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Toucher & Rich Mock Paul Finebaum Callers

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New England isn’t exactly the hotbed for college football that the southeast is. That didn’t stop 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich from talking about the sport Thursday. Well, actually, they talked about college football fans, and more importantly the fans that call into The Paul Finebaum Show. Toucher & Rich mocked the fans, their education — or lack thereof — and their phone quality during a segment Thursday morning.

“Paul Finebaum is the voice of the southern football fan. He’s on in all the towns that worship at the alter of college football,” Fred Toucher said. “365 days a year, he is there to answer their calls. This weekend, you had a twofer with two SEC schools falling and two of the grandaddy hicks. Alabama — which is the number one hick school — and Tennessee — when relevant — can be very hickish. You’d be surprised how easy the University of Tennessee is to attend if you’re a resident of the state. That goes without saying that the callers to the Finebaum Show are all graduates of these institutions which they root for.”

“I think it’s a requirement before they put you on,” Rich Shertenlieb said.

“They ask you to scan a copy of your diploma before they let you on,” Toucher said.

Shertenlieb then said he and his son were flying to Texas to attend the Longhorns game against TCU. His son was excited for the game because he watches The Paul Finebaum Show and “will get to see these people in first hand”.

“Is the University of Texas the University of Alabama? No, it is not,” he joked. “But it sure as hell is miles away from anything that he has heard in New England. It is a whole different breed. It’s not the Harvard-Yale game.”

Jon Wallach then added he was dumbfounded when a Sports Hub caller compared the tailgating scene at the Harvard-Yale game to that of an SEC game because in the callers eyes “that’s where the lowest of the low are found”.

The show then played a compilation of interesting phone callers from the last week on Finebaum’s show, with the first caller having a noticeable static and clicking sound in the background.

“So this is like some crappy pay phone?,” Shertenlieb asked.

“Paul is so used to people being on rotary numbers that he can sit through that. If he hung on everyone with that bad of a phone, he would be in a whole mess of trouble,” deduced Toucher.

Don La Greca Believes Ian Eagle Deserves Better Than Bad, Controversial Nets

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The Brooklyn Nets have been a less than stable team through the first month of the season. Their head coach has been fired, one of their star players shared an anti-Semitic film on his social media accounts, and its best player said he wished the team would have kept quiet about it. Co-host of The Michael Kay Show Don La Greca said the team’s television play-by-play announcer, Ian Eagle, deserves a better situation.

“You don’t feel bad for Ian?,” La Greca asked Kay.

“Feel bad for Ian? Ian prints money,” Kay responded.

“So that’s how you keep score?,” La Greca asked.

“Of course!,” admitted Kay. “How else would I keep score?! Why would I feel bad for Ian?”

“Because I’d feel bad for you,” La Greca said.

Kay then said he was lost in the conversation, so La Greca turned his attention to Peter Rosenberg to help Kay understand. La Greca then said imagine if Kay were the Yankees announcer in the early 90s when the team wasn’t good.

“So you feel bad that they’re doing a bad team?,” Kay asked.

“A bad team and a controversial team. It stinks,” said La Greca. “It stinks real bad over there.”

“They’re also announcing one of the greatest players who ever lived,” Kay said of Kevin Durant.

“Alright. So you disagree with me. You always talk about the Mona Lisa in the garage. I think Ian is as good as it gets. And I think (he) deserves better than a 4-7 team that’s drenched in controversy. And it’s not like they can sit there and have long conversations like we do about Kyrie and what happened. They’re about the basketball and calling the game! They deserve to be calling a championship caliber team that wins.”

At the conclusion of the discussion, Kay agreed that Eagle deserves better, saying he’s “in lockstep” with La Greca’s sentiment.

Gonzaga Star Drew Timme Launches Podcast With iHeartPodcasts

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 Gonzaga basketball standout Drew Timme is launching a podcast with iHeartPodcasts and the College Athletes Network.

Gimme Timme will be a weekly podcast centered around the potential Naismith Player of the Year. The collaboration between iHeartPodcasts and College Athletes Network will “bring college sports-centered podcasts hosted by the athletes themselves to fans.”

“I’m super excited to do this podcast,” Timme said. “It’s my senior season and it’s going to be a lot of fun. I can’t wait to take people along for the ride. I love listening to Draymond Green’s podcast. I want my podcast to have the same angle, just from a college perspective. Listeners will get the full Drew experience each and every episode.”

The show will be co-hosted by former Duquesne walk-on Noah Buono, who also hosts CAN’s Walkie TalkieZ.

Boomer Esiason Refutes Retirement Rumor, Says Craig Carton Is ‘Tired of Working’ With Evan Roberts

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Earlier this week, WFAN afternoon host Craig Carton said he believed morning host Boomer Esiason would announce his retirement in the next year. Esiason responded Thursday morning, refuting the report while also making accusations about Carton.

