While Bonnie Bernstein is finished as a CBS Sports sideline reporter, Armen Keteyian could be headed to CBS News, NYP TV Sports has learned.
CBS News and Sports executives confirmed that Bernstein’s final broadcast for the network was the AFC Championship Game. Keteyian’s situation is not finalized, but he looks headed to news.
“I have nothing at the moment to report on Armen,” said CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus.
From his work at HBO’s Real Sports, ABC News and Sports Illustrated, Keteyian seems a solid fit to be part of McManus’ investigative news team. Keteyian declined comment.
Bernstein, who was CBS Sports’ lead sideline reporter on the NFL and NCAA hoops, has wanted to expand her role.
“She really wanted to try new things,” said Tony Petitti, CBS Sports’ executive vice president. “We didn’t want to get in the way of that.”
Bernstein, who is working the sideline on Westwood One Radio’s Super Bowl coverage, does not have another TV job right now. She did not return a call seeking comment.
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As The Post reported Monday, ESPN’s post-Al Michaels Monday Night Football plan is to put Mike Tirico with Joe Theismann and Pardon The Interruption host/Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser next year.
While the move has some merit (see The Memo for more), Tirico will be ESPN’s fourth choice for play-by-play.
Besides Michaels and CBS’ Jim Nantz, ESPN had serious talks with CBS’ NFL Today host Greg Gumbel, according to sources. However, those won’t be broached again because McManus said, “Greg’s home is at CBS Sports.”
As for Kornheiser, he said the possible opportunity is “pretty cool,” but he doesn’t know how good he will be.
“Maybe I would be terrific and maybe I would be terrible and the likelihood is I would be somewhere in between,” said Kornheiser, 57, who was a candidate for MNF when Dennis Miller got the gig in 2000.
ESPN will announce its decision on Michaels after the Super Bowl. Almost everyone expects the network to let Michaels out of his eight-year, $32 million Monday Night Football contract. Michaels would then go to NBC to work Sunday nights.
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It is not often a league takes on its most famous TV analyst. But this week, after the NFL announced it will add a late-season, eight-game Thursday/Saturday evening package on the NFL Network, John Madden said he worried about “overexposure.”
“Mr. Madden is certainly entitled to his opinion, but if he is worried about overexposure I suggest he reconsider his endorsements,” said Seth Palansky, the NFL Network’s director of communications. “We are offering eight special prime-time games during the run-up to the playoffs which will better serve our fans.”
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Emmitt Smith, who worked for NFL Network this season, will not return next year.
“We left on good terms and we wish him well in all of his business ventures,” Palansky said.
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With Bill Belichick working on ABC’s Super Bowl pregame show, ABC/ESPN’s Tom Jackson is hopeful the two can speak. The pair haven’t spoken since Jackson said in 2003 that the Patriots players “hate their coach.”
“I have the ultimate respect for Bill Belichick,” Jackson said. “He has won three of the last four Super Bowls. We have not spoken, but I’m looking forward to his expertise. I’m sure at some point this weekend, we will speak.”