📺 Y! Sports AM: Silly season is coming for NFL broadcasters

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📺 Y! Sports AM: Silly season is coming for NFL broadcasters

Fri, Oct 23, 2026 ·

14 min read

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🚨 Headlines

🏈 Bears 30, Patriots 24:Chicago hung on for the victory at Soldier Field on "Thursday Night Football," snapping New England's three-game win streak behind big games from Caleb Williams (308 yards, 2 TD) and Luther Burden III (130 yards, TD).

🏀 SGA's streak snapped:Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored just 17 points in OKC's win over the Nuggets on Thursday, snapping his NBA-record 141-game streak of scoring at least 20 points. He'd passed Wilt Chamberlain late last season with his 127th such game in a row.

🏈 Perfect no more:Appalachian State handed James Madison its first loss of the season , storming the field after a 34-31 overtime win that severely hurt the Dukes' chances of making the CFP. Miami, BYU, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah are now the only undefeated teams remaining.

🎓 Miami on the move?Amid the drama fueled by the Protect College Sports Act, and the financial benefits that some conferences (Big Ten, SEC) have over others, Miami president Joe Echevarria did not mince words regarding the possibility of further realignment: "You cannot lock us into a conference," he told Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger .

🏀 Flopping fine:Paul George was fined $2,000 for flopping in the Celtics' season-opening loss to the Pistons. It's the first such fine as part of the NBA's emphasis to crack down on "STEM" violations — or Secondary, Theatrical, Exaggerated Movements to draw foul calls.

📺 The silly season is coming for NFL broadcasters

The following is a guest post from longtime sports media writer Richard Deitsch, a well-respected voice who I'm thrilled to welcome on as a contributor to Yahoo Sports AM.

Richard writes:

Here is the delicious secret about newsletters in an increasingly fractured sports media environment: You actually read them. Wait, people still read, even in 2026? Indeed, they do.

I saw this first-hand during my nearly eight years as a senior writer at The Athletic. Whenever one of The Athletic's many newsletters generously highlighted one of my sports media stories, the unique views on that story rocketed into a different stratosphere.

Writers are egoists at heart; we want to be read. So this was actual real-time data that confirmed the value of having a thoughtful curator direct readers to pieces that made them a more informed sports fan.

Kendall Baker, the author at the top of the page, saw this trend before most in the space and it's why I've always admired and subscribed to his work. It prompted me this month to reach out to him to see if he'd be interested in having me contribute a sports media item of note on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. I was delighted that he was interested. So here we are…

As you watch the NFL's marquee games over the next couple of weeks, take a moment to focus on those in the broadcasting booth. Because things are likely to change dramatically for viewers next season.

Troy Aikman, Ian Eagle, Al Michaels and Greg Olsen all have contracts ending between the end of the 2026 NFL season and the start of the 2027 NFL season. Tony Romo will be available to work after coming to a settlement agreement with CBS Sports.

Then there are those not yet working as broadcasters. Every network airing NFL games will unquestionably reach out to Travis Kelce on his interest simply given his fame and success on his podcast with brother (and ESPN-er) Jason Kelce.

Rams coach Sean McVay has long been desired by the NFL media partners, particularly Prime Video. Most sports television executives believe Peyton Manning would be a can't-miss game analyst should he ever decide to leave the Manningcast for a traditional broadcast.

One person who has already landed a sports broadcasting Wonka ticket is J.J. Watt. CBS Sports announced on Thursday that the future Hall of Famer has been named lead analyst for the NFL on CBS in a new multi-year agreement. Watt will now be a permanent fixture next to Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson on CBS Sports' lead NFL announce team. He will be on the call of Super Bowl LXII in Atlanta in February 2028.

The most immediate story to follow is Aikman, who has been very public about ESPN's decision not to negotiate with him during the season. Aikman believes he will be a free agent and the actions (or non-action) of ESPN management appear to confirm this.

It should make for a fascinating Super Bowl broadcast on Feb. 14, 2027, which happens to be ESPN's first-ever Super Bowl. If I were a streaming network — say Netflix or Prime Video — I would open the vault for Aikman the moment his contract concludes. For me, he and Olsen are the best working NFL analysts today.

Want more?If sports media interests you, check out the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch , featuring bi-weekly interviews and roundtable conversations.

👑 In photos: The King and his court

LeBron James played in his fourth career home opener with a new team on Thursday night (or fifth, if you include his second stint in Cleveland). Below, we take a look back at each one in reverse chronological order.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania —The 76ers erased a 29-point deficit to pull off a stunning 114-106 victory over the Cavaliers. LeBron had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in what was the largest comeback of his career, and Philly's largest of the play-by-play era (since 1996-97).

Los Angeles, California —LeBron's previous home opener came eight years ago (Oct. 20, 2018) at Staples Center, where he put up 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a 124-115 loss to the Rockets, led by James Harden, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.

