John Kruk jumping to ‘Sunday Night Baseball;’ NBC Sports Philadelphia gets Flyers playoff games, but not Sixers
The Phillies are heading to Peacock Sunday to face the Atlanta Braves, but there will be at least one familiar face on the broadcast.
John Kruk is heading to Peacock, at least for one night.
The entertaining Phillies announcer will be in the booth Sunday when the team takes on the Atlanta Braves on Sunday Night Baseball, The Inquirer has learned.
NBC took over the Sunday-night package of MLB games from ESPN this season as part of the league’s new three-year media rights deals. But Sunday’s Phillies-Braves game will be relegated to Peacock and the recently relaunched NBCSN because NBC is airing the first round of the NBA playoffs.
While Jason Benetti is the voice of NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball, the network opted against having a regular analyst in favor of a rotating group of announcers linked to the teams playing. It’s a response to local fans, who complain about not being able to hear their local announcers during national broadcasts and the playoffs.
“It’s the best way to know exactly what’s going on inside each clubhouse, on the field ... and what matters most to those fans,” Sam Flood, NBC’s executive producer and president of production, said last month.
Joining Benetti and Kruk in the booth will be C.J. Nitkowski, a former MLB pitcher who calls Braves games on BravesVision.
Kruk, in his tenth season with NBC Sports Philadelphia, was on point during Monday’s win against the Chicago Cubs, including a bit of a prediction that came true.
During the first inning, with Kyle Schwarber at the plate, Tom McCarthy pointed out the Cubs have five Gold Glove winners on defense. Kruk noted there were none in the seats at Citizens Bank Park, hinting that’s where Schwarber would send the ball, and the very next pitch Schwarber hit a bomb to center field.
Flyers playoffs games will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia, but not the Sixers
The Flyers officially ended their six-season playoff drought Monday night, punching their postseason ticket in the most exciting way possible — a 3-2 shootout victory in overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes.
While the NHL hasn’t announced when the Flyers’ first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins will begin, NBC Sports Philadelphia will broadcast the games, which will also air nationally on either ESPN or TNT.
The same can’t be said for the Sixers, who would clinch a spot in the NBA playoffs with a win in Wednesday night’s play-in game against the Orlando Magic on Amazon’s Prime Video.
In previous years, NBC Sports Philadelphia was able to air the first round of the NBA playoffs, which also broadcast nationally on ESPN and TNT. But this is the first year of the NBA’s massive 11-year, $76 billion media rights deals with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon, and as part of the deal, regional sports networks like NBC Sports Philadelphia have been squeezed out of broadcasting the playoffs.
“It’s a poor decision,” veteran announcer Mike Breen said during Sunday’s New York Knicks game on MSG. “Fans want to hear their home team announcers, at least in the first round. For so many of us, they become part of the family.
“Now, I get it, that the networks pay a fortune to get exclusivity,” Breen added. “Obviously, I work for one of the networks, and it’s important for them. But I just think the fans deserve to be thrown a bone once in a while.”
According to sources, the NBA reserved the right to yank the first-round playoff games off local networks like NBC Sports Philadelphia, which didn’t sign a new deal ceding those exclusive rights to national networks. The collapse of many regional sports networks across the country certainly factored into the decision.
Despite not airing the game, NBC Sports Philadelphia will have pre- and post-game Sixers coverage Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m.
Quick hits
The talk of the NFL remains Dianna Russini being temporarily sidelined from The Athletic as it investigates photos of her alone with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort. Puck’s John Ourand reports pressure between The Athletic and its parent company, The New York Times, over how quickly and definitively Athletic executive editor Steven Ginsberg came to Russini’s defense in the absence of new information or photos that support her denial about being alone with Vrabel.
Another impact of the controversy surrounding Russini, 94.1 WIP’s Eagles Insider of the Year, is fans on social media looking back at her reporting. For instance, Russini offered a detailed report of what happened when the league’s competition committee voted against banning the tush push last year, citing “one high-ranking league source” who described Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie as being “crude” and like “a guy trying to convince his girlfriend why she shouldn’t leave him.” Vrabel was among the committee members in the room.
Other than a short statement claiming the photos showed “a completely innocent interaction,” Vrabel has remained quiet about the incident and didn’t attend a pre-NFL draft availability with Patriots reporters Monday. Vrabel isn’t expected to speak to reporters until the NFL draft in Pittsburgh next week.
