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🏛️ FCC what’s going on. On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a public notice seeking comment on the ongoing fragmentation of sports broadcasting between traditional television platforms, such as over-the-air broadcast networks and cable channels, and paid streaming services, such as Prime Video and Netflix.

🏒 Spain on America. The Donald Trump administration’s embrace of the U.S. men’s hockey team this week has turned a historic, unifying sports moment into a political controversy. On Wednesday, iHeartMedia sports commentator Sarah Spain put out perhaps the most powerful rebuke of the men’s team yet in a nine-minute video ripping them for leaning into outdated stereotypes and taking the easy way out rather than taking a stand for their fellow hockey stars on the women’s team.

❤️ Duguay's diagnosis. Legendary New York Rangers player and broadcaster Ron Duguay has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. The 68-year-old says the cancer started in his colon about a year ago. Duguay added that he has since lost his appendix and gallbladder. As Duguay, who is dating former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, deals with the mounting costs of surgeries and treatment, his daughters set up a GoFundMe to help.

🎙️ R.I.P., Boomer. Jim “Boomer” Gordon, the longtime SiriusXM NHL Network Radio host, has died after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 55. SiriusXM NHL Network Radio shared the news of his passing on X, writing, “We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of our friend and SiriusXM NHL Network Radio host Jim Boomer Gordon. After a courageous battle with cancer, Boomer passed away this week, surrounded by his loved ones. He will be greatly missed by us all, on and off the air.”

For their coverage of Super Bowl LX in the Bay Area, NBC sent Tony Dungy, Jac Collinsworth, and Rodney Harrison to Alcatraz. It was, it appears, a harbinger.

According to a report by Andrew Marchand in The Athletic, Dungy is “likely out as a regular on Football Night in America as NBC has plans to “revamp” the NFL pregame show for next season.

This was not very surprising news to us.

Last year, our Drew Lerner wrote about how Football Night in America was in serious need of a refresh. In recent years, Dungy’s role has been part of a satellite studio alongside analyst Rodney Harrison and reporter Jac Collinsworth, separate from the main panel at NBC Sports’ Stamford, CT, headquarters. The two separate panels have made for a disjointed viewing experience, especially given the show's condensed nature compared to other pregame programs.

According to Marchand, Dungy’s impending dismissal “is one of the first decisions in what is anticipated to be a new-look show.” It seems the rest of the secondary panel could be in danger as well. “The network may take the show fully on the road next season and slim down its large cast,” the report reads.

Why would Dungy be the first to get tapped on the shoulder? While the 70-year-old Super Bowl-winning head coach has been a steady hand for NBC since 2009, he's developed a reputation for being a little too steady. Not one for hot takes or for going out on a limb, his milquetoast analysis tends to fade into the background.

He also didn’t help matters with the way he handled the fallout from the Bill Belichick Hall of Fame vote. The Hall of Fame coach-turned-analyst was part of the 50-person committee that kept Bill Belichick from being a first-ballot inductee. Dungy could have offered a unique perspective as both a voter and an NBC analyst covering the NFL. Instead, he cowered behind an oath that doesn't exist, twice declining to reveal how he voted.

One could imagine NBC thinking, "If you’re not willing to go out on a limb for this, what are we keeping you here for?” (Or maybe they just really listen to what Michael Kay says.)

So what happens now for FNIA? Contracts for “many” of the Football Night in America cast ended following the Super Bowl, per Marchand. The show currently consists of analysts Dungy, Harrison, Devin McCourty, Jason Garrett, and Chris Simms, alongside host Maria Taylor, Collinsworth, insider Mike Florio, fantasy expert Matthew Berry, and stats guru Steve Kornacki.

There’s also the looming possibility that they are making room on that 10-person panel for Mike Tomlin or another big name. And if that were the case, why not consider starting from scratch to remake the bones of what makes your pregame show stand out from the crowd?

They might not be able to match ESPN’s star power, Prime’s youth movement, or Fox’s big personalities. But there’s an opportunity for NBC to create a real identity for itself beyond "the one with the most people.” Moving on from Dungy (or at the very least moving him into an emeritus role) is a good first step. Replacing some of its other longstanding analysts and hosts with more personality-forward options is the ideal next one.

“Yeah, I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke, and unfortunately, that is overshadowing a lot of the success… We’re just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continue to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men’s and women’s at the same time. And really not detract from that with a distasteful joke.” - Team USA women’s captain Hilary Knight on Donald Trump and his “joke” with the men’s team.

“Tirico [is] amazing. To do so many different events, as we all know [he] did the Super Bowl and then flew over and was hosting the Olympics. I’ve talked to Mike [and] I’m like, ‘It’s OK to say no, just once in a while.’ But he’s incredible.” - ESPN’s Joe Buck praising NBC's Mike Tirico

“Y’all decided to go all the way, full-on props for the president. You pawns, you sad little pawns. What are you doing? And you guys will probably get to live a white, cushy, privileged enough life that you’ll never even have to answer for how embarrassing this is to do.” - WFAN’s Peter Rosenberg on the U.S. men’s hockey team.

“While we did a terrific rating, I’ve been told by reliable sources in the broadcasting business that the rating could’ve been twice as high.” - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on the USA-Canada gold medal game’s awkward start time.

“I will tell you that 99% of the time, it just happens.” - Jim Nantz on his famous calls

“The whining is back to peak Dallas levels. It’s every f*cking play! Just play man! Not everything is a foul. Are you playing to draw a foul or playing basketball? Which one are you doing? Are you playing 1-on-1 with the refs? It’s every possession now. It’s completely out of control. It’s unwatchable.” - The Ringer’s Zach Lowe on Luka Dončić.

On the latest episode of The Play-By-Play, the U.S. men's hockey team joined the State of the Union address after winning gold at the Olympics. Plus, a closer look at ESPN launching Women's Sports Sundays in place of Sunday Night Baseball.

Following historic viewership for the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics that saw NBC earn 18.6 million viewers, it’s tempting to assume the NHL is about to enjoy a ratings bump. History suggests otherwise.

Last year, the Canada-United States final in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, like this year’s Olympics, also drew a historic U.S. audience. The game averaged 9.3 million viewers, the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game in the modern era. However, interest in the sport didn’t translate into meaningful support for the NHL.

The first games after the 4 Nations tournament, a Capitals-Penguins and Wild-Red Wings doubleheader on ABC, averaged 1.02 million viewers, about the same figures the network pulled for a Golden Knights-Bruins and Lightning-Red Wings doubleheader right before 4 Nations, which averaged 1.12 million viewers.

Overall, regular-season NHL viewership was up 5% after the 4 Nations tournament compared to the same period in 2024. However, it’s unclear how much of that was directly related to the tournament. TNT saw the biggest viewership increase, but that also coincided with additional coverage of Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record. The game in which Ovechkin broke the record, which aired on TNT, averaged 905,000 viewers, the most-watched regular-season non-Winter Classic game on the network.

Click to read more from Manny Soloway on why the Olympics aren’t set up particularly well to support leagues that send players.