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Mark Chernoff Joins 107.1 The Boss in New Jersey

BSM Staff
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Mark Chernoff has found a new radio home. The former brand manager of the iconic WFAN is now part of Robby & Rochelle In The Morning on 107.1 The Boss in Monmouth/Ocean, New Jersey.

Chernoff makes his debut on May 31 as the show’s sports anchor. He will also be available to cover swing shifts as needed on the station.

“I’m looking forward to getting back on the radio at 107.1 The Boss, and to being able to live in both the Sports and Rock worlds,” he said.  “Many thanks to Robby and Rochelle for inviting me into THEIR world.” 

It was the end of June 2021 when Mark Chernoff left WFAN. He spent 28 years there as program director. He also served as the VP of Sports Programming for Audacy. He was succeeded in that role by Spike Eskin, who Audacy brought to New York from its Philadelphia sports talker, 94 WIP.

Prior to CBS Radio being acquired by then-Entercom, Chernoff also served as VP of Sports Programming for that company and played an integral role for its push into FM sports talk in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century.

“Mark is an exceptional talent and a brilliant strategic mind who I’ve long respected. I’m thrilled to have him join our team of outstanding broadcasters at Press!” said Robby Bridges, who also serves as PD of 107.1 The Boss.

Marc Malusis Has No Complaints At WPIX

Peter Schwartz
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In life, things happen for a reason.

As another saying goes, timing is everything.

And for Marc Malusis, both of those sayings certainly apply when you think about what he’s gone through over the last five or six months.

It was back in December when WFAN Radio in New York announced a new lineup that would start right after New Year’s.  Malusis was co-hosting Moose and Maggie middays on the station with Maggie Gray, but he was informed that the show would not be part of the new schedule.  Gray transitioned to a full-time hosting gig on CBS Sports Radio while Tiki and Tierney became the new midday show on WFAN.  

Malusis wondered where his next opportunity would be.

“When the decision was made, yeah you think to yourself alright what’s next?” said Malusis.  “For sure there’s a little bit of a mourning process.”

That mourning process didn’t last very long as Malusis was named in February to be the new lead sports anchor at WPIX Channel 11 in New York.  In addition to his anchor duties, Malusis has also hosted a Sunday night show called New York Sports Nation along with Yankees Nation and a basketball show during the NBA season.  

He’s also doing an opinion piece called “Moose on the Loose” every weeknight during the 6:30 news show.

“It’s been great,” said Malusis.  “It’s been unbelievable.  They’re expanding and doing a lot more sports.  It’s been an absolute blast.”

Malusis, who continues to have a presence at WFAN doing weekend shows and will also continue in his role as pregame, halftime and post-game host for Rutgers University football radio broadcasts, has been able to make a seamless transition from full-time radio host to full-time television personality.  

It’s certainly a different type of sportscasting that he’s used to, but 14 years of experience working for regional sports network SNY in New York, including fill-in anchor opportunities, certainly helped him for this opportunity.

“Moose” has gone from the land of long-form discussions of sports to a whole new world on television.

“It’s completely different,” said Malusis.  “Going from doing radio, where you have so much time to kind of pontificate and talk and hammer home your point and now you don’t so you have to be a lot more condensed.  I’m having a blast.  I’m in New York.  I’m on TV five days a week.  I’m still talking about New York sports.  I couldn’t have asked for a better experience so far.”

How Malusis landed at WPIX is proof of how important networking is, especially in broadcasting.

A number of years ago, Malusis was doing some digital television work for CBS Local where he worked for Todd Ehrlich, now the Sports Director at WPIX.  Over the years, Malusis stayed in touch with him and with the combination of departing WFAN on a full-time basis and WPIX looking for a new full-time lead sports anchor, Ehrlich reached out to him.

“He was looking for someone who had a New York name, that had established a rapport with the New York sports fan, and had built a pretty good following in the city,” said Malusis.  “He connected the dots and said I’d love for you to apply for this job.”

