Behind the Mic: Players Join ESPN, CBS Sports for Super Bowl LIII Coverage; USA Women’s Hockey Star Kendall Coyne Schofield Serves as Analyst for Pens-Lightning

Behind the Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, NFL players join both CBS Sports and ESPN for programming leading up to Super Bowl LIII, Kendall Coyne Schofield provided analysis for NBC Sports’ broadcast of Penguins vs. Lightning, Fox Sports signs NASCAR analyst Ricky Craven and motorsports journalist Bob Pockrass, the network also discloses their broadcast team for PBC Fight Night, and SiriusXM Radio adds Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Danielle Trotta, and Brad Faxon.

Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen will be a special guest analyst on ESPN’s four-hour Postseason NFL Countdown pregame show (10 a.m. ET) for Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, Feb. 3. The three-time Pro Bowler will join host Suzy Kolber and analysts Louis Riddick and Steve Young on ESPN’s set at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Olsen, who played in Super Bowl 50, is making his second straight ESPN appearance on Super Bowl Sunday. A year ago, he joined Kolber, Riddick, and Young in Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII.

“We’re really fortunate to have Greg join our big Super Bowl Sunday Countdown pregame show for a second straight year. Greg has played in the Super Bowl, he has terrific insights on the game, and he knows the personnel of the Rams and Patriots and how these two teams match up,” says Seth Markman, ESPN vice president, production.

In addition to the stadium set led by Kolber, Sam Ponder will co-host Countdown from ESPN’s set location in Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta with Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Rex Ryan, and Charles Woodson. Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter will also contribute to the show, while Sal Paolantonio (Patriots) and Josina Anderson (Rams) will have the latest updates on the teams.

According to a tweet by Richard Deitsch, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller will be guest analysts on CBS Sports’ pregame show The Super Bowl Today…

…2018 Olympic gold medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield joined NBC Sports’ coverage for this week’s Wednesday Night Hockey matchup between the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Coyne, who currently plays for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), became the first woman to compete in an NHL All-Star Skills Competition event this past weekend when she participated in the fastest skater event.

Coyne was featured on NBC Sports’ commentary team throughout the night, joining NHL Live pre-game coverage, providing reaction and analysis during intermissions, and serving as an ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst, and booth analyst.

Coyne joined the broadcast team of John Forslund (play-by-play), U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) for the call from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Wednesday night…

…Ricky Craven, veteran NASCAR driver and longtime television analyst, joins the Fox NASCAR on-air team in 2019.

Craven, the 1991 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and multi-race winner across NASCAR’s three national divisions, lends his well-regarded perspective to NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, NASCAR practice and qualifying shows, and other weekend programming emanating from Fox Sports’ new virtual studio in Charlotte.

Prior to joining Fox Sports, Craven spent 11 years at ESPN (2008-2018) as a NASCAR analyst, frequently appearing on SportsCenter, NASCAR Now, and other news platforms, in addition to calling select Xfinity Series races through 2014…

…Award-winning motorsports journalist Bob Pockrass joins Fox Sports in 2019 as a Fox NASCAR insider.

Pockrass, the NASCAR industry’s beloved encyclopedia of racing knowledge, contributes breaking news, analysis, and inside information across Fox Sports’ linear and digital platforms, beginning with the season-opening Daytona Speedweeks.

Prior to joining Fox Sports, Pockrass, who has covered NASCAR since 1991, wrote for ESPN.com’s NASCAR and motorsports sections from 2015-2018. He also penned NASCAR stories for “The Sporting News” from 2012-2014 following his role as associate editor for “NASCAR Scene” and SceneDaily.com from 2003-2012.

Pockrass was twice honored as Writer of the Year by the National Motorsports Press Association (2009 and 2013) and has earned multiple writing awards. Also on two occasions, he was named to SI.com’s “Twitter 100” list of 100 “must-follow” sports personalities in 2011 and 2012. Pockrass has been called upon dozens of times as a NASCAR expert for television and radio interviews…

…Legendary boxers Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera join Fox Deportes as commentators for the highly-anticipated bout between three-time WBC Featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz and Rafael Rivera on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 8:00 PM ET.

Renowned play-by-play announcer Adrian Garcia Marquez, veteran boxing broadcaster Jaime Motta, and Emmy Award-winner Jessi Losada round out Fox Deportes’ boxing talent lineup…

…SiriusXM announced today that JR Motorsports owner Kelley Earnhardt Miller and veteran NASCAR reporter Danielle Trotta are teaming up to host a new weekly show on the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio channel. Beyond Racing will debut on Thursday, February 7, and air every Thursday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm ET.

Born into a racing dynasty that produced some of the greatest and most popular drivers in NASCAR history, Kelley Earnhardt Miller has achieved remarkable success in her own right to become one of the most successful owners in the sport. Alongside Trotta, Earnhardt Miller will offer unique perspective as a front office executive with a pedigree of racing excellence that extends beyond the track.

Considered one of the most prominent businesswomen in NASCAR today, Earnhardt Miller is the vice-president and co-owner of JR Motorsports. She oversees the company’s race team, management team, and business ventures for her brother, Dale Earnhardt Jr. JR Motorsports fields teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, and NASCAR Whelen All American Series for local late model cars, and has collected three of the last five NASCAR Xfinity Series championships.

In addition to the new show with Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Trotta, who has covered NASCAR for more than a decade, will be expanding her role on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in 2019. She will be the lead host for the 11:00 am to 1:00 pm show every weekday starting on Monday, February 4. Trotta’s co-host on the show weekdays will be two-time Daytona 500-winning crew chief Larry McReynolds…

…SiriusXM announced that Brad Faxon, an eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR, will host an exclusive new show on the SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio channel.

Just the Fax will debut this Monday, February 4, and air every Monday (4:00-5:00 pm ET) on Sirius channel 208, XM channel 92 and on the SiriusXM app. Faxon will discuss the most recent tournament news, interview, and chat with personalities from around the world of golf, and offer insight and instruction to those who listen or call into the show.

Faxon has won 11 total professional golf events worldwide and has played on two Ryder Cup teams. Throughout the 1990s he was perennially a top 20 golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking, and during that time he recorded top ten finishes in the Masters (T-9 in 1993), The Open Championship (7th in 1994) and PGA Championship (5th in 1995).

Throughout his career, Faxon has stood out as one of the best putters in the game. He led the PGA TOUR in putting average in 1996, 1999 and 2000 and he has counseled some of the top players in the world on techniques for improving their performance on the green.

In 2005, Faxon received one of golf’s highest honors when he received the Payne Stewart Award, which is given to a player who best exemplifies Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity, and sportsmanship.