CBS broadcast trio pulls 'Apple' of an assignment
CBS Sports announcers Jim Nantz, left, and Phil Simms speak with the media at a CBS Super Bowl XLVII broadcasters press conference at the New Orleans Convention Center on Jan. 29, 2013. Credit: Getty
Phil Simms lives in New Jersey. Jim Nantz is from New Jersey. Bill Cowher lives in Manhattan.
But that was not the only reason the CBS/NFL Network announcers were pleased when the 2015 schedule came out and they saw the Jets were hosting the Bills on NFL Network Nov. 12 and the Giants were hosting the Patriots on CBS Nov. 15.
Just having two games in the same location, let alone close to home, was a blessing for a road show that most weeks calls a game in one city on Thursday and another on Sunday. (In Cowher's case he is in the studio on Sundays.)
"When I saw the schedule come out I was like, man, (NFL executive) Howard Katz, thank you for doing this,'' Nantz said. "I'm sure it was just blind luck it worked out that way. But if he did it on purpose I'm ready to write a sizable check.''
Nantz, who now lives in northern California, has been on the road with his wife and 19-month-old daughter since last week, when he worked games in Cincinnati and then Indianapolis, a blessedly short commute.
This weekend is even better, certainly compared to a New Jersey-to-Seattle swing earlier this season.
Nantz stressed he is not complaining about the twice-a-week grind, but he admitted it is nice getting select weekends off when Fox has the Sunday doubleheader game and CBS gives him and Simms a break.
Simms said the two consecutive "home'' games for him are a mixed blessing.
"It's great to be here, great to sleep in my bed,'' he said. "But the other thing is when you're home it's like being a player. It's, I need parking passes. I need tickets. I won't even look at my phone. I told my wife that this is like when I was playing, with the constant ticket requests.
"Because you know, we get everything free; I get all the tickets free,'' he added, sarcastically. "I'd like to have a check for how much I've spent on tickets in my career.''
Simms said he watched some Patriots and Giants video Monday morning but mostly spent the week focusing on the Jets and Bills. He planned to dive into the Pats and Giants again to study up for Sunday after getting home from Thursday night's game.
Said Cowher, "It's nice to be able to go home and sleep in your own bed. This is great.''
Mostly Cowher was jazzed by the back-to-back, much-hyped metropolitan-area games, especially now that he is a New Yorker.
"The one thing I've learned by living up here now the last four years is it's a great sports town,'' he said. "I came from a big sports town in Pittsburgh, but I don't think people realize this. You think about New York City and you think about Wall Street and you think about Broadway. You don't realize how big a sports town this is.
"I've really come to appreciate the passion that people have. There is a significant difference between a Giants fan and a Jets fan, and there is a significant difference between a Yankees fan and a Mets fan. I've kind of learned to understand that.''
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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