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Greg Gutfeld Blasts Geraldo Rivera Over Tucker Carlson Criticism

BNM Staff
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Greg Gutfeld, a host at Fox News, took to Twitter to defend his former colleague, Tucker Carlson, against criticism from what he called “hall monitor failures”, who aim to destroy the ex-host of Fox News. Gutfeld’s response came after leaked videos surfaced, which were disseminated primarily by Media Matters for America, a frequent target of Carlson’s.

The videos purported to show Carlson speaking when he thought the cameras were not recording. However, Gutfeld did not buy Media Matters’ interpretation of the leaked material.

He tweeted that “apparently everyone understands nonsense banter between segments except for hall monitor failures bitterly chronicling the lives of the far more successful.”

Geraldo Rivera, who sometimes co-hosts The Five with Gutfeld, offered an unfavorable critique of Carlson, stating, “While I don’t want anyone to suffer, it’s clear that Tucker Carlson’s distorted conspiracy theory about January 6th was complete nonsense, as I previously mentioned. After losing the election, President Trump instigated a rebellion that aimed to subvert our constitutional process.”

“You’re a class act, Geraldo. A real man of the people,” Gutfeld tweeted in response.

Lara Logan, a former FOX Nation alum, also weighed in, saying that Gutfeld was not harsh enough on Media Matters. This was not the first time Gutfeld came to Carlson’s defense, having joked on The Five just hours after Carlson’s abrupt exit from Fox News that Carlson would run for president.

Sunny Hostin: Donald Trump Isn’t Worthy of CNN’s Platform

BNM Staff
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Sunny Hostin, co-host of The View, expressed her strong disapproval of CNN giving Donald Trump a platform in his first televised town hall of the 2024 election cycle.

According to Fox News Digital, Hostin labeled Trump as an “insurrectionist”, “liar”, “bigot”, “racist”, “sexist”, and “criminal defendant”, stating that the network should not give “that type of person” a platform. 

“That’s what I’m so disgusted by because, again, when someone shows you who they are, you believe them. When you show that you are an insurrectionist, that you’re a liar, that you’re a bigot, that you’re a racist, that you’re sexist, that you’re twice impeached, that you’re currently a criminal defendant, and likely to be a criminal defendant in two other jurisdictions. You grab women by their genitals; I know everything I need to know about you,” Hostin said.

However, her co-hosts held different opinions. Joy Behar argued that Trump is the Republican front-runner, and the town hall could reveal his lack of empathy.

In contrast, Alyssa Farah Griffin argued that there is a vital public interest in hearing Trump answer direct questions. Sara Haines disagreed with Hostin, stating that the media’s job is to provide information and push back, not silence candidates. Trump officially launched his 2024 campaign in November.

“So what is the point of this new town hall that he’s doing? And did we learn nothing from [former CBS executive] Les Moonves saying, ‘Bad for the country but great for the network’?” co-host Whoopi Goldberg asked.

“I can’t stand him, as you know, but he is the front-runner for the Republican Party,” she said. “Let them do it. This is a free country, and this is America. Let him go out there and show the American people again that he’s a sociopath. First of all, this forum requires a person who has empathy.”

According to co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, a town hall featuring Donald Trump has a significant public interest. She noted that 74 million people voted for him, and this event could allow them to hear him answer direct questions about his beliefs. Griffin also highlighted that this would be Trump’s first major interview with an unfriendly outlet since the insurrection. It’s worth noting that Trump launched his 2024 election campaign in November.

Chris Plante Reveals One of Most Unforgettable Moments of CNN Career

BNM Staff
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Chris Plante Reveals One of Most Unforgettable Moments of CNN Career

Chris Plante had an eventful career at CNN spanning almost two decades, during which he was given numerous intriguing assignments.

On Wednesday, Plante, a WMAL Radio host, reminisced about one of the most unforgettable assignments he received from the network, which involved attempting to interview John Hinckley, the man convicted of trying to assassinate President Ronald Reagan.

“There was a story in The Washington Post that John Hinckley was being allowed to roam free on the grounds of St. Elizabeth’s Mental Institution where he was being held,” Plante said. “It was a very large walled complex which the Department of Homeland Security has since taken over.”

According to Plante, he and his camera crew were sent to the hospital, and surprisingly, security allowed them to enter the grounds without any explanation.

