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Mike Greenberg: ‘Chris Mortensen is on the Mt. Rushmore of ESPN Personalities’ 

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After news this week broke that longtime ESPN NFL insider Chris Mortensen would be retiring, several of his colleagues at the network offered reflections on the impact Mortensen made in his more than three decades of service.

Host Mike Greenberg said if you were putting together a Mount Rushmore of ESPN personalities, Chris Mortensen would absolutely be on it.

“You hear all the time, ‘So and so is great at their job but they’re an even better person,'” Greeny said this week on Get Up. “The most obvious example of that I’ve ever known is Chris Mortensen.”

NFL Live host Laura Rutledge said that Mortensen’s kindness was a standout quality of his.

“He was so kind to me for absolutely no reason other than the fact he is a kind man and a wonderful person,” she said. “He endorsed my credibility and paved a lot of the way for me.”

Dan Orlovsky added Chris was one of the people at ESPN he wanted to be like.

“He is one of those people you try to emulate when you get into this industry because it’s cutthroat and it’s tough,” he said. “His authenticity and being such a good man was something that was super gravitating.”

Michael Kay: Why is it Unusual That I Idolize Howard Stern?

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It was a dream realized for ESPN New York host Michael Kay on Wednesday, as he got a shoutout from legendary SiriusXM host Howard Stern.

Stern played a clip of Kay and Paul O’Neal from a recent Yankees broadcast where they reacted to a group of fans who started chanting “Baba Booey,” a reference to The Howard Stern Show. Kay talked about how big a fan he was of Stern.

On The Michael Kay Show Wednesday, Kay said Stern shouting him out made his whole day.

“I’m good,” Kay told co-hosts Peter Rosenberg and Don La Greca. “Even if I never get a chance to talk with him, the fact that he said something nice about me I’m good now!”

Peter found it odd that Michael would consider Stern an idol, especially considering the two are somewhat close in age. Stern is 69 years old, while Kay is 62.

“Why is it unusual that I idolize somebody that’s close to my age?” Kay later asked. “I don’t understand that.”

Rosenberg felt like idol was too strong of a word for Kay to use. He said admire was more fitting.

“I think that someone who is almost a contemporary you can just say you really admire their work. That’s how I view it,” he said. “There are a lot of broadcasters that I admire, but I can’t say I idolize them, because I’m a contemporary almost.”

Kay said even though he hasn’t made anywhere near the kind of money Stern has throughout his career in radio, the two of them aren’t so different.

“I look at him with all of his insecurities and I have all the same insecurities,” Kay said. “I see myself there, and I’ve carved out a pretty nice career for myself but nothing close to Howard Stern. No broadcaster has.”

ESPN Names Lindsey Thiry National NFL Reporter, Extends Insider Jeremy Fowler

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ESPN is in the process of finalizing its National Football League broadcasting lineup after the sudden departure of Lee Fitting, former senior vice president of production, after 25 years with the network. Ahead of the regular season premiere of Monday Night Football, the network has elevated Lindsey Thiry to a national NFL reporter. As part of the new role, Thiry will cover games and league events, along with providing signature storytelling and appearing on studio programming including Sunday NFL Countdown.

Thiry previously served as the Los Angeles Chargers team reporter on ESPN’s NFL Nation, which came after covering the Los Angeles Rams. She comes to the role with deft local experience and versatility, working at the Los Angeles Times and covering the local sports teams, including the Dodgers and Lakers. Thiry was honored as the recipient of The Associated Press sports editors’ award for a short video she made in 2016.

In addition to Thiry’s promotion, the network has re-signed NFL insider Jeremy Fowler to a multiyear deal. As part of the deal, Fowler will retain his role covering the league, its players and coaches while appearing on studio programming such as SportsCenter.

Fowler first joined the network in 2014 as a senior writer and has produced content on television and in written form. Over the years, he has been a member of Sunday NFL Countdown as a field reporter and also contributed to coverage of the NFL Draft. His stint at the network began following time employed as a national college football insider for CBSSports.com and as a panelist on CBS Sports Network.

Thiry and Fowler will be prominently featured across ESPN platforms throughout the 2023 NFL regular season, which begins on Monday with the New York Jets’ matchup against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. EST/5:15 p.m. PST.

The Walt Disney Company is entering the first year of a 10-year media rights agreement with the National Football League during which it will air 25 games across ESPN and ABC. Moreover, the Monday night property will have flex scheduling ability for the first time and feature the alternate broadcast, Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli.

