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Sean Kelley Named New Voice Of Florida Gators

BSM Staff
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Sean Kelley is leaving ESPN Radio after just three years. He is headed to the Sunshine State as the new radio voice of the Florida Gators.

“Florida is one of the elite of the elites with regard to intercollegiate athletics,” Kelley said in a press release. “That makes it not only a destination job for anyone in our business, it makes it a destination job for those who have reached certain heights in our business.”

It is a job that has been held by just four men. The title of “Voice of the Gators” belonged to Mick Hubert for the last 33 years. He announced his retirement in May.

Gators fans will hear Sean Kelley on football and men’s basketball. He will also make public appearances and host podcasts.

Prior to joining ESPN, Kelley was in New Orleans. He called games for Tulane University and the New Orleans Pelicans. He was also a digital host for the New Orleans Saints and a firefighter in St. Tammany Parish.

“I am excited to have someone with Sean’s talents and experience as the new play-by-play voice of the Gators,” UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said. “This position attracted a large number of highly-qualified applicants, but Sean rose above the field early in this process.”

Sean Kelley will make his debut in the Florida Gators’ radio booth on September 3, when the team welcomes the Utah Utes to Gainesville.

Dan Le Batard: ‘Brian Windhorst Won The Internet This Weekend’

BSM Staff
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Each week, The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz recaps the funniest thing in sports that they saw over the weekend. Usually, the bit is reserved for Mondays, but with most people getting to enjoy a three-day weekend, the conversation was pushed back to Tuesday this week.

On Friday morning, Brian Windhorst delivered his “what’s going on in Utah” analysis of the Jazz trading Royce O’Neale to the Brooklyn Nets on ESPN’s First Take. By that afternoon, it had spawned memes that had overtaken NBA Twitter.

Le Batard and his crew noticed. Amin Elhassan declared the reaction “the funniest thing in sports” on Tuesday’s show noting that it was very much in line with his own podcast, Basketball Illuminati.

“He won the internet this weekend,” Dan Le Batard said.

The show wasn’t the only media entity to pay tribute to Windhorst and his questions on Monday. USA Today’s For the Win blog gathered up its favorite memes based on the segment.

Billy Gil, producer of The Dan Le Batard Show, said that Windhorst certainly knew how to command the attention of his colleagues on the First Take set, but speculated that just maybe he commanded the attention of decision makers around the NBA too.

“You know, it was about his performance too. He played it so well,” he said. “He had me believing something was going on and then there was. What if there wasn’t something going on and then it just materialized?”

Ken Charles Abruptly Resigns as KNX Program Director

BNM Staff
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KNX Program Director Ken Charles abruptly announced his resignation in a lengthy email to staff Monday which was also shared on his personal Facebook page.

According To Radio Insight, Charles was named KNX Radio’s Brand Manager back in 2015. Prior to that, Charles spent 20 years at iHeartMedia clusters in Sacramento, Houston, and Miami.

“I’ve made the difficult professional and personal decision not to renew my contract and am stepping down as Brand Manager for KNX and Format VP for Audacy,” Charles posted.

Charles thanked his staff at KNX for working tirelessly during a recent rebranding which culminated with the station simulcasting on the FM band. He also remarked about the many changes at KNX which have led to wins in ratings and the expansion of its digital footprint.

“We’ve evolved the station’s sound, grown our ratings, expanded our digital footprint and become a leader in the company,” the post said.

With Charles at the helm, KNX celebrated its 100th anniversary and won the first two national Edward R. Murrow awards in the station’s 54-year all-news history. Charles acknowledged the success behind the award-winning newsroom, station news director Julie Chin.

“None of the above happens without Julie’s help, counsel, insight, friendship and hard work. She will continue to be a steady hand in the continuing success of KNX and keep the momentum we’ve built going,” he added.

According to Charles, his last day will be Friday, July 22.

So The ACC Is Screwed, Right?

Demetri Ravanos
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So The ACC Is Screwed, Right?

I REALLY did not want to write about conference realignment in college football this week. I swear I didn’t.

