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Frank Thomas Joins Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+

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It didn’t take long for Frank Thomas to find a new gig. He is joining Apple TV+. He will make his Friday Night Baseball debut this week according to Front Office Sports.

Thomas’s role will involve multiple duties. He will conduct interviews with some of the game’s biggest stars. Those will take place on the field and in clubhouses before the games. He will also be in the booth for select games.

After FOX hired Derek Jeter to join its studio coverage of Major League Baseball, the network let Thomas go. He had been part of MLB on FOX since 2014. Royce Dickerson, who worked with “The Big Hurt” at FOX is now Apple’s executive producer for live sports.

Frank Thomas will not be available for Apple every week. He will be used on marquee matchups.

He will make his debut on June 9. Thomas will interview Mike Trout ahead of the Angels’ visit to Seattle to take on their division rivals, the Mariners.

WWE Legend The Iron Sheik Remembered By Sports Media

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The Iron Sheik is one of the legendary villains in the history of professional wrestling. While he reached the peak of his fame in the ring in the 1980s and 90s, he found new life on Twitter thanks to his often profane, sometimes vulgar, and always funny commentary on the world.

The Sheik, whose real name was Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri died on Tuesday. He was 81 years old.

While most know his professional wrestling career, his amateur career is no less impressive. He competed for Iran at the 1968 Olymipcs and served as a coach for the United States national team at the 1972 games.

Following the announcement of his death, many sports talk shows took time out to pay tribute. Pat McAfee called the Iron Sheik “one of the greatest heels of all time” before offering a moment of silence. In Boston, Felger & Mazz producer James Stewart took to the 98.5 The Sports Hub website to post a tribute.

On social media, tributes poured in from all over. It started in the wrestling world.

https://twitter.com/foleyispod/status/1666479859709739013?s=20
But the appeal of The Iron Sheik was far bigger than just professional wrestling. As an entertainer, Sheik had plenty of fans across the sports media. They came with their own tributes that included favorite memories and taunting The Iron Sheik’s bitter rival Hulk Hogan.

Mike Gallagher Mesmerized By Reach of ‘Tucker on Twitter’

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Mike Gallagher Mesmerized By Reach of ‘Tucker on Twitter’

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson debuted his digital video program Tucker on Twitter Tuesday, and radio host Mike Gallagher shared his surprise at the reach of the program on the social media platform.

“He is back on Twitter. He had a scathing takedown of the mainstream media. More than 10 million people have viewed it already. It is unbelievable,” The Mike Gallagher Show host shared Wednesday. “He is going to reach more people on Twitter than he ever did with his TV show.”

Gallagher then played a clip of Carlson’s discussing the lack of reporting about where the money the US government has sent to Ukraine to fight the war against Russia has been allocated. Carlson said the media’s lack of interest in the story is disappointing, claiming “in journalism, curiosity is the gravest crime.”

“What a profound thing. Typical Tucker Carlson. In journalism, curiosity is the big crime. You are not allowed to be curious about COVID. We’re not allowed to ask about a vaccine. How dare you say anything about election integrity,” said Gallagher. “No, that is the greatest crime and you need to be shut down. You need to be shut down big time.”

Joel Klatt Launching Big Noon Conversations Podcast

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Joel Klatt Launching Big Noon Conversations Podcast

FOX Sports has announced the launch of a new interview-based series as college football season quickly approaches. The series, titled The Joel Klatt Show – “Big Noon Conversations” will feature lead college football analyst Joel Klatt and contain compelling and intuitive conversation about the sport.

The subset of The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast, will premiere on Monday, June 12 with an exclusive sitdown interview featuring Colorado football coach Deion Sanders. FOX will also carry Sanders’ first two games as the leader of the Buffaloes on Big Noon Saturday – first on Saturday, Sep. 2 on the road against TCU and then, one week later, in Boulder, Colo. against the University of Nebraska.

Other guests set to appear on the series include Ohio State football coach Ryan Day, Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey and UCLA football coach Chip Kelly. The endeavor is in collaboration with FOX Sports Podcasts, and a preview of the series was tweeted out by the podcast shortly after Wednesday’s announcement.

