That was a bit of an awkward moment after Thursday night's Red Sox-Rays game on TBS. After fellow studio analysts Dennis Eckersley and Harold Reynolds offered opinions on turning points in the game, host Ernie Johnson turned to Cal Ripken Jr. But Ripken said those two already had covered his points. So Johnson went to a commercial.

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Anita Marks was talking about the sports fans of South Florida, her old home, during her ESPN 1300 radio show today. As an example, she said the Florida Panthers draw about 2,000 fans a game, but I suppose she was just exaggerating. Though the Panthers ranked 25th in the league last season, their official home attendance average was more than 15,000.

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John Madden is getting Sunday off from NBC's NFL telecast, skipping the Seattle-at-Tampa Bay game. With the network's "bye" week on Oct. 26, that gives Madden, 72, a two-week break. This week would have been the third straight cross-country trip for Madden, a San Francisco Bay Area resident who famously travels by bus to avoid flying. The time off had been suggested by NBC Sports head Dick Ebersol in the spring, the Associated Press reported. Cris Collinsworth will fill in for Madden, whose streak of 476 consecutive broadcasts will end.