Nearly 500,000 people tuned into The Pat McAfee Show Wednesday to hear what Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers would have to say about his future. Many were locked into the statements Rodgers was making, but 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Fred Toucher was focused on something else.
“I watched the interview, and I gotta give it to A.J. Hawk,” Toucher — who was absent from the show Thursday due to vocal rest, but called in anyway — said. “That guy is a presence. The way that he would slyly smile when he recognized names from the Packers.”
Co-host Rich Shertenlieb joked about the production value of the show, joking that “Pat McAfee is 100 miles away, and you can see his whole body, but then just from the chin to the forehead of A.J. Hawk”.
“Let’s take this caveman, and have him really get up in there, and have him say nothing the entire time,” Toucher continued. “I watched the thing twice, and the second time I watched it, I just wanted to pretend to be A.J. Hawk’s head. When he would make like a sly smile like ‘I recognize that name. I know that name, too’.”
When a producer joked that Hawk was “the color guy next to Bob Uecker in Major League” Toucher agreed saying “that’s exactly who he is, except he doesn’t say ‘Jesus Christ, these guys suck’.”
Ja Morant sat down with Jalen Rose for an interview on ESPN earlier this week. The Memphis Grizzlies star has been in the news for a lot of the wrong reasons this season and learned this week that he is facing an eight-game suspension for, among other things, posting a video of himself brandishing a gun inside of a strip club.
On his radio show on Thursday, Mike Greenberg said he didn’t think anything said in the interview was important.
“I don’t think that anything that he said yesterday mattered, because I don’t think that anyone in his position wasn’t going to say exactly what he said yesterday.”
Instead, the ESPN Radio host said what mattered is that Ja Morant was willing to talk at all. He thinks that may have happened only because ESPN had someone like Jalen Rose available to do the interview.
“Jalen, I think, was a great choice to have do the conversation with him,” Greenberg said, “because there was a level to which Ja was comfortable talking to Jalen that he wouldn’t have been talking to someone that didn’t play, that hasn’t been through the things Jalen has been through in their lives.”
Rose played with six NBA teams during a 14-year career. He, like Morant, was a highly touted guard when he left the University of Michigan in 1994. He was the 13th pick of that year’s draft.
Jalen Rose is also not immune from making some serious mistakes. He spoke recently on ESPN about knowing exactly what position Ja Morant is in right now and understanding the fact that the young star has to make a serious choice about his future.
“I think Jalen could meet him on a wavelength that not all of us could understand,” Greenberg said.
Morant has missed seven games and is currently seeking treatment and counseling. He is eligible to return to the Memphis lineup on Monday when the team hosts the division rival Dallas Mavericks.
The biggest impact the XFL has made this season is the transparency the league is providing when it comes to instant replay. Fans get to see Dean Blandino make decisions on whether or not to overturn a call on the field in real-time. Many have focused on the NFL, asking why that league doesn’t adopt the same procedure, but MLB is the first of the four major American sports leagues to adopt the practice.
Major League Baseball has announced a new partnership with Zoom that will overhaul its replay system. Instead of having only an audio connection to the replay center when a call is challenged, the crew chief will now connect with the league office via Zoom.
Now that video is part of the process, the league is going to put it on TV, but only on MLB Network and Apple TV+.
“During national broadcasts on MLB Network and Apple TV+, fans will also see the Zoom Replay Operations Center in action live during replay reviews and hear from an expert rules analyst who will discuss replay reviews with the broadcast team,” the league said in a press release. “MLB’s goal with this new setup is to create a more transparent and engaging review process.”
There is no mention in the press release of future plans for the partnership with Zoom when it comes to baseball on television. If there is a positive fan response, it is a safe bet that other MLB media partners will want TV access to the replay reviews.
MLB Network has announced Ryan Dempster and Siera Santos have been added to the network’s longest running show, Intentional Talk.
The show, currently hosted by Kevin Millar, airs at 5:00 PM with the pair joining the program beginning on Friday, March 31st.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be back with MLB Network and joining the Intentional Talk team,” said Dempster. “Kevin and I have been going back and forth for 25 years together in this game, so it’ll now be cool for fans to see a little bit of our friendly banter. And I’m thrilled to work with Siera, as she does an amazing job. Now, we just gotta figure out who keeps who in line. Let’s go!”
A former right-handed pitcher, Dempster played for the Marlins, Reds, Cubs, Rangers, and Red Sox during his 16-year big league career. He previously worked as a studio analyst, game analyst, and late-night host for Marquee Sports Network. He will continue those roles in addition to his new work with MLB Network.
Santos joined MLB Network from FOX 10 Arizona in 2022 to host Quick Pitch, the network’s highlight show.
