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Nate Burleson will be key part of CBS and Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl coverage
CBS’ Nate Burleson might be the only person at the Super Bowl to get more air time than Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes or any of the other star players in the game.
The network’s morning show, where Burleson is a co-host, will originate from Las Vegas this week. Burleson will also be an analyst on the Super Bowl pregame show and a commentator on Nickelodeon’s game broadcast.
Add in co-hosting Nickelodeon’s weekly “NFL Slimetime” show and the usual demands of Super Bowl week, Burleson will not have much downtime.
“Sleep is a must, and we’ll pick our head up when the game is over. I never played in one, but I feel like this is kind of like my Super Bowl week. This will be the most demanding, physically and intellectually, but I’m up for the challenge,” Burleson said.
After an 11-year playing career, Burleson transitioned to television, first at NFL Network and then at CBS. He has been with CBS since 2017 when he joined “The NFL Today.”
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Burleson has been on “CBS Mornings” since September 2021, but doing a morning show on Pacific time has its own challenges. Instead of waking up at 4 a.m., as Burleson typically does for a 7 a.m. Eastern start, he will have a 1:30 or 2 a.m. wake-up call since the morning show starts at 4 a.m. Pacific time.
That means Burleson will have to avoid most of the nighttime parties that will be taking place.
“It’s going to flip our schedules upside down completely, but I’m excited about what it’s going to mean for us to have a presence there,” he said. “I have committed to getting sleep between appearances, resting my body and preparing. This is Vegas and probably the easiest Super Bowl to party at. I think my hair would explode if I stayed up past midnight. I’ve already made my mind up that what people are going to Vegas for isn’t what I’m going to Vegas for.”
Burleson’s biggest challenge will be on Super Bowl Sunday and getting from the pregame set on the field to Section 101 at Allegiant Stadium, where Nickelodeon’s booth will be for the game broadcast.
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Besides getting from one end of the stadium to the other, Burleson will change outfits before the kickoff on Nickelodeon.
Out of all the assignments Burleson has this week, the Nickelodeon game makes him the most excited. It will be the fifth time an NFL game has aired on Nickelodeon, but the biggest since this will be the first alternate broadcast of a Super Bowl.
Through enhanced graphics and advanced augmented reality, it will appear as if Burleson and announcer Noah Eagle are calling the game from “Bikini Bottom,” the undersea home of SpongeBob SquarePants. The broadcast will also feature SpongeBob and Patrick Star.
“We are going to immerse the viewer into this world. It’s a unique experience unlike any other, and it will set the bar,” he said.
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Nickelodeon
Shawn Robbins, Nickelodeon’s coordinating producer for the Super Bowl, said that Burleson has been an integral part of the games’ viewing experience.
“It all starts with Nate and how he is delivering the game to the kids. He’s the starting point in what we are doing,” Robbins said.
Even though Burleson was hoping that the Detroit Lions, where he played from 2010-13, would have made the Super Bowl, he is nonetheless excited to see San Francisco and Kansas City meet for the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in five seasons.
Burleson missed on his preseason prediction of the Cincinnati Bengals reaching the Super Bowl, but he was correct about San Francisco getting to Vegas for the big game.
“The great thing about these two teams is that we have storylines for days,” he said. “Everyone tries to knock (San Francisco QB) Brock Purdy because he was the last pick in the draft, and he has so many talented players surrounding him. I look at him as the reason why all of this works. Of course, he has talent. Who doesn’t? But he is one of the most consistent QBs and has nerves of steal. He’s not a future star. He’s a star right now.
“And, of course, Kansas City. It’s a dynasty in the making with four Super Bowl appearances in five years. When Tom (Brady) left the game, I thought there was no way anybody would ever get close to his seven Super Bowl titles. There’s no way a quarterback can play long enough, let alone be good enough. And here we are with Patrick Mahomes. He has an opportunity for his third, and he’s a baby compared to how long Tom played.”
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
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Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.