Latest news with #Nantz
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Legendary announcer says Chiefs' Thanksgiving matchup with the Cowboys will set records
During a recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, top CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz shared his thoughts on the Thanksgiving game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. The CBS Sports broadcast is expected to break regular-season viewership records, potentially. 'K.C. and Dallas, to put those two gigantic brands together on the most-watched day of the regular season in the NFL, it's gonna set records,' said Nantz. 'That's not what I'm out for it to do. I just hope it's a great football game. It will be a wonderful matchup to call on Thanksgiving. K.C. at Dallas, it's the game we wanted.' The current ratings record was set three seasons ago, as 42.1 million watched Dallas defeat the New York Giants 28-20. The Chiefs have earned a reputation for getting viewers tuned in over their Super Bowl runs, and Thanksgiving this season should set a new standard for the league. Advertisement The Cowboys and the Detroit Lions continue their tradition as Thanksgiving staples, while the Chiefs played on Black Friday last season and will continue their streak of Christmas Day games in 2025. This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Jim Nantz says Chiefs vs. Cowboys will set Thanksgiving records
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Legendary announcer says Chiefs' Thanksgiving matchup with the Cowboys will set records
Legendary announcer says Chiefs' Thanksgiving matchup with the Cowboys will set records During a recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, top CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz shared his thoughts on the Thanksgiving game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. The CBS Sports broadcast is expected to break regular-season viewership records, potentially. 'K.C. and Dallas, to put those two gigantic brands together on the most-watched day of the regular season in the NFL, it's gonna set records,' said Nantz. 'That's not what I'm out for it to do. I just hope it's a great football game. It will be a wonderful matchup to call on Thanksgiving. K.C. at Dallas, it's the game we wanted.' The current ratings record was set three seasons ago, as 42.1 million watched Dallas defeat the New York Giants 28-20. The Chiefs have earned a reputation for getting viewers tuned in over their Super Bowl runs, and Thanksgiving this season should set a new standard for the league. The Cowboys and the Detroit Lions continue their tradition as Thanksgiving staples, while the Chiefs played on Black Friday last season and will continue their streak of Christmas Day games in 2025.
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jim Nantz has a new calling: First Tee
Jim Nantz has a new calling: First Tee Jim Nantz has a new calling in life. On Friday, the longtime voice of CBS Sports for the PGA Tour and NFL was named the honorary chair of First Tee. 'I thought it was one of the ultimate ways I could give back to the game of golf,' said Nantz of First Tee, a youth development organization that enables kids to build character through the game of golf. 'I say that from my 35,000-foot view. I'll try to help that process of seeding the program, advancing the program and spreading the message of love and empowerment and building character and all the virtues that the game espouses that are aligned with what the First Tee's initiative is. It's not just about trying to create the next Tiger Woods or Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy as a player; it's about life lessons and introducing the game to people and seeing that it can help them for a lifetime in all walks of life. I've been a big believer since 1997.' That was the year then-PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem helped launch First Tee, which has grown into a network of 150 chapters and serves more than 3.1 million kids annually. The news comes as the youth development organization celebrates First Tee Week nationwide, a campaign to recognize coaches and their impact on participants and their communities. Nantz, whose distinguished broadcasting career spans more than four decades, becomes the third honorary chair in First Tee's history, following President George W. Bush (2011-2024) and President George H.W. Bush (1997-2010). As such, Nantz will help promote First Tee's purpose and expand its reach to empower even more young people. It's a role that should come as second nature for Nantz, who has spoken to chapters of First Tee across the country for 28 years. 'Never before in any official capacity until now,' he said. 'To be asked to carry the legacy forward of the two who have filled this role, both of whom are very special people in my life both of whom served this country at the highest level – President Bush 41, President Bush 43 – so to be the third to walk in their footsteps, to carry it forward, to have their fingerprints on it, I hope I can make a difference as they have.' Nantz knows first-hand from his own close relationship with the Bush family what being associated with First Tee meant to them. 'He took this on and made it really important in his life,' Nantz said of George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States. 'When Bush 43 finished his second term, 41 suggested he take on the role. He saw the satisfaction it brought his father and he served the organization with distinction.' When First Tee leadership discussed who should take the reins from President George W. Bush, No. 43, it didn't have to think too hard. Bush 43 recommended Nantz for the job. When PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and First Tee Executive Director Greg McLaughlin reached out to Nantz, he said he thought they might ask him to speak at its national meeting. 'Lo and behold, they dropped this on me,' Nantz said. He asked for some time to think about taking on the role because Nantz already is one of the hardest-working men in sports and is devoted to charitable causes, most notably the Nantz National Alzheimer's Center. He spends time speaking to raise awareness and fundraising to push the various initiatives of the research facility that bears his father's name. How could he make the two of them work? It didn't take long to figure out a plan. When he accepted, he was informed that President Bush, '43,' waited for a phone call. 