Prior to the last two games, CBS’ Thursday night package had come under fire for delivering a series of boring routs. Well, don’t look now, but Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth have had plenty of time to use their blowout material on Sunday nights this year.

Sunday, after Peyton Manning set his records, Michaels got to tell the national TV audience all about his back-up, Brock Osweiler, in the fourth quarter.

Denver won 42-17, and it wasn’t that close.

It was the fifth straight blowout for the NBC crew:

Sept. 21: Pittsburgh 38, Carolina 17.

Sept. 28: Dallas 38, New Orleans 17.

Oct. 5: New England 43, Cincinnati 17

Oct. 12: Philadelphia 27, Giants 0.

The NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano did the math in a tweet:

“2014 Average margin of victory Sunday night: 18.8. Thursday night: 21.6.”

So don’t completely blame the short week for contributing to the routs on Thursday nights. Sometimes, you just get a run of bad games, regardless of the night.

Next Sunday night features Green Bay at New Orleans. Considering the Saints are struggling, and the Packers are coming off a 38-17 drubbing of Carolina, Al and Cris should be compiling their blowout material now.

My latest Chicago Tribune column is on Frank Thomas, who will be analyzing the World Series for Fox.

You can access the entire column via my Twitter feed at @Sherman_Report.

From the column:

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Baseball came easily to Frank Thomas as he was on the fast track, barely spending a season in the minors before launching his Hall of Fame career with the White Sox in 1990.

Broadcasting? Now that’s a different story.

Thomas admits he still is a work in progress.

“I want to get better at this,” Thomas said. “You don’t know all the questions when you step from one arena to another. Being a ballplayer for 20 years prepares you to be in front of the camera. But doing live commentary is a little different. I’m learning every day.”

While his ascension hasn’t been as quick, Thomas has reached a pinnacle in his second career. Next week, the former Sox slugger will be on site at the World Series in his role as a studio analyst for Fox Sports and Fox Sports 1.

Chuck Garfien, Thomas’ long-time partner on White Sox studio shows for CSN, isn’t surprised with his rise on the national level. Physically, Thomas still has an imposing presence, only now in a custom-tailored suit instead of a baseball uniform.

“The camera loves Frank Thomas,” Garfien said. “Certain people have that charisma and can light up the screen. Frank has that.”

Yet none of that matters if there isn’t substance behind that charisma. The learning curve is steep, especially when you’re playing in Fox’s ballpark.

So far so good, said John Entz, Fox Sports’ executive vice-president for production. He has been impressed with Thomas’ approach to the job.

“A lot of times you work with a guy with his credentials who thinks he knows it all,” Entz said. “Frank’s not that way. He works really hard. He’s putting in the time to get better.”

On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. (Central), I had a few hours to kill before going out at 5 p.m. I decided to watch Game 2 of the ALCS, figuring I could see a significant portion of the game.

I was wrong. As the clock neared 5, the game, with Kansas City leading 4-3, only was through four innings. I didn’t have a clock on it, but I’d bet there was an average of 30-40 seconds between pitches.

I texted my friend Ira: “You could play an entire World Cup game in the time it took to play four innings.”

Ira responded: “Yes, but the score in the soccer game would be 0-0.”

Well, Ira has a point there.

At least there is some scoring in baseball. And there’s no denying that 3 of the 4 games over the weekend had great finishes.

But they also were ridiculously long.

Game 1: Kansas City 8, Baltimore 6, 10 innings. Time: 4:37

Game 2: Kansas City 6, Baltimore 4. Time: 4:17

Game 1: San Francisco 3, St. Louis 0. Time: 3:23

Game 2: St. Louis 5, San Francisco 4. Time: 3:41.

I know, I’m going to be accused again of not being a “true baseball fan.” A true fan doesn’t care how long the game goes if it is terrific, right?

The problem is, not everyone is a “true” fan who has hours to spend watching baseball. You had two ALCS games that took more than four hours to play nine innings. Even a 3-0 game in Game 1 of NLCS went 3:23. That’s not exciting. It’s tedious.

Once again, I’m going to cite my son as an example of how baseball is losing the young fan. When I told him I wanted to watch Game 2 Saturday, he moaned, squirmed and finally said, “This is really boring.” He went downstairs to watch college football.

My point is: Baseball can have it both ways. It can have great games that also move at a decent pace. These games really shouldn’t be taking more than three hours.

Clearly, it isn’t going to happen this year. If you had to bet on the over-under for tonight’s KC-Baltimore game at 4 hours, what would you take?

I think you know my answer.

My latest Chicago Tribune column is on David Diehl, who is starting his second career as an NFL game analyst for Fox.

You also can access the column via my Twitter feed at @Sherman_Report.