Klatt has worked at FOX Sports since 2013, concurrent with the launch of FS1, where he began as a studio analyst for college football coverage. In addition, he joined broadcasts as a game analyst on select Thursday night games and the 2014 Pac-12 Championship Game, while also hosting FOX NFL Kickoff.

Boomer and Gio Caller Explains Saudi Investment Realities vs. Media Narrative

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Boomer and Gio Caller Explains Saudi Investment Realities vs. Media Narrative

Following Tuesday’s news of the merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf, jolting reactions of astonishment and betrayal pervaded the sports and media landscape. The entities are set to operate as one commercial company with a name to be determined in the coming future, marking a seminal moment in the history of golf. The agreement also ended litigation between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, and gave the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) ostensible purview regarding the evolution of the game.

Most players found out on Twitter, and even LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman was informed of the news shortly before its public announcement via a phone call. All of the eccentricities and nuance embedded in this type of situation has led sports fans to wonder whether this is just the metaphorical ‘tip of the iceberg’ for the PIF to expand its sphere of influence in the industry.

“I think it’s going to lead to the other sports doing the same thing,” Dennis, a caller on WFAN’s Boomer & Gio said. “If you have a league or commissioner – MLB; NBA; whatever it is – I think that they may do the same thing. Start their own league; get their own players on the backend or have a big name; give them these big contracts and kind of stir the pot for other leagues to do the same thing.”

The original source of indignation between the PGA and LIV Golf can be traced back to the launch of LIV Golf and its attempt to lure away players from the PGA Tour. The tour was successful in its mission, attracting stars such as Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, and ultimately resulted in an unexpected, somewhat brash announcement of the agreement.

It has been a topic of discussion across sports media, but one that is perhaps more hyperbolic than it needs to be – at least according to another show caller who works on Wall Street.

This caller, named Mike, said that he visited Saudi Arabia and met with the Public Investment Fund, along with the fact that many businesses already have some presence or involvement with Saudi Arabia.

“The media makes it out to be a big deal, and I sort of look at it and say, ‘Everybody’s there. Everybody is there,’” Mike articulated. “This might get a lot of notoriety, but it’s a different thing.”

Mike divulged how golf was vulnerable to this kind of a transaction because all of its players are independent contractors who sign agreements with different tours to compete. Conversely, athletes in Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NHL are all under contract, and they could only be lured away through free agency or buyouts.

“The total adjustable market of players that could actually [be] picked off at any one time is basically 100% of all players [in golf],” he stated. “It’s much, much easier to pick off a large swath of players when nobody is really under contract.”

“That’s why we thought Kyrie Irving would be the perfect guy to lead the NBA over there because he’s a free agent right now and no one’s going to give him a supermax [contract],” co-host Boomer Esiason opined.

Despite the difficulties associated with the leagues being able to sign players affiliated with teams in contracts, show co-host Gregg Giannotti believes the affluent Saudi Public Investment Fund will try another way to carry out its mission. The entity simply has too many investors and is flush with cash; therefore, it may consider trying to own teams outright.

“I just don’t think that’s going to stop them,” Giannotti said of the composition of players available. “I know exactly what you’re saying, and it’s a great point and it was a very, very good call, but I still think they’re going to try.”

“I don’t see the NHL playing in Riyadh any time soon to try [and] get rid of the players’ escrow plan,” Esiason replied. “As much as Gary Bettman would love to do that and the players would love to do that, I don’t think hockey is the No. 1 thing over there.”

Esiason believes the PIF is more captivated by the allure of traditional events, such as horse racing, boxing and Formula 1 racing among others. He would not be surprised to hear about interest in acquiring a stake in some of them, an outcome that could aggravate geopolitical affairs because of the country’s human rights record.

“The hypocritical nature of what’s going on here, and all the things that had been said over the last year, and then, all of a sudden, after Jimmy Dunne reaches out to the Saudi investment fund… now everything changes,” Esiason said. “Oddly enough, he gets put on the PGA Tour’s board for policy.”

