylorMade clubs this weekend, he will be using Bridgestone golf balls. Woods announced he would use the balls back in December and has since.

So here’s the recap: Tiger will be using TaylorMade clubs, hitting Bridgestone balls, and wearing Nike clothes. Yes that’s right – Nike is still making golf clothes, so you can expect to see the famous swoosh on Tiger’s clothes.

Quick Hits

demarcus-cousins-nba-sacramento-kings-phoenix-suns-590x900

– The Sacramento Kings are now 18-27 after a big win over the now 30-14 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Not only did the Kings beat the Cavs in general, but they also won 116-112 in in overtime AND in Cleveland! Since the win was so huge, Sacramento seized the opportunity to troll Cleveland like there was no tomorrow.

– Hostess re-released two very popular ice cream flavors: Twinkies and Sno Ball. Get them before they’re gone again!

“A Nestle spokesperson in Washington, D.C., said Hostess ice-cream pints will be available in mid-February at Dollar General and in convenience stores between February and May, based on the stores’ own schedules.”

– You can see a lot of weird things if you take the time to scroll your way through Google Maps and Earth. One guy is claiming the service caught him fighting aliens!

That’s exactly what John Mooner says happened to him, though, ahead of his apparent alien abduction.

Richard Sherman thinks the NFL is out to get the Seattle Seahawks.

– Say goodbye to the Poinsettia Bowl.

The San Diego Bowl Game Association came to the decision to focus their efforts on just one bowl game, the Holiday Bowl, moving forward. The move comes at a time when the future of Qualcomm Stadium is in question, and the bowl group is also weighing the possibility of moving the Holiday Bowl to Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres.

“College football and the bowl game structure has gone through major changes through the years and our board feels the time is right to focus our efforts on one post-season game,” said Mark Neville, executive director of the San Diego Bowl Game Association. “The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl staged exciting match-ups for more than a decade and we were one of the few cities to host two bowl games.”

– UCF football went 6-7 in 2016 and in 2017 fans can watch their home games from cabanas behind the endzones (if they bought one already or have a ton of money to buy the ones that aren’t sold out yet)!

About David Lauterbach

David is a writer for The Comeback. He enjoyed two Men's Basketball Final Four trips for Syracuse before graduating in 2016. If The Office or Game of Thrones is on TV, David will be watching.