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Chris Berman: NFL Primetime ‘High On My Professional Tombstone’

BSM Staff
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From 1987-2005, football fans had to run to their television sets every Sunday night during the season to catch Chris Berman host NFL Primetime on ESPN to find out what the results were of the other games that Sunday and in its early stages, it was an important show to the football community.

Berman was a guest on The Adam Schein Podcast this week and he said that he learned very quickly how important NFL Primetime was to people in the game including the late legendary head coach Don Shula.

“We realized that we had a connection to the football community…I very quickly learned that the highest ups in the community, meaning an owners meeting in 1988, Don Shula came over and he said Chris, I use your show sometimes to get a look at some other teams…I’m learning this as we are going on and I realize not I’m important, it’s important.”

Even though NFL Primetime can’t exist on cable TV anymore due to NBC having the rights to Sunday Night Football and having the Football Night In America pregame show, Berman did say he told ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro that if NFL Primetime could come back in some way, he would come back.

“I am thrilled we are still doing it today. We can’t do it on regular TV. NBC owns the rights back when they got the rights to Sunday Night Football. The fact that on ESPN+ is the only place it could live.

“I talked to Jimmy Pitaro 3-4 years ago. I said if you could convince the league to bring it back, I’ll come back. We got Tommy [Tom Jackson] to come back the first year and Booger [Booger McFarland] is Tommy 2.0. Booger’s great. We have fun.

“Back then, if we needed 7 minutes for Seattle-Arizona, we could. The rules — I don’t know why — we can’t go over 3 minutes. I love doing it every Sunday, I’m glad people like watching it.” 

At the same time, Berman did say he was “pissed” when he found out at the time that NFL Primetime was over.

“Pissed. It’s the favorite thing that I do. I’ve had some other moments, but if you asked me what’s the most fun I’ve had on a consistent basis…As far as going to work on a regular basis, NFL Primetime, that would be high on my professional tombstone I would think.”

In addition to NFL Primetime, Berman is also well-known for making predictions on Friday nights on SportsCenter as the Swami before the days where sports gambling was legal like it is now in some states. He told Schein that nobody told him he couldn’t do something with that segment, but he would never tell somebody to take the points.

“I never said even ’til I got done in 2016 doing it, take the points. We never put the point spread up. Every score was always at least a field goal off of the spread. I left no doubt. I would use words like much closer than expected or an upset or this could be ugly. I would never put 50-10, but 30-13, just so the teams wouldn’t get completely pissed at me if I picked them to lose in a blowout. It was subtle, it was quietly accepted because I never crossed those lines.

“Nobody said ‘Can’t do this’. It was fun. If it was two defensive teams, I’d put up 3-2 sometimes. We aren’t over-undering this. We are just having a good time.” 

Cubs Radio Voice Pat Hughes Named 2023 Frick Award Winner

BSM Staff
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Cubs Radio Voice Pat Hughes Named 2023 Frick Award Winner

Chicago Cubs radio voice Pat Hughes has been honored as the 2023 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award.

The award is given annually for “excellence in broadcasting” by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

“Known throughout the Midwest for his easy delivery and unparalleled knowledge, Pat Hughes has called some of the biggest moments in Cubs history and has provided the narrative for one of the most successful eras in the history of the franchise,” said National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum President Josh Rawitch. “Since arriving at Wrigley Field in 1996, Pat has served as the radio voice for nine postseason teams – matching an ardent fan base with his own passion in every broadcast. His reverence for baseball history and gift for storytelling have made him one of the game’s broadcast treasures.”

Hughes has spent more than 25 years as the voice of the Cubs, and is a nine-time winner of the Illinois Sportscaster of the Year Award. Earlier this year, Hughes found out on-air that he would be inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame.

Hughes was previously a finalist for the award in 2016 and 2020.

Craig Carton: Jon Heyman ‘No Longer An Insider’ After Aaron Judge Gaffe

BSM Staff
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MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman erroneously reported that New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was signing with the San Francisco Giants in free agency yesterday. That news was not well received by WFAN afternoon hosts Craig Carton and Evan Roberts.