From the column:

******

Graduating straight from the field to the analyst’s chair on network NFL games is usually reserved for Super Bowl glory guys like Phil Simms and Troy Aikman.

Then there’s David Diehl. The 11-year offensive lineman for the New York Giants has two Super Bowl rings, but hardly the glory.

Yet Diehl, who retired after the 2013 season, bucked the odds by landing the coveted gig at Fox. Sunday, he will analyze his second straight Bears game in Atlanta on WFLD-Ch. 32.

This opportunity, though, didn’t just happen for Diehl. It was the result of a master plan that dates back to his days at Illinois, where he has degrees in communications and human resources.

“I always was thinking long term,” said Diehl, who grew up on the South Side attending Brother Rice. “I knew football doesn’t last forever. It could be over with one play. I needed a game plan for life.”

When Diehl landed with the Giants, he decided to take advantage of playing in the nation’s No. 1 media market. While some of his teammates hid from the pesky reporters, he never met a microphone he didn’t like. He viewed interviews as a chance to enhance his public speaking skills.

Then Diehl took his media training several steps further. He enrolled in the NFL’s broadcast boot camp, a program that trains players for post-playing careers in the media. He also participated in several New York-based and SiriusXM Radio shows, working on getting his “reps.”

So when Fox called asking him to audition for an analyst’s job, Diehl knew he was ready.

“I literally worked my butt off to figure out how everything works (in broadcasting),” Diehl said. “I never was a silver spoon guy. As an athlete, you want to be challenged. This is a brand new challenge. But by the same token, I’m using the same things that have gotten me this far in life.”

Here is my review in the Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row on “Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard” by John Branch.

You also can access the review via my Twitter feed at @Sherman_Report.

Branch’s excellent book really will change your perspective the next time two guys throw their gloves to the ice.

An excerpt of the review.

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Typically, it is difficult to feel compassion for a hockey “goon” whose main job is to try to re-arrange faces in brawls during games.

Yet John Branch accomplished that mission in his new book, “Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard.” He details how Boogaard was a tragic victim because of a fighting culture that exists in hockey.

The book is an extended version of Branch’s series in The New York Times that received national attention for documenting what happened to Boogaard. A native of Saskatchewan, his size — eventually reaching 6 feet 7 inches tall and 260-odd pounds — along with somewhat limited hockey skills led to him being cast by coaches as an “enforcer” as early as in junior programs. His role was to be a physical and intimidating force on the ice and to take on the opponents’ enforcers in game-stopping fights.

Boogaard worked his way up to the NHL, where he became known as the league’s top fighter while playing for the Minnesota Wild. In his first two seasons, he fought 26 times in 113 games, becoming a fan favorite with the nickname “Boogeyman.” Boogaard’s fists eventually led to the New York Rangers signing him to a four-year, $6.5 million contract in 2010.

The brawls, though, took a toll, as Boogaard was debilitated by shoulder and back injuries, not to mention all the blows to his head that did extensive damage to his brain, according to research after his death. In fighting the constant pain, he became addicted to pain killers and other substances. Remarkably, Branch writes that Boogaard continued to receive prescriptions for large quantities of pills from NHL team doctors even though they knew he was in substance abuse programs. Boogaard died of an overdose in 2011 at the age of 28.

It didn’t have to be this way for Boogaard. “No one ever told Derek directly that his primary mission in hockey would be to fight,” Branch writes of the young boy.

Only four games in, and I figure Jim Nantz and Phil Simms have exhausted all their blowout material through 2016.

This incredible run of horrid Thursday night games continued again last night. Green Bay 42, Minnesota 10.

This comes on the heels of Atlanta’s 56-14 victory over Tampa Bay in week 3. The game that could have easily been 156-14 if the Falcons hadn’t pulled up.

In week 4, Washington restored Eli Manning’s swagger as the Giants won 45-14.

The only game that was remotely close was CBS’ Thursday night opener. Even then, it wasn’t close with Baltimore pulling away for a 26-6 victory.

USA Today’s Chris Chase did the math. The average margin of victory in the four games is 31 points.

Chase writes:

Atlanta’s 42-point win over Tampa Bay in Week 3 was the largest of the NFL season. Last night’s 32-point win by Green Bay is the second. The game last week — in which the Giants beat the Redskins by 31 points — is tied for No. 3. In summation: The three worst games of the NFL season all took place on the last three Thursday nights.

Obviously, the routs have had an effect on the ratings. There’s a good news/bad news scenario for CBS and the NFL Network, which simulcasts the games.

Thursday’s game did a 10.4 overnight rating. It is amazing that many people watched.

For the year, the new Thursday night package on CBS/NFL Network is 10.9 rating, up 56 percent from 2013 when the games aired exclusively on NFL Network.

However, clearly the ratings would have been much higher if the games had been remotely competitive. Green Bay 42, Minnesota 0 in the second half doesn’t make for good television.

