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Jason Barrett Podcast: Don Martin, FOX Sports Radio

Jason Barrett
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Jason Barrett Podcast: Don Martin, FOX Sports Radio

Don Martin does just about everything at iHeartMedia in Los Angeles, but don’t let him hear you say that. The FOX Sports Radio and AM 570 boss talks about why he leads with love and what has driven his passion for this business higher than ever.

Tunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jason-barrett-podcast/id1633062820?i=1000568880756

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1WbAq8bgY0Ccrpy4gO8Wif?si=84371a2c8b9a4e20 

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-jason-barrett-podcast-99061150/ 

Google: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9mZWVkcy9qYXNvbmJhcnJldHQueG1s 

Pat McAfee: ‘XFL Would Have Been Successful In 2020 If Not For Covid’

BSM Staff
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Pat McAfee: ‘XFL Would Have Been Successful In 2020 If Not For Covid’

Pat McAfee was involved in ESPN’s coverage of the first attempted revival of the XFL. He made it clear on his radio show on Monday that it took extraordinary circumstances to derail that league.

Vince McMahon had secured broadcast deals with both FOX and ESPN. Many of the teams were drawing passionate crowds. McAfee says Dwayne Johnson and his ex-wife and business partner Dani Garcia are smart to incorporate as much from the 2020 league as they can when they re-launch the XFL in 2023, because it was going to be successful if not for a worldwide pandemic.

“It was gonna go,” McAfee said. “I think honestly, first time ever, a spring league was gonna have success. Then Uncle Covid came through, got in the nachos in Seattle. The league shut down. Bankruptcy was filed. It went up for sale and The Rock and Dani Garcia bought it.”

That point can be disputed. A market like St. Louis is proof that there were plenty of XFL fans in many of the league’s home markets, but the TV viewership did decline steadily each week, finally falling below one million viewers for a game in the final week of action.

Still, that is considerably better than 2001 when the league set a record in primetime in Week 1 and then immediately saw its audience disappear.

Eight cities were announced Sunday as the home bases for XFL franchises. Not a lot has changed. Five of the teams are staying in the same cities. One moves from one suburb to another and two have new homes.

McAfee says it is a brilliant move.

“They kept a lot of the very same fan bases, which I think was a very smart idea. They take the Dallas team and move it to Arlington, they take the Tampa team and move it to Orlando, took the Los Angeles team and moved it to Las Vegas.”

Disney will be the media partner of the XFL when it relaunches next year. The company will use ABC, FX and the ESPN networks to air games.

According to Pat McAfee, a successful spring football league wouldn’t just be a big deal for football fans or the league’s media partners. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson should be excited about more than just what it means for his wallet.

“I don’t know if he ever had like a closing to the chapter of football. If he’s able to build his own f***ing league that’s successful, they’ve already partnered with the NFL, and his business mind is able to give opportunities to guys in his position, I think he would probably say ‘You know, I feel like I kinda closed that whole part of my life up,’ which is good for The Rock. It’s good for players that are going to get an opportunity here too.”

Matt McCarthy: Adrian Wojnarowski & Shams Charania May Get Manipulated, But Don’t Make Things Up

BSM Staff
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Matt McCarthy was part of the trio filling in for Zolak & Bertrand on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston on Monday. He and Christian Archand discussed rumors that the Boston Celtics have emerged as a possible landing spot for Kevin Durant.

Some have questioned how real the story is. It has been reported by both ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania. McCarthy went off on anyone saying this may be nothing more than a ploy for clicks.

“I want to direct this to Greeny and all the baby Celtics fans out there. They’re not making it up.”

McCarthy, who regularly hosts The Sports Hub’s Hardcore Baseball show, took some of the whiners to task and questioned why they think either reporter would offer more information on this particular report than on any other they have in the past.

“Oh, where are your sources? Where are your sources?” he said, impersonating a desperate fan. “No, they’re not making it up. What if your source mislead you? What if your source deliberately mislead you? Woj and Shams aren’t making this up out of thin air. They’ve heard this.”

He went on to explain that trusting sources connected to a team can be a double-edged sword. Some times it is a great way to get inside information on roster moves. Other times, a reporter can become a useful pawn to that team or source.

“This happens all the time. All the time across sports. Reporters don’t make things up. They are told bad things. They are deliberately mislead because someone out there is trying to alter the market a little bit. That’s what I think is happening here.”

Rod Woodson Joins Baltimore Ravens Gameday Radio Broadcast

BSM Staff
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The Baltimore Ravens announced that Rod Woodson will be joining the team’s gameday radio broadcast team.

Woodson will join the team’s play-by-play voice of Gerry Sandusky on the radio for all of the team’s broadcasts this season. Additionally, the two will join with CBS Sports’ Evan Washburn (sideline) for Baltimore’s preseason television coverage which simulcasts on radio and tv.

