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Fred Toucher: ‘Is My Career Over If I Continue to Talk Like This?’

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Fred Toucher: ‘Is My Career Over If I Continue to Talk Like This?’

98.5 The Sports Hub morning man Fred Toucher has been speaking with a noticeable raspiness recently, and has missed time to rest his voice. Last week, co-host Rich Shertenlieb shared on the station’s website that Toucher — like the show’s loyal listeners — wants answers to when he’ll be back to normal, but couldn’t give them.

Monday morning, Toucher joked that the show’s producer Mike Lockhart had made him uneasy about his voice by asking a simple question.

“Mike just freaked me out. He asked me if he thought my voice would sound like this forever,” Toucher said. “I’m like ‘Oh god’. He asked if any of the doctors were concerned. They didn’t seem overly concerned, They didn’t say ‘Come back tomorrow’. They said come back in six weeks.”

“Mike should know better than that,” Rich Shertenlieb joked. “Now you’re only going to think about that for the next eight weeks.”

Shertenlieb asked Toucher about his mindset and what throat physical therapy entailed. Toucher shared that he has certainly considered the long-term ramifications if he can’t return his voice to normal.

“I mean, it has occurred to me. Is my career over if I continue to talk like this? But when your throat has been messed up long enough, you learn to speak in a different way to compensate for it. What I’m hoping is these bacterial pills do something and that helps the most,” Toucher continued. “I had these lozenges before and the doctors were like ‘Why were you on those?’. So, great, I wasted all the time on the lozenges. I am no longer on steroids. My throat is infected, and all the stuff around it is cobblestones. It doesn’t hurt. Not at all. And that’s why they’re not concerned. Because it doesn’t hurt.”

Dan Le Batard: I Can’t Believe ‘Sportsmanship is What We’re Talking About’

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Dan Le Batard: I Can’t Believe ‘Sportsmanship is What We’re Talking About’

The LSU Tigers are the national champions of women’s college basketball for the first time in school history. Angel Reese led the team through the tournament, including an easy 102-85 win over Iowa in the national championship game. Dan Le Batard said he couldn’t help but notice that all of the conversations about Reese are about her behavior and not her accomplishment.

Reese ended the game by seeking out Iowa star Caitlin Clark and flashing wrestler John Cena’s famous “you can’t see me” taunt in her face. Clark, one of the best shooters in the country, had been doing the same gesture throughout the tournament.

The gesture was the only thing many members of the media seemed to notice about the game. Former ESPN and MSNBC star Keith Olbermann drew particular ire after he called Reese a “f***ing idiot” on Twitter.

“A lot of people went after Keith Olbermann yesterday,” Le Batard said on his Monday show, “because that was a hostile reaction calling Angel Reese an ‘f-ing idiot’ for what is a fairly benign gesture, I thought, in the name of trash talking.”

Shaquille O’Neal, Marcus Spears, Jay Williams, and actor Samuel L. Jackson were among the chorus of critics. The discussion quickly became about Olbermann’s tweet. Many pointed out that Olbermann and others had been largely silent about Clark’s antics during the tournament.

Dan Le Batard said that this isn’t a good thing for women’s college basketball. In a year when the tournament was setting ratings records and new viewership highs, the national conversation about the national championship game has nothing to do with actual basketball.

“I don’t know if it is a great step for womankind to have sportswomanship be the thing we’re talking about instead of the action,” he said. “Sportsmanship is what we’re talking about instead of the action in the games!”

Jessica Smetana was unsurprised. Smetana, in addition to serving as a producer on The Dan Le Batard Show, co-hosts Meadowlark Media’s women’s basketball podcast Off the Looking Glass. The current discourse is no different to her than not talking about women’s basketball at all.

“We haven’t talked about the game,” she said. “We’re just talking about the reaction from people in the media that don’t give a single shit about women’s sports.”

Jay Williams: Criticism of Angel Reese From Dave Portnoy, Others Uncalled For

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Reaction to LSU women’s basketball player Angel Reese and her taunts toward Iowa’s Caitlin Clark after winning the National Championship has varied. ESPN Radio host Jay Williams believes race is at the center of the reaction, and took issue with the way some pundits characterized the college athlete’s actions.

Reese taunted Clark with a similar hand motion that the Iowa star used against an opponent in the Elite Eight, which garnered strong reaction from many in sports media.

The Keyshawn, JWill, and Max host was angered that the reaction took the focus away from the championship being won by the Tigers and was put on a 20-year-old athlete.

“I’m pissed off because instead of congratulating and celebrating LSU we’re talking about elements of race and double standards,” Williams argued. “So when Caitlin Clark is doing all this, ‘she has swag. She’s a competitor. She’s lost in the juices. This is what we love’. But when Angel Reese does it… was it maybe a tad bit excessive? Could she had been called for a T? Sure. The refs could have wanted to call her for a T at the end of the game for trash talking, because she followed Caitlin Clark around.

“But these are the same things that motivate young people in sports, and we applaud it in other situations. But now we want to apply race towards it or we want to apply ‘Look at her she’s a classless piece of’. That’s what Dave Portnoy said. I’ll put names on it. Keith Olbermann called her a blanking idiot on Twitter.”

