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Bally Sports Reportedly Misses Payments to Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers

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Bally Sports Reportedly Misses Payments to Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers

After saying that the company would continue operating as normal after a bankruptcy filing, a new report claims Bally Sports has failed to pay the scheduled rights fees for the Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers.

Diamond Sports, the parent company of the Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks, was scheduled to pay the Cincinnati Reds but failed to do so, triggering a 15-day grace period. If Bally Sports Ohio does not pay the Reds by Saturday, May 6th, the club will have the ability to take back its local television rights, something no other MLB team has done yet.

Bally Sports Ohio and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a 15-year contract extension in 2016 that would see the club remain with the cable channel through the 2032 season. In the previous contract, the regional sports network paid the club $30 million per season, but the extension moved that number up to a reported $48 million per year.

A previous filing by Major League Baseball, Minnesota Twins, and Cleveland Guardians sought an emergency legal hearing over unpaid fees to those clubs. The Arizona Diamondbacks had also not been paid by the RSN operator.

Bally Sports North pays the Twins a reported $42 million per season, while Bally Sports Great Lakes has a deal that pays the Cleveland Guardians $55 million per year.

After that filing, other teams, including the Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers claimed they “reserved their rights to join in the motion if Diamond also fails to pay them in the future.” 

Now, the Rangers have joined the suit after claims it has also not been paid by Bally Sports.

“That ‘there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch’ is a well-recognized, simple, but axiomatic economic principle,” the Rangers said in the filing, according to a report from The Athletic. “Everyone understands it—everyone, apparently, except [Diamond Sports]. Here, they are getting lunch—using the right to create content based on the Rangers’ baseball games, and in turn, selling that content to distributors—but without paying for it.”

A court hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 31st.

Brian Mitchell: Sports Junkies Did Great Job In Bizarre Interview With Commanders Bidder

BSM Staff
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Brian Mitchell: Sports Junkies Did Great Job In Bizarre Interview With Commanders Bidder

Dan Snyder has reportedly agreed to sell the Washington Commanders to a group led by Josh Harris for $6.5 billion. On Wednesday, 106.7 The Fan’s The Sports Junkies welcomed Brian Davis — who purportedly placed a $7 billion bid for the franchise — to the show for an interview that is being described as “bizarre”. Brian Mitchell of the station’s midday show believes the Junkies deserve some credit for the interaction.

During the nearly hourlong interview, The Sports Junkies tried to ask the same question many have asked about the reported bid from Davis: where is your money coming from?

The question was the topic of a Front Office Sports article, which alleges that the money for Davis’ bid came from sources in Saudia Arabia, which Davis later denied.

“My money comes from white people . . . who are Jewish, Italian, and Sicilian,” Davis said at one point during the interview with the Junkies.

After the interview, several of the show’s members took to Twitter to point out the absurdity of the interaction, with Erick Bickel calling it “wilder than I ever thought”.

During BMitch & Finlay, the pair discussed the wide-ranging interview, with JP Finlay saying The Sports Junkies did great work in tough circumstances.

“There’s been reports about his offer, and I give him credit for coming out and talking about it,” Finlay said. “But after the interview, I called a few people I know in different circles, and by and large, everyone had the same reactions: there is no explanation for where the money is actually coming from.”

Davis — a former basketball player at Duke and Washington D.C. area native — made several claims about where the money came from. He said made $200 million selling intellectual property, but has a $50 billion valuation from an unnamed company.

“The Junkies did a good job pressing him, and he got a little flustered when they did, but don’t come and talk to people if you can’t answer real questions,” Mitchell said. “What I heard was ‘It’s my money’, then he said investors, and when they pushed him, it was ‘my partners.’ Well, still, somebody gave you money, and this intellectual property thing? Ain’t too many people in the world whose IP is worth that kind of money.”

“None of this adds up,” Finlay concluded.

ESPN Expected To Ask Some Talent To Choose Between Pay Cut or Layoff

BSM Staff
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ESPN Expected To Ask Some Talent To Choose Between Pay Cut or Layoff

Massive layoffs have already begun at Disney. In total, the company is aiming to cut 7,000 jobs this year. ESPN will not be immune. Andrew Marchand says that the cuts are going to begin soon and likely will not happen all at once.