After Heyman rescinded his original tweet saying “Arson Judge” appeared headed to the Giants, he resent a new one with the correct spelling. During the confusion, Roberts told producers to get Heyman — who is an Audacy contributor — on the phone, which Carton immediately shot down.

“No, we’re not putting him on the air,” Carton said. “I’m not putting him on the air. He doesn’t get a platform on this show. Listen, he made a deal with the devil when he took a job with The (New York) Post. That’s his business.”

While Carton and Roberts processed the news, producer Chris McMonigle said he was certain that Judge would be signing with the Giants, but that was not Heyman’s report, and would hold off until it was official.

Roberts mocked McMonigle by saying he was in denial. “He still hasn’t accepted that Jon Heyman knows what he’s talking about,” Roberts said. Moments later, McMonigle read Heyman’s follow up tweet apologizing for “jumping the gun”.

“That is a horrendous job by Jon Heyman,” Carton replied.

“Heyman’s done,” Roberts shouted. “Jon, what are we doing?”

“Heyman is no longer an insider,” Carton added. “That’s a bad job. And all that is is a guy trying to get ahead of everybody else. He screwed the pooch. That’s embarrassing.”

Carton later took umbrage with Heyman deleting his tweets.

“To play fans like that is absolutely unacceptable. It’s not right. Sorry. That’s because everyone’s gotta be first. God forbid someone else has it first. You’re a clown. Your entire career’s work has just been flushed down the toilet.”

After Facebook Threat, Journalism Bill Left Out Of Year-End Legislation

BNM Staff
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The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act — the bill vehemently opposed by Facebook — has been left out of a spending bill that leaves it unlikely to be passed before the end of the year.

The bill would protect media companies to jointly negotiate with tech companies for content distribution and be free from antitrust violations in the process.

Earlier this week, Facebook threatened to remove news from its platform should the bill pass.

“If Congress passes an ill-considered journalism bill as part of national security legislation, we will be forced to consider removing news from our platform altogether rather than submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard any value we provide to news outlets through increased traffic and subscriptions,” a statement from the social media platform read.

The News Media Alliance, according to a statement given to Deadline, called Facebook’s threat “undemocratic”.

“As the tech platforms compensate news publishers around the world, it demonstrates there is a demand and economic value for news,” the group said. “These threats were attempted before the Australian government passed a similar law to compensate news outlets, played out unsuccessfully, and ultimately news publishers were paid.”

The bill was designed to help prevent the decline of local news outlets, both print and broadcast. A bipartisan coalition including Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Kennedy (R-LA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Representatives Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Ken Buck (R-CO), and David Cicilline (D-RI) sponsored the latest iteration of the bill.

Howie Carr: Liberal Media ‘Simply Won’t Discuss’ Elon Musk’s ‘Twitter Files’

BNM Staff
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Howie Carr: Liberal Media ‘Simply Won’t Discuss’ Elon Musk’s ‘Twitter Files’

Elon Musk released documents alleging collusion between his newly purchased social media platform — Twitter — and officials with the Presidential campaign of now-President Joe Biden to suppress unfavorable tweets in regards to the President’s son, Hunter, and his laptop. Radio host Howie Carr said the files break up arguments made by media members for years.

Calling it the “Friday news dump of the century”, Carr lamented the lack of coverage given to the release of the documents.

“Elon Musk’s ‘Twitter Files’ dismantles years of the fake news narrative,” Carr said. “The ‘laptop from hell’ is real and the Russia hoax was just that, a hoax. As expected, Democrat operatives with a press pass are taking the easy way out. They simply won’t discuss it. The few that dare bring it up are trying to label it a ‘nothingburger’. A ‘snoozefest’. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

“For instance, CNN’s Christine Romans — one of the lucky ones that didn’t get the boot last week — wants us to know how dopey and boring the whole story is,” Carr said before playing a clip of Romans saying former President Donald Trump wants to “throw out” the constitution because of alleged collusion between “big tech” and the government.

