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Shannon Sharpe: Skip Bayless and I ‘Barely Talked’

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As Shannon Sharpe gave a heartfelt goodbye to his longtime Undisputed co-host Skip Bayless, it marked the end of a near seven-year run together on FOX Sports 1. For two-and-a-half hours each morning, Sharpe and Bayless would debate the sports topics of the day and help define an era of debate television. Directly opposing them for most of that time was First Take on ESPN, a show that they had both been a part of in varying capacities over the years.

Stephen A. Smith, working alongside analyst Max Kellerman and host Molly Qerim, engaged in a similar format before the show adopted a new format in late 2021. As Smith utilized the deep ESPN talent pool to have experts on different topics oppose him, the show grew in popularity and, at times, left Undisputed significantly behind in the ratings.

Sharpe is now a member of First Take and is contributing to the program on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the football season. At the same time, he is building Shay Shay Media with his flagship Club Shay Shay Podcast on The Volume and working to produce content in tandem with the media brand.

Nonetheless, he misses working with FOX Sports 1 on a daily basis because of all the people on the lot aside from the show itself. From the security guard that would walk him to and from his car every day to those in wardrobe, props and in the cafeteria, no longer being able to see them for 240 days throughout the year has been a difficult thing to come to terms with.

“People don’t understand just how hard I worked at that job,” Sharpe said in a recent interview on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “What they saw was the two-and-a-half hours a day, but they didn’t see the prep – the six-seven hours of prep time I actually did to get ready for the show [and] the re-watching of the entire show to try and get better.”

After Sharpe completed his protracted answer to Smith about the things he misses most regarding FOX Sports, the First Take featured commentator elocuted an observation he made therein.

“You do understand that in that lengthy answer that you just gave to my question, you did not mention Skip Bayless one time,” Smith said. “You do know that.”

There were reportedly growing tensions between Sharpe and Bayless that ultimately led to the latter’s exit from the network. When Sharpe officially departed, Bayless and FOX Sports 1 management began work on compiling a new cast and format for the program, which relaunched earlier this month. Michael Irvin, Keyshawn Johnson, Richard Sherman, Rachel Nichols, Josina Anderson and Lil’ Wayne have all appeared on the show as contributors, facing off against Bayless, an institution and influential professional in the format.

Sharpe has gone on the record numerous times to thank Bayless for everything he did to welcome him to the network and create a stellar program. The part that he revealed to Smith was that they did not have much of a relationship off of the set, even within the corridors of the production facility.

“Skip would get to work; I would get to work,” Sharpe described. “I was in my dressing room; he was in his dressing room. It was really like a heavyweight fight. We barely talked…. [and] it was not a carry on a conversation and then, all of a sudden, we get up there and do what we do…. It was very little communication.”

Some of the public perception of Sharpe’s time on FOX Sports 1 and the split he had with the network adopted the notion, “Skip Bayless made Shannon Sharpe.” The remark perturbs Sharpe, who was a three-time Super Bowl champion and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame before he started working at the network. As one of the most accomplished tight ends in the history of the National Football League, he had already been enshrined in the history of the game and sports as a whole in perpetuity. The aspect of his being that FOX Sports 1 helped him with was in becoming more popular and well-known, and it is something he owes to Bayless and the program itself.

“Skip Bayless did not make Shannon Sharpe relatable. Skip Bayless did not make Shannon Sharpe the storyteller that he is [and] Skip Bayless did not make Shannon Sharpe the football player that can break down plays,” Sharpe articulated. “….I miss debating him, but it had gotten to the point over the last six-seven months – and I won’t allow it to ruin the six great years that we had – but it had gotten to the point that we needed to go our separate ways.”

‘The Dan Patrick Show’ Criticizes Sound on ‘Thursday Night Football’

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‘The Dan Patrick Show’ Criticizes Sound on ‘Thursday Night Football’

Thursday night’s matchup between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers ended up being a compelling game to watch throughout the first several quarters and was enhanced by the stellar images and presentation from Amazon Prime Video. The Thursday Night Football property recently garnered record-setting streaming numbers from its season premiere, according to a custom integrated streaming report by Nielsen Media Research.

Even so, there was critical feedback from many fans watching regarding the sonic experience of watching the game. Viewers complained that there was an inherent lack of crowd noise and field-level sound, making it more difficult to fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere.