“I think there’s going to be three rounds, from what I understand,” The New York Post reporter said on the latest edition of the Marchand & Ourand podcast. “In the first round, there’s probably going to be less [on-air] talent, probably more normal people and executives, potentially. We’re speaking now, going into the podcast, and I don’t know exactly, I’ve heard different things about when the first will come in, but then I think there will be two other rounds of layoffs.”

ESPN is still spending money and signing some of its top-level talent to new contracts. Marchand says that others will not be so lucky. He has heard that some within the company are going to be asked to make a tough choice.

“I do think they’re going to go to some other people who make big numbers and say ‘You can stay, but we’re going to cut you in half.’ People are going to have decisions to make on that. They might end up just leaving and getting paid their full contract.”

It may not end up being as simple of a fix as it sounds. Marchand says anyone presented with either making money or being unemployed entirely is being asked to choose between two terrible options.

“That’s a tough decision to make, to keep working and make less versus leaving and getting your full number, but where does that leave you going forward?”

Andrew Marchand did not offer details on when the layoffs would begin. He also did not specify if it is only air talent that could be asked to take pay cuts.

Rich Shertenlieb: ‘So Minor League’ For No Play-By-Play Announcer on NBC Sports Boston Celtics Playoff Games

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Rich Shertenlieb: ‘So Minor League’ For No Play-By-Play Announcer on NBC Sports Boston Celtics Playoff Games

Due to conflicting schedules for radio voice Sean Grande and a medical issue for television voice Mike Gorman, the Boston Celtics will see two playoff games broadcast without play-by-play announcers on NBC Sports Boston. 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Rich Shertenlieb couldn’t believe that was the decision the network came to.

During Toucher & Rich Wednesday, Shertenlieb argued that the show’s Jon Wallach, who will fill in for the Celtics radio broadcast, was the perfect candidate to step into the bizarre situation.

“Brian Scalabrine went on a podcast and said we should bring in the Charlotte Hornets TV guy, since they’re not in the playoffs, and I was like ‘(Jon) Wallach’s here’. Wallach, all year, has been doing these games. He’s been very good at it,” argued Shertenlieb. “As much as I like to bust his balls, there’s nothing you can bust his balls about with these Celtics games. He does a great job, and he’s universally liked. If you hear the broadcasts, Cedric Maxwell likes working with him, the listeners like him, because he genuinely does a good job.”

Shertenlieb continued by arguing that the importance of the two games — games three and four of a playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks — warrants a play-by-play announcer.

“That is so minor league. I don’t mind there being a ‘player’s only’ broadcast every once in a while, where it’s Eddie House and Scal talking about old times and kind of having a laugh. But this is the playoffs, man. This is a different level, and for some reason, it’s really bugging me.

“The easiest course of action is to just say ‘Jon, go do it’. Because Jon’s already done it. He knows these guys! He’s already done it! It would sound professional, you know that Jon’s a professional, you know he’s got it. Sean Grande did it, went straight into TV, and was fine. You know it can be done. I don’t know why they won’t let the bird eat, damn it!

“That would piss me off if I were you,” Shertenlieb said to Wallach. “It seems like they’re doing everything they can to keep you out of it. Let me take you out of it. Let’s say I don’t know you, and I’m just a fan of the team — which I am — and I found out it was just gonna be Eddie House and Scal calling the games. That would piss me off!”

Shertenlieb then wondered if NBC Sports Boston was “daring” viewers to change the channel to ESPN or TNT for the two playoff games.

“It’s just gonna be two dudes talking over a playoff game. I don’t understand it at all,” said Shertenlieb.

Wallach was understanding of the decision. He contended that NBC Sports Boston simply selected a pair of broadcasters who were experienced in the television booth, and said the network “didn’t want to have to teach a new guy on the fly”.

“It’s just easy and it’s lazy,” Shertenlieb concluded.

