Just a few short months after the program debuted, NBC Sports Network is completely shaking up its early-evening show “The Crossover,” according to The Big Lead.

Dave Briggs, who joined NBC Sports from Fox News in January specifically to host the program, is being removed as co-host. Starting Monday, the show will have a new set, and Michelle Beadle will host alone, joined by a rotating cast of regulars. Briggs is expected to get hosting duties on another NBCSN program.

“The Crossover” was one of NBCSN’s highest-profile launches in recent memory, as Beadle was poached from ESPN (which wanted badly to keep her) and Briggs came from “Fox & Friends” weekend edition, which, while not as popular as the weekday edition, still does very well for FNC.

Sports media juggernaut ESPN held its upfront presentation in New York City this morning. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and Soccer star Landon Donovan joined executives in the Best Buy Theater to pitch advertisers on spending big bucks with the Disney-owned company.

ESPN president John Skipper opened up the show by talking about “the elephant in the room” as the elephant mascot for the University of Alabama walked behind him.

“Several broadcast companies have decided–in the early 2010s–that there might be something to this whole national sports network thing,” Skipper quipped, referencing the NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports Network and the upcoming Fox Sports 1. After the event, Skipper told a group of reporters that while he embraces the competition, he thinks ESPN is still in driver’s seat.

“They are going to be in the business, we don’t expect this to be over and done, but what we do expect is to compete vigorously,” Skipper said. “What Fox does have is more live rights. Fox has more to start with, but again, in any comparison between our collection of assets and their collection of assets, we have a significantly broader, and better, portfolio.”

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Fox Sports Radio host Jay Mohr is profiled in this week’s “So What Do You Do?” Feature. Mohr is a comedian and actor who recently transitioned to the world of sports media.

How does doing a daily three-hour radio show compare to doing stand-up, SNL, TV and movies, and what has surprised you most so far?

What surprised me most is how huge a company Fox Sports Radio is and the [interview] access that comes with that, when you can interview a member of the Knicks, a member of the Lakers, a member of the Utah Jazz, Don Mattingly, manager of the Dodgers, and so on. I come in to work every morning and the guests we have lined up are consistently top caliber.
As far as how it compares to other mediums, I’ve always really loved structure. I wake up at the same time every day, come home relatively at the same time each day, and it’s perfect for me. It’s sort of like a shotgun structure: you go like crazy when you first wake up; you just sort of go nuts for five hours, then go home and refuel. And there’s no waiting around, which is the absolute worst and only bad part about acting. You spend 95 percent of your time in a trailer, eating candy and doing push-ups, wondering when they’re going to use you.

You can read the entire interview here.

FS1′s Dan O’Toole and Jay Onrait

It is a big day in the world of sports media, with three big news items about three different sports divisions.

First, Turner Sports and CBS Sports have announced that the March Madness NCAA Final Four and NCAA Championship Game will move to cable, with Final Four games on TBS starting next year, and the Championship Game in 2016. CBS and TBS will switch off the Final Four and Championship Games through the remainder of the long-term deal through 2024.

“Since the inception of our partnership, I don’t think we could have envisioned such a seamless collaboration between our two companies both in front of and behind the cameras,” said David Levy, president of Sales, Distribution and Sports for Turner, in a statement.

NBC Sports is making a major change to “Sunday Night Football,” bringing in Carrie Underwood to perform “Waiting For Sunday Night,” the official theme song of the program.

Finally, Fox Sports took the sports world by storm this week by naming Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole as the primary highlight team for “Fox Sports Live,” the daily sports news show to launch on Fox Sports 1 later this year.

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This afternoon thousands of dapper people will file into Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. They will sip mint juleps, wear funny hats and make “trifecta” wagers after pretending to read the book on handicapping.

Yes, the Kentucky Derby is here, and NBC, which paid good money for the TV rights, is planning wide-ranging coverage, including contributions from NBC News and The Weather Channel.

Al Roker was at Churchill Friday for a “Today” segment, as well as “Wake Up with Al” on Weather Channel. His colleague Stephanie Abrams will continue coverage on Weather Saturday morning. “Today” correspondent Dylan Dreyer will report from the hallowed grounds on Saturday and Sunday, previewing and recapping the event, respectively. Brian Schachtman, CNBC’s sports business reporter, filed reports from Churchill Friday, and will continue all day today.

