Surprise Choice For SI Media Person Of The Year

By Marcus Vanderberg 

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated handed out his Media Awards for 2010 and his person of the year was an unusual choice to say the least.

Mike Pereira, the NFL’s former Vice President of Officiating, was selected as Deitsch’s person of the year for his role as NFL rules analyst for Fox Sports. Deitsch goes on to explain why he selected Pereira:

Viewers have longed for broadcasters to provide accurate explanations from the NFL’s byzantine rule book, and Pereira, thankfully, has taken the burden off ex-jocks and announcers, who can come off as befuddled as fans. He has correctly predicted the outcome of 49 of 50 replay challenges this season (he disagreed with the judgment of the refs on a DeSean Jackson reception that was ruled a catch and fumble; Pereira predicted the refs would overturn a play to an incomplete pass), but more importantly, he has imbued viewers with added knowledge.

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“My goal was not to be controversial, but to be educational,” Pereira said. “I have been somewhat successful in letting the fan know what the referee is looking for under the hood, but have I educated people as much I would have liked in rules? I probably have not done that as well as I would have liked yet. But I’ll work into that as the years go on.”

I’m not sure I totally agree with the selection but Pereira has definitely made an impact during the Fox telecasts.

How soon before CBS hires their own Mike Pereira?

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