“You pay all this money for that game [and] you can’t hear that it sounds like crap,” Patrick “Seton” O’Connor, an executive producer of The Dan Patrick Show, said on Friday. “There’s no atmosphere – you’ve got no crowd sound; the mics are all over the place. It’s terrible.”

Show host Dan Patrick concurred with this point, relaying that his wife walked by the television and thought something was amiss with the sound. When she asked Patrick what was happening, he replied that it was due to the presentation from Prime Video. Although most viewers ended up watching the game anyway, the inadequate soundscape detracted from the aura of the contest and dampened the viewing experience.

“I love [Kirk] Herbstreit [and] I love Al Michaels, but when I have the game on, do you ever have your stereo in your car and you have the bass and the treble set and somehow it gets reset – and everything’s reset to medium?,” Paul Pabst, an executive producer of The Dan Patrick Show, said. “You’re like, ‘Where’s the highs? Where’s the lows? It has that feeling.’”

The lack of dynamic contrast and aggregate timbre caused some viewers to connote that the broadcast sounds flat despite the stellar, highly-experienced commentary team. Improving on the sound and other customer feedback will be critical in incentivizing non-ardent fans to return to the property or try it altogether.

“We’ve created the atmosphere that is so good that you don’t even have to go to a game,” Patrick said. “With the sound of it, the TVs, [and] the quality… it’s almost a better experience sometimes when you’re sitting at home.”

In addition to watching the National Football League, Pabst frequently consumes college football on Saturdays, including the prime-time presentations. When he is viewing those games, he can feel the noise of the crowd permeating through the speakers and be part of the crowd.

“It’s thunderous,” Pabst said. “The crowd noise almost overwhelms [Chris] Fowler, sometimes in a good way, and it’s hard to tell what’s going on there.”

Finding games on Amazon Prime Video has been a difficult proposition for some users, evidenced by O’Connor describing how it took him 10 minutes to begin watching the Giants-49ers game last night. The game was broadcast regionally on FOX for those in the New York metropolitan area, but for O’Connor, he noticed that the network had the baseball contest between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies on instead.

“I look and I’m like, ‘I swear there was a game tonight,’ and I see it’s in the first quarter.’ What the hell is going on?,” thought O’Connor. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot Amazon was a thing; it’s just not a TV destination all the time for me.”

Bill Handel: Everything Rupert Murdoch Touched Turned to Gold

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Seemingly every news media professional has an opinion on the decision of Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch to step aside and allow his son, Lachlan, to take control. That list includes KFI-AM 640 morning host Bill Handel.

During his morning show Friday, Handel reacted to the news of Murdoch’s departure, noting the massive amounts of success the billionaire had.

“This is an organization that he built, which is second to none, that now owns The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post. He has for decades had unbelievable influence in the Republican Party, and his decision to step down as chairman now that sent all kinds of shock with shockwaves through the political world, especially the Republican world, just as the presidential rates heats up,” Handel said.

He continued by noting that while Fox News turned into a “shill” under Murdoch’s watch, the success is undeniable.

“He is one of the most interesting characters in the world of broadcast. I got to tell you that everything this guy touches turns to gold. He anticipated everything– except for a couple of big, big mistakes that didn’t hurt his billionaire status very much. Rupert Murdoch is truly one of the most influential people that are out there in the world of media, in the world of what we see, and in the world of what we hear.”

Rick Cordella Named President of NBC Sports

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Rick Cordella Named President of NBC Sports

Three months after Pete Bevacqua stepped down as the chairman of NBC Sports to become the new athletic director at the University of Notre Dame, his alma mater, the company has decided on its next leader. Rick Cordella, who has been with NBCUniversal since 2006 serving in a variety of different roles, has been promoted to the role of “President, NBC Sports,” and will report directly to Mark Lazarus, the chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group.

Cordella most recently served as the president of programming for NBC Sports and Peacock Sports, a role in which he oversaw strategy for the sustained growth of both platforms. Peacock will be the exclusive home of a game within the NFL Wild Card round on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, marking the first time such an occurrence is taking place. Cordella was an integral member of the founding team for Peacock and served as the chief commercial officer for the over-the-top (OTT) streaming service. Under his leadership, NBC Sports garnered the accolade for the most-streamed Olympics and Super Bowl in history as the platform more than doubled its subscriber count year-over-year (YoY) to 24 million.