The Barstool Sports founder had several thoughts about the situation on Twitter, continually calling her “classless”. However, he later added that he respected Reese because “She is owning it. Every movie needs a villain.”

Olbermann did call Reese a “f—ing idiot”, as well as “mindless” and “classless”, before later apologizing for “being uninformed” about the backstory about Clark using the gesture. He added, “both were wrong”.

“What are we doing? Why are we taking it to that level? If you want to criticize it and say ‘Call a tech’? Fine, I’m okay with that,” Williams concluded. “At least you’re having some kind of informed opinion on it. But now we’re name-calling. Now we’re questioning people’s character in winning a championship? I’m not going to allow that to happen to our show and also nationally.”

Nick Khan: Expect Crossover, But WWE, UFC Will Operate Separately

BSM Staff
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Endeavor is now the most powerful entity in the combat sports world. The company announced a deal to acquire WWE on Monday. WWE and UFC will be combined into a new, publicly traded company. Nick Khan says that doesn’t mean the two organizations will become a single product.

“Both businesses are going to be run separately,” Khan told OutKick’s Bobby Burack. “Dana White will, of course, continue to run the UFC.”

That doesn’t mean that talent from each promotion cannot play in the other’s sandbox upon occasion. Khan, who is now the President of the WWE, says his company has always had a good relationship with White and his team at UFC. He cited examples of how fans have benefitted from that.

“You saw Brock Lesnar go from WWE to UFC, where he become its heavyweight champion, then come back to WWE. You saw Ronda Rousey and her amazing run with the UFC come over to WWE. Daniel Cormier was a special guest referee for us in our October premium live event this past year,” he said. “Opportunities like that will continue.”

With the biggest professional wrestling company and the biggest MMA company under the same roof, Burack pointed out that boxing is the only one of the three major combat sports without a presence within Endeavor. Khan says that it may not stay that way forever. It isn’t a priority right now, though.

Khan said his first goal following the sale will be to make the most of the WWE’s existing intellectual property. He used the Marvel Cinematic Universe as an example of what the WWE could become with the backing of Endeavor and the ability to utilize the media giant’s various assets.

“Characters like The Undertaker and Andre the Giant. I’m not sure that every comic book fan was familiar with Black Panther. But certainly, every movie fan is now,” Khan said. “We want that for our characters. So, if we do it with the right partners, and in the right spirit, we think that we have something that is largely untapped.”

Robert Mangino Exits KDKA

BNM Staff
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Robert Mangino Exits KDKA

KDKA night host Robert Mangino has departed the station after 13 years.

In a Facebook post announcing his exit, Mangino said he listened to the venerable Pittsburgh station as a 13-year-old. His interaction with overnight host Perry Marshall during a late-night phone call was what propelled him into a radio career.

He said after working at a station in Youngstown, Ohio for 14 years, a move to KDKA was his dream job.

“But alas, all dreams come to an end. Life is shaking me awake,” said Mangino. “There’s disappointment just like we all experience when it’s time to get up, wishing you could keep on dreaming, but at the same time, are so thankful you remember the dream so vividly.”

Mangino thanked station management that brought him to KDKA and kept him there through the years. He added that he worked with “some of the best people”, naming Larry Richert, Marty Griffin, and Rick Dayton, among others.

The station website now shows the 6:00-10:00 PM timeslot previously hosted by Mangino as now hosted by Rob Pratte, who has worked at the station since 1984.

Mangino’s last show with the Audacy-owned station was Sunday, March 26th.

Elizabeth Vargas: Cable News Viewers ‘Are Craving Nuance and Context’

BNM Staff
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Elizabeth Vargas: Cable News Viewers ‘Are Craving Nuance and Context’

Former ABC News anchor Elizabeth Vargas is slated to debut her new show — Elizabeth Vargas Reports — on NewsNation this evening, and says it will intentionally be unlike anything else on cable news.

In an interview with TVNewser, Vargas claimed the program isn’t simply going to be an hour-long version of network news shows like World News Tonight or NBC Nightly News, saying that by the time her show hits the air — 6:00 PM ET — most viewers have already digested the headlines.

“We’re going to go much deeper into our stories, and we’re going to pick a handful of the most interesting, most important stories that have happened, and provide a lot of in-depth analysis,” Vargas said. “We’ll talk to the newsmakers and do a lot of live interviews, which is kind of my wheelhouse and what I enjoy doing most.  I’m really looking forward to it.

“I think viewers right now are craving nuance and context. There are a lot of shouting, talking heads and highly partisan takes on things, and I think it’s important to stay away from that and get more in depth into what the big stories are each day.”

Vargas joins NewsNation after spending the 15 years anchoring 20/20, and also working on documentaries for A&E. In addition to her work at the cable outlet, she also hosts a syndicated program called iCrime with Elizabeth Vargas.

Jim Trotter Declined NFL Media Severance Package That Required NDA

BSM Staff
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Last week, NFL Network’s Jim Trotter announced he would be departing NFL Media after being told his contract would not be renewed.

