We have officially reached the run-up to the biggest sporting event of the year — Super Bowl LX — and T.J. Rives is joined by Awful Announcing’s Ken Fang to talk all things involving the big game on the Last Word on Sports Media Podcast.
Shocking Belichick Snub For Hall of Fame
Both T.J. and Ken surprised writers kept former Patriots coach out on first ballot
The word also leaked Tuesday that former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, on the Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, was not elected to the class of 2026. Both T.J. and Ken expressed surprise if not shock that the coach with more Super Bowl wins and appearances will not be heading to Canton this year.
“You have to look at his record, and the record is he’s got to be considered, if not the greatest coach in the top two or three,” Ken noted. “Winner of six Super Bowls, coordinator of two for the New York Giants, the master plan to beat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.”
Rumors of voters upset with change in eligibility helping Belichick
The guys also address the report from Mike Sando of The Athletic saying that some voters may have voted against the former New England Patriots coach because the rules for Hall of Fame eligibility for head coaches had been reduced from five years to one. Ken says that he read Sando’s theory and that it certainly seems “reasonable.”
“Sando’s point I think is very valid,” he told T.J. “Thinking that some media members decided, ‘Hey I need to get some of these veteran guys in,’ and then ‘Oh we left the guy who was the most obvious choice off.'”
Talking Broadcast Pairings Leading Into Super Bowl
With both Fox and CBS wrapping up their game coverage for the 2025 NFL season this past week, T.J. and Ken looked at the comparison between the network’s top color analysts: Fox’s Tom Brady and CBS’s Tony Romo. T.J. has been critical of Romo, saying he “seems so disengaged.” Ken has not been as critical, but even he thinks that Brady has taken the next step forward.
“I will admit that I was not a Tom Brady fan in the first season that he was doing this,” Ken said. “But I think he surpassed Romo. I think he’s done a fantastic job this season.”
As for who is the best in the business when it comes to color commentary, Ken says Brady still isn’t at the top, but he’s now on the podium.
“I would take [NBC’s Cris] Collinsworth, [ESPN’s Troy] Aikman, and Brady in that order right now,” he told T.J. “I think that they’re fantastic.”
T.J. also discusses Bob Costas’ return to NBC for their baseball coverage and Brooks Koepka deciding to leave the LIV Tour and return to the PGA.