The six-time Sports Emmy Award winner began his tenure with the company within its fantasy sports properties, specifically overseeing Rotoworld and a variety of additional websites under its purview. Cordella was also a board member of FanDuel and represented NBC Sports on behalf of its investment in the sportsbook and gambling company. Additionally, he also has experience in digital media and has worked on the launch of several direct-to-consumer and online services, including NBC Sports Gold, ProFootballTalk and NBCSports.com, while also outlining content and editorial strategy.

“Rick has been at the epicenter of NBC Sports for years with a proven track record of growth and innovation across all platforms, particularly our flagship NBC network as well as Peacock, where he helped architect our leadership role in sports and streaming,” Lazarus said in a statement. “Rick will oversee the evolution of our business as we continue to offer the best experiences and content to our viewers, as well as be the best partner to leagues and rights holders.”

NBC is in the second year of a $20 billion media rights contract with the National Football League, primarily centered on its Sunday Night Football property. The lead broadcast booth of Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark is in its second season working together. NBC also started broadcasting Big Ten Conference football games this fall with its new B1G Ten Saturday property featuring Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge and Kathryn Tappen.

The company recently reacquired the rights for WWE SmackDown, which will air weekly starting in Oct. 2024 on USA Network, and will produce four specials in prime time each year as part of the deal. NBC is paying $7.75 billion to broadcast the Olympic Games through the 2028 festivities in Los Angeles, Calif., and has been working with Major League Baseball to present an exclusive Sunday morning contest on Peacock each week. These properties, plus other aspects of its business, will be under the leadership of Lazarus, Cordella and other executives at the company.

“It’s a continuation of what we’ve been doing,” Cordella told John Ourand of Sports Business Journal. “It’s less about this being the start of a new day and more about how we’re going to keep executing the way we have.”

Molly Qerim Welcomes Celebrities, Stephen A. Smith’s Sister to Roast First Pitch Attempt

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When video circulated of Stephen A. Smith’s ceremonial first pitch prior to the New York Yankees’ matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night, he was promptly chided and excoriated for bouncing it to home plate. Many celebrities inside and outside the sports media world chimed in on the situation, and First Take fans left comments in eager anticipation for the episode the next morning. The interest was heightened when show host Molly Qerim posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she would be taking live callers to “discuss that atrocity on the mound” by Smith.

Qerim helped orchestrate what she called a “telethon” and ensured Smith heard from a variety of people associated with the show about the delivery. First Take contributors Shannon Sharpe, Dan Orlovsky and Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo submitted video messages that played live over the air throughout the episode – much of which was focused on the moment. Smith even practiced throwing a baseball in the studio during Thursday’s edition of the program and spoke about how he would wind up from the mound rather than the cut of the grass in front of it.

“Stephen A., I know you’re the executive producer, but today I am,” Qerim said. “I’d like the sound from last night of Stephen A. in the [YES Network] booth; could we get that please?”

At Qerim’s request, First Take shared what Smith said with Michael Kay in the television broadcast booth last night. During his appearance, he discussed how he felt when he took the field and recognized the magnitude of the situation.

“I was warming up down there – I was throwing strikes from 60 feet away – and I got on that mound and it looked like it was a mile away,” Smith said. “I said, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’…. There’s no excuse; there’s no excuse. It was a choke job.”

Throughout the episode leading into the weekend, messages from celebrities including Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg were displayed on the air, along with a live call from television host and producer Steve Harvey. Qerim, however, was saving a moment that would rattle Smith towards the end of the show when she revealed that Smith’s beloved sister, Carmen, was on the line.

“Steve, I taught you better than that,” Carmen said. “I had to look at it over again and say, ‘Did he just do that?’ And then hearing that you had a hot dog when I sent you food; you had a hot dog. I think that throw – you had to pass gas or something.”

Carmen explained that when Smith lifted his leg up in his attempt to fire a strike, he likely emitted flatulence because of the hot dog he ate at Yankee Stadium. Qerim and analyst Ryan Smith were consumed by laughter before they collected themselves and presented Carmen with an additional query.

“Hey Carmen, aren’t you happy you didn’t go now because that would have been embarrassing?,” Qerim asked. “You’d have to claim him after that.”

“I would’ve left him right there,” Carmen replied. “I would’ve disappeared [and] I would’ve went home. He wouldn’t even got back to wherever he was eating a hot dog.”

Smith was aghast to see what Qerim and the rest of the show’s production staff had pulled off in getting his sister to come live on the air. As a result, he vowed vengeance for the program that they had successfully executed. Nonetheless, Carmen reflected on what had happened and what she would have done had she known Smith would bounce the pitch in front of the crowd.

