Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann to Reumite for NBC's "Football Night in America"

It's back to the future, SportsCenter-style for NBC. Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann will hook back up on television for NBC's "Football Night in America", which airs on Sundays. The last time Patrick and Olbermann did "The Big Show"? 11 years. Since then Olbermann has gone on to MSNBC and Patrick to his own syndicated radio show and Sports Illustrated. As reported by Bloomberg News: Patrick's deal with NBC Sports includes working on "Football Night in America" and the years that the network has the Super Bowl, as well as covering the Olympics beginning in 2010. Patrick is contractually prevented from working on NFL telecasts and the Olympics in Beijing for a year. NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol had spoken a year ago to ESPN execs about Patrick, and it seemed to be OK.But Ebersol said that in talking to ESPN chief George Bodenheimer and ESPN executive vp John Skipper, things changed a bit after they realized Patrick would be reuniting with Olbermann. ESPN invoked a contract provision that kept Patrick from working on "They had a right, buried in the boilerplate of the deal, to keep him off of TV for a year, said NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol. Patrick left ESPN last year after 18 years of doing "SportsCenter" and hosting a daily show on ESPN Radio. NBC will be loaded with veteran television talent. Added to Patrick and Olbermann will be host Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, and contributors Jerome Bettis, Tiki Barber and Peter King.OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Linkin Park, MLB Properties Hook-up For 3rd Year - The Biz of Baseball Wrigley Field It Is: NHL Outdoor Classic in Chicago Jan. 1 - The Biz of Baseball Passing Gas? Rays, Hess to Give Away $5 Cards on July 18 - The Biz of Baseball All-Star Game Starters, Reserves, and Pitchers Announced - The Biz of Baseball 214.7 Million Votes Cast Online for All-Star Game - The Biz of Baseball Is the Ed Wade/Shawn Chacon Altercation a First? - The Biz of BaseballYou Really Like Me! Rays See Highest TV Ratings Ever - The Biz of Baseball Cellphone to Throw Away at the All-Star Game - The Biz of Baseball Six GMs on the Hot Seat - The Biz of Baseball Chicago's Wrigley Field to Host Next Outdoor Classic on New Years Day - The Biz of Hockey Jaromir Jagr First Major NHL Player to Crossover to Continental Hockey League - The Biz of Hockey Free Agent Signings - July 1, 2008 - The Biz of Hockey NHL Free Agent Listing As of July 1, 2008 - The Biz of Hockey Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey Bryan Perez Named Senior VP and General Manager of NBA Digital - The Biz of Basketball Narcissist Alert: Former NBAer Doug Christie and Wife Jackie Announce They'll Get Married for 13th Time - The Biz of Basketball A Drop in the Bucket: Why the Settlement between the Sonics and Seattle will See Bennett Making $$$ - The Biz of Basketball NBA Opening Stores in China Next Month. Using Olympics to Boost Interest - The Biz of Basketball TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. more...