Behind the Mic: Dan Hicks Tapped as New Voice of Notre Dame Football on NBC;

Longtime NBC Olympics commentator Dan Hicks will join NBC Sports’ Notre Dame Football coverage this season as its lead play-by-play voice. Hicks, who will work with returning analyst Mike Mayock, succeeds Hammond, who has been the play-by-play voice for Notre Dame Football on NBC for most games dating back to 1992. Hammond recently agreed to a new multi-year deal. He will continue to be the lead voice for three of NBC Sports Group’s most prestigious properties: Triple Crown horse racing; figure skating, including at the 2014 Sochi Olympics; and track & field, including at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Hicks will continue to work as the lead commentator for NBC Sports Group’s live-event golf coverage, and will return for NBC’s Olympic coverage, including the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics…

…When Sunday Night Football returns this fall, it will be without Faith Hill, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Since 2007, the country singer has sung the opening theme for NBC’s primetime football program, a reworked version of Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” It was Hill’s decision to exit after six seasons. A replacement has not yet been named…

…Bobby Valentine, the former Mets manager, has returned to the Mets as a pregame and postgame analyst on SNY.Valentine will be a part-timer, appearing in the SNY studio about 12 to 15 times, with Bob Ojeda, the regular analyst, and Chris Carlin, the host. He made his debut on opening day, Monday, at 11:30 a.m. on SNY’s new program, “Mets First Pitch.” Valentine, who was previously an analyst on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball,” was fired as Boston Red Sox manager following the 2012 season. In addition to working as an analyst for NBC Sports Radio, he has also taken a job as the athletic director of Sacred Heart University…

…Olympic gold medal downhill skier Picabo Street has joined FOX Sports as an analyst for the 2014 Winter Games from Sochi, Russia. Street will provide expert analysis during all women’s and men’s skiing events, as well as contribute daily commentary prior to and throughout The Games across all of FSMG’s platforms including FOX Sports 1, FOXSports.com and FOX Sports Radio…

…After a two-race initiation last year, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards has returned to the ESPN broadcast booth as an analyst for three races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Edwards joined lap-by-lap announcer Allen Bestwick and analyst Andy Petree in the booth to call the 300-mile race at Texas Motor Speedway on April 12 on ESPN2. Edwards also will call races at Richmond International Raceway on April 26 (7 p.m. on ESPNEWS) and at Talladega Superspeedway on May 4 (2:30 p.m. on ESPN). In each case, Edwards will compete in the next day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the same track. Edwards, who drives for Roush Fenway Racing, stopped competing in NASCAR Nationwide Series races last season after racing fulltime in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series the previous seven years…

…World Series champion Cliff Floyd and World Series-winning coach and former All-Star Joey Cora have joined MLB Network as analysts, appearing across MLB Network’s programming. Floyd debuted on April 15 on MLB Tonight and Cora will make his MLB Network debut on MLB Tonight on May 6. Floyd’s previous experience in broadcasting includes serving as an expert host on “SiriusXM Fantasy Baseball” since 2011, as a pre- and postgame analyst for Marlins games on Fox Sports Florida, and as an analyst on NBC Sports Network’s “SportsTalk.” Last year, Cora also served as bench coach for the Miami Marlins…

…Sports Radio WFAN (660AM/101.9FM) has signed a long-term agreement with Mike Francesa, keeping hime as host of PM drive (weekdays, 1:00-6:30PM, ET) on the station for several years to come, according to a press release.  Francesa joined WFAN in 1987, the same year the station launched as the country’s first all-sports station. As part of the agreement, Francesa will also bring his long running Sunday morning “The NFL Now” show to CBS Sports Radio beginning this fall.  The program is broadcast live on WFAN from 9:00AM-12:00Noon, ET and will be available to more than 250 affiliate radio stations nationwide.