And, as the line from Seinfeld goes, yada, yada, yada Malusis landed the job at WPIX.

Another difference from working as a sports-talk radio host to being a television sports anchor is the increased opportunity to do some reporting out in the field.  TV sports anchors are often at big events and in his brief time so far at WPIX, Malusis has taken advantage of that opportunity covering events like the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and New York Giants OTAs.

It’s one thing to have fun working in a studio, but sometimes it’s literally a “breath of fresh air” to get out in the field covering events and games. 

“It’s not work,” said Malusis.  “It’s awesome.  It’s an amazing experience.  It’s something that I’ve not done on the radio.  I’ve never really gone out in the field on a regular basis.  It’s so much fun.  It’s really great it’s an experience that I never did on the radio that I get to do now.”

It was not exactly a “Happy New Year” for Marc Malusis after his full-time departure from WFAN, but a short time later he landed on his feet with a great opportunity at WPIX.  Now, he has the best of both worlds working full-time in television while also keeping his toes in the radio waters with WFAN and Rutgers.

Life is certainly good these days for the “Moose”.

“I’ve got no complaints,” said Malusis.  “I’m enjoying what I’m doing right now.  I’m enjoying the experience and everything that comes along with it at PIX 11.  To think about all of the men and women sportscasters in New York and now to throw my name in the mix, it’s really great.  I’m as happy as the day is long.”

And in New York, the sports days are more than long enough to keep Malusis busy with his new gig.

Ben Collins Under Fire for Insensitive Post About Buffalo Shooting

BNM Staff
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NBC News senior reporter Ben Collins is under fire for what some on Twitter are calling an insensitive post about the Buffalo super market massacre.

According to Mediate, Collins sent a lengthy post out claiming the Buffalo shooter had a toothache. Collins was referencing the shooter’s Discord page, a social platform that enables users to communicate using voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media, and files in private chats or as part of communities called “servers.” 

“The Buffalo shooter apparently tried to get his bad tooth treated. He went to the dentist, and whatever the dentist tried didn’t fix it,” Collins said. “He didn’t, or couldn’t, go anywhere else. He alluded to insurance problems. But instead of blaming insurance or himself, he blamed the Jews.”

MSNBC analyst Brittany Packnett responded to Collins’ tweet, “The Black people he murdered lived in a food desert. Food apartheid is but one type of “institutional decay” that Black folks live with disproportionately& daily and yet WHITE MEN are the largest domestic terror threat. You’ve lost the point entirely, all while we grieve.“

Payton Gendron of Conklin, New York, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 10 people last week.

Gen Z Hasn’t Totally Turned Down the Dial on Radio

Pete Mundo
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Gen Z Hasn’t Totally Turned Down the Dial on Radio

I thought young people don’t listen to the radio? They’ve moved on to podcasts or other on-demand audio services. That is if they even like audio.

Heck, radio isn’t even for their parents; it’s for their grandparents!

At least that’s what we’re told.

But when we have an opportunity to prove to young people the value of live and local talk radio, we need to jump on it.

I had a first on my show last week: A high school student called in to discuss her attempts to begin a chapter of Turning Point USA (a young, conservative organization) at her school.

She said she was having a tough time because of the conservative beliefs of the group. Her flyers around the school were torn down; there were threats, harassment, and more. 

Her phone call to my show was the first time this story had been reported or heard in local Kansas City media. From there, the students and their parents stayed in contact and updated us on the story throughout the week. Then, things turned ugly when during their inaugural meeting, protesters showed up, and one individual effectively ended the meeting by flipping a glass table that shattered. 

The students and parents in the community reached out with pictures of the incident. I turned it around with social media blasts that went viral on Twitter courtesy of shares and promotions by Turning Point USA and its founder Charlie Kirk.

Since then, the story was picked up locally by The Kansas City Star and then nationally by Ben Shapiro’s outlet, The Daily Wire. 

