Al Michaels Addresses The Hilariously Petty Thing He's Done To Upset NBC

Al Michaels is nearing the end of Year One with Amazon Prime, and it's been a ROLLERCOASTER for arguably the greatest broadcaster to ever do it.

Michaels, 78, has been dealt an absolutely brutal hand by the NFL scheduling Gods. Don't forget, at one point, he had to sit through nearly eight straight quarters of no touchdowns.

Viewers have also noticed that, at times, he's given off some 'angry old man' vibes. Some also haven't exactly loved his (still growing) chemistry with Kirk Herbstreit.

Perhaps the biggest elephant in the room all season, however, has been something else fans picked up on earlier in the year. When doing reads and promos for the upcoming games on a particular weekend, Michaels seems to always casually avoid saying "NBC."

Instead, fans noted, the seasoned vet just says "Sunday Night Football" when referring to his former network.

Well, for those - like me - who were hoping to get petty Al Michaels this holiday season, you're out of luck.

Our guys swears it hasn't been intentional!

"Not really, no,” Michaels told the New York Post, which noted that execs within NBC had even started to notice the omission.

“Sunday night. No. No. I didn’t even think about that. When you say ‘Sunday night,’ they know. I probably don’t (say ESPN) when I say, ‘Monday night.’ They know where it is.”

Al Michaels has been on a rollercoaster this season after leaving NBC. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Amazon)

Al Michaels to call playoff game on NBC, return to Amazon next season

Eh, I don't know, Al. For someone that's a notorious loose cannon in the booth, I'm not sure I'm buying it.

Don't forget, Al Michaels was making subtle gambling references during games long before it was legal. Don't think for a second he doesn't know exactly what he's doing up there, even at 78.

It's no secret that Michaels didn't want to leave NBC's Sunday Night Football after last season, and that he was more so forced out to make room for Mike Tirico.

Why NBC thinks Mike Tirico is a better announcer than Al Michaels, I don't know, but apparently someone important enough did and poor Al was kicked to the curb.

Now, with all that being said ...

Michaels will actually be calling an NFL playoff game next month for NBC. How about that for a twist at the end?!

Al Michaels returns to NBC next month. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

The longtime broadcaster has something called an emeritus deal with NBC that will allow him to still call some playoff games and the Olympics for the network in the future.

With that in mind, he continued this week, there's no way he could have any ill-will towards his former employer.

“No, no,” Michaels said. “Somebody is trying to make stuff up about that. That has nothing do with it."

Whatever you say, big cat.

I still prefer petty, gambling, slightly angry and annoyed Al Michaels myself, so I choose to believe he purposely omits "NBC" from any reads and hope he continues to do so until the end of days.