This could get very interesting: Former Giants running back Tiki Barber, a longtime critic of Giants quarterback Eli Manning, will join his twin brother, Ronde Barber, in the broadcast booth for Fox Sports' telecast of the Giants-Buccaneers game in Tampa, Fla., on Oct. 1, John Entz, Fox Sports' president of production, told Sporting News on Monday.
An official announcement is expected Tuesday.
Fox believes it will be the first time twin brothers have called an NFL game telecast. Tiki will join Ronde's regular Fox team of play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert and sideline reporter Kristina Pink. Ronde Barber, a longtime defensive back for the Bucs, has called games for Fox since 2013. Tiki Barber co-hosts "Tiki & Tierney" with partner Brandon Tierney on CBS Radio.
There has been bad blood between Tiki Barber and Manning for more than a decade, with Barber repeatedly criticizing his former teammate.
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During his stint on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" in 2007, Barber described the low-key Manning's attempt to lead an offensive team meeting as "comical." Manning countered that Tiki Barber lost the "heart" to play the previous season in 2006.
Manning then answered Barber, and the rest of his critics, by leading the G-Men to an upset win over Tom Brady's Patriots at Super Bowl XLII. Manning directed another upset of the Pats in Super Bowl XLVI.
The two men were at it again in 2014 when Tiki Barber called for then-Giants coach Tom Coughlin to be fired. "Very nice of him. Good to hear from ol' Tiki," Manning snapped back.
Coughlin was forced out as Giants coach after the 2015 season.
When he was asked last year to name the top quarterback in the NFC East, Tiki Barber went with the Redskins' Kirk Cousins over Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP. "Eli and Tony (Romo, then of the Cowboys) are old. Kirk just feels like he took the right steps," Barber said.
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“Rarely does a TV network have the chance to broadcast a game from the perspective Ronde and Tiki Barber will provide Fox Sports,” Entz said in a statement to Sporting News. “It is always beneficial to have an analyst who played for one of the teams on the field, but to have both teams represented in the TV booth, by twin brothers, will be truly unique. Both men are sharp and astute on their own, so when they are paired alongside Kenny Albert, it will be intriguing to watch them play off of each other.”
Tiki Barber said in a statement he'll bring Fox viewers a "different perspective" based on having lived in the New York/New Jersey area for 20 years.
"Ronde and I played against one another five times professionally, and it was always a lot of fun," Tiki Barber said.
Besides his CBS Radio gig, Tiki Barber runs a New York company, Thuzio, that connects former athletes and celebrities with corporate events. After retiring from the NFL in 2006 (and missing out on a Giants Super Bowl ring), he attempted an NFL comeback four seasons later. There were no takers.
Fox has been experimenting with its announce teams for different sports. The network brought in active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup drivers Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer to call a "Drivers Only" NASCAR Xfinity Series race from Pocono Raceway in June.
Look for more one-off announcer moves like the Barber pairing as Fox tried to boost viewer interest.
