Jim O’Donnell: Bears-Commanders will not answer, whatever happened to Tony Romo?
IF THE BROADCAST CAREER OF TONY ROMO could be capsulized as a Daily Racing Form chart call, the running line would read:
“Broke with impressive speed to easily clear field. Reached best footing early to extend lead. Drew out at will before suddenly giving way. Had no response when passed and then steadily dropped back.”
Romo is now in his eighth season as CBS's No. 1 NFL analyst. He'll be next to Jim Nantz on Sunday when the Bears play at Washington (3:25 p.m., Ch. 2, AM-1000). He's on a 10-year deal with a gross of more than $100M that runs through 2030.
But he continues to drop back.
And back and back and back.
TROY AIKMAN IS FAR MORE authoritative and insightful. Cris Collinsworth comes across as a knowledgeable college professor by comparison. Only booth baby Tom Brady — Fox's $375M man — joins Romo trolling the D-list as an overpaid NFL network lead guy.
Pre-pandemic, Romo was a phenom.
Out of the gate in 2017, his game analyses were engaging and entertaining. His ability to predict plays seemed positively Penn and Teller. His was the freshest NFL microphone since John Madden.
Then, thud.
NOW, HE COMES ACROSS AS LAZY and as humming as a bathroom fan at a Motel 6. Listening to a Romo game is a test of will, not a treat. He habitually devolves into wordy banalities and cliché.
Last week, he once again took an awkward awareness knee when he referred to Green Bay QB Jordan Love as “Jarrett Love.”
It'd be marvelous to say that the possible match between Caleb Williams and the questionable Jayden Daniels (sore ribs) looms as a sudden bounce-back spot for the reasonably likable Romo. The game will play to 51% of the nation. (CBS will present the Chiefs-Raiders to another 41% in the late slot.)
But wise men would not bet on Romo.
MAYBE IT WAS THE QUICK MEDIA ACCOLADES that spoiled him. Maybe it was the money. Some say a rich man's infatuation with golf ended his TV hunger and grounded his Wisconsin-spawned comet.
Who knows?
Between leftover quarterbacking money from the Cowboys and his CBS direct deposits, Tony Romo will never have to work another day in his life.
And he'll likely prove that yet again this afternoon from Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
STREET-BEATIN':
The nation's two largest TV markets plus Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani should guarantee Fox Sports the largest World Series audience in years. A ravine rattler is the presence of John Smoltz, one of the most overripe No. 1 network analysts in the history of MLB. Smoltz's discovery of the word “seamer” was as rough a television moment as when “The Golden Bachelor” went into development. …
The professed “outrage” of select NBA medflies over the “disrespect” LeBron James have shown “the game” over getting son Bronny James a historic playing cameo with the Lakers is such nonsense. LBJ Sr. had the juice to get it done and that's that. His professional profile for 20 years has been exemplary, and unblemished family values have been central to that image. …
Speaking of NBA family values, Dell Curry — father of Steph and Seth Curry — is back for yet another season as TV analyst with the Hornets. Tablemate is Eric Collins, who bridged the brutal Michael Jordan-Tim Floyd cave-in as a sideline reporter for the Bulls from 1997-2002. Collins also has boasted of having his bicycle stolen on the east side of his native Cleveland by young Charles Oakley. …
It's another family affair in the Northwestern football/WGN-AM (720) broadcast booth. Steve Eanet — once a determined WR at Deerfield H.S. — continues as a spotter for father Dave Eanet and color man Ted Albrecht. Sister Lindsay Eanet was public-address announcer and stadium deejay for the Chicago Red Stars — now the Chicago Stars Football Club of the NWSL. …
John Ruane — a past hidden nugget at the Sun-Times Sports — continues to take curtain calls for his writing and direction of “Final Audition.” It's about a worn-out actress from Normal, Illinois, trying to mount one final shot at the big time while managing a hotel for actors in Chicago's Old Town of 1993. (Details at finalaudition.net; Ruane prepped at Second City within mime distance of Stephen Colbert.) …
The departure of Leila Rahimi from the anemic sports department at WMAQ-Channel 5 underscores that local news operations simply have fewer viewers, resources and questing for quality. She's also done her own branding no favors via her flee-now association with WSCR-AM (670). Hanging on air with Dan Bernstein and Marshall Harris is like being one of the high school hall monitors. …
In an attempt to snag eyeballs 20 years later, the Boston Globe has labeled the 2004 Red Sox end of “The Curse of the Bambino” as “a biblical kind of sports story.” (Well then, so is the tale of Jerry Reinsdorf and his 121-loss '24 White Sox — one requiring an ark and comprehensive flood insurance.) …
And Bill Hazen, about a nagging Tom Thayer quirk on AM-1000 Bearcasts: “When there's a fumble and he yells, 'Ball!’ does Thayer realize that the players on the field are not listening to his radio call?”
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.