Next Thursday, CBS has Indianapolis at Houston. The Colts have won their last two games by a combined score of 85-34.

Here’s betting Nantz and Simms already are working on their blowout material.

My latest column for the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana is on Lesley Visser breaking new ground again.

Last night, she was part of the premiere of “We Need to Talk” on the CBS Sports Network, the first all-women, general sports talk show. The first show looked promising with a terrific cast. In particular, Amy Trask was really strong.

The column:

********

Lesley Visser had to chuckle thinking about where she was Monday compared to when she broke into the business as a woman sportswriter in 1974.

“Back then, there was no such thing as a ladies room in the press box,” Visser said. “Why would you need one of those? There were only men in the press box.”

Flash forward 40 years, and Visser was in the CBS Sports Network studios preparing for the debut of “We Need to Talk,” which airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET. Scanning the room in preparation for the new sports talk show, she saw 15 or 16 women, but only man: Kyle, the camera guy.

“How cool is that?” Visser said.

Indeed, in a career full of milestones, here’s another one for Visser: She will be part of the first all-female, general sports talk show. Sure, there will be discussions on women sports if they are in the news, but the dialogue will cover everything and anything — from the upcoming MLB playoffs to LeBron James returning to Cleveland.

Virtually all of the 12 rotating regulars will be on hand for tonight’s debut. Besides Visser, there’s Andrea Kremer, Amy Trask, Lisa Leslie, Laila Ali, Tracy Wolfson, Allie LaForce and Dara Torres, among others. Going forward, there will be four or five women featured on the weekly show. Suzanne Smith, a pioneer as a women director for CBS’ coverage of the NFL, will be the director and co-coordinating producer.

When asked how she describes the show, Visser reflected back 30 years ago to when she attended Smith’s parties.

“It would be Suzanne, me, Mary Carillo and Billie Jean King talking about sports,” Visser said. “We thought, ‘Gosh, wouldn’t this make the greatest show?’ All these years later, it’s happening.”

For the record, plans for this show were in place before the Ray Rice fiasco exploded on America’s front pages. However, the timing couldn’t be better with the focus being placed on elevating women’s voices in sports coverage.

Emilie Deutsch, one of the show’s coordinating producers, believes “We Need to Talk” will fill a void. Since the Rice story isn’t going to go away, she hopes the show will be able to advance the discussion.

“(During the Rice story), something I heard a lot on sports talk radio was, ‘I asked my wife how she felt about this topic and she said this…’” Deutsch said. “This is something we won’t need to do. Our panel will have the perspective of young girls, older women, daughters, mothers and wives.”

However, both Visser and Deutsch emphasize that “We Need to Talk” shouldn’t be viewed simply as a “women’s show.” Visser bristled a bit when asked if this would be the female version of “Pardon The Interruption” or “Around the Horn.”

“It shouldn’t be reduced to that,” Visser said. “We will have people on the show capable of talking about all sorts of issues. We were just having a discussion about what makes Gregg Popovich so successful. This show could go in many different directions depending on who is on.”

Ultimately, the discussions need to be compelling to produce ratings. Since women still make up a minority of sports viewers, the show needs to pull in men to be successful. Deutsch said, “In all honesty, our target audience is sports fans.”

The good news, Deutsch said, is that CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus and CBS Sports Network president David Berson are committed to make the show work.

“They are 100 percent behind this,” Deutsch said. “Let’s see how it evolves and grows. A lot of it is going to be based on what these women bring to the show.”

Hopefully, one of the byproducts of “We Need to Talk” will be to serve as role models for aspiring young women who want a career in sports journalism. Visser is thrilled to be at the forefront again.

Visser rattled off a list that included her being the first woman to appear on Monday Night Football and Final Four telecasts.

“At 61, I thought my pioneering days were over,” she said. “I guess not.”

Give yourself a prize if you know the answer is five.

Yes, beginning tonight there will be five different networks airing postseason baseball. Fox, Fox Sports 1, TBS, MLB Network, and ESPN all have a portion of the bounty.

Follow the bouncing remote.

Tonight’s Oakland-Kansas City game will be on TBS. Tomorrow, ESPN is carrying the San Francisco-Pittsburgh game.

The National League Division and Championship Series games will be on Fox Sports 1, except when they are moved over to MLB Network and Fox.

Meanwhile, the American League is easier with everything airing on TBS. Then Fox takes over the rest of the way until the World Series.

So yes, it could be confusing. MLB faces a new challenge with Fox Sports 1 now in the mix. Baseball hopes fans will make the effort to not only find FS1, but all go over there.

As always, check your local listings. And stay tuned for ratings information to see if you’re watching.

My latest Chicago Tribune column is on the end of an era in Chicago.