“Then we went to the building where I knew John Hinckley was being held,” he said. “I went with the camera crew to the front door of the building, and I told the crew, ‘Let’s see how far we can go’. I walk up to the front, and security sees us on the camera; they buzz the door, and we walk in. Then we walked to the inner part, and the door opened, and they waive us in, and we’re walking in.”

Plante informed security that he wanted to see John Hinckley, even though he didn’t have an appointment. After a short wait, a staff member approached Plante and his crew and inquired if they were the HBO crew.

“I said, ‘No, we are with CNN’, and they said ‘Security!’ They said we weren’t authorized to be in there. We were just waived in, the doors kept opening, and we kept walking. We were chased out of the place and sent packing back to the van, and then security came in and escorted us off the grounds.”

Dan Bongino: ‘Difficult to Explain’ Tucker Carlson Video Leaks

BNM Staff
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Dan Bongino: ‘Difficult to Explain’ Tucker Carlson Video Leaks

Multimedia personality Dan Bongino thinks that the person or group trying to damage Tucker Carlson’s career is failing. The situation surrounding Carlson has been ongoing for two weeks as the media speculates what he will do next.

Bongino shared his thoughts during his daily Rumble show. 

According to Bongino, the explanation commonly given for Carlson’s departure from Fox News doesn’t make sense. Some people have suggested that Carlson was fired because Fox settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million.

“It seems like whoever is trying to hurt him, why would leak this stuff (video) to Media Matters? Let me explain; Media Matters is a leftist goon organization. It’s a bunch of kids in their mama’s basements. They sit around eating Ben and Jerry’s and pat each other on the back; they probably watch porn all day. It’s like a joke of an organization, and it’s a clown show.”

Bongino suggested that if someone at Fox News wanted to retaliate against Carlson and leaked a video to a left-leaning organization like Media Matters, it would not be long before Media Matters exposed the leak to the public and turned against Fox News.

A leaked video obtained by Media Matters showed Carlson openly criticizing the streaming service FOX Nation. He expressed frustration that the high-quality content created for the platform would go to waste due to usability issues.

“You have to dig deeper; something is going on here that’s difficult to explain,” Bongino explained about a text message from Carlson allegedly sent after January 6.

“A couple of weeks ago, I watched a video of people fighting on the street in Washington. A group of Trump guys surrounded an Antifa kid and started pounding the living s—t out of him. It was three against one, at least,” Carlson said.

“I want to realize that this was not a public statement by Tucker Carlson,” added Bongino. “This was how the man felt; he was texting privately someone else. Again, I’m not sure how this damages Tucker Carlson. He’s talking about sympathizing with an Antifa kid, even though he hates his politics because he’s getting beaten half to death. I am perplexed as to how they thought this (text) would destroy his (Carlson) reputation.” 

Anatomy of an Analyst: David Cone

Andy Masur
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Anatomy of an Analyst: David Cone

He’s authored a book and a perfect game. Now, David Cone is continuing to write the story of his broadcasting career. 

He was blessed with a long baseball career. He pitched for five teams after making his Major League debut for Kansas City in 1986. Cone has extended his association with baseball in his role as an analyst for the New York Yankees on the YES Network and for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. 

Cone was a World Series Champion 5 times in his career, won the 1994 AL Cy Young Award, struck out 19 hitters in a game, was an All-Star 5 different times and won 20 games twice. Quite a resume for one of the game’s most clutch postseason pitchers (8-3 in 21 playoff games). 

David Cone was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and was drafted in the third round of the 1981 MLB Draft by the hometown Royals. He wound up pitching for Kansas City twice in his career. But after debuting for the team, he was traded to the Mets before the 1987 season. In 1988 he went 20-3 with a 2.22 ERA and yet wound-up finishing third in the Cy Young balloting. 

He finished his career with a 194-126 record and with 2,688 strikeouts. 

ROAD TO YES/ESPN

Cone has flourished as a broadcaster with the Yankees, but it was almost a short-lived stint in the Bronx. 

When Cone retired from baseball in 2001, he became a color commentator on YES during the network’s inaugural season (2002). All was good until he attempted a comeback with the crosstown Mets in 2003. The move infuriated Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and Cone was told he would not be welcomed back. After his second retirement from baseball, Cone was offered a broadcasting position with the Mets, but declined. 