Darren Pang to Replace Colby Cohen On Blackhawks TV Crew

BSM Staff
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Changes in media coverage for hockey are continuing amid the Stanley Cup Final with the announcement of Colby Cohen walking away from Chicago Blackhawks broadcasts. The team is reportedly hiring Darren Pang, who has been featured as a reporter on NHL on TNT national broadcasts throughout the postseason, as their lead television color commentator. He will work alongside the sophomore play-by-play voice of the team, Chris Vasters, on NBC Sports Chicago. News of the decision was first reported by Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Blackhawks television crew utilized a hybrid approach last season, rotating between Cohen, Patrick Sharp and Troy Murray. The change comes one offseason after the team revamped its television booth following the retirement of Pat Foley, which resulted in Eddie Olczyk joining the Seattle Kraken television booth. Cohen confirmed news of his exit Wednesday morning on Twitter in a statement where he expressed his gratitude for his two seasons on Blackhawks broadcasts.

“My family and I want to thank the Wirtz family and the entire Chicago Blackhawks organization for… two great years working for one of the greatest organizations in sports,” Cohen said in a tweet. “We will miss the thunderous noise of the United Center and the great city of Chicago where our daughter was born. At this time, we have decided it’s important for my family to be back close to our family and our home in Philadelphia.”

Cohen spent just over three years with NBC Sports Philadelphia as a broadcaster for the Philadelphia Flyers, and has also worked on ESPN’s NHL coverage since 2016. It is unknown if Cohen will pursue another regional broadcasting role before the start of next season. He was originally hired by the team in 2021 to serve as a content analyst, creating digital features for the Blackhawks and working on studio coverage.

Pang has worked on Bally Sports Midwest with the St. Louis Blues for the last 14 years, but is now presumably set to move on and work with the team he played for as a goaltender over parts of three seasons. Additionally, he is expected to remain with Warner Bros. Discovery, recently telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he is on the verge of inking a three-year contract extension with the company. Pang is expected to be the primary color analyst, with the team either finding new roles for Sharp and Murray or using them in a backup capacity. Most hockey insiders expect the Blackhawks to open next season with rookie sensation and consensus first-overall draft selection Connor Bedard on the roster.

Colin Cowherd: The Volume is Worth $100 Million

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Colin Cowherd: The Volume is Worth $100 Million

With all of the things that Colin Cowherd has done in his illustrious media career, he enjoys getting the chance to be a part of a team. He gets that from his podcast company The Volume. Even though Cowherd is already a big name talent himself, he always wants to try to find who the next one is. 

Cowherd was a guest host on The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast filling in for John Ourand. He talked about how fun it is to work like a baseball scout.

“I like searching for talent. I feel like a baseball scout. It’s kind of a digital media company with podcasts…We have a pretty good staff. We will announce a couple names before the football season. It’s just really cool to be part of a team, to find talent. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had.”

As for how much The Volume is worth, Cowherd said he is not looking to sell the company anytime soon.

“I’ve had people who have explored buying it. Right now, we are not going to. In 18 months, my contract runs out. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I think the Volume will be a part of my life for the remainder of my broadcast career.”

When that time does come though, Colin Cowherd isn’t going to give The Volume up for just anything. He recently got a high valuation.

“I think I know what it’s worth. I’ve talked to LionTree, a couple of banks. We are in a very soft advertising market, so what your evaluation is can be very fluid. I feel very strongly about what we are worth and we are not looking to sell it. It’s over $100 million.”

With the latest news about the duo of Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe splitting up on UNDISPUTED, Cowherd believes that Shannon Sharpe is one of the few people in media who can migrate an audience in the opinion space. 

“I think tandems are hard. I think they have an expiration date, but there’s not a lot of Shannons in the opinion space. There’s a lot of people doing it. There’s not a lot of people doing it at a high level and Shannon is theatrical, funny, handsome, and he is quick on his feet and he has stride and strong opinions. I think he is going to flourish wherever he goes.”

Cowherd did say some good things about Bayless. He admires Bayless’s passion for wanting to win the debate and he respects people who are passionate about anything that they do.

“I tend to like the search for theories, I’m not a debate guy. It’s just not my personality to debate. He was born to do it. He loves what he does. I found through the years in the media, I respect people who are passionate about what they do…He loves winning. If you told me he goes home and keeps a standings about the arguments he wins, I would believe it.”