Trotter had publicly questioned NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about the lack of diversity in NFL Media’s executive and newsroom roles at his “State of the League” address at the Super Bowl in February. It was the second consecutive year Trotter had asked the question, which he argued wasn’t an attack on the Commissioner or a “gotcha” moment, but simply asking that “the league’s actions reflecting their words”.

While announcing his departure, Trotter said “I thank NFL Network and NFL.com for the lessons learned and affirmed over the last five years.”

After his departure was announced, The New York Post included a tidbit that 58% of new full-time hires at NFL Media were people of color, with the three most recent executives hired by the organization fitting that description. Trotter balked at the claim, saying that the entity saw zero Black senior managers at the news desk. He called the claim “a banana in the tailpipe.”

Many in sports media viewed Trotter’s non-renewal as retribution for his public questioning of Goodell. He told Peter King’s Football Morning in America that he was offered a severance agreement from NFL Media, but refused to accept the terms.

“I was offered a three-month severance package, with an NDA [non-disclosure agreement]. I declined,” Trotter revealed.

King said the situation was “wrong on several levels”, and added that Trotter “got railroaded”.

Trotter is not the only NFL Media employee to depart the company recently. Both Rachel Bonnetta and Willie McGinest exited last week.

NCAA President: ‘Going to Work Really Hard’ on TV Deal For Women’s Tournament

BSM Staff
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Whether or not you watched the NCAA Women’s Final Four is irrelevant. The games set ratings records for the Women’s Tournament, and Iowa’s semi-final win over South Carolina is the most-watched college basketball game ESPN has aired since 2008. That includes both men’s and women’s games.

The growing popularity of the women’s game matters, but the timing may matter even more.

“I think this is definitely something that’s on our radar,” New NCAA President Charlie Baker told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “The program, I think, is at exactly the right time peaking here because the contract is up.”

The current NCAA Championships television package with ESPN is set to expire in 2024. The women’s basketball tournament is part of that agreement. Several experts have concluded that inclusion in that contract severely undervalues the tournament.

Baker told host Chuck Todd that stars like Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark turned the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament into must-see television this season. He and his staff know it won’t be the last time and want to maximize the event’s value going forward. That would mean testing the value of the tournament as its own television package.

“We do have an opportunity to put it out separately and we’re going to work really hard to make sure that those student-athletes, those schools, those programs get what I would describe as what they should get,” he said.

Currently, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament loses money each year. That is under the terms of the NCAA Championships contract with ESPN. The network pays a total of $34 million for 29 events.

A study commissioned by the NCAA last year estimates that by 2025, when a new TV contract would begin, the women’s basketball tournament would be worth between $81 and $112 million on its own.

Elon Musk Removes Verified Checkmark From The New York Times

BNM Staff
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Twitter had vowed to remove “legacy” verified checkmarks on accounts on Saturday, April 1st. For the most part, that has failed to happen. But Twitter owner Elon Musk did appear to revel in the fact that The New York Times had been stripped of its verification.

The Times lost its verified checkmark, and immediately imposters began attempting to appear as the news outlet on the social media platform.

The publication has a following of over 55 million on the platform, but in a series of tweets, Musk claimed that the “tragedy” of the account “is that their propaganda isn’t even interesting”.

He later called the Twitter feed from the company “the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea. It’s unreadable”.

Like most media entities, The New York Times claimed it would not pay to retain its verified badge, and would not reimburse employees who subscribed to Twitter Blue to keep their checkmarks either. The NYT Books and NYT Food accounts continue to bear a gold symbol, which claims “This account is verified because it’s an official organization on Twitter.”

A noticeable change for Twitter is the way blue checkmarks are now described. While clicking on the actual badge, a pop-up window now reads  “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account.”

Previously, there was a delineation between whether a user was a legacy verified account or if it was simply subscribed to Twitter Blue.

As of this publication, The New York Times appears to be the only major media entity to have been stripped of its Twitter verification.

Judge Sends Fox News, Dominion Voting Systems Lawsuit to Trial

BNM Staff
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A Delaware judge ruled Friday that Dominion Voting System’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News will indeed go to trial.

The election machine company had previously asked the court to make a judgment before the case was presented to a jury. However, Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that a jury would hear the case, rather than make the summary judgment himself. He argued that neither side had presented a convincing enough argument for him to rule on the matter.

While announcing the decision, Davis said it was “crystal clear” that allegations made by attorneys for former President Donald Trump were factually incorrect. Dominion has continually contended that Fox News knowingly shared false statements about the 2020 presidential election.

“Fox knew the truth,” Dominion argued in court documents. “It knew the allegations against Dominion were ‘outlandish’ and ‘crazy’ and ‘ludicrous’ and ‘nuts.’ Yet it used the power and influence of its platform to promote that false story.”

The cable outlet has defended its actions by pointing to the First Amendment.

“Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings,” the network said in a statement last week.

Davis also ruled that Dominion did not have to prove monetary damages to its business to establish liability by Fox News. Critics of Dominion’s $1.6 billion case have argued that the company only has a valuation of only $60 million.

Barring a settlement between the parties, the trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 17th.

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