In 2008, Cone rejoined the YES Network as an analyst and host of Yankees on Deck. He left the network during the 2009–10 offseason in order to spend more time with his family. But a year later, Cone returned to the Yankees broadcast booth in Toronto, working as analyst for a Yankees-Blue Jays series along with Ken Singleton. He has been with the network ever since.

David Cone is currently the Yankees’ lead color commentator, alongside former teammate Paul O’Neill. The two are paired with Michael Kay as the Yankees’ regular broadcast team. His work with YES has earned him four New York Emmy Awards.

In 2022 he added to his busy schedule when it was announced he would be part of the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast team. David Cone works alongside Eduardo Perez, Karl Ravech and Buster Olney. 

In addition to all the broadcasting, Cone hosts a pitching podcast for Jomboy Media called Toeing the Slab with David Cone.

AS AN ANALYST

The first thing I notice about David Cone is just how smooth he is. Even experienced analysts are at a loss for words from time to time, but Cone’s thoughts are usually quite complete. It’s not like he’s a rookie, after all. 

You can tell immediately how well-suited he is for a role in the booth. Not that it should come as a surprise. He was always thought of as one of the more cerebral players during his career. When you listen to his analysis you are immediately struck by his vast knowledge of the game. Not only does he know the game, he can explain things in a way that makes them understandable to the average fan. 

For example. After the recent ejection of Mets’ pitcher Max Scherzer for using a foreign substance on his hand that made it ‘too sticky’. Cone, going along with the pitchers’ explanation that it was only rosin, washed off with alcohol, conducted an on-air experiment. 

During the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast, Cone put rosin from an MLB rosin bag on his fingers and said they got sticky just from that. After his fingers became discolored from the rosin, Cone, like Scherzer claimed he did, used alcohol to wash it off. Cone then showed how his thumb, index finger, and middle finger on his right hand were sticking together. 

“The alcohol sort of activates what’s left of the rosin,” Cone said. Finally, he went back to the rosin bag once more and grabbed a baseball, showing the ball hanging from his index and middle fingers due to the stickiness. ESPN Tweeted out the video and it’s amazing to see.

It may not have been his idea to perform the experiment, but Cone, nonetheless, made it work effectively. Based on his experience as a quality big league pitcher, it was more than credible. No tricks, no smoke, no mirrors, just facts for the viewer to plainly see. 

For a guy that pitched in the era before analytics took over the game, he’s pretty knowledgeable about the “inside” numbers. He seems at ease sharing the numbers, mainly as they relate to pitching. Spin rate, release point, and vertical and horizontal movement are a few that he regularly talks about. It almost seems as though he is jealous that he didn’t have access to these stats while he pitched. But he turns that jealousy into a feeling like he’s a little kid in a candy store, with eyes wide open. That’s a good thing. 

David Cone is a rare breed in the analyst world. His ability to combine the numbers with the vast experience he has as a former MLB pitcher keeps a good balance to his commentary. In other words, he’s not solely reliant on that information. Cone has the ability to reach back into his career and apply things he experienced to complement the analysis. Viewers love it when former players can tell a story from their time in baseball and make sense of it in the context of today’s game. 

He’s had to adjust on the fly, because of his national work with ESPN. In the YES booth, he can be more of a “hometown” analyst. He doesn’t go over the top, but he is known as a Yankees broadcaster. Because of that, Cone has had to change his commentary when working on Sunday nights, especially when he had to cover the Yankees/Red Sox game last April.

“I was really conscious of it there because I knew on the Red Sox side I had to be careful and make sure that I presented it in a fair way, a balanced way, or at least tried to,” Cone told The Athletic last year.

He’s done an admirable job. 

DID YOU KNOW?

Cone pitched the sixteenth perfect game in baseball history in 1999. It happened to take place at Yankee Stadium on Yogi Berra Day at the ballpark. Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch that afternoon? None other than Don Larsen, the author of one of the most famous perfect games, in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. The catcher, of course was Berra. Cone remembered a conversation he and Larsen had before that game. It centered on the famous picture of Larsen and Berra in an embrace after the perfecto. 