Fred Toucher on Hard Knocks: ‘I Don’t Know What Coaches Without Cameras On Them Sound Like’

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Fred Toucher on Hard Knocks: ‘I Don’t Know What Coaches Without Cameras On Them Sound Like’

With the conclusion of the HBO Sports and NFL Films original series, Hard Knocks, plenty of media personalities are divulging their opinions about the five-part endeavor. “Gang Green” is led by superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, with a litany of young, all-star players garnering an insatiable appetite for a Super Bowl championship.

The Jets will first seek to break a 12-year playoff drought, and head coach Robert Saleh has tried to make his team cognizant of the fact that playing hard is not the expectation of the team. In fact, Saleh remarked that it is his biggest pet peeve when other head coaches commend the effort level of his team after a loss.

Fred Toucher is a fan of the New York Jets, but since he hosts radio shows in Boston, Mass. on 98.5 The Sports Hub, he has been unable to attend a game at MetLife Stadium. This year, he is hoping to change that, realizing that he has a friend who lives by the stadium and could potentially take him to the airport. Since he is a morning host, Toucher surmises that he would need to go to a 1 p.m. game, but the problem lies in that only half of the Jets eight home games kick off at that time.

“I figured since the Jets are going to the Super Bowl and everything, I could finally take my son to MetLife Stadium,” Toucher said. “….One of [the games is] a Patriots game, but I can’t go to that one, and I believe they only have one other one at home, and that is an Atlanta Falcons game in early December. But such is the price for being the talk of all athletics.”

Co-host Rich Shertenlieb interjected by conveying that Saleh reminds him of former Boston Red Sox outfielder Johnny Gomes. He made the assumption because Gomes was very confident in himself, something that the Jets’ head coach exhibited with his protracted speeches that include elements of storytelling.

“It has been an entire preseason of Hard Knocks of him having speeches like that,” Shertenlieb said.

Through his remarks, Shertenlieb seemed to affirm that Saleh was embellishing his interactions or exaggerating parts of training camp. A comparison was made to Dan Campbell, head coach of the Detroit Lions, and the genuine passion he exuded when his team was featured on the show last season.

“The guy’s got a camera on him all week,” Toucher said of Saleh. “I don’t know what the coaches who don’t have cameras on them talk like.”

“Dan Campbell – that’s who he is,” Shertenlieb said. “This is Saleh ramping it up.”

Toucher has not watched an episode of the show since the first week but has viewed several clips from the hit series. Within his observations, he noticed how expletives were often used around the training facility, something Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo deemed as excessive Wednesday morning on First Take. Show anchor Jon Wallach noticed the same thing and felt like Saleh was redundantly featured during the series.

“It seems like now that I’m hearing [the speeches] over and over again, either I’m getting tired of it or I’m seeing him more as a try-hard than I did before,” Wallach said. “….All the spotlighting of Saleh and, ‘We’re going to kick your ass.’ Enough.”

The New York Jets open the 2023 NFL regular season on Monday Night Football on Monday, Sept. 11 against the Buffalo Bills at 8:15 p.m. EST/5:15 p.m. PST. Two weeks later, the Jets face off against the New England Patriots in their second home game of the season in a matchup that is sure to intrigue a wide portion of fans in the northeast region of the United States.

Dan Mandis: Mainstream Media is Out of Touch With Everyday Americans

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Dan Mandis: Mainstream Media is Out of Touch With Everyday Americans

While the 2024 Presidential campaigns are still largely in their infancy, polls continue to show a virtual dead heat between former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden. Reaction has been mixed to those polls, and SuperTalk 99.7 WTN host Dan Mandis isn’t really sure why.

During Nashville’s Morning News Tuesday, Mandis argued that a recent segment from ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that showed bewilderment that the polls were that close shows the media isn’t in touch with the average citizen.

“They’re hyper-focused on Trump’s indictments when in reality it’s starting to feel like this is just something that the left and the media are just trying to foster. But in reality, the American people are experiencing inflation and rising costs,” said Mandis. “The other part about this is that Wall Street Journal article also showed in the polling shows that the American people find Donald Trump far more and I mean, far more, accomplished than Joe Biden.

“So while you got these knuckleheads in the media hyper-focused on ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe Donald Trump, a guy with 91 indictments, the Republicans will vote for anybody! He’s going to be a felon!’, the American people are looking at the direction of our country, and they’re worried about it. That’s what they’re voting on. That’s what they’re discussing,” Dan Mandis concluded.