Mel Kiper Jr: ‘If You Want Comedy, It’s Not Me’

BSM Staff
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If there was one name that has become synonymous with NFL Draft coverage over the years, it is ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., who has been a part of ESPN’s draft coverage since 1984. Most NFL fans look forward to seeing where he has players on his mock drafts, but Kiper Jr. takes more pride in where he ranks the players.

Kiper Jr. was a guest on the Rise And Schein podcast this week and he said that whenever he does analysis, he thinks as if he were running a 33rd team in the NFL.

“I just always try to be that 33rd team. Just giving an independent opinion on every player, what teams needed, what they were going to do, and just let the chips fall where they may. I always take great pride in rankings. Everybody gets into mock drafts, but how do you rate the players? Who are your guys that you rate a little higher in the league or you don’t rate quite as high? Those are what I always gravitated to.”

In this era of social media, Kiper Jr. told Schein that he tries not to worry about what the critics say about him and remembers in the early years of his draft coverage that people would say that he never smiled when he was on TV. To him, providing the information and giving his opinions are the most important things.

“I think just being who you are and don’t worry about all the critics and all the negativity and all the hate that’s going to be out there. I remember in the early years it was just being business-like. I always took it seriously. ‘He never smiles’. If you want comedy, it’s not me. I’m going to give you football information, I’m going to give you my opinions right or wrong, and I’m going to give them to you strongly and honestly. I don’t know how it came across, but I was just giving my opinion and I gave them decisively and strongly.”

Kiper Jr. will be a part of his 40th NFL Draft for ESPN when the event begins in Kansas City on April 27. He will be on the broadcast along with Mike Greenberg, Booger McFarland, and Louis Riddick. 

Ted Leonsis Offered to Buy MASN As Part of Washington Nationals Bid

BSM Staff
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Ted Leonsis Offered to Buy MASN As Part of Washington Nationals Bid

Ted Leonsis has invested heavily into the regional sports network model that many view as crumbling, and a recent report claims the Washington Wizards, Capitals, and Mystics owner was looking to nab another RSN in the process of acquiring another team.

Late last year, Leonsis offered to purchase the Washington Nationals for $2 billion. The Lerner Family announced they were exploring a sale of the Major League Baseball franchise last year before patriarch Ted died at the age of 97 in February. After his death, many remain interested in what the next step is for a potential sale. Five separate entities had reportedly met with the family before Ted Lerner’s passing.

A report from The Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes says that Leonsis “also expressed interest in buying MASN late last year, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation”. Those same sources also told Janes that the network “was not for sale”. She added that a MASN spokesman “did not reply to a request to comment”.

Leonsis was hoping to add the Orioles’ television rights to his network with the aim of creating a “D.C. area super network”, the report continued.

In an agreement to allow the Nationals to move to Washington D.C. in 2005, the Baltimore Orioles were awarded the local television rights to the Nationals in perpetuity. In return, the Orioles are required to pay the Nationals “fair market value” for the television rights, with that value being reassessed every five years. The meetings have been quite contentious, with the current squabble between the two clubs landing in a New York state court.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment — the company owned by Leonsis — completed a full takeover of the NBC Sports Washington regional sports network from NBCUniversal last September. The company had previously owned a 33% stake in the cable channel but purchased the remainder of the company to unify its television rights for the professional sports teams it currently owns.

A rebrand from the current NBC Sports Washington branding is expected before next season’s NBA and NHL campaigns kick off.

NBC Sports Boston Won’t Use Traditional Play-by-Play Crew For Celtics Playoff Games

BSM Staff
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NBC Sports Boston Won’t Use Traditional Play-by-Play Crew For Celtics Playoff Games

A convergence of differing schedules and bad luck have led NBC Sports Boston to have no play-by-play announcers available for games three and four of the Boston Celtics first round series against the Atlanta Hawks.

Mike Gorman — the Celtics television voice — recently had surgery to repair a detached retina in his eye. He has yet to be cleared for air travel, and will not be accompanying the team to Atlanta.

The Celtics radio voice, Sean Grande, has routinely filled in for Gorman on the television broadcast. However, Grande is scheduled to announce a Bellator MMA card on Showtime, and isn’t available to fill in. Jon Wallach will call the radio broadcast in Grande’s stead.