“Don came out, he threw out the first pitch and I said, ‘Are you going to go run and jump in his arms again?’ And he said, ‘Kid, you got it wrong. He jumped in my arms.’ I messed that one up,” Cone recalled to MLB.com in 2019. “I thought I was pretty good at history. Apparently not.”

Cone remembered leaving the field after the perfect game. 

“I got out to the tunnel and there’s Don Larsen. I went up to him and hugged him like he was my father. Nothing needed to be said.”

Dave Portnoy: Penn Entertainment Made Barstool Fire Ben Mintz

BSM Staff
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Barstool founder and president Dave Portnoy announced Tuesday evening that contributor Ben Mintz had been fired for reading the n-word in song lyrics on a recent Barstool live stream.

Portnoy, in a video posted on his Twitter feed, said that anyone that sees the video can tell instantly that Mintz was reading lyrics from his phone screen and instantly knew he messed up and that there was clearly no hateful intent. El Pres added that his hands were tied in the decision to terminate Mintz, known by his nickname “Mintzy.”

Portnoy said Penn had the final say in the decision to fire Mintz. Despite the fact that he, CEO Erika Ayers, and Dan “Big Cat” Katz fought Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden to keep Mintz employed, the company has a zero-tolerance policy on the use of racial slurs in any context.

“Penn felt differently,” Portnoy said. “I’m stunned by it, and I’ve been fighting tooth and nail, as has Erika, as has Dan, to keep Ben and say this is the wrong decision.”

“Bottom line is this – you can’t do stuff like this,” Portnoy added. “And really we haven’t had an incident like this since they’ve taken over.”

Earlier this year, Penn Entertainment bought the remaining ownership stake in Barstool from Portnoy for $388 million. The company acquired a 36% share back in 2020 for $163 million.

Portnoy explained that Penn’s perspective was that keeping Mintz was a liability and jeopardized its licenses to operate online sportsbooks in several states under the Barstool name.

“Penn operates in a world that we don’t operate in it,” Dave said. “They’re highly regulated by the government. They’re issued licenses for gambling that just as easily as it could be issued they can be pulled back.

“And they believe there is a legitimate chance lots of the states would pull their licenses because of this,” he added. “Penn’s a billion-dollar company – a multi-billion-dollar company. Without their licenses, they are a zero dollar company. Investors, families, employees, thousands of people, they feel it’s their job to protect all of this. And the only answer is to fire Ben Mintz.”

Portnoy said he told Snowden that firing Mintz posed a risk of alienating a very passionate and loyal Barstool fanbase, but Barstool Sports now comprises a small portion of the Penn Entertainment portfolio. He said of Snowden that he likes and respects him, but he just didn’t feel like termination was the appropriate action to take in this instance.

“I hate the decision. I don’t agree with the decision, but it’s not my decision to make,” Portnoy said. “And when we sold Barstool to Penn, we knew what came with it. We knew the guidelines. We knew you couldn’t do what Ben Mintz did. We knew it was a regulated industry, and we knew if someone went beyond the guardrails after they purchased us, these decisions on how to deal with it would be Penn decisions.”

Portnoy later tweeted that Penn is frightened of regulators who seem keen on looking for any reason to pull licenses in states.

Mintz’s Picks Central co-host Brandon Walker also voiced his displeasure with the decision to let Mintzy go.

Mintz posted a tweet later providing an update on how he’s doing.

Inflation of Sports Rights is Unsustainable

BSM Staff
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Inflation of Sports Rights is Unsustainable

The cost of acquiring sports media rights is steadily rising, but analysts from JP Morgan believe that at some point the media rights market bubble is going to burst.

According to reporting from Forbes, despite strong ratings and live viewership driving inflation of media rights fees, whether or not streaming and digital platforms can replace linear TV is still unknown.

“We believe the ratings and viewership of sports today, essentially must-haves in an otherwise challenged linear ecosystem, will continue to justify sports rights inflation, but that inflation exacerbates what are already existential challenges for the video distribution business as a whole,” the report reads. “Today, it is unclear how DTC/digital platforms will be able to replicate the legacy model’s level of profitability, as today’s model of low prices and easy on/off on a monthly basis with high churn looks unsustainable in general but especially for sports.”