I don’t share this story to simply toot our own horn. Frankly, we just stepped into the story. We didn’t do anything to initially gather it except know a caller actually has a chance to provide something of value to the audience. Someone came to us. And not a grandparent of a student, who the “media consultants” would likely predict would be the case, but rather the student herself, calling up her local talk radio host to try and get this story some coverage.

From what I gathered in talking with many parents, the story has gathered far more publicity and attention than they ever imagined, and it’s because of that one phone call made to a live and local talk show. 

Does this one example mean that Gen Z is rapidly rushing back to their local radio dials? No. I understand the data.

But showing the power of how local talk radio can impact the lives of their communities and, in our case, stand up for a local group of high school kids in a way no one else in local media would is one of those lasting impressions that we can make to cater to the next generation.

There are no pitches to newspaper reporters or TV stations, both of whom are more likely to lean against the idea of showing sympathy for a young, conservative organization. Instead, it’s just as simple as calling your local talk show, letting the host give you two minutes, and blasting your story out to thousands of listeners. 

Of course, we chose to follow the story as it was a fit for our audience, and we received incredible feedback. So this one worked. But regardless, this is exactly what has, and always will continue to make our format unique.

Newspapers, TV, podcasts, and blogs can’t duplicate it. Yes, we need to embrace all forms of media as stations and personalities, but also realize, respect, and promote the power that still exists in our format when done right. And let’s make sure the next generation knows it. 

Nina Jankowicz: Disinformation Project a Victim of Misinformation

BNM Staff
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Former White House disinformation czar Nina Jankowicz is speaking out about the disbanding of the short-lived project following President Joe Biden’s decision to kill the effort long before it started. 

Fox News reports that Jankowicz appeared on CNN with Laura Coates on Friday, Jankowicz said the disinformation board fell victim to misinformation. 

“Unfortunately, and ironically, we were undone exactly by a disinformation campaign coming from folks who apparently want to put our national security behind their own personal political ambitions,” she said. 

Conservative pundits pushed for an investigation into the creation of the board citing First Amendment issues and misuse of the Department of Homeland Security which was created on Nov. 25, 2002, after Congress passed the Homeland Security Act following the 9/11 attacks. 

“Well, you know, DHS is an extremely large department – 250,000 people work there – the department had other priorities,” Jankowicz told Coates. “It’s got a huge mission set.” 

Republican politicians believed Jankowicz was a partisan actor who sold fake news stories via Tik Tok. According to the New York Post, Jankowicz promoted the Russian collusion story.  The paper also said she denied Hunter Biden’s laptop story was real. 

“I think there were other priorities that were kind of put ahead of this rollout of the Disinformation Governance Board,” she added. 

Fox News Led the Coverage for Buffalo Mass Shooting

BNM Staff
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Fox News Led the Coverage for Buffalo Mass Shooting

The three major cable news networks focused on the city of Buffalo, NY, on Saturday, May 14, for its breaking news coverage of the mass shooting at the Tops supermarket. The gunman, who long spouted White supremacist views online, drove to the predominantly African-American area to commit his murderous act. Ten people, all of them Black, were killed.

News began to be presented within the 4 PM ET hour, with extensive coverage arriving at 5 PM ET when officials spoke to the press. Fox News Channel led in total viewers. The network’s audience noticeably grew as each hour unfolded: 966,000 viewers from 4–5 PM, then 1.16 million from 5–6 PM, and 1.37 million from 6–7 PM, according to Nielsen Media Research.

CNN was runner-up, first averaging 850,000 viewers from 5–8 PM, then 826,000 from 8–10 PM; FNC’s 8–10 PM combo of “One Nation” and “Unfiltered” drew 1.46 million viewers. However, in the key 25-54 demographic, CNN captured cable news’ top spot for the first two hours of prime time, delivering 225,000, compared to FNC’s 195,000.