“Dempster and Millar go back 25 years, and even after one rehearsal, we had great chemistry,” Santos told AZCentral.com. “I get to chime in with my own opinions, and trust me, I won’t hold back on an opportunity to roast those guys.”
Intentional Talk was previously hosted by Stephen Nelson, who recently joined the Los Angeles Dodgers broadcast crew for the 2023 season. Chris Rose hosted the program with Millar from 2011 until 2020.
A reported vote of confidence from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO for CNN CEO Chris Licht has caught the ire of podcaster Keith Olbermann.
During his Countdown with Keith Olbermann podcast, the former cable news host decried the situation and continued his long crusade against CNN’s current direction of straight-down-the-middle news coverage.
“Zaslav, Licht, and CNN continue to be hell-bent on returning CNN to a kind of video stenographer’s role which it never had but which they have convinced themselves was this ‘true time of greatness’,” Olbermann said.
The podcast host then quoted a report from Puck’s Dylan Byers about Zaslav’s comments, which included admitting that Licht has “gotten a lot wrong” during his tenure as CNN’s CEO.
“Nearly one year in, it’s clear that Zaslav still believes in his vision for CNN as a nonpartisan, broadcast-style news digest, and still believes that Licht is his Captain Ahab.”
Olbermann used the imagery provided by Byers to equate CNN to the conclusion of the literary classic Moby-Dick.
“Now, I’ll admit I haven’t read Moby-Dick all the way through since 1975,” Olbermann said, “I haven’t even watched the Gregory Peck movie where he’s Captain Ahab in a year or two, but if my memory serves correct, Captain Ahab find Moby-Dick, harpoons him but gets caught in the harpoon rope, and before you know it, he’s up against Moby-Dick’s side, and the whale goes under water and drowns him and then the whale accelerates straight towards the Pequod and rams it and sinks it.
“And if this Zaslav is really out there with his Captain and this version of the story is called Moby-Licht, then sooner or later the great white whale will be literally de-platforming Zaslav, and then when he and all the other sailors fall into the sea, Moby-Dick will come back and eat all of them. Or Moby-Licht. Call me, Ishmael, my boat sank. The end.”
CNN has seen its share of ups, downs, controversies, and internal strife since CEO Chris Licht joined the fray. He got a vote of confidence from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
According to a report from The New York Post, Zaslav held an internal conference call with CNN’s managers Tuesday, totaling nearly 600 members, and admitted that while times have been challenging, Licht has his support.
“There’s not a playbook for Chris’ job. He’s gotten a lot wrong. We’ve gotten a lot wrong. That’s how it works,” Zaslav is reported to have said. “We’re all flawed. We are trying to figure out what is best for CNN.
“I love CNN, Chris loves CNN. We’re going to get it right, it’s going to take a while,” Zaslav continued. “We’re making great progress. This is not easy. But we’re up for the fight — maybe it’s a year, maybe it’s three years, maybe it’s five years,”
The support of Licht comes after a Page Six report claims many inside the cable network believe Licht will be pushed out by Labor Day of this year, with other CNN staffers saying Zaslav will hold onto the CEO to avoid admitting a mistake was made in hiring the former The Late Show, Morning Joe, and CBS This Morning executive producer.
“He hates the job and can’t do it,” one CNN employee said of Licht.
It isn’t unusual for a professional sports team to partner with a local radio station for weekly interviews with team personnel. Even though Jomboy Media is a digital outlet, it didn’t stop the company from inking a deal to have Yankees manager Aaron Boone on one of its signature podcasts.
In a move announced Thursday, Jomboy Media has signed a deal for Boone to appear on its popular Talkin’ Yanks podcast — hosted by founder Jimmy O’Brien and Jake Storiale — once a week throughout the baseball season.
“I thought it was a really interesting opportunity, and a cool idea. These guys have been innovators in this business and they’ve built a massive, young following,” Boone told The New York Post. “I think Jimmy and Jake are both really good guys. And they’re passionate about what they do, and they love the Yankees. And, sometimes they’re a little misguided and it’s my chance to set the record straight every now and then.”
Previously, Boone had a weekly spot on 98.7 ESPN New York’s The Michael Kay Show, which reportedly paid him six figures.
“It’s going to be really fun and it kind of goes with the changing landscape of media,” O’Brien said. “The fact that two fans can create a show and in five years get to the point where they get to ask questions to the manager of the Yankees and bring whatever insight we can get out of that to our audience — it is pretty wild, a little surreal.”
