There are certainly some influential power couples currently in sports media. Hannah Storm and Dan Hicks, Shae and Jordan Cornette, and the newly married Malika Andrews and Dave McMenamin. Another contemporary power couple making an impact is CBS Sports’ Jenny Dell, and her husband, former MLB infielder Will Middlebrooks now a Red Sox studio and game analyst at the New England Sports Network (NESN).
Dell and Middlebrooks are quite different in terms of their media experience, but they do share knowledge and enthusiasm in their respective jobs. They are also quite active on social media, not only with sports content, but with nice glimpses of their off-camera family life.
Dell’s resume is impressive. She is currently CBS Sports’ lead college football reporter and also anchors coverage on CBS Sports Network’s HQ Spotlight. Her decade-long run at CBS has also included reporting for the NFL and SEC. Dell truly began her rise to stardom at NESN as a terrific reporter and host.
On a recent edition of HQ Spotlight, Dell co-hosted with Tommy Tran and showed her usual excellence. Pete Prisco, Kyle Long and Leger Douzable rounded out the anchor desk. It was a rare treat to see Dell on Spotlight given her hectic autumn sideline reporting schedule.
She opened the show with her trademark welcoming demeanor, throwing to some NFL coach comments. Having covered media in Boston when Dell was at NESN, it is clear to see how she has matured as a reporter and host. Dell is a real pro, a veteran of the TV game who knows how the media business works. In addition, she and Tran work really well together as cohosts, ably setting up their analysts and making them look really good.
HQ Spotlight remains a gem in the sports media jewelry box due to talented hosts like Dell, Tran, Amanda Guerra, Chris Hassel, and Jaclyn DeAugustino. Coming out of a college football interview with Emory Hunt and Chip Patterson, Dell offered some breaking news regarding Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard’s shoulder injury.
In her prep as the assigned sideline reporter for the Notre Dame-Purdue game on September 14, she spoke to Leonard and reported on Spotlight that he would definitely play in the game. Leonard did play going 11-16 for 112 yards in a 66-7 win for the Irish.
This is the value of having someone like Dell in studio. She not only shines behind the desk, but also out in the field, covering games and bringing information to the studio discussion.
Coming back from a break, Dell conducted a fine interview with Brandon Marcello looking at more college football games. Moments later, she had an informative exchange with WNBA analyst Terrika Foster-Brasby, and subsequently, a solid NFL chit chat with Charles Davis and Bryant McFadden.
This versatility is what sets Dell apart from her contemporaries. In this type of fast-paced format, she brings the valuable ability to ask short, concise, and relevant questions which keep the conversation and show moving.
It is clear to see that Dell has been working her end of the power couple thing for quite a few years, but Middlebrooks is relatively new to the media sphere. A member of the 2013 World Champion Red Sox, it was Middlebrooks who coined the phrase “Boston Strong” after the Boston Marathon bombings in April of that year.
Middlebrooks’ big league career ended in 2017. With the untimely passing of legendary Red Sox game analyst Jerry Remy and the retirement of his primary successor, Dennis Eckersley, NESN expanded its stable of studio and game analysts and Middlebrooks hopped on board.
Like Dell, he is now honing his craft at NESN while also serving as a baseball analyst for CBS Sports HQ and co-hosting the WAKE and RAKE Podcast. Middlebrooks has steadily grown as a studio and game analyst. He has gotten beyond the nerves and the unique atmosphere of being under the lights or in the booth and is now much more relaxed.
I caught him as an analyst on NESN alongside Dave O’Brien for the Red Sox-Rays game on September 17. Middlebrooks is not flashy, but he is smart and quick-witted. The Red Sox have remained in the AL Wild Card picture through mid-September, and Middlebrooks has been up to the task in these meaningful games.
In baseball, the timing between play-by-play broadcaster and analyst is crucial. Middlebrooks is learning how to interject his baseball knowledge after O’Brien calls the play. He also does a nice job of analyzing players, in this game for example, the pitch arsenal of Rays hurler Shane Baz.
Middlebrooks is also mastering the subtle and underrated art of silence; in that you don’t have to say something after every play. He is not an extremely animated or overly humorous analyst. That’s not his stock in trade, and I give him credit for not trying to be something he’s not.
Baseball is a cerebral game. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and Middlebrooks has the perfect temperament and on-air demeanor. At one point in the game, O’Brien asked Middlebrooks to analyze the recent slump of Red Sox first baseman Tristan Casas. Middlebrooks stated that Casas needed to get more aggressive and less passive at the plate.
Just as he said that Casas took a big cut at the first pitch from Baz. Middlebrooks then said that Casas has the ability to change the scoreboard with one swing of the bat due to his power. He basically told Casas to swing away and not just play to get on first base.
Backing up Middlebrooks’ point, a NESN graphic showed Casas had 66 strikeouts this season, 28 of them have been looking. Middlebrooks then said that Casas needs to be less picky in terms of pitch location and just let it go. This proved prophetic. On the very next pitch, Cassis took a wicked swing and drove a home run into the right field stands. This is top-flight analysis.
Middlebrooks has also shown a great ability to work on his feet and answer any question that O’Brien throws at him. He provided a nice analysis of the Red Sox young star Ceddanne Rafaela stressing the positives, but also saying that he has a lot to learn and a long way to go. I like Middlebrooks’ style and can tell that he has worked on the craft of broadcasting, a huge plus for an ex-player.
Yes, Middlebrooks and Dell are at different ends of the sports media spectrum in terms of experience, but this husband and wife power couple do share the traits of drive, determination, persistence, and good old hard work. They are truly a power couple to watch, and watch often, in today’s sports media scene.