While discussing how long they had been working together on Boomer & Gio, Gregg Giannotti brought up the rumors to his co-host.

“It happens so fast,” Giannotti reflected. “Is that why you’re contemplating retirement?”

“Yeah, I read that,” Esiason said. “I guess Span (Craig Carton) is predicting that I’m retiring next year. You guys ok with that? He just throws crap out there.”

“I read the one article that said Craig having worked with Boomer and he knows the executives there, so there’s probably some truth there because of his connections within the company.”

“Alright. Ok. Big article. ‘I’m retiring’. It gets sent to me and I don’t know where this comes from. Just wanna let you all know I will be signing a five-year extension today and also to let you know, in that new contract, I can leave at 9:00 any day I want. So I’m only working 6:00-9:00 AM, and they’re building me a whole studio out in the Hamptons,” Boomer joked before saying he also asked for a private bathroom and shower to be built at the studio, in addition to a hot tub on the roof.

“Well apparently people are panicking about you potentially leaving,” Giannotti countered. “So now would be the time to ask for all of those demands. You seem annoyed by this.”

“I am annoyed by this,” admitted Esiason. “Spank is working 18 hours a day. He knows not what he says. He’s so tired when he works here and when he comes here. He’s exhausted. I think he’s tired of working with Evan and I can hear that in his voice. The whole group. I think he’s just tired.”

Giannotti questioned his co-host on the comment, noting Carton & Roberts celebrated its two-year anniversary yesterday.

“I can hear it in his voice,” the former NFL quarterback continued. “I can just hear how tired he is and he’s working himself to the bone, which is good. I appreciate the work ethic, I admire it. I think when they go into stuff like that he’s sending a message to Evan. You know what I’m saying?”

“No, I don’t actually,” Giannotti said. “What message is he sending to him?”

“‘I can’t stand working with you. You’re a pain in my ass.’ Is what it sounds like,” said Esiason. “And I don’t know why because Evan’s a great guy and really good at what he does. And Evan is the sports aspect of that show and Craig is the fire-starter. He’s always been the fire-starter and that’s why he’s always been good at what he does.”

Boomer added he believes at the rate Carton is pushing himself he’ll be dead before Boomer retires. He also admitted he cut back on other projects to ensure he would remain sharp and prepared for his WFAN show each morning.

Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini Reflects On 6th Year With Company

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Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini joined the company in 2016, and reflected on her tenure during the latest episode of The Dog Walk.

“I feel good,” Nardini said. “It’s always a crazy time here, but it’s a different year. We have the Penn thing — is kind of looming and coming up. Dave’s in Miami and you guys are gonna be huge here. So it’s a lot of change.

“But I do miss the old days, you know what I mean? When it was just us, and it was kind of small. There was so much to learn and so much to do and it was also so much simpler. And now it’s just big, which is awesome in its own right. We accomplished so much and we’re still accomplishing so much.”

Nardini added as much as things have changed, they have stayed the same inside the company.

“I was saying to Eddie before we got on, I walk in here and it’s like ‘Somebody’s trashed the New York office’. I’d like to be like ‘Dave (Portnoy) and I are talking about strategy’. We’re more like ‘Did Tiko trash the office? Who was there at 3:00 AM?’ Which I love about Barstool Sports because that’s the same f—ing conversation Dave and I were having in 2016.”

Conference USA Strikes New Deal With ESPN, CBS Sports Featuring Mid-Week Football Games

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Conference USA has agreed to a new five-year media partnership with ESPN and CBS Sports that will see the league continue to air football and basketball games with its previous partners with one noticeable shift: the conference’s football games in the month of October will primarily be played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

The move mirrors what the Mid-American Conference calls “MACtion” during the month of November when it plays the majority of it’s conference schedule on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for increased national exposure.

“Obviously, revenue is important, but what kept coming up with our membership was exposure,” Conference USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod told Sports Business Journal. “How do we maximize our potential and move forward? … This is our chance to prove ourselves and then hopefully we’ll go back to the market (in five years) and increase our value.”

CBS secured the “tier one” rights for the conference, giving it the selection of 18 football and basketball games throughout the season. Additionally, CBS will air the conference’s football championship game, the men’s basketball tournament championship game, and the women’s basketball tournament semifinals and finals.

“We really liked is there are championships involved here,” said CBS Sports Executive Vice President of Programming Dan Weinberg. “That’s always the goal at CBS Sports to crown champions, and we’ve got several in this deal. … Another point that we liked was the deal retains our status as the league’s primary partner.”

The conference’s mid-week football games will be shared between the ESPN trio of ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU, while CBS will air its portion of games on CBS Sports Network. Sources told Sports Business Journal each conference member would make roughly $750,000 per year from the new deal.