Cleveland, Ohio —LeBron's second run with his hometown team began half-a-career ago (Oct. 30, 2014) with a 17-point, 5-rebound, 4-assist performance in a 95-90 loss to Carmelo's Knicks.

Miami, Florida —The Heatles' first home game (Oct. 29, 2010) was a 96-70 blowout victory over the Magic. James had 15 points, Dwyane Wade had 26 and Chris Bosh added 11.

Cleveland, Ohio —It all began 23 years ago (Nov. 5, 2003), when LeBron's Cavaliers lost to Carmelo's Nuggets, 93-89, as the baby-faced King put up a modest 7 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.

Yes, you read that correctly: Three of LeBron's five "inaugural" home openers saw him go up against longtime friend Carmelo Anthony, who came out on top all three times.

🏒 The Oilers' offense is off the charts

Coming into the 2026-27 NHL season, three teams stood out as Stanley Cup favorites: Carolina, which won it all last season ; Colorado, which had the league's best record; and Florida, which made a big offseason splash in hopes of reviving its dynasty after a "gap year."

The forgotten contender?Edmonton. The Oilers made back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025, but lost to Florida both times, extending Canada's Cup drought . They followed that with their worst regular season since 2019 and a first-round playoff exit. Fast-forward to this season, though, and overlooking Edmonton is looking like a mistake.

Hot start:The Oilers are 8-1-1 , with the league's best record and just one regulation loss. Their latest win was a 6-5 shootout victory over the reigning champion Hurricanes on Thursday.
Offensive juggernaut:They're averaging 4.6 goals per game , 12% more than anyone else, and their +1.57 goals per game above league average is on pace to rank as the third-best offensive season in NHL history (behind only the 1970-71 Boston Bruins and 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers.

McDavid being McDavid:Unsurprisingly, Connor McDavid is driving the attack. After a 5-point night Thursday, his 31 points (eight goals, 23 assists) are easily his most ever through the first 10 games of a season, and the fourth-most by any player through his team's first 10 contests in NHL history.

And he has plenty of help:Leon Draisaitl is rolling as usual, with 21 points in 10 games. Defenseman Evan Bouchard has 19 points in 10 contests, one of the hottest offensive starts by a blue-liner in NHL history. And Vasily Podkolzin, a 25-year-old winger who has never had 20 goals or 40 points in a season, is averaging 1.2 points per game and finally looking like the first-round pick Vancouver drafted in 2019.

So what's the catch?Despite all those fireworks, the markets still aren't fully convinced that Edmonton belongs in the NHL's top tier. And there's a familiar reason why: Defense and goaltending. Throughout the McDavid era, the Oilers have often prioritized scoring over stopping opponents — producing eye-popping offensive numbers while leaving themselves vulnerable at the end of the ice that tends to actually win playoff games .

By the numbers:Even after making changes at head coach (Mike Babcock), on the blue line and in net, Edmonton ranks just 19th in goals allowed per game, 20th in save percentage and 23rd in penalty killing. In other words — a pretty ordinary defensive team with an extraordinary offense.

Bottom line:The Oilers might be scoring at a historic pace, but they're still leaning on McDavid and company to outscore whatever problems arise at the other end of the ice. It's a formula that has gotten them to the Stanley Cup Final twice. This year, Edmonton (and all of Canada) will be hoping it's a formula that helps them win it all.

📺 Weekend Watchlist

⚾️ World Series

The 122nd Fall Classic begins tonight and tomorrow night in Milwaukee (8pm ET, Fox) , where the Brewers host the Rays in a matchup of each league's best team — something that doesn't actually happen as often as you'd think.

Rare occurrence:This is just the sixth World Series in the Wild Card Era (1995) between each league's No. 1 seed. The others: Braves over Cleveland (1995), Yankees over Braves (1999), Red Sox over Cardinals (2013), Dodgers over Rays (2020) and Dodgers over Yankees (2024).

🏀 WNBA Finals, Game 4

The Dream (up 2-1) and Valkyries take the floor tomorrow afternoon in Atlanta (1pm, NBC) , where Golden State will look to tie the series at two games apiece before it shifts back to San Francisco on Monday.

Stopping the bleeding:The bad news for the Valkyries is they've lost two straight games for the fifth time this season. The good news? None of those previous skids became three-game losing streaks.

🏈 NFL Sunday

The day begins in Paris, where despite civil unrest the Steelers and Saints will play the NFL's first game in France (9:30am, NFL) . The true marquee game comes in primetime, when the undefeated Chiefs visit the defending champion Seahawks on "Sunday Night Football" (8:20pm, NBC) .

Best of the rest:The undefeated 49ers visit the Falcons (1pm, Fox) ; the undefeated Vikings host the Colts (1pm, CBS) ; the Ravens host the Bengals (1pm, CBS) and the Lions host the Packers (4:25pm, Fox) in a pair of divisional clashes.