“Steve, the day before you were here, I would’ve had the headlights on the car,” Carmen explained. “We would’ve been throwing in the street at nighttime if I knew you were going to throw like that. Come on; you’re better than that.”

Kevin Harlan on No Nick Chubb Replay: ‘I Don’t Think We’re in the Business of Gruesome’

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Kevin Harlan on No Nick Chubb Replay: ‘I Don’t Think We’re in the Business of Gruesome’

Kevin Harlan calls Monday Night Football games on the radio for Westwood One. He and partner Kurt Warner were in Cleveland on Monday night and witnessed the injury that ended Nick Chubb’s season.

His radio crew did not have to decide whether or not to show a replay of the incident. He told Richard Deitsch of The Athletic that he thinks Joe Buck and ESPN made the right call in not showing a replay and handled it the right way on air.

“I’m glad Joe [Buck] said what he said. It was honest. I don’t think we’re in the business of gruesome. I think we’re in the business of reporting. And I think those words and the reaction of the players told it all.”

Harlan did not see the knee injury occur in real time. In fact, the only way he knew its severity was from the crowd’s reaction to an in-stadium replay. 

He says he actually did not see it at all until the next day when he was shown a clip of it. He said “it was as bad as I had feared.”

In 2017, Harlan was on the call of the Celtics’ season opener in Cleveland for TNT. That was the game where Gordon Hayward broke his ankle in his first game with Boston. He said it is the only thing he could compare the atmosphere surrounding Chubb’s injury to.

“There was bone and blood,” he said. “I could hear it and see it because we’re courtside. My recollection of it was TNT did not show the replay. I think we just conveyed it was about as gruesome as you might assume.”

Many other broadcasters have disagreed with Harlan’s assessment. This week, Dan Patrick, Mike Stone and Pardon My Take have all advocated for the moment to be replayed with a disclaimer about the severity of what the audience will see.

Sid Rosenberg: I’ve Never Worked for an Owner Like John Catsimatidis

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Sid Rosenberg: I’ve Never Worked for an Owner Like John Catsimatidis

77 WABC has risen to new heights under the ownership of John Catsimatidis and his Red Apple Media group. Morning host Sid Rosenberg shared his appreciation for his owner Friday morning.

Before welcoming Catsimatidis to Sid and Friends in the Morning, Rosenberg shared a story of a recent meeting the two had in his New York office.

“I’ll tell you, I had a meeting — I’m not gonna tell you what it’s about, it’s none of your business — but I had a meeting a couple of days ago in John’s office. We discussed a couple of topics and it was great meeting. Ended in about a half hour. Then I leaned over and gave him a big kiss, like I always do,” Rosenberg said.

“I told him I loved him, which I really do love him. I’ve been in this business now for 25 years and I’ve worked for the biggest radio stations and companies in the history of this business and it’s never been that way ever.

“John, I just want to tell you that the way you run the company, the way you treat your employees — basically me — is really nice. It’s more like a family having a discussion than it is an employee sitting with a boss.”

John Catsimatidis told Sid Rosenberg he appreciated the kind words, and that he continues to “really enjoy the people at WABC”. The billionaire then shared that the group has worked together to become number one and “We’re gonna surpass number one”.

Chris Chelios ‘Kind of Surprised’ to be Let Go From ESPN

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Back in June, Hockey Hall-of-Famer Chris Chelios was let go by ESPN as part of their talent cuts. He was part of the network’s NHL coverage for the past two years. Even though Chelios will be back in the studio this year as an analyst for NBC SportsChicago’s Blackhawks coverage, it was a move that definitely surprised him.

“I really enjoyed it. I was kind of surprised I didn’t get asked back, but it was a good experience and maybe it will open up some doors in Chicago for me,” he said this week on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. “I really did enjoy the time I had with them for that two years. I got more and more comfortable as we went on. You hate getting traded, you hate getting fired. I didn’t like it too much that I was released.”

If there was one thing that Chelios found tough about the position, it was being critical of the players. He  felt that he was in the studio with Mark Messier and Steve Levy or calling a game that he was fair with criticism and no criticism ever got personal with any player.

“For me, it was real tough to be critical on players, but I like to think I just call it like I see it. If a guy has a bad game, he has a bad game. It never got personal with me with any of the players.”

At the same time, Chelios enjoyed the ESPN experience because it allowed him to keep his name out there in the NHL world and be around some great people.

