NEWS, NOTES & QUOTES FROM CBS SPORTS’ “THE NFL TODAY” WITH JAMES BROWN, DAN MARINO, SHANNON SHARPE,
BILL COWHER AND BOOMER ESIASON FOR WEEK 10 ON NOVEMBER 15
►“SEC ON CBS’s” RATINGS
CBS Sports’ doubleheader coverage of the SEC ON CBS on Saturday, Nov. 14, which saw No. 1 Florida defeat South Carolina, 24-14, earned an overnight household rating/share of 4.7/10, up 27% from last year’s 3.7/8 (No. 24 South Carolina vs. No. 3 Florida). And CBS Sports’ first game, which saw Ole Miss beat Tennessee, 42-17, earned an overnight HH rating/share of 2.4/6, up 9% from last year’s 2.2/5 (Notre Dame vs. Navy).
►QUICK HITS
(On Cincinnati’s Chad Ochocinco getting fined $20,000 for stunt where he pretended to bribe an official)
SHANNON SHARPE: I think the NFL should fine Chad Ochocinco $250,000…Because even though this was a stunt, maybe he didn’t mean it. But when you try to influence or you bring into question the integrity of the National Football League, someone just watching this for the first time, or someone that’s really not an avid fan, might say, ‘Can they really do this?’ And you also fine him $250,000 because clearly when you fine Chad $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, he’s not getting the message. So you fine him $250,000 – he gets the message now and anybody who comes along after Chad and thinks about doing something like this, they better think long and hard because $250,000 is a lot of money. A one dollar bribe is the same as a $20,000 fine to him. It’s nothing. Two-hundred Thousand dollars sends the message. Chad will stop these shenanigans. He’s getting ridiculous with it.
► POLITICAL FOCUS GROUP GURU FRANK LUNTZ VISITED “THE NFL TODAY” SET
Expert in communication and pioneer of the “Instant Response” focus group, Frank Luntz, visited THE NFL TODAY studio to rate sound bites of several coaches and players. Based on his expertise Luntz surmised:
(On San Francisco Head Coach Mike Singletary being a good candidate for political office)
LUNTZ: He’s candid. He’s honest. He’s acknowledging weaknesses. But then he says, ‘We’re going to go to work.’ It’s as simple as that. No messing around. This could be his gubernatorial announcement speech. It’s that good.
(On describing Cleveland Head Coach Eric Mangini with “communication by thesaurus” for his one word descriptions of what his team needs)
LUNTZ: He only needs three things: a noun, a verb and some sort of punctuation. I really got the feeling like maybe he learned English as a second language. It was plain and simple and you got it. But he could still be better. He could still be more expressive. He’s not trying to speak to the team in these moments. He’s trying to speak to the fans, to the greater audience. And all I would recommend is add a little more humanity to it – not just the words – a little more of the heart.
►“INSIDE THE GAME” WITH CHARLEY CASSERLY
(On Chicago Head Coach Lovie Smith’s future)
CASSERLY: I spoke to the Bears on Friday, and they told me two things: Number one, ‘We’re solidly behind our coach, Lovie Smith, and we’re 100% committed to him.’ In other words, he’s going to be the head coach next year.
(On Arizona’s Anquan Boldin returning next season)
CASSERLY: First of all, next year is the last year of his contract. I don’t see him getting a contract extension. Last spring they tried to find out what his trade value was. They didn’t get offered a lot for him. I think this year they aggressively try to trade him. What’s he worth? I don’t think he’s a number one receiver. I do think he’s a good football player. I wouldn’t give up a one for him. Nobody offered a one last year, so I doubt they will get that number one offer this year.
* * * * *
Recent Comments