Juice Reel AI Competing in Circa Friday Football Invitational

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Juice Reel AI Competing in Circa Friday Football Invitational

Juice Reel, a sports betting analytical tool that provides people with real-time data and insights to better guide their bets, is taking on a new challenge against some of the world’s most skilled handicappers. Its Chip_Bayless.ai artificial intelligence (AI) tool will face off against 16 handicappers in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Circa Friday Football Invitational. According to a press release from the company, the event marks the first time this kind of technology will pervade into the world of sports betting against human experts. The showdown is similar to when Garry Kasparov took on IBM’s Deep Blue in a game of chess, resulting in his defeat by the artificial intelligence.

“While it’s exciting to be a part of this first Man vs. Machine moment in sports betting, our bet-picking AI is just one use-case of our data and technology that we’ve deployed for the benefit of our user community,” Ricky Gold, chief executive officer and founder of Juice Reel said in a statement. “We look forward to continually expanding on the other data-driven insights capabilities of our platform.”

Some of the contenders will include “Stanford” Steve Coughlin and Jim McIngvale (“Mattress Mack”), both of whom have become prominent figures in the world of sports betting. Aside from delivering daily picks each day at noon, the app also allows people to understand their proclivities in the practice and identify strengths and weaknesses. The SharpMush Strength within the tool also helps bettors evaluate the bets they should place based on performance from other users.

The matchup will take place within the larger Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSIN) event and features a larger handicapper field featuring Chris “The Bear” Fallica, Doug Kezirian and Kelly Stewart among others. This invitational takes place throughout the season starting on Friday, Sept. 8 that includes seven plays from the college and NFL sides, along with totals.

ABC News Adds Dr. Darien Sutton as Medical Correspondent

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As COVID-19 cases in the U.S. begin to reemerge, ABC News has added Dr. Darien Sutton as its medical correspondent.

Based in New York, Sutton will contribute to ABC News coverage of not only the COVID-19 pandemic but other health and science-related stories, including the FDA, public health management, and ongoing educational research.

Sutton has previously worked for ABC News as a contributor during the heights of the pandemic. A graduate of New York University, he has practice medicine in both New York and Los Angeles.

“As we begin to see an uptick in COVID numbers across the country, we are reminded that medical issues are at the forefront of our viewers’ minds,” ABC News President Kim Godwin said in an email to staffers announcing the hiring.

“I look forward to Dr. Darien’s continued expertise as he joins our stellar Medical Unit led by chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton and executive producer Eric Strauss to continue serving our audience with clear and straightforward health and wellness reporting.”

HBO’s ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’ Ending After Ongoing Season

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Bryant Gumbel’s acclaimed series, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, will be leaving the HBO lineup, ending after 29 years on the air and more than 300 episodes. The program has won 37 Sports Emmy Awards and three Peabody awards, with each episode containing multiple in-depth storytelling endeavors. The program, executive produced by Joe Perskie, has premiered episodes throughout the summer featuring segments with Brad Daughtery, Matt Araiza and Zion Clark among others. Over the years, the show has traveled to different areas around the world, utilizing correspondents including David Scott, Jon Frankel and Andrea Kremer, to bring viewers comprehensive storytelling.

“For 29 seasons, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel has delivered a masterclass in sports storytelling,” Casey Bloys, chairman and chief executive officer of HBO and Max content said in a statement. “….As the longest running HBO series, Bryant and his Real Sports team have long been a cornerstone of HBO programming. The series will continue to resonate in the realm of sports journalism, and we are so proud to have been part of such a remarkable odyssey.”

Gumbel started working in television for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, Calif. Before being hired by NBC Sports to host its National Football League pregame show with Jack Buck. After working on Today on NBC, he moved to CBS where he hosted a prime time news magazine show and eventually began working on The Early Show. He made the move to focus on investigative journalism in 1995 with Real Sports, balancing his responsibilities with a brief stint at NFL Network in the mid 2000s. Gumbel’s brother, Greg, recently inked an extension with CBS Sports but will no longer be calling games on its marquee property, The NFL on CBS.