From 5-10 p.m., MSNBC averaged 552,000 total viewers and 61,000 adults 25-54. They peaked at 5:50–6:16 PM with 634,000 viewers/93,000 adults 25-54 for the press conference featuring Byron Brown, the mayor of Buffalo, NY.

Cable news averages for May 9-15, 2022:

Total Day (May 9-15 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.466 million viewers; 222,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.621 million viewers; 68,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.485 million viewers; 99,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.186 million viewers; 55,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.136 million viewers; 32,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.119 million viewers; 14,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.110 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.105 million viewers; 20,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (May 9-14 @ 8-11 p.m.; May 15 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 2.225 million viewers; 331,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.983 million viewers; 96,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.604 million viewers; 133,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.209 million viewers; 60,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.172 million viewers; 47,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.154 million viewers; 24,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.147 million viewers; 16,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.068 million viewers; 6,000 adults 25-54
  • NewsNation: 0.057 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54

Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top MSNBC and CNN programs with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:

1. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 5/10/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.569 million viewers

2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 5/9/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.409 million viewers

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 5/9/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.313 million viewers

4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 5/10/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.227 million viewers

5. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 5/11/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.131 million viewers

6. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 5/12/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.102 million viewers

7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 5/11/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.034 million viewers

8. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 5/13/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.973 million viewers

9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 5/12/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.956 million viewers

10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 5/13/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.781 million viewers

27. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 5/9/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.157 million viewers

152. CNN Special Report “Inside The Mind Of Vladimir Putin” (CNN, Sun. 5/15/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.944 million viewers

181. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 600” (HBO, Fri. 5/13/2022 10:01 PM, 56 min.) 0.789 million viewers

315. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 5/15/2022 11:05 PM, 35 min.) 0.520 million viewers

393. Sex & Murder “The Two Matthews” (HLN, late Sun. 5/15/2022 12:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.357 million viewers

402. The Daily Show “May 12, 22 – Tribute To Gran” (CMDY, Thu. 5/12/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.331 million viewers

Top 10 cable news programs (and the top CNN, MSNBC, and HLN programs with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54

1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 5/9/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.535 million adults 25-54

2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 5/11/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.490 million adults 25-54

3. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 5/10/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.475 million adults 25-54

4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 5/10/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.462 million adults 25-54

5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 5/12/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.452 million adults 25-54

6. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 5/12/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.443 million adults 25-54

7. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 5/12/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.426 million adults 25-54

8. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 5/9/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.419 million adults 25-54

9. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 5/10/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.418 million adults 25-54

10. The Ingraham Angle (FOXNC, Tue. 5/10/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.413 million adults 25-54

38. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 5/9/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.277 million adults 25-54

55. CNN Newsroom (CNN, Sat. 5/14/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.236 million adults 25-54

101. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 5/15/2022 11:05 PM, 35 min.) 0.194 million adults 25-54

132. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 600” (HBO, Fri. 5/13/2022 10:01 PM, 56 min.) 0.155 million adults 25-54

147. The Daily Show “May 12, 22 – Tribute To Gran” (CMDY, Thu. 5/12/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.149 million adults 25-54

200. Sex & Murder “The Two Matthews” (HLN, late Sun. 5/15/2022 12:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.120 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

Why Do We Let College Football Coaches Get Away With Absurdity & Dishonesty?

Demetri Ravanos
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College football is in a state of flux. Players have more freedom and control than ever. They can move around with ease to find a roster and playbook that is right for them thanks to the transfer portal. They can make money off of their name, image and likeness. There really has never been a time like this in the sport before.

Last week, we saw two millionaire coaches show their whole asses in a pissing contest to prove who is more out of touch with the realities of college football in 2022. It started with Alabama’s Nick Saban hurling wild accusations at Texas A&M and Jackson State as he bemoaned the state of college football in the NIL era. That was followed by A&M’s Jimbo Fisher calling a press conference in full dad rage threatening to turn this god damn car around!

