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Brendan Tobin: I Love Mark Jackson Admitting Heat Gave Him Goosebumps

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Brendan Tobin: I Love Mark Jackson Admitting Heat Gave Him Goosebumps

Who could have guessed that the moment that made the hair on the back of Heat fans’ arms stand up would be a pass that was never made? Maybe that isn’t true for everyone, but Mark Jackson said that the way Kevin Love reacted to realizing he missed the chance to hit Gabe Vincent in the corner for a wide open three pointer gave him goosebumps.

“I always like it when a person admits goosies and Mark Jackson yesterday, in front of millions on national television, admitted that when Kevin Love went over to hug Gabe Vincent for missing him wide open in the corner, he got the goosies,” Brendan Tobin said Monday afternoon on WQAM.

Jackson said that it stood out that Vincent didn’t pout and that Love did not get defensive. The pair hugged after the play. Jackson called it an example of the Miami Heat’s “winning mentality and outstanding culture”.

Jeff Van Gundy asked Jackson if he thought the Heat were overdoing it with the hug and if Jackson may have been being a little hyperbolic in his praise.

“No, it gave me goosebumps,” Jackson answered. “What is wrong with you?”

Brendan Tobin enjoyed seeing a member of the national media recognize that Heat Culture is about more than just winning games and series the team isn’t supposed to. It is built on recognizing how players up and down the roster can contribute all over the floor.

“You know what? I love it!” He said. “Gave me the goosies is too. Kevin Love – great locker room guy. Always there for support. I love Love.”

Chris Chelios Won’t Return to ESPN

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Chris Chelios will not be returning to ESPN next NHL season. Front Office Sports reports that the analyst has been told his contract is not being renewed. Chelios becomes the first name related to ESPN layoffs to become public.

Front Office Sports reports that ESPN was not dissatisfied with Chelios’s performance. He joined ESPN in 2022 ahead of the network reclaiming part of the NHL’s television rights.

The decision is directly tied to job cuts at the network. Chelios fit the archetype that ESPN is reportedly looking at as it decides where and who to cut. He is a well-compensated talent with an expiring contract.

Layoffs at ESPN are part of a larger effort to reduce costs at the Walt Disney Company by around $5.5 billion. More than 7,000 jobs are expected to be lost across all sectors of the company.

Chelios is a three-time Stanley Cup Champion, having won the title with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 and twice with the Detroit Red Wings. He is also an eleven-time All-Star and three-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman.

Spotify Lays Off 200 Employees

BNM Staff
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Spotify Lays Off 200 Employees

Spotify has announced it is laying off around 200 employees, which equates to roughly 2% of its total workforce.

Spotify Vice President Sahar Elhabashi told employees in a memo that those departing the company would be given “generous severance packages”, according to CNBC. He added that the company will continue to see partnerships with “leading podcasters from across the globe”, but added that the reduction in force was a necessary development.

Of the 8,359 employees in the company, 4,332 of those work in the United States.

In recent years, Spotify has spent more than $500 million in acquisitions with prominent figures, including Meghan Markle and the Obamas. The company reportedly spent more than $100 million for The Joe Rogan Experience alone.

The announcement of layoffs comes after company CEO Daniel Ek admitted that some of the investments the company made last year can definitively be labeled a “mistake”.

Spotify Sports Producer and former sports radio program director Dan Zampillo was among the cuts. Zampillo has previously programmed 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit, ESPN LA 710 in Los Angeles, ESPN 980 in Washington DC, and SiriusXM in New York City. He has also served as the Assistant Program Director of WGN Radio in Chicago.

LA Kings Going With Radio/TV Simulcast, Alex Faust Out

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LA Kings Going With Radio/TV Simulcast, Alex Faust Out

Big changes are coming to the Los Angeles Kings next season. The team is shaking up its broadcast booth and the new lineup leaves popular play-by-play man Alex Faust without a job.

Faust announced on Twitter Monday that he was told his contract was not being renewed by the team. Instead, the team will adopt a single broadcast that will be simulcast across TV and radio.

Nick Nickson will handle play-by-play duties. Jim Fox will serve as the analyst. Daryl Evans will be part of the team as well.

Alex Faust was a popular young broadcaster. At just 34-years-old, he had already earned national work from FOX calling college football and basketball as well as Major League Baseball. 

Even people who didn’t like sports became interested in Faust’s work in 2018. That year, the late Alex Trebek mentioned to TMZ that he could see Faust taking over Jeopardy! when he was done.

