Hiestand: Fox's Howie Long a reluctant NFL dad

• Fox NFL studio analyst Howie Long is reluctant to talk about son Chris' play with the St. Louis Rams
• ESPN's Mitch Holthus apologized for racially insensitive remarks
• Fox's Jimmy Johnson says Tim Tebow will be out of the NFL next season

While Fox sent Sunday's St. Louis Rams win against the Tampa Bay Bucs to just 4% of the USA, studio analyst Howie Long didn't miss a play. "I actually watch every snap and have the Rams game on my monitor during halftimes," Long told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday. "We're not doing rocket science, obviously. I mean, Terry (Bradshaw) and I are doing it. So I'm watching every play, as every dad would be."

Every dad, that is, with a kid in the game.

On-air, Long rarely mentions his son Chris, a defensive lineman for the Rams who was the second pick in the 2008 NFL draft after playing at Virginia. Long doesn't like talking about his son's play publicly to the point where viewers might forget he has a son playing in the NFL. Long makes only occasional vague references, such as during a game pick 'em segment Sunday when he predicted a Rams win because, well, it's "Christmas, blood, family."

Long, who helped coach Chris' high school teams in Charlottesville, Va., explains why he doesn't like to talk about Chris: "I've always purposely stayed away from that. My concern is that it would all become about me. And if you can even find me at my son's games, you're pretty good."

One time, he said, ESPN showed him onscreen at a Virginia-Georgia Tech game and his son Kyle called to tell him he needed to move to a more secluded spot.

"I'm a nervous dad," says Long. "I'm far more nervous watching my kids play than when I played myself."

And probably likely to become a more nervous NFL analyst given that Kyle, an offensive lineman at Oregon, might join the NFL next year. (A third son, Howie, attends Virginia but doesn't play football.)

Long says Kyle, like Chris, won't have to worry about his old man's mouth on TV: "I'm very mindful of what I say. ... It's not my style to try to grab a headline anyway. I'm mindful I don't want to enhance the chances of my son becoming a target."

Long made $35,000 in his first year in the NFL after being drafted in the second round in 1981. Chris signed a six-year $56.5 million rookie deal -- with $29 million guaranteed. But Long suggests money doesn't change things -- "I never thought about money when I was playing" -- and bigger salaries today are "just relative to what NFL teams make."

What has changed about the game is his take on it. "My perspective, at 52, is a lot different. When I played, I thought I was one of the 10 baddest guys in the world and should change for work in a phone booth. You need to think that way."

Now, of course he doesn't -- even though he has clearly answered the question about whether he would let his sons play football.

"We didn't push it with Chris given football is such a demanding, grinding game," says Long, whose playing days led to 12 surgeries. "The most important thing for parents is that, whoever is coaching your son or daughter, the game is taught the right way. ... And in football, it's about defending yourself."

When it's your son, he says, any stats on today's football injuries are sort of beside the point. "I text Chris before his games, 'See what you hit, keep your head up.' ''

Then, as he chats it up in Fox's studio, there's not much else he can do. "The rest of it you just pray for. There's a blind leap of faith you have to go through as a parent with a kid playing football."

Say what? ESPN analyst Lomas Brown recently said that, when he was a Detroit Lions offensive lineman in 1994, he intentionally let a defensive rusher get to his quarterback, Scott Mitchell, in hopes the struggling Mitchell might be injured and have to leave the game -- which happened.

Reacting on-air Sunday to the idea of intentionally letting a teammate take a hit, CBS' Boomer Esiason said "it's bordering on criminal," while CBS' Bill Cowher called it "classless and gutless." Says Long: "I've heard people talking about throwing someone off a plane after a bad road game, but never anything like this. ... Lomas was a tough, clean player and I have a great deal of respect for him. But if this is accurate, I bet he wishes he hadn't said it."

Sunday, ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys said only that Brown "has nothing to add at this time." And when it comes to ESPN's take on Brown, "It's not our place to comment," Soltys said.

Insensitive: In the industry's unwritten rules, sports announcers can say just about anything except using racial or ethnic stereotypes. How difficult is that to figure out?

But ESPN play-by-play announcer Mitch Holthus, on Kansas State-Florida basketball Saturday, suggested Kansas State's Angel Rodriguez, who was born in Puerto Rico, let his "Puerto Rican temper" get out of hand.

Sunday, Holtus tweeted an apology for his "poor choice of words." ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said, "It was wrong. He's apologized and we are addressing it."

Spice rack: Jim Rome, who appears on CBS-owned Showtime as well as the CBS Sports Network cable channel, occasionally pops up on CBS. Sunday, he noted on CBS' NFL pregame show that the Atlanta Falcons had "punk'd" the New York Giants last week and that he's surprised San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh hasn't had "one of his signature psychotic episodes" this season. At least those are the usual football cliches ... "Football coaches have no rhythm, we just don't," said Fox game analyst Brian Billick during a replay of Fox's Jimmy Johnson dancing alongside a band playing on a Fox movie lot during the network's pregame show. "And you cannot trust men who like to dance," Billick said. "That's been my theory my entire life." Interesting theory to have picked up as a toddler.

Clip 'n saves: TNT's Charles Barkley -- "The Dallas Mavericks are not going to win a playoff series." ... Fox's Johnson on where Tim Tebow will be next season -- "Out of the league entirely." Although ESPN will probably track him down on a regular basis. ... Talk about looking down the road: NFL Network's Michael Lombardi says if Kyle Shanahan, the Washington Redskins' offensive coordinator and son of head coach Mike Shanahan, "were to get a head coaching job and he likes (Washington backup quarterback) Kirk Cousins, he could make and trade for him. His dad certainly would help him out."

On tap: Credit ESPN's Lou Holtz with being candid in saying, "It's great for ESPN when Notre Dame is on and it's good for (former Irish coach) Lou Holtz when they're on top." And don't forget NBC, which airs Irish home games. Final regular-season college football ratings were down nearly across-the-board, as noted by SportsBusiness Daily, the exception being NBC's Notre Dame games -- up 67%. And to keep beating the drums, the NBC Sports Network cable channel on New Year's day re-airs 10 hours of ND action this season, including the team's wins against Stanford, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest -- for anybody who doesn't want live college football on New Year's. ... Former ESPN host Dana Jacobson makes her debut on the CBS Sports Network cable channel Wednesday (6 p.m. ET) as the sub host on ROME. ... 60 Minutes Sports, the sports edition of the news magazine debuting Jan. 9 on CBS-owned Showtime, features an interview with Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi, who confides that "I am never satisfied." Hear, hear.