Al Michaels cracks Lake Ontario joke amid ongoing name controversy

It only took one possession for veteran play-by-play man Al Michaels to get into midseason form during Amazon Prime Video’s preseason “Thursday Night Football” broadcast.

The broadcast was coming back from a commercial after the Browns opened the game with a touchdown from Dillon Gabriel to Luke Floriea. It showed an aerial shot of Huntington Bank Field, which abuts Lake Erie.

Michaels used that opportunity to crack a joke about U.S. president Donald Trump’s order to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” amid an ongoing trade dispute with Canada.

“That is Lake Erie. We think it is still called Lake Erie – we’re not quite sure at this point,” Michaels said. “But we’ll be by Lake something like Ontario or whatever it’s going to be called by the time we get to Buffalo. Anyway, you know what I’m talking about, some of you do. Read the news.”

Al Michaels: “That is Lake Erie. We think it is still called Lake Erie… We’re not quite sure at this point. But we’ll be by Lake something like Ontario or whatever it’s going to be called by the time we get to Buffalo. Anyway, you know what I’m talking about… Read the news.” https://t.co/95yBtkta2Upic.twitter.com/zqOHbR7sST

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 28, 2026