'I'll try to find a way to make you proud,' he said. The former President expressed confidence in his successor: 'For the past 13 years, it has been my privilege to support First Tee's mission to develop young people of character. Jim Nantz brings passion, integrity and a deep love for golf to this role. His voice has narrated historic moments in the sport, and now that same voice will help inspire a new generation. My father would be proud that our friend is following in our footsteps, and I look forward to seeing First Tee's continued impact under Jim's leadership.' Nantz's CBS colleague Dottie Pepper called his new role 'a perfect fit,' and touched on another reason why the timing is right for Nantz to be involved with the youth development program – his son, Jameson. 'I think he's really fallen back in love with the game through his son's love of the game and seeing the impact it's had on him,' Pepper said. Nantz said he intends to be at First Tee's national meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif., in September, and that his duties are still being defined, but he knows this: he wants to give back even more than he had been to the game that has given him so much. 'I hope in some fashion that I can help other kids foster and identify their dreams,' he said.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
CBS Personally Begs Aaron Rodgers To Sign With Steelers
The NFL's schedule release has come and gone, and now fans and the media get to dig in to what it all means. And for the media meaning the networks? What they dig most of all is ratings. That's why Jim Nantz, CBS's top play-by-play commentator, is going public with a humorous plea to Aaron Rodgers to get off his butt and sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers already. Advertisement "We have a heavy Pittsburgh influence on our schedule," Nantz said in an appearance on NFL Network. "There's a lot there to like about the Steelers, especially if they're good. ... I don't know if you're watching, Aaron Rodgers. I hope you are. But I want you to know ... just a few of my colleagues and some friends, we wanna see you in the Steel City this season.' Nantz is trying to be funny. But ratings and revenue are no joke. From a football perspective? There's a real chance veteran Mason Rudolph starts for Pittsburgh in 2025. Maybe that works out. ...Though the painfully patient Steelers clearly feel they are a better team with Rodgers on the roster. Advertisement And the league clearly feels they're a more entertaining team with Rodgers under center, too. The 41-year-old passer and four-time NFL MVP is a walking, talking, drama-filled drawing card. That's what Nantz is really saying here. "We need the Steelers to be good," Nantz said. "They need you. I saw you play last year. ... I know you can still play. You get doubled-up with Mike Tomlin and T.J. Watt on that defense. I think it'd be a great thing. Let's get this thing done. "I'm just making a personal appeal: We want you, we need you, and we look forward to seeing you." Related: Aaron Rodgers Bad Information Mars Steelers Schedule Release Related: Jon Gruden Sends Message on Steelers Picking QB Will Howard in NFL Draft
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jim Nantz Gets Honest About Steelers
The NFL's schedule release is an event entirely for the fans, but players are obviously tuned in, too. Between bye weeks and prime-time games, there are plans to be made. That extends to commentators as well. Those of us at home on Sundays have the privilege of changing the channel or tuning into the Red Zone Channel to avoid a bleak game or unfavorable slate. A brave few might find a nice fall activity to fill the afternoon, like going to the pumpkin patch. Advertisement The poor souls in the broadcast booth don't have that opportunity, giving them a vested interest in the schedule release. Among them is Jim Nantz, CBS's top play-by-play commentator. With CBS getting the bulk of AFC games, he's bound to get a handful of Pittsburgh Steelers games on his docket. Subsequently, Nantz had a request for the Steelers after the schedule release. "We have a heavy Pittsburgh influence on our schedule," Nantz said on NFL Network Wednesday (h/t CBS Sports). "There's a lot there to like about the Steelers, especially if they're good. ... [So] I don't know if you're watching, Aaron Rodgers. I hope you are. But I want you to know ... [that] just a few of my colleagues and some friends, we wanna see you in the Steel City this season.' Advertisement Some have taken issue with Nantz's quip, but the announcer was having fun with a situation almost everyone agrees on. There's a real chance veteran Mason Rudolph starts for Pittsburgh in 2025, and with that comes the possibility of him finding real success. But nobody wants to go down that path, and for good reason. The Steelers are a better team with Rodgers on the roster. They're a more entertaining team with Rodgers under center, too. The 41-year-old passer might continue Pittsburgh's trudge through quarterback purgatory. Still, there is upside in the unknown. If there's an option that has even a slim chance of helping the Steelers look like an AFC contender, it's Rodgers. "We need the Steelers to be good," Nantz said. "They need you. I saw you play last year. ... I know you can still play. You get doubled-up with Mike Tomlin and T.J. Watt on that defense. I think it'd be a great thing. Let's get this thing done. I'm just making a personal appeal: We want you, we need you, and we look forward to seeing you." Advertisement Nantz joked that his CBS colleagues would be willing to pay Rodgers seven figures to finalize the deal. In a conference with five titans at quarterback and several budding stars, Pittsburgh is inherently one of the lesser options to watch in the AFC. Rodgers, if nothing else, gives the Steelers some storylines to speculate about. Related: 3 Reasons Why Steelers Should Start Will Howard Related: ESPN Power Rankings Perpetuates Steelers' Status Quo