E! news is also planning coverage. The fancy hats may cover people’s heads, but they won;t cover themselves, you know.

Bob Costas will lead the coverage, along with:
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Without an election in the near future, at least a few of the Sunday public affairs shows are branching out this weekend and covering something even more ingrained into the national psyche: sports.

CBS’ “Face the Nation” will be dedicating its show this week on “The Emergence of gay Athletes,” featuring interviews with Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, among others. The show comes as NBA player Jason Collins came out of the closet in Sports Illustrated, becoming one of the big news stories of the week.

“Fox News Sunday” meanwhile will see Chris Wallace interviewing boxing legend Mike Tyson (see the photo above). Wallace talks to Tyson about how he blew through hundreds of millions of dollars, and how he has been trying to turn his life around.

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Every few years, when an major election rolls around, TV ad pods fill with ads promoting or opposing candidates and issues. In between the elections, however, the issues ads tend to be relegated to cable news channels, which rely on smaller, wonkier audiences when there isn’t big breaking news.

ESPN (which has a news operation that rivals Fox News in terms of the number of employees, and has more total employees than CNN), has always been a popular channel for advertisers. Now, however, the issues ads that dominate cable news are moving over to the sports channel, and the reason why is fascinating. Politico explains:

Media strategists tell POLITICO they offer up the all-sports network as an option to clients who want to get their issues in front of Obama and top White House officials, known as big sports fans and rabid ESPN watchers.

“It’s certainly a tactic that’s talked about a lot,” said one media strategist, who had a client advertise on ESPN in hopes of reaching Obama during the climate change debate of his first term. “It was for exactly that reason.”

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It sounds as though the Tennis Channel could become a key part of Al Jazeera’s plans to gain traction in the U.S. According to the New York Post‘s Claire Atkinson, the Qatar-backed cable news empire is looking to acquire Tennis Channel to secure a foothold in the U.S. sports TV market. Al Jazeera has BeIn Sport here in the U.S., and has been trying to become a player in the increasingly-crowded field for years.

Tennis, which is available in 34 million homes (and could go up to 50 million depending on the outcome of an FCC case), would add to its footprint tremendously. BeIn Sport is in 22 million homes.

“The Tennis Channel is in play and the Qataris are looking hard, ” said a source, referring to Al Jazeera’s deep-pocketed backers in the Gulf state.

“They are very focused on their worldwide sports empire, through Al Jazeera Americas and Paris Saint-Germain,” said a source familiar with talks.

The move is similar to one made earlier this year when Al Jazeera acquired Current TV, and is planning to relaunch it as “Al Jazeera America” this Summer.

NBC Sportscaster Al Michaels, who has spent decades calling “Sunday Night Football” and “Monday Night Football” NFL games for NBC Sports and ABC Sports, was arrested Sunday for driving under the influence. He also called the legendary “Miracle On Ice” hockey game between the U.S. and Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

ESPN has more details on the arrest:

He was booked for suspicion of DUI and held for about five hours before being released on his own recognizance, Lewis said.

“We are aware of the situation and we’ve been in contact with Al,” said Greg Hughes, a spokesman for NBC Sports. “We have no further comment at this time.”

Tributes continue to come in following the death Tuesday of Pat Summerall, the former NFL football player turned broadcaster who spent 40 years in the booth. Summerall called games on CBS from 1962 to 1994 and on FOX from 1994 to 2002. In 1981, Summerall was paired with former coach John Madden. The team would last for 22 seasons on the two networks.

Summerall, 82, died of a heart attack at a Dallas hospital yesterday. He’d gone in for hip surgery. Some tributes on Twitter:

“He was a terrific broadcaster, a great guy, they didn’t come any better on TV,” Larry King.

“The late Pat Summerall was a great broadcaster who once happened to be a good football player. Early on, was a NYC radio morning host. RIP,” Keith Olbermann.

“Pat was not only good, he was easy to listen to. That’s a rarity in today’s show biz TV sports world,” Len Berman.

“For those of us who make a living in front of a microphone, Pat Summerall was one of the guys who defined the job,” Steve Inskeep, NPR

“RIP Pat Summerall. I will remember you as an entrepreneur first and foremost,” Mark Cuban