Sports

NFL Network host apologizes after criticizing Tom Brady's broadcasting debut: 'I am rooting you on'

Published

2 years ago

September 9, 2024

NFL Network host apologizes after criticizing Tom Brady's broadcasting debut: 'I am rooting you on'

Tom Brady seemed a bit nervous.

That’s right. The man who won seven Super Bowls, earned three league MVP awards and set numerous quarterbacking records during a 23-year NFL career — not to mention sat there and withstood hours of raunchy barbs at his expense during a recent Netflix roast — didn’t completely kill it during his regular-season debut as a color commentator for Fox.

Working with play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt during the Dallas Cowboys-Cleveland Browns Week 1 matchup Sunday, Brady displayed the kind of football knowledge one would expect from the player largely regarded as the sport’s GOAT.

But one game into his 10-year, $375-million contract with Fox, Brady is being criticized for a delivery that seemed somewhat robotic and showing a level of emotion that resembled that shown by former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick during postgame news conferences.

Just before halftime, for example, Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey lined up to attempt a 71-yard field goal, after having a record-tying 66-yarder negated by a delay-of-game penalty. While Burkhardt marveled at the idea of even attempting a kick from such a distance, Brady commented on how the Cowboys need to be prepared in case the kick comes up short and, after the Browns called timeout, that “maybe everyone’s gonna rethink this one.”

The clip was shown on NFL Network’s “NFL RedZone,” with host Scott Hanson calling out Brady for his apparent lack of enthusiasm.

“Oh, come on,” Hanson said. “Brady’s gotta get more excited than that in the booth.”

On Monday morning, Hanson reposted a clip of his comment, along with an apology to Brady.

“This was unfair & inconsiderate by me,” Hanson wrote. “Yes, I was saying it tongue in cheek — but I didn’t calculate how it may come across. @TomBrady, I apologize. I promise I am rooting you on in this new venture!”

Incidentally, Brady’s analysis of the situation was correct. Dallas actually did rethink the field-goal attempt and instead ended the half with a Dak Prescott pass attempt to the end zone that fell incomplete and ended the half.

Another awkward moment occurred on camera, when Brady’s attempt at to fist bump with Mike Pereira wasn’t noticed for several seconds by the rules analyst. “Oh, don’t leave me hanging,” joked Brady, who was eventually bumped back by Pereira.

To be fair, Brady didn’t have a lot to work with during his regular-season debut as an NFL announcer. The game itself was a dud, with the Cowboys winning in blowout fashion.

Brady did have his moments, like when he made an apparent reference to Belichick in saying, “I played for a coach that didn’t mind cussing his players out,” then explained why he thought that wasn’t such a bad thing.

“If you want to be a great player, you want to be pushed, you want to be challenged, you want to be criticized,” Braday said.

He added: “I was the beneficiary of a lot of that hard coaching. … Discipline and accountability are mainstays in any successful organization, and I have no problem with any coaches that feel like they need to tell their player the truth, ‘cause you just don’t get a lot of truth all the time as an NFL player.”

Sports

Loyola wins Southern Section Division 1 lacrosse championship

Published

3 minutes ago

May 17, 2026

Press Room

Loyola wins Southern Section Division 1 lacrosse championship

There’s no denying that Loyola’s lacrosse program is best in Southern California and could be that way for years to come with the number of elite young players participating.

On Saturday night, the Cubs (16-3) won their latest Southern Section Division 1 championship with a 14-6 win over Santa Margarita. The Cubs have won three title since the sport was adopted as a championship event in the Southern Section. Defense has been Loyola’s strength all season.

Senior defenders Chase Hellie and Everett Rolph and junior goalkeeper William Russo led one of the best defenses in program history under coach Jimmy Borell.

Senior Cash Ginsberg finished with five goals and junior North Carolina commit Tripp King finished with two goals.

In girls Division 1, Mira Costa upset top-seeded Santa Margarita 12-6.

Sports

Napoleon Solo wins 151st Preakness Stakes

Published

11 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Press Room

Napoleon Solo wins 151st Preakness Stakes

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Napoleon Solo took home the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 151st running of the race.

The favorite in Taj Mahal, the 1 horse, was in the lead from the start until the final turn until Napoleon Solo made his move on the outside and took the lead at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal fell off, Iron Honor, the 9 horse, snuck up, but the effort ultimately was not enough.

Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and closed at 7-1. Iron Honor, at 8-1, finished second, with Chip Honcho fishing third after closing at 11-1. Ocelli, one of just three horses to run both the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Saturday’s Preakness, finished fourth at 8-1.

A Preakness branded starting gate is seen on track prior to the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, 2026 in Laurel, Maryland. For the first and only time, Laurel Park is hosting the Preakness Stakes which is the second race of the Triple Crown jewel due to the traditional home of the race of the Pimlico Race Course undergoing complete renovations. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

A $1 exacta paid out $53.60, while a $1 trifecta brought in $597.10. But someone out there is very lucky, as a $1 superhighfive – picking the top-five finishers in order – paid out $12,015.70.

Even moreso, a 20-cent Pick 6 – picking the winners of the six consecutive races, with the final being the Preakness, paid out $33,842.34.

The race was run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row. After Sovereignty did not run the Preakness last year – and wound up winning the Belmont Stakes – the training team of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Maryland race.

From 1960 to 2018, only three Derby winners did not run in the Preakness. Three Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in the last five years, and for the sixth time in eight years, for various reasons, the Triple Crown had already been impossible to accomplish by the time the Preakness even rolled around.

“I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.

Paco Lopez, right, atop Napoleon Solo, edges out Iron Honor, ridden by Flavien Prat, to win the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE

Only three horses from two weeks ago – Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt, were back at the Preakness. Corona de Oro, the 11 horse on Saturday, was scratched well ahead of the Derby, and Great White, who reared up and fell on his back after becoming startled shortly before entering the Derby gate, took the 13 post on Saturday.

The Preakness went off roughly 24 hours after a horse died following the completion of his very first race.

Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, came into the race as the favorite. However, he finished last in the race, which was won by another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact — and upon crossing the finish line, Hit Zero reportedly began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died.

The Preakness took place at Laurel Park as Pimlico undergoes renovations. It was the first time ever that Pimlico did not host the race, moving roughly 20 miles south.

Paco Lopez, atop Napoleon Solo, wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The Belmont Stakes, the final Triple Crown race, will take place on June 6. The race will return to Saratoga for a third year in a row as Belmont Park continues to be renovated.

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