“Rod brings the unique perspective of someone who has both played and coached at the highest level of the game, and he does it in a down-to-earth way that is approachable, likable and just plain fun,” Sandusky stated. “It’s a privilege to work with a broadcast partner like Rod.”

“Being a part of the Ravens’ gameday broadcast team is a blessing,” Woodson stated. “To be back with the team that I won my only Super Bowl with – the team’s first Super Bowl in franchise history – will be fun.”

Woodson, a Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back and member of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XXXV-winning team, joins the broadcast crew after multiple years of experience as an analyst, most recently with Baltimore’s 2021 preseason coverage and Westwood One’s NFL gameday coverage. He began his broadcasting career with the NFL Network after retiring from the league in 2003.

Nick Cellini and Chris Dimino Get Contract Extensions With 680 the Fan in Atlanta

BSM Staff
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An Atlanta sports radio staple has extended life. Cellini and Dimino on 680 the Fan in Atlanta has been extended for at least four more years, the show announced.

Nick Cellini opened the show’s big announcement with a thank you before breaking the news.

“Everybody that has supported this show over the years, we thank you,” began Cellini, “because now you are going to have at least four more years of Cellini and Dimino.”

Cellini continued, “I have signed a four year deal to remain a part of the Dickey Broadcasting family. “Get this folks, Chris Dimino has signed an unprecedented 17-year deal to remain with Dickey Broadcasting,” he joked. “You will be under the company umbrella until you are at least 78 years old, Dimino, so I applaud you sir, I applaud you.”

Dimino brought up the pair’s longevity and noted that they have logged a lot of content together.

“Is there any chance that when all is said and done, top ten all time in terms of the amount of show or amount of hours working together?” Dimino asked.

“I’m not talking about this town, I’m talking about nationally. In this format. This doesn’t happen. Whatever this is.”

Nick Saban Explored the Idea of Joining College GameDay

BSM Staff
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For several years, Nick Saban’s coaching future was a major talking point. Would he leave Alabama for Texas? For the NFL? How about for ESPN’s College GameDay?

According to a new book, The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban, from John Talty at AL.com, that was a possibility in 2014.

Saban reportedly had discussions about potentially joining ESPN. The book tells the story that Saban met with Nick Khan prior to the 2013 season. Khan was then a sports media talent agent at CAA and represented Kirk Herbstreit, Skip Bayless, Colin Cowherd, Mike Greenberg, and numerous others.

After Alabama’s national championship hopes were dashed with a loss to in-state rival Auburn at the end of that season, Saban told Khan to “reach out to ESPN” because Saban was considering what to do after coaching and he was “considering whether media should be a part of that.”

Khan, now the co-CEO of WWE, then set up a meeting with Saban, his coaching agent Jimmy Sexton and John Wildhack, a senior executive at ESPN. Saban reportedly “zeroed in” on the possibility of joining ESPN’s College GameDay” and apparently “quizzed” Wildhack about life at ESPN, organizational structure and if it was like “working on a team” — a characteristic that was of much importance to Saban.

Saban stayed at Alabama but Wildhack says the coach was very much interested in the idea of doing television. Khan reportedly told Wildhack, “Coach is really appreciative of the meeting, found it to be very informative and has a lot of respect for GameDay and ESPN, but at this point in his career, he still has a desire to coach.”

“If he wasn’t interested, he never would have done it in the first place,” Wildhack says in the book. “But I also didn’t think he was ready to step aside as being a coach.”

Mark Howard Remembered As a “Special, Special Talent”

BSM Staff
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On Monday, 104.5 the Zone in Nashville spent a lot of time remembering the life and career of Mark Howard who died on Sunday. Howard spent over twenty years with the station and made a lasting impact on a lot of people.

It wasn’t a surprise that one of the guests that came onto the station was former Program Director Brad Willis who held that title while Howard was a co-host of The Wake Up Zone. Willis called into the station’s morning show, J-Mart and Ramon, and took some time to express his memories and affection for Howard (the interview starts at 2:33:00 below).

Jason Martin introduced Willis by saying “here’s a guy who spent a lot of time with him, managing him as much as you can manage someone like Mark Howard… Brad Willis.”

“Managing Mark, yeah what a challenge,” joked Willis, “a fun challenge”.

Willis opened up about the two’s relationship off the air.

“I got named Program Director in 2007 and I was 27 years old, really young in the business,” began Willis. “Mark was a guy that was established and could have bulldozed me and never did. He would come and sit in my office almost daily and ask, ‘what do you think? what are we doing? what do you like? what do you not like?’ And to his credit, he took advice and applied it. He was coachable. And he cared. He cared about the listener. He cared about the co-hosts.”

Martin asked Willis if Howard ever had any idea how good he was in his role on the radio.