Conference USA will add Liberty, Jacksonville State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, and Kennesaw State to the conference over the next two years. They’ll join existing members Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, and UTEP for a 10-team conference.

ESPN Adds P.K. Subban To NHL Coverage

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ESPN has added P.K. Subban to it’s NHL coverage as a studio analyst.

The three-time All-Star and Norris Trophy winner announced his retirement over the summer, and said he can bring a unique perspective to ESPN’s NHL coverage.

“For a long time, I’ve sat in the locker room with teammates and discussed what it would be like to be on the other side as analyst,” said Subban. “I have a vested interest in growing the game and know the importance of the rapidly expanding sports landscape, so I look forward to bringing my unique insights from having recently been on the ice and now my off-ice perspective.”

In addition to his work with the NHL on ESPN, Subban will also add a P.K.’s Places series as part of his duties with the network. It’s the latest expansion of the Places franchise, a partnership between ESPN and Omaha Productions.

“P.K. brings a fresh perspective to his analysis, having recently retired from the game, but he also draws on much more than just his experience on the ice, which gives him a unique, fun perspective that fans will love,” ESPN Senior Vice President of Production and Remote Events Mark Gross said. “We have a great team of analysts, hosts and reporters, and adding P.K. to the mix just makes us that much better.”

Subban spent 13 years in the NHL, playing for the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, and New Jersey Devils during his career.

Wolf & Luke: Hard Knocks Adds Pressure to Cardinals

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HBO’s behind the scenes NFL docuseries Hard Knocks has been following the Arizona Cardinals throughout the course of the 2022-23 season, and over at Arizona Sports 98.7, the gang on Wolf & Luke feel like having the cameras in the team facility in-season adds pressure to the Cardinals to want to play better.

Kellan Olson, who was filling in for Ron Wolfley on Wednesday, said that it’s not a bad pressure, but more a good type of pressure that will allow the cream to rise to the top.

“I think that this motivates them even more, because you don’t want to look like this type of football team with extra cameras and this behind the scenes,” he said. “Because when they’re showing stuff behind the scenes, you do not want to be the guy that’s caught lacking or the guy that’s caught goofing around during a serious moment or whatever kind of situation behind the scenes that can unfold that will make you look stupid on national television.”

Show co-host Luke Lapinski said having the cameras following the team will keep players focused as the Cardinals try to turn things around. Arizona is currently 3-6 and in last place in the NFC West.

“I have to think on some level when you’re a team that has struggled with the second half of the season, and you’re a team that wants to make sure guys are as sharp as they can possibly be and have that edge. I do wonder if motivation was part of the reason Michael Bidwill or whoever was willing to sign off on this,” he said.

“People are going to draw conclusions based on this show, right or wrong, and as a player you gotta be aware of like, ‘OK the cameras are here I should be dialed in at all times,” Lapinski added. “‘I probably should be anyway.'”

Clay Travis, Buck Sexton Suggest Donald Trump Delay 2024 Run Announcement

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Clay Travis and Buck Sexton urged former President Donald Trump Wednesday to delay announcing a bid for a 2024 run to the White House.

The “Clay & Buck” hosts spoke to Trump a day earlier who teased an announcement and suggested that they broadcast their show from next week’s event at Mar-a-Lago.

“I am just going to put this out there,” Sexton said. “We know the Trump people and we know Trump. They should delay the announcement and it is all hands on deck to win that Georgia run-off.”

Georgia officials announced Wednesday that Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will advance to a run-ff.

“If Trump announces it’s going to be a repeat of the 2020 run-off where Trump is the focus in the State of Georgia,” Travis said. “As opposed to what should have been the pitch last time. Ticket-splitting was huge last time in Georgia.”

“We’ve now had multiple election cycles where what’s happening in the country doesn’t matter in elections,” added Travis. 

Mark Simone: Media Will Blame Donald Trump For GOP’s Poor Showing

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WOR’s Mark Simone believes the mainstream media will eventually blame former President Donald Trump for the GOP’s lackluster performance during the midterm elections. 

On Wednesday, Simone discussed CNN and MSNBC’s coverage of the elections and the narrative is woven into each of those broadcasts that Trump hurt the image of every candidate he backed. 

“If you watch the coverage on CNN, MSNBC, or all the left-wing networks, the anchors tried to make it look like this election denial stuff was a big issue,” Simone said. “It really wasn’t to normal people. They don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” 

Simone cited New York Gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin who was criticized by some local media pundits for denying the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

“There was a vote on certifying the election results for Trump and Zeldin voted not to certify that day. The biggest election denier is Hillary Clinton and they brought her in to campaign for Kathy Hochul.” 

On Wednesday, various media personalities reacted to the 2022 midterm election results, you can read more here.