“Christine and her fellow travelers in the media can’t handle the truth. We can see for ourselves what the comrades handled at the old platform.”

Carr then played a clip of Romans saying The Poynter Institute saying the “Twitter Files” should be filed under “M for meh”.

“I have a better idea,” Carr countered. “Let’s file this one under M for mischievous, meddlesome, and misconduct.”

The Athletic Dropped From Trevor Bauer Lawsuit

BSM Staff
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The Athletic Dropped From Trevor Bauer Lawsuit

The Athletic has been dropped as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer after reporter Molly Knight tweeted incorrect statements in regards to Bauer’s legal troubles after being accused of violent sexual encounters with a California woman.

In 2021, Knight tweeted that it was “not possible to consent to a fractured skull” after reports surfaced of what Bauer had done to his alleged victim during a sexual episode. The accuser did not suffer a fractured skull, court documents show.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Fitzgerald dismissed The Athletic as a defendant in the case, but did say Bauer can amend his lawsuit to continue to include Knight. The judge claimed Knight’s tweets “favors that a reasonable reader could conclude that the tweets implied an asserted fact.”

In a statement, The New York Times — which now owns the online publication after purchasing it in January of this year — said they agreed with the decision.

“We welcome the court’s dismissal of claims against The Athletic,” The Times told Front Office Sports. “We continue to believe that Knight’s tweets were non actionable.”

Don La Greca: Jon Heyman Getting Aaron Judge Report Wrong A ‘Borderline Fireable Offense’

BSM Staff
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MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman made waves throughout the baseball world yesterday by tweeting that free agent outfielder Aaron Judge “appeared headed” to the San Francisco Giants. Actually, Heyman had to send another tweet after sending out “Arson” Judge would be headed to the Giants. During The Michael Kay Show, Kay and co-host Don La Greca disagreed about Heyman’s culpability for his erroneous report.

Peter Rosenberg interrupted Kay mid-sentence to read Heyman’s report on the air that Judge would be departing New York. After they discussed the misspelling, Rosenberg asked “Are we taking this as law since it’s coming from Heyman?”

“Heyman doesn’t make that many mistakes,” responded Kay. “I’d bet on Heyman with this stuff.”

After taking a commercial break, the show rejoined with a follow up from Heyman walking back his report, saying he had “jumped the gun”.

“I’m gonna sit this out — because Jon Heyman happens to be a close personal friend — but that’s a bad look,” Kay said. “I’m not gonna drill the guy.”

“I will,” Don La Greca interrupted.

“In a world where everybody has to be first, this is gonna happen,” countered Kay. “And it could still end up being right because Susan Slusser, who works for the San Francisco Chronicle, says the buzz in the lobby is that Aaron Judge is going to the Giants.

“Here’s what I think happened: Heyman heard something that made him think Aaron Judge was signing with the Giants. Then he called the Giants and they said ‘Woah, woah, woah. We haven’t signed anything’, because they don’t want Hal (Steinbrenner) to jump in and say ‘Whatever they gave you, we’ll top it’. (The Giants) wanted to get Judge’s name on a contract before it gets out there, so now Heyman backed off. But we’ll see where it turns out.”

“I really like Jon, too, but there’s a certain responsibility that comes with being a journalist and a reporter,” La Greca rebutted. “And we live in a world now where getting it first is more important than getting it right. And you can just see by his tweet, ‘Arson Judge’, that he’s so quick to get it out there first on this big story — would it have killed him to call the Giants first? You can’t have a bunch of people relying on your information — as a respected journalist — to throw out that information and then walk it back a couple of minutes later. I’m sorry, Michael, but it’s a borderline fireable offense. Honestly.

“I don’t understand the importance of getting it first anyway. What? You’re gonna be first for 30 seconds and then everyone else is gonna jump on it? He’s got the contacts. Follow the story. You’re not a cub reporter. You shouldn’t be just walking around the lobby hungry for information trying to get it before everybody else. I’m sorry. It’s a bad job.”