Like my sports media colleagues, I was plenty entertained by it, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder how we got here. Why do we cover this sport in a way that lets these coaches play dumb without anyone calling them out? I know that doesn’t describe every media member covering college football, but there are plenty that do and fit perfectly into the lane I have just described.

I wanted to get some opinions on my opinion. I am open to hearing that there are things I do not understand. So, I reached out to three friends that cover college football on different levels in different parts of the country.

Chuck Oliver of 680 The Fan in Atlanta and the syndicated, college football-centric Chuck Oliver Show told me that he actually remembers the first time he heard a coach complain about the new realities of college football and how that made him feel.

“The tone most of us have when commenting about NIL in regards to improving a program’s recruiting class is way off,” he told me. “[Stanford Head Coach] David Shaw was the first I remember seeing comment on the record and thinking, ‘You’re too smart for that.’ He had gone to the press with ‘Before the Bama quarterback’s even taken a snap’ and how much money the kid had gotten.”

Chuck and I think a lot alike in this realm. Using NIL deals to get paid now is totally above board, right? So why would a coach waste time complaining about it? Why would he not embrace the practice and what it can do for their roster?

Oliver pointed out that framing NIL money as this evil thing other programs are doing doesn’t sound very evil to the kids that stand to make a financial gain.

“Talking about how much money recruits at another program are getting through NIL is the same as going public with, ‘The only reason those recruits signed at Michigan is because it’s an elite education and they have world-class facilities and great fans and it will likely give them an edge at playing professionally.’ NIL is just another category you’re competing in. The smart move would be to hush up about how awesome your competition is doing.”

Paul Finebaum has seen a lot of changes during the decades he has covered college football. The SEC Network and ESPN host told me that a lot of coaches want the media to amplify their complaints about the changing landscape of college football as a therapeutic device.

“In Saban’s case, it’s a combination of his age – 70 – and being an old school coach who hates losing control. That’s really what is going on here. I had a coach tell me recently, ‘if have to pay a large sum of money, I lose all control. They own me then.’ These are highly disciplined people who like to be authoritarian. They lose the leverage when players make money.”

That isn’t what Nate Kreckman has seen. He hosts the syndicated This Week in the Mountain West. The Mountain West Conference isn’t like the SEC. The SEC is what is designated a “Power 5” conference. The Mountain West is in the less powerful “Group of 5”.

The athletic departments at MWC schools aren’t as well funded. The schools themselves are usually pretty far away from where high school football talent lives, and they are all in states where there is more to do on a Saturday than live and die with college football.

Nate told me the conversations he has with coaches about NIL money tend to reflect that reality. I asked him why so many college football reporters don’t feel like they can challenge a coach that is spouting outlandish nonsense about kids getting money. He told me that he wasn’t the right guy to answer that.

“A lot of the coaches in this league, believe it or not, kind of get it. We have coaches like Andy Avalos, Marcus Arroyo, and Brent Brennan that are young and that are players’ coaches. You won’t make it at the G5 level being an out-of-touch hardass (see Addazio, Steve). Even older guys like Craig Bohl, I’ve had great conversations with him about the changing landscape. He coached Josh Allen, who was as big a G5 star as we’ve had in the last decade. These guys mostly get it. They have to make their programs desirable, and griping about players getting theirs is not a way to do it.”

So what is the path forward? It seems like any time I bring my frustrations up with someone that is covering the sport and the coaches involved every day, I hear agreement. We all kind of think the stock answer reactions are silly. Why won’t anyone say it out loud?

When Nick Saban says that Texas A&M “bought” its entire recruiting class with NIL deals, why does no one say “you know that is okay now, right coach”? Is it a level of laziness or complacency that comes with needing to create content even when we are more than 90 days away from the first kickoff of the season?

