Jim O'Donnell: Even after ditching March Madness, Jim Nantz still has many CBS telecasts to go
SINCE JIM NANTZ CONFIRMED that the 2023 Men's Final Four will be his last for CBS / Turner, speculation has been swirling about when he's going to walk away from the Masters and network NFL play-by-play.
Don't hold your breath.
At age 63, Nantz should be good for at least five more years alongside Tony Romo on CBS's lead pro football duo - and that's a conservative estimate.
As for the Masters, the former University of Houston ace - he played alongside Freddie Couples and Blaine McCallister - could go on until he needs Gene Sarazen's old 4-wood to get out of Butler Cabin.
The precise and proper sons of the South at Augusta National love the man that much.
IAN EAGLE, 53, WILL inherit the first seat on the NCAAs starting with the 2024 tournament.
The personable Nantz has come a long way from KSL-TV in Salt Lake City.
That's the affiliate he was working at in 1985 when he got a sudden call from CBS Sports chiefs. They wanted him to zoom into Manhattan for a cold audition, essentially as Brent Musburger's understudy.
Others in the quick cattle call included Roy Firestone, James Brown and Pat Haden.
Nantz got the nod and the result has been a remarkable four-decade run as one of the premier sportscasters in America.
STREET-BEATIN':
More rough news for the Alamo crew at WSCR-AM (670). Shares of parent company Audacy have been selling for less than 40 cents. The next fresh pop in Chicago sports-themed radio will likely be an all-gambling outlet. (Zzzzz ...) San Francisco's historic KGO-AM recently rebranded as "810 - The Spread." ...
Danny Wirtz and Jaime Faulkner will apparently appear at garage sales and first communions to try and sell their message that this a new era for the Blackhawks. It is, in much the same sense that the Nixon White House got a makeover when Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced to resign, ...
Adam Amin and Moose Johnston will call the Bears-Cowboys game for FOX (Sunday, noon). Someone at CBS must be trying to punish Chicago: The network's 3:05 game is Titans-Texans. ...
Robert Quinn, incidentally, will have the last laugh when he and the Eagles kickoff against Kansas City in Super Bowl 57. Jalen Hurts may warmup for that February classic by bench pressing Patrick Mahomes - with one arm. ...
The newly happening Justin Fields and the Bears went up at plus-10 ½ against Dallas prior to "The Fooler in Foxborough" Monday night and then were reloaded at 9 ½. This is the same band of gypsies that could only score 7 points vs. Washington at home two NFL weekends ago. (Go figure.) ...
Fremd High alum Scott Tolzien ('06) is in his third season as a "coaching assistant" to Mike McCarthy with the Cowboys. The two first connected when Tolzien was a backup QB for McCarthy in Green Bay. Too many John's Pizzas ago, the late Mrs. Marilyn Tolzien - the churner's grandmother - was one of the great sports moms at Prospect High School. ...
What if they threw a World Series and no one outside of the two participating TV markets cared? FOX is finding out the hard way with the Astros-Phillies. A seven-part series on Howie Mandel might draw a bigger audience. ...
Bob Costas got some rough critiques about his play-by-play work for Turner on the CLE-NYY ALDS. But he remains one of the most facile live broadcasters in the history of American TV. (And that includes Mario Lopez). ...
For those keeping count, Troy Aikman is ESPN's highest-salaried staffer at $18.5M per-year. (He's massaged his brand well and still says the word "hard" with that special calf-roping spin.) ...
Young Mike Monaco continues to make his bones as third-string play caller on Bulls telecasts. Tucking into the team's courtside TV perch at the United Center is no trip around Planet Fitness. ...
And droll Craig Dreiling, shading a dated green-and-gold about the NFC-North: "Why doesn't Aaron Rodgers just retire as a player and take over full-time as owner of the Bears?"
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears Sunday. and Thursday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com.