Four weeks into the season, veteran broadcaster Al Michaels has already messed up more than once. Calling the Steelers vs. Browns game on Thursday Night Football, he’s messed up a player’s alma mater yet again.
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Midway through the first quarter, Cleveland defensive tackle Mason Graham went down with an injury. As he was being attended to on the field, here’s what Michaels said:
“Second-year guy out of Michigan State. Two sacks last week.”
Graham went to Michigan, not Michigan State. Wolverine fans know the weight that name carries.
Graham played three years for the maize and blue and made two First-team All-Big Ten honors. He is also a 2023 Second-team All-American and a 2024 Unanimous All-American. Graham is also 3-0 against OSU and was part of the 2023 National Championship-winning team at Michigan.
In 2024, against the then-second-ranked Buckeyes in Columbus, Graham registered a season-high eight tackles, including six within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage, helping Michigan upset Ohio State 13-10.
Having been one of the strongest defensive weapons in Michigan, the fans took offense at how Michaels could miss it. That’s when retirement calls started to pour in for the broadcaster.
“Someone take Al Michaels to Old 86 and then take his a** to bed. Dude has no idea what’s going on. #Browns,” a fan wrote.
“I love that Al Michaels just gets to say incorrect things and it doesn’t matter,” called out a fan.
“I love Al Michaels but someone needs to tell him to retire,” wrote a fan.
“Al Michaels go away,” read a comment.
“Turned my tv off mute for 5 seconds to hear what Mason Graham’s injury was… Al Michaels immediately says he went to Michigan State😭😭 I’m sick,” an upset fan wrote.
“On a side note, they’ve gotta get Al Michaels outta the booth,” read a comment.
Previously, Al Michaels had messed up Michael Penix Jr.’s college. He’d said the quarterback had “two great years at Oregon.” However, Penix played his final two college seasons at Washington.
Not just this. Shortly afterward, he called running back Bijan Robinson “Brian Robinson.” There is a Brian Robinson on the Atlanta squad, but this error came while he was referring to Bijan.
Although Michaels isn’t ready to retire, his year-to-year contracts with Prime Video give him the flexibility to leave at any time. If he eventually steps away, Ian Eagle is reportedly the broadcaster the streaming service has in mind to take over.
“While Michaels’ future plans are still undetermined, Prime Video has CBS’ No. 2 NFL play-by-player Ian Eagle on the top of its list to succeed him on ‘Thursday Night Football.’ Eagle is already Prime Video’s top NBA play-by-player. Eagle is in the final year of his CBS contract,” The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported.
Will Prime Video perhaps make the move earlier than expected? We will have to wait and watch.