“I loved working with Messier and Levy and those guys. It was a way to stay relevant, not to me that was real important, but it was great being around the guys again.”

In addition to getting to do some analyst work for Blackhawks coverage this year Chelios will also have his jersey retired by the team on February 25 when Chicago takes on one of his former teams, the Detroit Red Wings. 

Gregg Giannotti on Taylor Rooks: ‘Send in a 10’ to Get Players Talking

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This week’s Thursday Night Football matchup between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers came off a record-setting week for Prime Video, according to an integrated streaming report by Nielsen Media Research. There were questions surrounding the impending contest off the field pertaining to injuries, and the TNF Tonight pregame show did its best to address pertinent information.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley headlined the team’s injury report after suffering an ankle injury last week, something the team publicly called a sprain. New information was divulged on Thursday night from Barkley himself after features reporter Taylor Rooks asked him about his injury. He then proceeded to reveal that he was dealing with a mild high ankle sprain, an impediment more serious than originally thought.

WFAN host Gregg Giannotti watched the entire pregame show and watched the desk discuss the state of New York football, including New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson. The report from Rooks, a reputable source of information who formerly worked for SportsNet New York (SNY) occurred shortly thereafter. While she has a network of contacts and insider information about the league, Giannotti believes there was another reason she got the exclusive story.

“It’s funny because all we heard was, ‘It’s a regular ankle sprain; not a high ankle sprain,’” Giannotti explained Friday morning on WFAN. “Then Taylor Rooks gets over there and finds out it’s a high ankle sprain. I was thinking, ‘You know what? I’d tell her anything too. Whatever you need to know, Taylor, about me, I will tell you.’”

Giannotti watched the Giants lose the contest 30-12 and fall to a 1-2 overall record, but he also began to ponder over the manner in which Rooks was able to effectively do her job. It led him to make a proposition on the air that challenges the effectiveness of the team’s beat writers because of their collective age and appearance.

“I also thought, ‘Why don’t we use more attractive women in interrogation scenarios?,’” Giannotti said. “This is what I was thinking about after I saw this last night. Art Stapleton couldn’t get that out of Saquon Barkley – I love Art Stapleton, but there’s no way. Taylor Rooks got it out of him right away, so why don’t we send in some of these interrogation scenarios where people are just totally zipped up – send in a ‘10’ in there, [and the] next thing you know, ‘Yeah, it was him. He did it, and I did it. We did it together!’”

Giannotti’s co-host Boomer Esiason was surprised to hear Rooks get that information from Barkley, and has not seen anyone in the media react to the occurrence. The injury update changes the way in which people consider his timeline for a return and was a part of the Prime Video broadcast that Giannotti valued.

“Yeah, of course, great reporting,” Giannotti said. “I’m just thinking about all the Giants beat writers sitting around – old guys who look like me just stewing and trying to hide farts in the locker room.”

Geraldo Rivera: Rupert Murdoch Was ‘Sincerely Motivated’ to Create Conservative News

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Geraldo Rivera departed Fox News under less-than-ideal circumstances earlier this year. That doesn’t mean he can’t share admiration for departing Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch.

During an appearance on CNN Tonight with Laura Coates after Murdoch announced he would exit his long-held role with the company, Rivera had good things to say about the media titan.

“He has always been nice to me, kind to me, (and) generous. When they cut my salary in half — when they had the big cutback before the pandemic — I went up and I said, ‘Hey boss, this is not right. I went in to combat for you and this and that,’ and he called downstairs and he said, ‘Okay, restore part of that cut.’ So, I see him as a good boss,” Rivera said. “A vibrant, charismatic guy, still full of verb and energy at 92 years old.”

Rivera went on to defend Murdoch from accusations that the salacious and partisan news coverage provided by his outlets was a ploy to advance conservative causes.

“I think it does a disservice to think that it was all sleazy kind of opportunism because I don’t believe that he believed that. I believe that he was sincerely motivated,” said Geraldo Rivera. “He could have, for example, when Fox News was being created, gone the way of other Fox syndicated programs like A Current Affair and gone tabloid and celebrities and all that TMZ kind of stuff.

“Instead, he went to serve a conservative audience, and while I disagree with almost everything in all of their positions — the majority of talent at Fox News — I appreciate the fact that half the people believe — for example — that abortion is a moral wrong, or that gun rights are absolute, or that immigration is bad, or that the climate is not changing. They’re very skeptical about that. Those are people who deserve to have their media.”

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