Behind the Mic: Peter King Re-Ups With SI, Craig Sager Says Cancer Is No Longer in Remission

Peter King has signed a multiyear contract extension with the Sports Illustrated Group. King will continue in his role as Editor of TheMMQB.com football destination launched in 2013. King, Three-time National Sportswriter of the Year and one of the most-followed journalists (with 1.7 million Twitter followers), joined Sports Illustrated in 1989. In other sad Behind the Mic news Turner Sports’ Crag Sager says his cancer has returned for a third time and Hall of Fame announcer Joe Garagiola passed away last week at the age of 90. Meanwhile, Tony Siragusa is out as an NFL Analyst at Fox, while Matt Hasselbeck signed on with ESPN earlier this month (signaling the end of the NFL Countdown line for Mike Ditka, though he re-upped with the network in a SportsCenter-focused role).

SI’s Peter King

After his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback column for SI.com became an extremely popular read, SI and King launched a year-round digital destination—TheMMQB.com— in 2013, where a team of journalists deliver multimedia NFL coverage from around the league…

…Turner Sports’ Craig Sager announced last week that his cancer has returned for a third time. In statement, Sager said: “I’m grateful to HBO for telling my story and I’d like to thank everyone for their ongoing support.  I have acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive type of cancer. The typical prognosis is 3-6 months to live, but I would like to stress that is for a patient who is not receiving treatment.  Fortunately, I am receiving the best treatment in the world and I remain fully confident I will win this battle.”…

…In more sad news, Hall of Fame announcer Joe Garagiola died last week in Arizona at the age of 90. Best remembered as a part of NBC’s national broadcasting team from 1961 to ’88, Garagiola spent nine years in the major leagues as a catcher from ’46 to ’54 and went on to became one of the most iconic American broadcasters of the modern era. Between pre-game and in-game duty, Garagiola was part of NBC’s television broadcast team for 18 World Series from 1961 to ’88. He later called Diamondbacks games from 1998 to 2012. In addition to calling baseball he served two separate stints on NBC’s Today Show (from 1967 to ’73 and ’90 to ’92), was an occasional guest host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, hosted multiple game shows on the network, and co-hosted the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on the USA Network from 1994 to 2002. (SI.com)…

NFL analyst Tony Siragusa is out at Fox, according to the Big Lead. The former Colts and Ravens defensive tackle had been a broadcaster there for nearly a decade and was most notable for serving on the sidelines during the broadcast rather than in the booth. He spent eight of those seasons supplementing the announce team of Daryl Johnston and Kenny Albert; this past season he worked with Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis. (The Big Lead)…

…Earlier this month, NFL quarterback Matthew Hasselbeck announced his retirement from pro football after 18 season and immediately joined ESPN as a NFL analyst. The three-time Pro Bowler who played his final NFL season for the Indianapolis Colts in 2015, will be part of Sunday NFL Countdown andMonday Night Countdown. Beginning this fall, Hasselbeck will appear on Sundays from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios, and he will travel to the site of the weekly Monday Night Football game for the Countdownpregame show. Hasselbeck will also make occasional appearances on other ESPN studio shows and platforms, including NFL Live where he will work alongside his younger brother Tim, the former NFL quarterback who has been an ESPN studio analyst since 2008. Hasselbeck is the second major addition to ESPN’s NFL roster this offseason, joining nine-time Pro Bowler Charles Woodson, who will also be part of both Countdown shows…

…In a related move ESPN NFL analyst Mike Ditka signed a two-year extension to remain at ESPN in a new role as a contributor to SportsCenter. Hasselbeck will takeover Ditka’s previous role on NFL Countdown, however. Ditka will contribute to the network’s flagship news and information program on a year-round basis beginning in September. Ditka has been part of ESPN’s commentator team since 2004…

…Veteran national TV anchor Robert Flores has joined MLB Network and NHL Network as a studio host and will appear across both networks’ programming. Flores made his debut on MLB Tonight on March 21, followed his debut as host of NHL Tonight for on March 23. As part of the digital media rights partnership between the NHL and MLB Advanced Media, NHL Network’s daily on-air operations are based out of MLB Network’s headquarters in Secaucus, N.J. Further, Flores will have a key presence across digital media properties, including MLB.com and Sports On Earth. Flores joins MLB Network and NHL Network from ESPN, where he most recently anchored SportsCenter, ABC’s College Football Studio Updates, and ESPN2’s Fantasy Football Now. Flores joined ESPN in 2005 as an ESPNews anchor and later contributed to a variety of studio shows, including Baseball Tonight, NBA Fastbreak, and Friday Night Fights…