“The LA Kings sincerely thank Alex Faust for representing the organization and our community with dignity and class over the last six years,” a statement from the Kings reads. “Alex is an extremely talented and passionate broadcaster with a bright future in the NHL and sports on the whole. We wish him the utmost success in the years ahead.”

Los Angeles now joins the Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes as teams employing a simulcast on both television and radio.

The team currently does not have a TV rights holder. It anticipates naming one before the start of the 2023-2024 season. The team’s English language radio call is heard exclusively on the iHeartRadio app.

Mark Simone: Meet The Press Won’t Change After Chuck Todd Leaves

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Mark Simone: Meet The Press Won’t Change After Chuck Todd Leaves

Meet The Press host Chuck Todd announced he will exit the NBC News Sunday political affairs program later this year Sunday, and 710 WOR host Mark Simone celebrated the development.

“He ‘decided to leave’. This is just after they canned him. Apparently, they fired Chuck Todd. Good for them,” The Mark Simone Show host said Monday. “He made up the excuse that he wants to spend more time with his family. Have you seen his family? No one wants to spend more time with him. He doesn’t want to work too much and it’s important to be at home more with his kids. His are like 38.

“Whenever somebody gets fired, they’ve got all these excuses. ‘They wanted to go in a different direction’. Yeah, up. He’s taken the ratings down. He set all-time records for low ratings on Meet The Press.”

Simone then said Todd is getting the same treatment as another former network anchor that was pushed aside.

“Sometime when they fire someone, you’ll get a fake title. You know, ‘news ambassador’ or ‘election ambassador’. Walter Cronkite was great, he was the greatest anchor of all time, but they couldn’t just fire him, so they made up some fake title for him. They gave him an office and a desk, and a secretary. And once on election night, they’d let him come on for five minutes with Dan Rather, but they put him out to pasture. So that dirty, slimy, fake news weasel Chuck Todd is out.”

Meet The Press has long been viewed as the most consequential Sunday political affairs program, gaining popularity and notoriety under former moderator Tim Russert. However, Simone believes the addition of Kristen Welker, who will replace Todd and become just the second woman to anchor the show, won’t change under her direction.

“We’ll see how she does. I’m sure nothing will change. It’ll be the same fake news, fake nonsense.”

Rachel Maddow Launching ‘Deja News’ Podcast

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Rachel Maddow Launching ‘Deja News’ Podcast

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow is slated to debut her latest podcast venture next week.

Maddow will pair with her longtime producer Isaac-Davy Aronson for Rachel Maddow Presents: Deja News. The six-part series will look to highlight similarities between current and historical events.

“More often than you think, we are not the first generation of people to confront the situations we are facing today,” Maddow said during the podcast’s trailer.

According to the podcast description, Maddow and Aaronson will “seek a deeper understanding of a story in today’s headlines by asking: Has anything like this ever happened before? Would knowing that help us grapple with what’s happening now… and what might happen next?”

It is not Maddow’s first foray into the podcast space. She recently was awarded the 2023 Hillman Prize Award for Broadcast Journalism, the first time a podcast was bestowed with the honor, for Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra. She has also previously worked on a podcast series entitled Rachel Maddow Presents: Bag Man.

Mike Breen: ‘Bang’ Will Never Top Marv Albert’s ‘Yes!’

BSM Staff
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Mike Breen doesn’t like to be thought of as the “voice of the NBA.” Unfortunately for him, a moniker like that comes along with calling nearly two decades’ worth of NBA Finals. 

His signature call, “BANG!” is well-known by fans and players across the league. For someone that doesn’t like being called the voice of the league, you can imagine how he reacted when Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy asked if “BANG!” had supplanted Marv Albert’s legendary “YES!”.

“No, I can’t say that,” Breen answered. “As somebody who looked up to Marv and worshiped the way he called the game, and the influence he had. He’ll always, for me, be the voice of the NBA.”

Mike Breen says all he needs is to know that the players and fans enjoy the catchphrase. He is going to make sure that doesn’t change.

“I love the game so much and if it adds to an excitement of a moment, then I did my job. Because that’s the whole idea –  to enhance the moment. I try not to use it too much. I never want to overdo it because then it gets tired.”

Players have responded to Breen’s catchphrase in a variety of ways. He says Jamal Murray has made a habit of hollering it back to him when the Nuggets guard sinks a three-pointer. Steph Curry even named his new signature shoe after the iconic phrase.

