NFL FOOTBALL

There seems almost too much to write about for the upcoming weekend of We’ve got the Arizona Cardinals clinching the NFC West for the first time in…possibly ever; The New York Giants returning to the playoffs to defend their well-deserved title; Chad Pennington (former Jets QB, ousted by the arrival of Brett Favre) and his Miami Dolphins clinching the AFC East, one year after their 1-15 record; the return of the Steel Curtain for the Pittsburgh Steelers; two rookie QBs leading NFL football their teams into the playoffs (Ravens, Falcons); and two last second qualifiers in the Chargers and Eagles, each of which seemed definitely out of the playoffs only a month ago. With all of this huge storylines that have potential for growth, the postseason and Super Bowl are definitely going to be interesting. Just for the hell of it though, I say Ravens versus Giants. Winner TBD.

One day after the end of the NFL season, several teams have decided that they need to of their coaches. One of the more surprising coaches to lose his job is Eric Mangini, who managed the New York Jets. He has led them to several winning seasons in past years, but the team went 1-4 in the last 5 games of the season, losing the AFC East title to the Dolphins. The Dolphins NFL football are piloted by Chad Pennington, who was QB for the Jets for several years and was cut when Brett Favre came on the scene. Other teams that fired their head coaches are the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns, neither of which are big surprises, given the final result of the season for those two.

Bryant Gumbel has announced that he would not return to the NFL Network as play by play announcer for the pre-season and eight game regular season package of NFL games. This statement has been confirmed by the NFL Network as well.

Sources further added that Gumbel on air game calling following his first season has resulted in NFL football Network’s displeasure. They were dissatisfied but did not take action prior to last season. To date, Gumbel has never had play by play announcing experience before his stint at NFL Network.

NFL Network president and CEO Steve Bornstein was neutral about the whole drama, saying that “We appreciate everything Bryant did in helping us launch our NFL Network game telecasts. Bryant helped create an interest in our first foray into televising NFL regular season games.”

However, Gumbel’s partner, Cris Collinworth, gets to keep his job as color commentator. The latest update is that NFL Network is voraciously seeking Gumbel’s replacement. Gumbel is also host of HBO Channel’s Real Sports segment.