Forbes estimates around $26 billion in rights fees will be paid this year looking at payments and revenue from network TV, regional sports networks, and streaming services. They also factored in NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube, Amazon’s NFL deal for Thursday Night Football, and Apple’s contracts with MLS and MLB.

The next major negotiations expected to begin will be for the NBA’s media rights. The league is seeking somewhere in the neighborhood of $75 billion in total and will do deals with multiple partners. NASCAR’s rights are also on the table.

Al Morganti Returns to WIP for Weekends & Midday Show Appearances

BSM Staff
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Al Morganti Returns to WIP for Weekends & Midday Show Appearances

A familiar voice on 94WIP in Al Morganti is going to be returning to the airwaves this weekend.

Following the retirement of longtime morning host Angelo Cataldi, Morganti also transitioned out of his seat on the morning show. But he announced his return to a new hosting role in an appearance on WIP Middays with Hugh Douglas and Joe Giglio Wednesday, as well as announcing that he’ll have a regular segment on the midday show and host a Flyers podcast.

“That way I can play golf during the week and get the weekday membership and save money,” Morganti joked.

Morganti’s show will start this weekend and will air sometimes on Saturdays, sometimes on Sundays.

“People are going to say it’s cause the Red Sox are in town, but it just happened to be that way,” Morganti said.

Morganti will be featured on the midday show in a segment titled “Impromptu Al.”

“I first thought it would be whenever you say something stupid I’d call,” Morganti joked to Douglas and Giglio. “But I don’t have that much time.”

Morganti has been at WIP since 1993 and signed a new deal with Audacy earlier this year. It will keep him at the station for the next five years.

Joe Ovies, Joe Giglio Launch Podcast Company Following 99.9 The Fan Exit

BSM Staff
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After the sudden cancellation of their afternoon drive show on 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh, Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio are picking things up over in the podcasting space.

The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Ovies and Giglio have launched The OG Live Podcast Co. Their new show Ovies & Giglio, debuted in an abbreviated form on Wednesday. The podcast will have new episodes out every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

“We’re going to try to do what we’ve been doing, only on our own,” Giglio said.

The topics covered on the show will not be different from what was discussed on the radio. ACC football and basketball, Carolina Panthers football and Carolina Hurricanes hockey will be spotlighted.

Giglio said he’s really felt the love over the last week from so many, including North Carolina’s Governor Roy Cooper.

“The outpouring from both listeners and from our sources — coaches, administrators, commissioners, (Canes owner) Tom Dundon — that part has been overwhelming and obviously super encouraging at a time when we obviously needed it,” he said. “So that’s kinda why we thought we could do this. We hope we can make the most of the chance that we have.”

In addition to this podcast, Giglio will host an NC State podcast, and Ovies will launch a beer podcast. Video content will also be available on YouTube.

NFL Films & Skydance Working on Series About Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys

BSM Staff
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A new documentary series that aims to be the defining look at the Dallas Cowboys under Jerry Jones’s ownership is in the works. NFL Films is working with Skydance Sports to produce the series.

“We are incredibly excited to create a thrilling ride through one of the most memorable and high-powered turnarounds in football history,” Ross Ketover, senior executive of NFL Films, said in a statement. “Launching this first series with Skydance Sports marks a momentous occasion for our partnership as we build the premiere sports studio of the future. NFL Films coined the term ‘America’s Team,’ so having this first project be about the biggest brand in all of sports is perfectly fitting.”

Few details are available right now. The series will begin in 1989, with Jones purchasing the team, which at the time was losing $1 million per month. No title or premiere date has been set.

“Jerry Jones is an incomparable figure,” Jesse Sisgold, President and COO of Skydance added. “With the Dallas Cowboys, he has built the world’s most valuable sports franchise and has undeniably transformed both modern football and the sports business at-large. It is an honor to commemorate his journey and that of his dynasty by partnering with the Jones family, the Dallas Cowboys organization, and NFL Films to bring this uniquely American story to life.”

Skydance launched Skydance Sports in 2021 and has been busy. Earlier this year, the company released Air, a drama about Nike’s courtship of Michael Jordan, starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It has also been aggressive with content partnerships. In addition to NFL Films, Skydance Sports also has worked with Meadowlark Media to create the Amazon Prime documentary series Good Rivals about the United States Men’s National Soccer Team’s rivalry with Mexico.

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