So with no available play-by-play broadcaster, the television broadcast will pair Brian Scalabrine and Eddie House, according to the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn.

Scalabrine works as the regular color commentator for NBC Sports Boston, while House has worked as a studio analyst for the network’s Celtics coverage.

Both games will also be available to a national television audience. Game three is scheduled to air on ESPN Friday night, while the fourth game of the series will air on TNT Sunday.

ESPN Drops New 30 For 30 Podcast on Adidas College Basketball Scandal

BSM Staff
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ESPN Drops New 30 For 30 Podcast on Adidas College Basketball Scandal

Another season of ESPN’s 30 for 30 podcast is out now. The four-episode series is titled The Bag Game and is hosted by Paula Lavigne.

The Bag Game tells the story of Billy Preston, a 5-star basketball prospect whose recruitment to the University of Kansas was part of the criminal case that landed three people in jail in 2018. Adidas was at the center of the scandal, using money and gifts to influence families and players into signing with their affiliated schools.

While Kansas head coach Bill Self ended up serving a suspension and coaches at other schools lost their jobs, none went to jail.

“The Bag Game is the first in-depth look at how this investigation affected the athletes themselves and how players like Billy Preston got caught in the crosshairs of a controversial system, and it offers a rare insight from federal prosecutors as they explain why they went after the people they did and – more vital for many critics – why they didn’t pursue others,” Lavigne said in a press release.

ESPN debuted podcasts under the 30 for 30 brand in 2017. The series began telling a single story over the course of multiple episodes in season 3 with Bikram. Season 5, The Sterling Affiars, is being developed into a limited series starring Ed O’Neil and Laurence Fishburne and is set to air on FX later this year.

Brian Stelter: CNN Investors Wanted Us to Be More Like Fox News

BNM Staff
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Former CNN Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter was hired by Vanity Fair to cover the defamation lawsuit between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems, but unfortunately for the former host, the case was settled Tuesday.

However, Stelter was the subject of several interviews about the topic Tuesday, and was on Dan Abrams Live when he was asked about his high-profile exit from the network.

After the NewsNation host said Stelter was “pushed out” of the network, the former CNN host said he has “embraced” the word “fired”, before saying he was unsure why he was let go.

“I really, truly don’t know,” Stelter said. “I know I had a popular show by CNN standards and I know that it was pretty cheap to produce. But I also know every show gets canceled eventually.”

Reports at the time of Stelter’s firing claimed that new CNN CEO Chris Licht wanted to rid the network of hyper-partisan hosts, reporters, and contributors. The network also fired White House correspondent John Harwood around the same time as Stelter.

Stelter then argued that Fox News “really enjoyed making me a target”, and believes that led to his demise at CNN.

At the time, billionaire John Malone — one of the largest shareholders in Warner Bros. Discovery — claimed he wanted to see CNN “evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with and actually have journalists”, but Stelter said that wasn’t Malone’s actual aim.

“No, not at all,” said Stelter. “I think we were reporting what was going on. Malone was saying CNN should be more like Fox. And I think we see today more than ever before what Fox actually is.”

Brian Mayfield Retiring From Ramsey Solutions

BNM Staff
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Brian Mayfield Retiring From Ramsey Solutions

Ramsey Solutions Executive Vice President of Strategic Alliances Brian Mayfield has retired after a 15-year run with the company.

Mayfield worked as the Executive Vice President of the Ramsey network for five years before leading the company’s national advertising sales efforts.

“It has been an honor to work alongside Dave and the rest of the team,” said Mayfield. “I am very proud of the success we have seen to date, but I am even more excited to watch and experience the success of Ramsey Network into the future as a fan. We are sometimes faced with situations that dictate change, I’m embracing mine and looking forward to quality time with my wife and family — I’m truly blessed.”

Under Mayfield’s leadership, The Ramsey Show grew to become the second-largest syndicated talk radio program in the nation.

“Over the last 15 years, Brian Mayfield has truly become one of the top talk radio executives in the nation and a good friend while he has been with Ramsey Solutions,” said Ramsey. “His early retirement is a loss for all of us at Ramsey and the industry.”

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