Tucker Carlson to Host Docuseries About Biden Family on FOX Nation 

BNM Staff
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Fox News host Tucker Carlson is hosting a new docuseries called “Biden Inc.” which debuts as a “Tucker Carlson Original” Wednesday on FOX Nation. The series will examine, in detail, the Hunter Biden controversy. 

On Tuesday, Carlson joined “The Five” to discuss the new series.  He told co-host Greg Gutfeld, that he knows Hunter Biden well. 

“I always liked him; he was my neighbor and friend and had dinner with him a bunch,” said Carlson. “In the background, I knew, and I knew people that worked with him, that he was effectively selling access to his dad.” 

Carlson told the panel that he never thought about the consequences of Hunter Biden selling access to his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, because that’s what lobbyists in Washington, D.C. did.  

“I never really thought, wow, this is kind of a crime,” Carlson said. “I remember somebody who worked with him saying to me that Hunter was getting really, really close to doing something that you should not be doing because it’s criminal.” 

Carlson said the revelations about Hunter Biden’s laptop make this series essential viewing for anyone that wants to understand the story and its complexity. 

“The reason that we made this documentary was not to inform everybody that he was doing something wrong; it was to take a long form piece and explain it and show on the screen exactly how we know this,” he added. 

“Biden Inc.” debuts Wednesday on FOX Nation. To learn more about the streaming channel, click this link.

Erick Erickson: Ron DeSantis Built Conservative News Network Around Him

BNM Staff
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Erick Erickson: Ron DeSantis Built Conservative News Network Around Him

Atlanta-based syndicated radio host Erick Erickson said Tuesday that the mainstream media is out to get Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Erickson also accused the media of grouping every Republican, including DeSantis, into the category of insurrectionist. 

“As a result, the mainstream media has decided to target every Republican and accuse them of being a January 6th style, election-denying candidate willing to upend democracy,” Erickson stated.

Erickson referenced a New York Magazine article written by Jonathan Chait questioning whether DeSantis is the future of Trumpism. 

“It doesn’t really work so well,” Erickson said about the article. “The public sees through this kind of stuff. The media essentially saw why the Republicans lost and now want to extrapolate that and apply it to every other Republican to help them lose.” 

Erickson said DeSantis is not taking the media’s bait and it’s working in his favor, unlike former President Donald Trump who continues to lash out on TRUTH Social which is what the mainstream media wants. 

“Trump is just an old man trying not to be forgotten,” Erickson said. 

“This is what is going to happen over the next two years,” he added. “Every time Trump has an outburst, reporters will rush to get every Republican on the record. DeSantis isn’t interviewing with these people so he can’t be put on the spot.” 

Erickson said DeSantis has cultivated a conservative news network around him and he’s not paying any attention to the left-leaning outlets that don’t provide favorable coverage of him. 

Joe Pags Claims He Rarely Comments on Social Media Posts

BNM Staff
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Syndicated radio host Joe Pags understands how to connect with his audience on social media. But despite a massive following on multiple platforms, Pags insists that he rarely reads the comment sections. 

Pags told his national audience Monday that he limits his social interactions to prevent wasting time with internet trolls. 

“This social media stuff makes my brain hurt half the time,” Pags said. “Social Media is something that I don’t think they ever expected it to be when they started it. It turns out that they know they can control the way people think with the various dopamine receptors and things.” 

Pags noted that he’s become “very good” at not reading comments. He said he still encourages people to engage with his accounts. 

“I want people to comment, and I want people to like and share but I really think the comment section is for people to comment to each other,” he said.

Pags said recently he broke his unspoken rule of not commenting when he engaged a viewer on YouTube about a comment he made regarding Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp resigning as the Secretary of State. 

“I normally would just ignore the comments but on YouTube it’s a different system where they give you notifications and this one popped out to me,” Pags said. “I had to go and say something.” 

“Reading comments is such a waste of time unless it’s something short saying thanks or something like that,” he added.

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