Briefs
Fitzpatrick joins Amazon
Ryan Fitzpatrick is taking his magic touch to the broadcast booth.
Amazon Prime Video announced Tuesday that Fitzpatrick, the recently retired journeyman quarterback nicknamed “FitzMagic,” is joining the streaming service as an analyst for its first season as the exclusive home of “Thursday Night Football.”
Fitzpatrick will be part of Amazon’s pregame, halftime and postgame coverage.
Although the 39-year-old started for a record nine teams over his 17-year career, only one of this year’s Thursday night matchups features two of his former teams: the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 29.
“One of the great characters in the league, Ryan has been a fan favorite and a beloved teammate everywhere he’s gone over the last 17 seasons,” Jared Stacy, Prime Video’s director of global live sports production, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to now have him on our team and know our viewers will love seeing his sense of humor and intelligence on display every week.”
Fitzpatrick joins Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez and All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman as studio analysts. Al Michaels will be the play-by-play announcer with Kirk Herbstreit as his booth partner.
Army-Navy site switched
The Army-Navy game will be played in New England for the first time, the service academies announced Wednesday as they revealed the five cities that will host the game over the next five years.
Next year’s game will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the New England Patriots.
The 2024 game will be at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, followed by M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore in 2025, the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 2026, and Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia in 2027.
Philly, the game’s traditional home, has hosted 90 times and was previously announced as the host this year on Dec. 10.
In the majors
Yordan Alvarez homered twice off Carlos Carrasco as the Houston Astros jumped on him early and held on for a 5-3 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday.
Alvarez hit two of the season-high three homers Carrasco (8-3) allowed before the pitcher left with lower back tightness in the third inning with the Astros up 5-1.
Alvarez, who also homered Tuesday night, now has 21 this season to move into a tie with Mike Trout for second-most in the majors. His home run barrage in this series comes after he missed Sunday’s game with a minor hand injury.
Motorsport founder dies
O. Bruton Smith, who emerged from rural North Carolina and parlayed his love of motorsports into becoming a NASCAR Hall of Famer and one of its most eccentric and successful promoters, died Wednesday. He was 95.
His death was announced by Speedway Motorsports LLC, the company formed when he consolidated his entities in 1994. Smith made it the first public motorsports company to trade on the New York Stock Exchange three months later. Speedway Motorsports said Smith died of natural causes.
His son, Marcus, the current president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, on Tuesday posted a tribute to his father on social media. “I had a wonderful Father’s Day weekend. I am so thankful to be a dad, and to have an amazing dad.” The post was accompanied by two photos of Smith, surrounded in both by his family.
Born March 2, 1927 on a farm in Oakboro, Ollen Bruton Smith was the youngest of nine children. He watched his first race as an 8-year-old and bought his first race car at 17 for $700.