Not enough people are pointing out how dumb and strange this back and forth between Saban and Fisher is. Does that mean there will be a cycle to it? Without anyone willing to point out how irrelevant the two coaches’ complaints about one another are, do even the most respected voices in college football find a way to drag this out all summer and into October 8 when the Aggies visit Tuscaloosa?

“It’s a story now because it’s late May and there are no other college football stories,” Paul Finebaum said. “Also, it’s one of the craziest stories in recent history. This is something Nick Khan and Vince McMahon couldn’t have come up for the WWE. It won’t last though. It will be big at SEC spring meetings after Memorial Day and then Media Days in July. Then, it won’t matter until the week of the game.”

Could ESPN Spin-Off From Disney For Merger With EA Sports?

BSM Staff
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Could ESPN Spin-Off From Disney For Merger With EA Sports?

Right now, Disney is very happy to have ESPN amongst its many entertainment properties, but that could change. That was evident last week during the company’s upfront presentation to advertisers.

Still, rumors persist about Bob Chapek being willing to spin off the network as its own company. Dylan Byers of Puck News reports that one rumor making the round has Disney setting ESPN up for a merger with EA Sports.

EA Sports, the maker of popular sports video game franchises like the Madden and FIFA series, was near a deal with NBCUniversal for a merger. That fell apart due to a disagreement over the price and power structure of the new company. That leaves EA as a free agent and Disney, Amazon and Apple have all expressed interest.

A merger with the video game giant would make a lot of sense for ESPN. It would give that network a significant presence with the exclusive video game of the NFL. It would also position the network to be a major part of the revived college football video game, which is set to return to the market in 2023.

Byers writes that there is “some notable history” between Disney and EA Sports.

“In 2018, following the sudden resignation of ESPN chief John Skipper, then-Disney CEO Bob Iger tried to recruit [Electronic Arts CEO Andrew] Wilson to be the head of the sports network. Wilson passed and the job went to Jimmy Pitaro.”

Electronic Arts, EA Sports’ parent company, would be a smart acquisition for Disney. Electronic Arts already has a partnership to make the Star Wars video games. Acquiring the company would not only give ESPN a presence across all of EA Sports’ titles. It would also give Disney an in-house studio to develop new video games for its mega-franchises like Marvel and Pixar.

Wilson has been aggressive in the past about partnering with Disney. As recently as March, according to Byers, he was pitching the company on “a more meaningful relationship” than just marketing deals. Bob Chapek rejected that proposal. The difference between what was proposed then and what a future deal between ESPN and EA Sports might look like in unclear.

Lauren Shehadi: Ernie Johnson Is The Model For Studio Hosts

BSM Staff
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In addition to her job at MLB Network being a host on MLB Central, Lauren Shehadi is hosting TBS’s Tuesday night baseball coverage each week with Jimmy Rollins, Curtis Granderson, and Pedro Martinez. The Tuesday night games are new for Turner Sports this year after doing only Sunday games during the regular season in addition to the network’s postseason coverage. 

Shehadi was a guest on The Kyle Koster Show this week and she was asked what the goal was for her with the MLB on TBS Tuesday broadcasts. She takes a lot of inspiration from what she sees on Inside The NBA on TNT.

“I always think about Ernie Johnson in the same building. To me, he’s the greatest in-studio host. What he does best is facilitate greatness. He gets the most out of Shaq and Kenny [Smith] and Charles [Barkley]. If there’s no ego involved, it’s all about how the show can be so great.

“You look at him and you think how can I be like that? You want to be authentic and be yourself, but in the sense of getting the best out of your guys and girls that you talk to every day. That was my goal going in, Be authentic.”

Shehadi said she gets to spend a lot of time with Johnson and the rest of the Turner Sports crew. Tuesday nights tend to be something of a corporate family reunion. 

“On Tuesday nights, we all sit in a room and we all watch NBA, MLB, and NHL when it’s on. We get Shaq’s reaction to Sandy Alcantara’s slider in real-time. What we see from Inside The NBA is when they do demos. When they get up and walk and they are casual and they do little bits, that’s what we try to take to our show, but we want it to feel authentic.” 