“No. He probably suffered from a little bit of imposter syndrome,” said Willis, “‘sooner or later they’ll figure me out, I don’t belong’. But he did…He kind of thought the next day was going to be the last day, every day of his career. You look back and he spent two decades with this company and you don’t do that if you’re not a special, special talent.”

Jason McCourty Will Bring Super Bowl and 0-16 Experience to Good Morning Football

BSM Staff
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Monday began a new era for Good Morning Football on NFL Network. Former SEC on CBS sideline reporter Jamie Erdahl and 13-year NFL veteran Jason McCourty made their debuts on the show. They were given strong introductions by Kyle Brandt and Peter Schrager right from the onset:

Before making his debut, McCourty joined The Rich Eisen Show on Friday to talk about plenty of topics such as Bill Belichick, Kyler Murray, and the Rams quest for a repeat. At the beginning of the interview, McCourty talked about how he can take the unique experience of being at the top of the NFL and at the bottom and turn it into a future segment:

“Time will tell. I’m looking forward to bringing those 13 years of one year winning the Super Bowl, another year going 0-16. There’s a plethora of knowledge on how to do it and not to do it. We definitely can probably pull that into a segment somehow.”  

McCourty was a member of the 2017 Cleveland Browns that ended up going 0-16. Then, in 2018, he was traded to the New England Patriots and played in the secondary with his brother, Devin, where he ended up winning a Super Bowl.

With that amount of experience, the former cornerback will be able to relate to nearly every fanbase whether a team is having a disappointing year or if their team is trying to make a run to the Super Bowl, which is rare to find in an NFL analyst.

While McCourty usually has an early-morning routine due to having three kids, he has to get up a little earlier now to get ready for his new hosting gig:

“I have three young kids, so I am usually up by 6:30, 7:00 on the usual. Now, with Good Morning Football, I’ll have to be up around 4:30. I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker, but that might have to change in the near future.”

Former CBS Announcer Gary McCord Is In Talks to Join LIV Tour

BSM Staff
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Today Charles Barkley said that the LIV Tour has until Thursday evening when he leaves the next LIV Tour event’s Pro-Am to make him an offer. Former CBS golf broadcaster Gary McCord may not have the same deadline, but he is currently discussing joining the controversial tour as an announcer.

Gary McCord confirmed to Golf Digest that he has had discussions with LIV Golf and has had two meetings with it’s CEO Greg Norman and another meeting, scheduled via Zoom, is on the schedule for this weekk. McCord told Golf Digest that no deal is imminent.

“You always have to listen to what someone has to say when they are interested in offering you a job, especially at my age,” McCord, who turned 74 in May, said. “I’m basically rounding third here, career-wise, and it’s kind of nice to have the phone ring.”

McCord’s broadcasting career began in 1986 with CBS Sports. After the 2019 season, he opted to not renew his contract. Currently he co-hosts a weekly program on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio called The Dry Heave with former CBS colleague David Feherty and Drew Stoltz.

McCord also said that his interest is high in a reunion with Feherty for television and even with joining ranks potentially alongside Charles Barkley. McCord and Barkley have previously teamed up as broadcast partners for a couple of editions of The Match.

“Yeah, I think it would be fun to ride in that clown car with those two,” McCord said. “There’s a lot of potential there for some entertaining ways of doing this. Right now, I’m just listening and taking it all in and seeing where this thing goes. Whatever your feelings right now about LIV—and everyone has their opinions—you can’t deny it’s the biggest thing going as far as what people are talking about, and it will be interesting to see what golf looks like in the next five years.”

First Take Celebrates Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s Induction Into Radio Hall of Fame

BSM Staff
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The Radio Hall of Fame announced that Chris “Mad Dog” Russo would be inducted in November. It’s a very big honor for the man and it deserves the praise it is receiving including from ESPN’s First Take.

Russo was on First Take this morning and was fresh off debating with Courtney Cronin when host Molly Qerim stopped the presses to bring out the congratulations wagon for the newly minted Hall of Famer. She mentioned that she got a local magazine featuring Russo on the cover and then the referenced the following tweet from the official Twitter page of Mad Dog Sports Radio on SiriusXM:

While the studio clapped, Qerim read “Congratulations to our very own Chris “Mad Dog” Russo on his induction into the Radio Hall of Fame, class of 2022!”.

“You’re gonna make me cry! Now go to a break or something,” Russo said.

Cronin chimed in and added, “What a fantastic forty-year career in radio”.

Qerim returned to her seat after embracing Russo and said she wanted to answer the question that everyone asks her about Russo and that’s “what’s ‘Mad Dog’ like?”

“You are a pleasure to work with,” she said addressing Russo, “and you’re such a team player, too. Obviously you’re a pro’s pro, but I didn’t know how you’d be. But even after the shows, you’re like ‘okay, how can I get better?’ I’m thinking ‘Mad Dog’ is asking how to get better. And that attitude is why you are a Hall of Famer and we are lucky to have you here on our team at First Take.”

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