Behind the Mic: Marv Albert To Call Team USA for NBC in Rio; ESPN Re-Ups Chris McKendry, Todd McShay

Legendary basketball play-by-play broadcaster Marv Albert will return to the Olympics to call Team USA men’s basketball for the first time since the U.S. men captured gold in Atlanta in 1996. He will be joined by former NBA head coach and 1972 U.S. Olympian Doug Collins, and reporter Craig Sager, working his fifth consecutive Olympics for NBC. NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad begins from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Friday, August 5. The 2016 Rio Olympics mark Albert’s fifth NBC Olympics assignment and third calling men’s basketball, as he was courtside to chronicle the gold medal-winning U.S. “Dream Team” in Barcelona in 1992. Albert also called Olympic boxing for NBC in 1988, 1996, and 2000. Collins and Sager each take on his fifth consecutive Olympic broadcasting assignment, since the 2000 Sydney Games.  
Coverage of Team USA women’s basketball will be handled by CSN-Philadelphia’s Marc Zumoff (play-by-play) and 1976 U.S. Olympian Ann Meyers (analyst). They will be joined by reporter Ros Gold-Onwude, who works Golden State Warriors telecasts for CSN-Bay Area…

… Mary Carillo and Jimmy Roberts will have prominent roles as NBC Olympics correspondents. With 27 Olympics between them, Carillo and Roberts will chronicle the stories of the day, offer essays, and present feature stories from a wide variety of locales ranging from the rainforest to the beach, and stopping many places in between…

…ESPN has reached an agreement with Chris McKendry in which the longtime SportsCenter anchor and host of live events including the Little League World Series will focus on tennis, continuing to front ESPN’s start-to-finish and extensive coverage of three of the sport’s Majors – the Australian and US Opens and Wimbledon. Her final SportsCenter was on March 31 and included a special segment looking back on McKendry’s time with the show. McKendry joined ESPN in 1996 as a SportsCenter anchor, adding a wide variety of assignments over the years – the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee; the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.; the Winter X Games and serving as a sideline reporter at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in addition to tennis, which also included the French Open for many years…

…NFL Draft and college football analyst Todd McShay has signed a multi-year agreement to remain with ESPN. McShay will continue to be a prominent year-round voice, providing analysis across ESPN television networks, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. McShay will continue to make regular appearances on NFL Insiders, NFL Live, and SportsCenter in advance of the 2016 NFL Draft (April 28-30). During the NFL Draft, he will provide analysis forSportsCenter before and after Round 1, and he will join colleague Mel Kiper, Jr. on ESPN’s main set for Rounds 2-7. As part of his new deal, McShay will continue working on ESPN and ABC college football telecasts in the fall. He will also contribute to ESPN’s on-site coverage of top football events throughout the year, including the College Football Playoff National Championship, Senior Bowl, NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, NFL Scouting Combine, NFL Pro Days and more…

…CTV and TSN added decorated Canadian golfer Mike Weir as a special guest analyst for this year’s Masters Tournament. As the only Canadian to ever win the prestigious Green Jacket, Weir joined CTV and TSN to contribute his unique perspective on the Tournament. Weir will also appear as part of daily panels on TSN’s SPORTSCENTRE…

Nick Wright, the popular morning drive time talk show host for sports talk station KILT (610 AM) in Houston, has left the CBS Radio outlet next month to join Fox Sports in Los Angeles. Wright, who has hosted KILT’s morning show with John Lopez since 2012, said he will have a regular role on a Fox Sports 1 weekday show. His final show on KILT was on April 8. (Houston Chronicle)…

…FOX Sports Southeast announced that in addition to Joe Simpson celebrating 25 years in the Braves TV booth this season, where he will join Chip Caray, the network is also adding Kelsey Wingert as a game reporter. Braves coverage plans for Opening Day on April 4 will feature over 13 hours of Braves-related content throughout the day, including a special two-hour Braves LIVE! pregame show from Turner Field at 2p, followed by the Braves hosting the Nationals at 4p. (Cynopsis Sports)…

…Alison Bender has expanded her role at ESPN FC as its UK-based football presenter and reporter, contributing daily content, analysis and breaking news on Premier League, European and world football. In the expanded role, Bender will appear regularly on ESPN FC’s daily global football program, as well as contributing video reports and interviews for ESPNFC.com Bender will also serve in various hosting and reporting duties surrounding ESPN’s EURO 2016 coverage, including ESPN FC’s EURO After Dark, a digital-exclusive show. She will also contribute to ESPN’s coverage of the 2016 Olympics in Rio…

SiriusXM and IGN are teaming up to produce a new daily esports satellite radio show, which debuted on Monday, April 11 and will air live every weekday (7:00-8:00 pm ET) on the SiriusXM Bleacher Report Radio channel. Hosted by IGN’s Kevin Knocke, IGN Esports Today will give gamers the opportunity to call in on a live show that provides up-to-the-moment news and analysis. The show will also tackle the industry’s marquee competitions featuring League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Street Fighter V, Call of Duty and more.

SiriusXM announced that Brian Stann, a former UFC middleweight contender and veteran of the United States Marine Corps, will host a new weekly show on SiriusXM’s combat sports and entertainment channel, SiriusXM Rush (channel 93). Toe-2-Toe with Brian Stann will debut on April 12 and air every Tuesday from 6:00 to 8:00 pm ET.