“Since day one at Real Sports, we’ve consistently tried to look beyond the scoreboard, and focus instead on the many societal issues inherent in the world of sports,” Gumbel said in a statement. “In the process, we’ve had the opportunity to tell complex stories about race, gender, class, opportunity and so much more. Being able to do so at HBO for almost three decades has been very gratifying. I’m proud of the imprint we’ve made, so I’m ready to turn the page. Although goodbyes are never easy, I’ve decided that now’s the time to move on.”

Dana Loesch: CBS Sunday Morning Story About Talk Radio Angered My Mom

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Dana Loesch: CBS Sunday Morning Story About Talk Radio Angered My Mom

Late last year, CBS Sunday Morning aired a story about talk radio’s role in the current divided political state in America. The story re-aired this weekend, and it angered the mother of radio host Dana Loesch.

During The Dana Show Tuesday, Loesch shared messages her mother sent her while she was at church about the story.

“You know how sometimes when a woman sends you a text — men particularly — and you read it and you can not only hear it in her voice, but you can also feel her head swerving while you read the text? It was like that,” said Dana Loesch. “She was so mad. She I mean, I’m sitting in church, and she is just blowing me up. Oh my goodness.

“So she said ‘You were on CBS Sunday Morning for your radical talk radio. You are a bad person you spread lies, hate, etc. And then the eye roll emoji… You and Limbaugh, all you care about is spreading misinformation, revenue, and ratings. You were on camera…They showed you placing number seven in talk radio’. And I responded ‘lol I’m number five those bitches’.

“She sent me screenshots and everything. She was so mad.”

In the piece, CBS News reporter Jim Axelrod spoke with industry experts about the medium’s role in political division and how the removal of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 played into tlak radio’s rise.

Molly Qerim on Hard Knocks: ‘You Can’t Change Who You Are’ In Front of Cameras

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The NFL Films and HBO Sports original series, Hard Knocks, premiered its final episode of the season Tuesday night as the New York Jets prepare to take flight on the 2023 regular season schedule. Fans were treated to a behind-the-scenes look of training camp with unfiltered conversation and access into meetings. While moments of roster cuts were not prominently displayed as in years’ past, viewers were privy to moments where rookie wide receivers Jason Brownlee and Xavier Gipson were told they had made the 53-man roster.

Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, however, did not appreciate the amount of expletives used throughout the series, disclosing his views on Wednesday’s edition of First Take on ESPN. Russo often makes allusive remarks and places sports news in historical context, and emphasized that two-time Super Bowl champion head coach Vince Lombardi would have never spoken with profanity. In fact, Russo tries to limit the amount of imprecations he says, affirming that he speaks “properly.”

“When you’re passionate, you don’t curse a little bit sometimes?,” First Take host Molly Qerim asked Russo.

“Not every other word,” Russo replied.

Stephen A. Smith, featured commentator and executive producer of the top-rated morning program, challenged Qerim’s assertion. Having worked with her for several years on the show, Smith knows that she often curses while off the air in private discussions to express her sentiment towards situations.

When the cameras are rolling though, Qerim and the rest of the First Take crew refrain from bringing this language to the airwaves. Qerim stated that Smith’s claim was inaccurate, leading him to offer to get staffers in the hallways from ESPN’s Seaport District studios to testify on his behalf.

“It’s just when I’m passionate,” Qerim replied. “When I’m passionate about certain matters [in] private conversations, I can get a little fired up.”

Hard Knocks is an all-access series, but it is not meant to influence how people act on the screen. The series deliberately tries to stay in the background, merely documenting the everyday action from the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, N.J. NFL reporter Kimberley A. Martin was on Wednesday’s edition of the show, and she offered her perspective on Smith’s opinion that what the show films does not encompass a private conversation.

“It’s not utterly ridiculous because those cameras are supposed to capture everything as it’s supposed to be,” Martin said.

“Stephen A., you can’t change who you are ‘cause cameras are there,” Qerim added.

The fact that the program aired on a premium subscription channel free of advertisers, which are traditionally not as regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as other networks, renders the matter inconsequential to Hard Knocks itself.

“It didn’t air on Disney,” Smith said. “It’s on HBO, so you talking about, ‘Oh my goodness, enough with the profanity or cursing or whatever.’ Will you stop it?”

ESPN recently announced that First Take has attained 13 straight months of year-over-year viewership growth. The show will remain in its familiar 10 a.m. EST/7 a.m. PST time slot as the network unveils a new daytime programming lineup featuring The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday. Shannon Sharpe, former FOX Sports 1 commentator on Undisputed, made his on-air debut earlier this week and will join the program on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the NFL season.

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