CNN PR Executives Ousted Amid Fallout of The Atlantic Exposé

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CNN PR Executives Ousted Amid Fallout of The Atlantic Exposé

Reverberations from The Atlantic’s feature story on now-former CNN CEO Chris Licht continue to be felt.

After Licht’s ouster Wednesday morning, it has been revealed that CNN Senior Vice President of Communications and Event Marketing Matt Dornic and CNN Global Head of Communications and Marketing Kristine Coratti Kelly have both also departed the network.

Dornic was prominently featured in Tim Alberta’s exposé on the “meltdown” at CNN, and was seen as an integral figure in giving Alberta as much access as he was allowed during his nearly yearlong assignment getting a behind-the-scenes look at Licht’s attempt to build a “new CNN”.

The announcement that Dornic and Coratti Kelly are leaving the organization comes just hours after it was revealed that Licht would no longer be leading the organization. After being hired as Jeff Zucker’s replacement in late February 2022, Licht helmed the cable outlet during one of the more tumultuous periods in its history.

The news of Dornic and Coratti Kelly’s departure was first reported by Puck News’ Dylan Byers.

Cumulus Denies Allegations Made in Lawsuit From Bob Boccia

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Cumulus Denies Allegations Made in Lawsuit From Bob Boccia

Early last month, former News Talk 98.9 The Roar of Memphis morning host Bob Boccia — known as “Sideshow Bob” — sued Cumulus Media claiming he was discriminated against after refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The company has now denied any wrongdoing.

Boccia claimed that due to suffering from Crohn’s Disease and his status as a “devout Catholic” should have given him both a medical and religious exemption. However, Cumulus claims the host never sought an exemption from its vaccine, and alleges it never agreed that he wouldn’t be required to take the shot.

The company says it provided Boccia with reasonable accommodation, but it could not give an exemption to him without altering the safety of other employees. It went on to say that Boccia, who was ultimately fired for refusing the vaccine, was let go “for legitimate business reasons based on safety requirements which are job-related and consistent with business necessity”.

The former morning host is seeking damages of at least $75,000 after he claims his contract was breached. Cumulus argues that because Boccia has received income from other avenues since his departure, he has simply failed to seek employment as part of a ploy to garner sympathy for the suit.

Joe DeCamara: I Hate Giving Chris Simms Attention

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There is no love for Chris Simms on 94 WIP. Wednesday morning, host Joe DeCamara made his feelings on the former Buccaneers quarterback clear.

“Chris Simms got a football scholarship years ago, clearly not an academic scholarship because the guy’s a moron,” he said after seeing that Simms had Jalen Hurts ranked seventh among NFL quarterbacks.

In April, Hurts signed a five-year contract that makes him the highest paid player in the NFL each season. That comes on the heels of him leading the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl in a season in which he was a legitimate MVP candidate.

“I almost hate bringing this up because I feel like it gives Chris Simms attention that I don’t really want to give him,” DeCamara said. He noted that the quarterbacks Simms ranked ahead of Hurts include Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Trevor Lawrence.

DeCamara’s partner, Jon Ritchie, said that this is actually progress for Hurts as far as Chris Simms is concerned. In 2021, Simms did not even rank Jalen Hurts among his top forty quarterbacks. Last year, he ranked Hurts number 25.

According to Ritchie, Putting Jalen Hurts in the top ten this year is Simms admitting that Hurts is valuable without having to say that his previous rankings were absurd.

“There’s still some spite,” Jon Ritchie said. “There’s still some ‘Hey, I can’t disprove myself by allowing for Jalen to be where he belongs,’ which is the top two quarterbacks in this league.”

DeCamara encouraged listeners to call in and talk about how dumb Chris Simms and his list are. Ritchie said that the piece is clearly a troll job. The show is just giving it more life and attention it doesn’t deserve.

“We’re giving it life, but you know what? We’re giving it life so people can just stomp out Chris Simms,” DeCamara responded. “So, whack away! It’s a whack away day.”

This isn’t the first time Simms has caught heat from Philadelphia. Last year, WIP afternoon host Jon Marks said the NBC football analyst “sounds so silly” for remaining committed to doubting Jalen Hurts after the quarterback had clearly proven him wrong.

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