When Shehadi isn’t hosting Turner Sports’ baseball coverage, she is a part of MLB Central every weekday on MLB Network with Robert Flores and Mark DeRosa. On that show, the goal for her is how to make baseball relatable to everyone: 

“That’s the sweet spot of MLB Central. No question is silly. Nobody is smarter than the other. We laugh at ourselves. We laugh at each other. It is just a fun 4 hours, grab your coffee, let’s talk the game, let’s laugh because life is short and baseball is fun.” 

Cole Cubelic: ‘A Lot Of Media Wasn’t Prepared To Talk About Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher’

BSM Staff
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The comments from Alabama football coach Nick Saban regarding other teams allegedly “buying” their players through the new rules pertaining to name, image and likeness (NIL) deals has set the college football world abuzz.

In his comments, Saban directly accused Texas A&M Head Coach and one of his former assistant coaches at Louisiana State University Jimbo Fisher of unreasonably using NIL deals to recruit college football players, and remarked that the system as a whole has created a fundamental disadvantage for certain programs. Additionally, he stated that Alabama has never tried to lure a player solely based on these deals; however, he left the door open to potentially having to adjust his recruitment strategy to align with the actions of his competitors around him.

Much of the college football world weighed in on the comments, but the voice everyone was waiting to hear was that of Jimbo Fisher, including McElroy and Cubic in the Morning on Jox 94.5 FM in Birmingham, Ala. On Friday morning, the program opened with show co-host Cole Cubelic reacting to the candid response given by Fisher in a news conference carried on multiple media outlets in which Fisher called Saban a “narcissist.”

“When we’ve had coaching feuds before, we’ve had guys go back and forth; we’ve had guys go at one another, sometimes in a little bit more of a subtle way; sometimes maybe a less-confrontational way,” Cubelic said. “Jimbo even said it yesterday – he’s not afraid of confrontation; he’s not worried about it.”

An aspect of what has made this discordance between two highly-accomplished and eminent coaches a story being followed across the college football landscape is the fact that it has taken place within the public sphere. When Saban appeared on SiriusXM Radio and apologized for singling out Texas A&M in his comments from earlier in the week, there was not much emotion involved, according to Cubelic. Fisher’s remarks in his press conference though, were of a completely different sentiment – and may have escalated the situation altogether.

“Debates often turn to arguments as soon as emotions become involved,” Cubelic said. “…Jimbo Fisher yesterday at 10 a.m. – that felt emotional; that felt personal, and that one had to dig deep. Jimbo Fisher said yesterday he doesn’t anticipate things are going to be repaired. I don’t see in a way that these two sort of get things back in line.”

“The bridge is burned both ways,” added show co-host Greg McElroy. “They’ll probably shake hands; do what they need to do pregame. But as far as any love lost? Nah, that’s a wrap.”

A part of this story that remains seminal when reporting or commenting on it is listening to the full extent of the comments from both Saban and Fisher on the situation so as to more effectively contextualize and comprehend the situation. Cubelic said that he did multiple interviews on different programs yesterday, and some of the interviewers, as he anticipated, had solely listened to portions of the comments, rendering them not completely prepared to have a truly pertinent discussion about the topic at hand.

“We said it here on the show yesterday morning — right out of the gate — people are going to take the Miami; the Jackson State; and the Texas A&M stuff, and they’re going to clip it and they’re going to play it and they’re going to read it and that’s all they’re going to pay attention to,” said Cubelic. “There were multiple other messages that were attempted to be delivered by Nick Saban two nights ago that I don’t think anybody paid attention to, and I’m wondering if Jimbo paid attention to them.”

Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies visit Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide on October 8 in a matchup that will sure to be a primary topic of discussion in the weeks and months leading to kickoff.

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