… Michele Tafoya, Emmy Award-winning sideline reporter for NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football, will join Golf Channel’s coverage team as a reporter for the 2016 Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, airing live from Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday, April 3. Tafoya will report from on the grounds at Augusta, conducting interviews with juniors from across the U.S. and Canada having advanced into the 80-person field (boys and girls, age 7-15) by way of local qualifying, subregional and regional qualifying events. A part of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, she’ll also lend her voice to narrate select feature stories, providing viewers with a closer look at the personalities of a few competitors in the field…

…Turner Sports and CBS Sports has continued the tradition of bringing in high-profile coaches from teams that have already been eliminated for its NCAA Tournament coverage. Virginia Tech men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams served as guest studio analyst in the Atlanta studio for Regional Semifinals coverage on (March 24-25), while Johnny Dawkins joined the New York studio team and and Vanderbilt University men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings joined the Atlanta team during the second round (March 19-20). In addition, Georgia State University men’s basketball coach Ron Hunter served as guest studio analyst for the first round (March 17-18)…

…Magic Johnson is getting back into the talk show game with a new program called Magic in the Making on the ASPiRE network. Launched in 2012 by Magic Johnson Enterprises, the ASPiRE network aims to bring “authentic portrayals of Black and urban culture through stories of Heritage, Heart and Humor.” The programming consists of movies, specials, and series on a variety of subjects including music, comedy, faith/inspiration, theater/performing arts, lifestyle, and news. The goal is always the same: to inspire its audience. Up until now, Magic himself had not been featured on the network. This month he gives it try. Magic in the Making premiered on March 28 with first guest will be Misty Copeland, the American Ballet Theatre’s first African-American female principal dancer. (Inquisitr)…

… Joy Taylor, the former host and well-known South Florida sports radio personality, made her national television debut on FS1 on March 17 with a fill-in appearance on The Herd With Colin Cowher. She joined Cowherd for the entire show March 17-18, performing spot duty in the role normally performed by Kristine Leahy. A Pittsburgh native and the younger sister of former Miami Dolphins star Jason Taylor, Joy Taylor joins FS1 after spending the last five years in Miami radio including a successful three-year stint at 790 AM The Ticket, where she started as a show producer and worked her way up to eventually becoming a co-host for the station’s top-rated morning-drive program, “The Ticket Morning Show.”…

…Combat sports personality and broadcaster Mauro Ranallo is now the host of INSIDE MMA, the longest running and only independent MMA news series on television (he premiered as host on March 25). A veteran broadcaster with over 30 years’ experience, Ranallo will will host INSIDE MMA alongside UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten and correspondent Ron Kruck Friday nights following AXS TV FIGHTS’ weekly live MMA and Muay Thai broadcasts. Ranallo is best known for his play-by-play commentary for Pride Fighting Championships, Showtime Boxing, and Strikeforce. In 2015, Ranallo helped AXS TV launch its hit pro wrestling series NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING calling matches alongside former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett, before signing with WWE as the new voice of Smackdown…

… MLS digital star Rachel Bonnetta has joined FOX Sports to become the newest member of their video show The Buzzer. Bonnetta, who began her career at Toronto FC as host of their video channel, joined MLSsoccer.com in early 2015 to be the face of their digital network. During 2015, she became one of the brightest stars off the field at MLS, scoring several memorable interviews and segments, as well as hosting the MLS Now and Off Topic With Rachel Bonnetta shows. (World Soccer Talk)…

…SiriusXM has launched of a new national show pairing up-and-coming broadcaster Jac Collinsworth, a current junior at Notre Dame and son of broadcaster Cris Collinsworth, and veteran Rutgers University football/men’s basketball play-by-play man and SNY personality Chris Carlin on SiriusXM’s 24/7 college sports channel. The Student Section will speak to and for younger generations of fans about the topics and issues that are important to them in today’s college sports world, and will feature both Collinsworth’s perspective as a college-aged observer and Carlin’s experience from more than two decades of covering college sports. The show debuted March 14 and will air every Monday from 7:00 to 9:00 pm ET on SiriusXM College Sports Nation (channel 84)…

…Ten journalists have joined the editorial staff of The Undefeated, ESPN’s upcoming content initiative for exploring the intersections of race, sports and culture. The additions include two acclaimed writers, Marc Spears (Yahoo! Sports) and Jill Hudson (National Geographic); and two senior editors – Winston-Salem Journal Managing Editor John X. Miller and Bleacher Report’s special projects editor, Vincent Thomas. Other additions to the editorial team include hibu’s Karin Berry, former Washington Post sports intern Aaron Dodson, ESPN.com’s Kelley Evans, ESPN’s Maya Jones, ESPN The Magazine’s Ashley Melfi, and recent University of Maryland journalism graduate Rhiannon Walker.