🏈 College Football Saturday

Just two ranked matchups are on tap this weekend , with No. 19 Texas looking to stop a two-game skid at home against No. 7 Ole Miss (7:30pm, ABC) , and No. 10 Utah hosting No. 14 Houston (10:15pm, ESPN) .

Best of the rest:Pitt at No. 1 Miami (12pm, ESPN) ; No. 18 LSU at Auburn (12pm, ABC) ; No. 6 Indiana at Michigan (12pm, Fox) ; Texas A&M at No. 13 Alabama (3:30pm, ABC) ; Michigan State at No. 9 UCLA (3:30pm, CBS) ; No. 11 Tennessee at South Carolina (3:30pm, CBS) .

Who ya got? Don't forget to lock in your Week 8 picks in our College Football Challenge .

🏎️ United States Grand Prix

Formula One heads to Austin's Circuit of the Americas (Sun. 4pm, Apple) , where Red Bull's Max Verstappen will look to win his third consecutive race while Mercedes' points-leading duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell will try to get back to the top of the podium.

Meanwhile, in Alabama:The NASCAR Cup Series descends on Talladega Superspeedway, where Ricky Bobby — er, Kyle Larson — will try to hold onto his slim lead with three races left in The Chase.

⚽️ El Clásico

Barcelona hosts Real Madrid on Sunday at Camp Nou (4pm, ABC) , where the Spanish giants will look to break a deadlock (106-106, with 52 draws) entering the 265th competitive meeting in their series that began in 1929.

How's this for kismet?LAFC and LA Galaxy also meet on Sunday (9pm, Apple) in an MLS rivalry that has cleverly come to be known as El Tráfico. And, get this, they are also dead even (10-10, with 7 draws) entering the 28th match of their Derby.

More to watch:

🏀 NBA:Knicks at Celtics (Fri. 7pm, Prime) ; Rockets at Spurs (Fri. 9:30pm, Prime) ; Bucks at 76ers (Sat. 7:30pm, NBA) ; Warriors at Suns (Sat. 10pm, NBA) ; Raptors at Timberwolves (Sun. 7pm, NBA)
🤸‍♂️ Gymnastics:World Championships (Fri-Sun, Peacock/NBCSN) … The final three days of this year's competition in Rotterdam includes the women's all-around final, as well as the finals for each individual apparatus.
⛷️ Alpine World Cup:Sölden, Austria (Sat-Sun, Peacock) … The men's and women's Alpine Ski World Cup season begins this weekend.

Plus:👊 UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi (Sat. 2pm, Paramount+) ; ⚽️Premier League, Week 8 (Fri-Sun, USA/Peacock) ; ⚽️ NWSL, Week 29 (Fri-Sun, ESPN/CBSSN/Prime) ; 🎾 ATP's Lyon Open and WTA's Ningbo Open (Fri-Sun, Tennis) ; 🏍️ MotoGP Australia (Sat. 11pm, FS2)

Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. Get tickets now!

📸 Behind the Lens

Each week, Yahoo Sports AM goes "Behind the Lens" with Getty Images to share the stories behind the best photographs in sports.

This week's photo:Japan's Daiki Hashimoto competes on the pommel horse during the men's qualifiers on day one of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

Photographer:Tom Weller
Location:Rotterdam, Netherlands
Date:Oct. 17

Behind the Lens:Take it away, Tom…

I'm always excited when I arrive at a new gym for a major gymnastics event so I can start thinking about creative ways to take great photos. The beauty of photographing gymnastics is that each venue — and each apparatus — offers different possibilities. Whether through the athletes' movement, different angles to effectively showcase the aesthetics of the sport, or special effects, such as using a filter.

In this photo, I tried to capture the movement on the pommel horse while still making the gymnast recognizable. To do this, I selected a long exposure time (1/5 of a second) and looked for a location with a dark background, which best highlights the "blur effect" created by the movement.

The challenge here is that you still need to be able to recognize the athlete's face, which becomes blurred very quickly if he moves too fast at that exposure. To accomplish that, I waited until he was not only looking in my direction, but also performing a routine in which his upper body was moving significantly less than his legs. Only then is it even possible to capture this image.

Equipment and technique:Tom took this photo with a Nikon Z9 and an 85mm lens at 1/5 of a second, with settings of f/9 and ISO 100.

🔍 Guess the logo

Question:Can you guess this zoomed in NHL logo?

Hint:Eastern Conference.

Answer at the bottom.

🏎️ Yahoo Sports x Apple TV

This weekend's Formula 1 MSC Cruises United States Grand Prix 2026 continues our season-long partnership with Apple TV for F1 coverage.

Tune in:All three practice sessions (Fri. 1:30/5pm ET; Sat. 1:30pm) and tomorrow's qualifying (5pm) will air for free on Yahoo Sports , while Sunday's race will stream on Apple TV, the new U.S. home of Formula 1.

Logo reveal:Washington Capitals

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