When Barack Obama was in the White House, a visit from Andy Katz was an annual tradition ahead of the NCAA Tournament. The 44th President of the United States of America filled out an NCAA Tournament bracket for ESPN all eight years he was in office. It was a unique spin on the celebrity bracket bit that could only be pulled off by a national network taking advantage of the right politician.
That doesn’t mean that sports stations across the country couldn’t find a local spin to put on it. Since 2018, 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh has made a tradition of its own out of visiting the North Carolina Governor’s Mansion ahead of March Madness each year and 2023 is no exception as the hosts of The OG brought a camera, blank bracket, and marker to Governor Roy Cooper.
“I’m so sad about my Tar Heels that you’ve gotta pour your soul into what’s left,” the governor, an alum of the University of North Carolina and a diehard college basketball fan, said.
The Tar Heels started the season as the number one team in the country but missed out on an invite to the NCAA Tournament. Coach Hubert Davis also declined an invitation for his team to play in the NIT.
Host Joe Ovies asked Governor Cooper if he would have had to bring a blank NIT bracket if Davis had a change of heart.
“Oh, absolutely we would have!” Cooper answered. “Sure, yeah. It would have been maybe the most important tournament going on.”
The governor did give the ACC teams from his state some love even if they are the two most-hated rivals of UNC. He had North Carolina State making it to the Sweet 16 and Duke returning to the Final Four alongside Arizona, Houston and UConn. He picked Houston to win the national championship. Ovies warned him against the pick as co-host Joe Giglio made the same prediction.
“In 2021, we did a zoom version of the bracket where Giglio roasted Cooper’s picks,” Ovies told Barrett Sports Media. “Turns out Cooper was right with Baylor, so Giglio drew up a certificate that said ‘You were right, Cooper’ and we presented it last year. So that’s what sort of started the running gag between him and Giglio.”
While Roy Cooper did make a point to say that he was rooting for Houston because head coach Kalvin Sampson is a North Carolina native, he gave solid basketball reasons for his selection.
“Even though they are not Phi Slamma Jamma, they are a smothering defensive team. They are a balanced offense. That have it all cooking,” he said. “If they can put it together, Houston can be the national champion. We can actually have number one seed do it.”
Joe Ovies was not surprised by how much thought Roy Cooper put into his NCAA Tournament bracket. The governor has a reputation in North Carolina for being passionate about all of his favorite teams, including the Carolina Hurricanes, who play in Raleigh.
“Cooper isn’t doing this as some sort of stunt He legit watches the local teams and he listens to the shows and podcasts,” Ovies said. “Especially Canes Corner. So when the Tar Heels didn’t make it, he felt it deep. He made it to the Final Four last year and sat in UNC’s section.”
Margaret Brennan has been the host of CBS News‘ Face the Nation for just over five years, serving as the most-watched Sunday morning political affairs program over the past three years.
Brennan compared the age of her tenure to that of her first child — who she found out she was pregnant with while being tapped to replace Lesley Stahl as the program’s host — joking “it doesn’t feel like the baby’s that old”.
“I’m not going to waste people’s time on Sunday,” Brennan told People magazine. “I owe it to them to try to get answers, to focus on the issues of substance and importance, not just the shiny objects.”
She added that as her hosting duties have continued, she has seen a shift in her performance.
“I definitely feel different than back when I started,” Brennan said. “There’s an hours logged in the cockpit thing where you get more comfortable and know where you want to take a conversation.”
The 42-year-old Brennan is also cognizant of the way she handles certain topics is paramount to her credibility.
“I don’t like it when politics are covered like it’s ESPN — it’s not who’s up, who’s down, who won, she told Multichannel News. “These are people’s lives. The words we use and the way we use them, particularly at key moments, is so key.”
New Jersey 101.5’s Bill Spadea is partnering with video streaming platform On New Jersey for his weekly digital show.
Common Ground with Bill Spadea will air every Thursday at 4:30 PM on the platform’s website and Roku app.
“We have so many New Jersey topics to tackle, and bringing my show Common Ground with Bill Spadea to On New Jersey is a great way to reach a Garden State audience seeking to have a voice on the issues important to them,” Spadea said.
On New Jersey — owned by Media First Group — is a free-to-watch channel.
“Bill Spadea takes on tough issues and brings together people from both sides,” Media First Group partner Gerald D’Ambra said. “We’re excited to work with Bill and his team to provide some great, interactive talk for our state.”
Spadea launched the video show in October of last year and had previously streamed the show on his website.
“Common Ground with Bill Spadea gives New Jersey citizens a much-needed platform to air their opinions on what’s happening around the Garden State,” Media First Group partner Lisa Marie Falbo added. “On New Jersey looks forward to welcoming Bill’s brand of fire and passion to our channel.”