Consider this: If the Cubs stay on their new radio outlet, WBBM-AM 780, for as long as they were on WGN-AM 720, fans will be listening to games on that station in 2069. Assuming, of course, there’s radio and baseball.

From the column:

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Nothing lasts forever, but the idea of the Cubs leaving WGN-AM 720 seemed as unlikely Ernie Banks suddenly proclaiming that the Cardinals are his favorite team.

WGN and Cubs baseball have been such a fixture in fans’ daily lives that only first names were required. For one generation, it was tuning into “Vince and Lou”; for another it was listening to “Pat and Ron.”

This is a relationship that dates back to 1925, with WGN being the exclusive radio home for the Cubs since 1959, currently the longest-running association in baseball. Yet it all comes to an end with the season finale Sunday.

Next year, the Cubs will begin a seven-year deal to air their games on WBBM-AM 780. As usual, money is a prime factor for the switch. WGN exercised an out-clause in its contract after suffering heavy financial losses because of the Cubs’ recent struggles. While the station wanted to keep the Cubs, WBBM swooped in, offering more cash with a multi-platform package that goes beyond airing games.

Indeed, it is the close of a remarkable era in sports radio, and one that could be repeated on the TV side if the Cubs also leave WGN-9; negotiations are on-going for a new deal. The whole situation is hard to digest for Jack Rosenberg, who spent 45 years as sports editor for WGN Sports.

“I know money talks,” said Rosenberg, 88. “We can’t get around that. But I’m sorry to see this happen. WGN and the Cubs were supposed to be forever. It’s hard to believe it won’t.”

*******

If only the Cubs had similar talent on the field as they did in the radio booth. Dave Eanet, WGN Radio’s sports director, noted that Sports Illustrated recently did a long article lauding the Cardinals’ long run at KMOX-AM that featured Caray and Jack Buck.

“It’s hard to argue with those guys, but we’ve had a star-studded roster doing Cubs games here (Harry Caray, Vince Lloyd, Milo Hamilton, Jack Quinlan),” Eanet said. “It won’t be long before Pat (Hughes) is in the Hall of Fame.”

My latest column for the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana is a Q/A with one of my favorite people in sports media, Ross Greenburg.

From the column.

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It is inevitable that Ken Burns’ name would be brought up during the course of a conversation with Ross Greenburg on documentaries.

“He is the master,” Greenburg said. “I don’t have the same moniker that he has, but I like to think we have similar styles.”

I quickly had to throw a flag on Greenburg for being overly modest. When it comes to sports TV, and especially sports documentaries at HBO, Showtime, NBC and elsewhere, he has 52 Sports Emmys that show the Ross Greenburg name is a strong moniker in this business.

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Greenburg said.

That begs the question: What does one do with 52 Emmys? Build a separate warehouse?

Greenburg laughed, “I have half at home and half at the office.”

Greenburg could be in line for a 53rd Emmy — or at the very least a nomination — with his latest documentary. “Forgotten Four: The Integration of Pro Football,” premieres at 8 p.m. (ET) Tuesday on EPIX.

While everyone knows the tale of Jackie Robinson, Greenburg’s film tells the little-known story of the four African-American men, including Hall of Famers Marion Motley and Bill Willis, who re-integrated pro football in 1946. There were African-American players during the early days of the NFL. However, the league, like Major League Baseball, had “a gentleman’s agreement” making it all white, beginning in 1933.

It is a visually striking film that features compelling inside accounts from the children of the four men. It also tells the role Paul Brown played in breaking the color barrier. Greenburg calls him “the Branch Rickey of pro football.”

“Forgotten Four” is an important history lesson told through the perspective of sports.

The film gave me the chance to explore Greenburg’s approach to sports documentaries and why they are more popular than ever.

Q: How did “Forgotten Four” come about?

Greenburg: A year ago, Wes Smith, my co-executive producer, said we should look at African-Americans in pro football from 1900 through 1950. During the course of the discussion, Wes said, “You know, 1946 was the year they re-integrated pro football.” I went, “What? You’re telling me the re-integration of pro football happened the year before Jackie Robinson made his debut with the Dodgers?”

After I picked myself up off the floor, I said, “There’s our documentary. We’re going to tell the story of these forgotten players.”

Q: What light bulb needs to go on before you go ahead with a documentary?

Greenburg: You have to find a story with a beginning, middle and end. In this case, I knew there were African-American players (during the early days of NFL). I knew the owners conspired to restrict them from playing. What I didn’t know was, what happened after that?

I also look for stories with high drama that have a protagonist and an antagonist. In this case, (Washington owner) George Preston Marshall was the antagonist (for being behind the ban). The protagonist was Paul Brown, who never had been given the credit for his role. All the pieces were in place to develop an excellent story.

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Here’s the link to read the rest of the column.