And thus began the year of Tirico
Plus: How QB ratings really work, who's the real MVP, and why I'm rooting for Ole Miss
Happy New Year! Here are six sports business items worthy of your attention at the start of the week…
What Kept Me Up Last Night 🏈: 2026 officially had its first game-of-the-year candidate as the Steelers and Ravens seesawed their way into a classic game 272 of the NFL season. Afterwards, the man getting the most acclaim, at least on my timeline, was Mike Tirico.
Sunday kicked off a massive stretch for NBC’s top gamecaller. He’ll also present the Super Bowl in February, before immediately turning his attention to the Winter Olympics. After all that’s done, Tirico will presumably reclaim his role as NBC’s lead NBA play-by-play announcer. Let’s hope the games keep delivering for him (and the rest of us).
What I Got Wrong 📆: In the middle of Sunday Night Football, the NFL released its Wild Card weekend schedule—a fun present for us sports media nerds. The league’s slate is determined by all sorts of hidden factors like trying to ensure even rest for teams, but it also is dictated by how executives view teams’ popularity—and how best they can keep their (many) network partners happy. The biggest surprise for me? Amazon Prime Video getting what seems like the best game of the week—at least for now.12
Sportico Story of the Week🏅: Thanks to everyone who took our year-end news quiz. The test is still open if you missed it, but shout-out to the anonymous respondent who got 18 of 25 correct. That was our top score! Logan and Isaac tied with 16 apiece among named quiz-takers. Congrats!
Here was the hardest question, with fewer than 15% of you getting it right.
Non-Sportico Story Video of the Week 📹: Peyton Manning and Kirk Cousins—finally—explain how passer ratings are calculated. Who knows what’s next for Cousins, but I think he’s got a long career ahead of him as a Manning sidekick if he wants it.
What Confused Me ❓: Speaking of opaque, QB-related metrics, what’s going on with this year’s MVP race? Over the last seven days, Drake Maye surpassed Matthew Stafford as the odds-on favorite, only to lose frontrunner status on Sunday after both QBs had strong performances. What’s going on here?
Why I’m Rooting for Ole Miss 🅾️: Much has been made about college football’s unlikely Final Four, featuring three schools that have never been national champions and Miami, which hasn’t won since 2001. Indiana has been an amazing story, for sure, but I’m rooting for the Rebels (😬) because of how they’re continuing to expose the insanity of modern college football.
A coaching staff that seems to change by the day. A QB who could sue the NCAA if he’s not granted another year of eligibility. Somehow, The U represents the status quo in Thursday’s semifinal showdown (7:30 pm ET, ESPN).
There’s no way March will be this Mad.
Club Sportico is a community organized by Sportico, a digital media company launched in 2020 to cover the business side of sports. You can read breaking news, smart analysis, and in-depth features from Eben, Jacob and their colleagues at Sportico.com, and listen to the Sporticast podcast wherever you get your audio. Contact us at club@sportico.com.
Reminder that “Super Wild Card” (2020-2024) is no more. But that’s a discussion for the sports marketing nerds.
Eben (Jags fan) here: That Saturday afternoon game is always reserved for the matchup fewest want to watch. I know Jacksonville drew the Bills, who have America’s favorite quarterback, but it’s a true shock not to see them in that slot. Duuuuuuval! The Texans were similarly surprised.