Bill Flaherty Elevated to Director of Programming at WBZ

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Bill Flaherty Elevated to Director of Programming at WBZ

Bill Flaherty is being promoted to Director of Programming and Operations at WBZ later this summer.

The Boston all-news station will see Rob Sanchez, who currently serves as the Program Director and Vice President of News, Talk, and Sports at iHeartMedia Boston, transition into an “innovation-focused consultant” role later this month.

“I am excited to work with the best news staff in the business as we keep finding ways to make innovative changes to live local news,” said Flaherty. “WBZ NewsRadio is combining its strong signal with an impactful social media presence to bring news and storytelling to people of all ages.”

“Rob’s vision has helped guide WBZ NewsRadio towards becoming a digitally focused news organization,” added iHeartMedia Boston Senior Vice President of Programming Dylan Sprague. “I’m glad that he will continue to be a part of our organization as he moves into the next part of his career.”

Additionally, Jay Borselle has been promoted to news director for the station.

“Bill’s experience paired with his shared vision of the future makes him the obvious choice to succeed Rob as program director. Jay is a consummate professional with a strong connection to the community, and we are thrilled to have him to lead our newsroom. I couldn’t be more excited about where WBZ NewsRadio is headed with Bill and Jay at the helm.”

The changes at WBZ will take effect on July 1st.

Albert Pujols To Join MLB Network

BSM Staff
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After making his broadcast debut Sunday afternoon on Peacock, Albert Pujols will be continuing his broadcast career with MLB Network, the league announced Monday. Pujols was named as a special assistant to Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr., a role in which he will consult the league on topics including player and international relations, and will also help grow the game. Part of Pujols’ new job will be appearing on MLB Network, where he will make his debut Tuesday morning on MLB Central and Wednesday on MLB Tonight.

“Beyond his long list of accomplishments on the field, Albert is a highly respected figure who represents the game extraordinarily well,” Manfred said in a statement. “He cares greatly about making a difference in our communities. We are excited for Albert to join other former players who are doing important work for our sport, and we will welcome his perspective across our efforts.”

Pujols retired from the game of baseball at the conclusion of last season after a storied 22-year career, culminating in hitting his 700th career home run and doing so as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. He is ninth on the all-time hits list (3,384) and finished fourth on the all-time home run list (703). Additionally, Pujols was selected as a Major League Baseball All-Star 11 times throughout his career, which included two stints with the Cardinals, 10 years with the Los Angeles Angels and a season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Pujols was the 2008 recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award for demonstrating excellence on and off the field, and also won the 2022 Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award from ESPN for his charitable endeavors. He also played on the Dominican Republic’s national team during the first World Baseball Classic in 2006, and previously stated that he believed he would one day move into a coaching role.

As part of his new role on MLB Network, Pujols will be traveling to contribute to coverage for the Major League Baseball London Series – a matchup between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals – on Friday, June 23. Pujols is the latest player to join Major League Baseball, as the league employs Cal Ripken Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Joe Torre and CC Sabathia among other former stars.

“I couldn’t be more excited for this next chapter of my career,” Pujols said in a statement. “Commissioner Manfred and I share the same passion for growing the game in the Dominican Republic and I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to join the MLB Network family. I’ve been a huge fan since the very beginning and can’t wait to get started.”

NBC Adds Matt Cassel to Big Ten Studio Show Crew

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NBC Adds Matt Cassel to Big Ten Studio Show Crew

In 2024, USC and UCLA are joining the Big Ten. Those moves helped spur two huge rights contracts for the league from NBC and CBS respectively. One of those networks is getting a jump on the new properties.

Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports that former USC quarterback Matt Cassel is joining NBC’s Big Ten crew. He will be part of the network’s new studio show that will be hosted by Maria Taylor.

Cassel is an interesting choice for college football coverage. While many know that he turned a successful season replacing the injured Tom Brady into an opportunity to become the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, his college career was less storied.

He played at USC from 2001 until 2004 and sat behind both Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart on the depth chart. Matt Cassel threw a total of 33 passes at USC. Those resulted in no touchdowns, one interception and less than 200 yards.

Matt Cassel is not the first former player added to the show. He and Taylor will be joined in studio by former Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry. NBC reportedly also wants to add future Pro Football Hall of Fame and former Wisconsin Badger JJ Watt to the team.

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