Last week, I did a whole podcast about the media implications of the Big Ten adding USC and UCLA. On Tuesday, Ryan Brown wrote about how TV partners for the Pac-12 are feeling and today Arky Shea has a column on the way TV money has changed the sport. I think we have this whole thing pretty well-covered.

But I spent all day Tuesday reading about how the Pac-12 and Big 12 were in a race to respond to the Big Ten’s move and something stood out to me. It is probably because I live in North Carolina, but I couldn’t help but notice that the ACC was just standing still.

Maybe conference leadership feels like it is in a good position. That isn’t true. Maybe it believes that there is no move to be made that is a real difference-maker. That probably is true.

Whatever the reason, the inaction isn’t a good sign.

I keep coming back to a question. Where are we going exactly?

If Texas and Oklahoma going to the SEC begat UCLA and USC going to the Big Ten, then it is fair to think no one was ever going to end their expansion at 16 teams. These were more likely the first moves in the race towards 20 to 24 team mega conferences. If that is the case, we’re merely waiting for the family to arrive before pulling the plug on the ACC.

School presidents and athletic directors in the Big 12 were convinced that ESPN helped facilitate Texas and OU moving to the network’s more valuable media property, the SEC. School presidents and athletic directors in the Pac-12 think the same thing about FOX’s relationship with the Big Ten.

There is no tangible proof that either is true, but come on. Both seem pretty likely right?

So let’s operate with the assumption that the next era of college football will be driven by what is best for TV networks and not the fans. As a collection of 15 schools (14 for football, where Notre Dame insists on not joining a conference) the ACC is an also-ran in terms of the top dogs. Broken up into individual properties though, the ACC has a few gems.

The Big Ten would certainly like to have Duke and North Carolina. It could also probably find room for Boston College or Pitt if needed. Plenty of fans on Twitter have made the leap and connected the football-first misfits (Clemson, Florida State and Virginia Tech) in the basketball-first ACC to the SEC. Maybe it could bring back Georgia Tech to round out a 20-team field.

I guess those are logical fits, but those are suggestions from a fan brain, not a business brain.

Let’s instead go back to the idea that the future of college football will be driven by what is best for the networks.

The ACC’s television rights cost ESPN about 80% of what they pay the SEC each year. So I think it is fair to say that the SEC is the property it will protect at all costs. Yes, it is a football conference, but some basketball pinache could make ESPN’s investment pay dividends year round.

Clemson is very good at football right now, but they are a Johnny-Come-Lately with a national footprint that stretches as far north as Greenville, South Carolina and as far south as Anderson, South Carolina. That’s a good joke. Look it up.

Anyway, ESPN’s college sports super weapon will need big, national brands. I wouldn’t be surprised if Greg Sankey has taken a phone call from Jimmy Pitaro or Burke Magnus asking how they would feel about it just meaning more to Duke and UNC. Sure, their football teams stink, but this isn’t about football. It is about money.

If the North Carolina government makes some kind of law that requires UNC and NC State to move together, then go get Kansas from the Big 12 to fill out the field of 20. Then the conference has Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M for football and Kentucky, Arkansas, Duke, UNC, and Kansas for basketball.

We already have reason to suspect TV networks are moving pieces around their proverbial college sports chess boards. If the race to two super conferences has already begun, ESPN doesn’t need to worry about teams bolting the ACC. The network just needs to make sure that the most valuable brands make their way to the SEC.

Maybe the ACC can compete with other conferences. It can’t compete with ESPN.

Freddie Coleman Mistakes J.T. Poston for Justin Thomas on ESPN Radio Interview

BSM Staff
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Radio is one of the most grueling mediums to navigate daily. Coming up with content and guests to make multiple hours a day feel like a breeze is hard work. It’s no surprise when something slips thru the cracks and that’s what happened with ESPN Radio’s Freddie Coleman.

Coleman was filling-in this morning on Keyshawn, JWill & Max as lead host when he was set to welcome in Justin Thomas from the PGA Tour. The only problem, Justin Thomas wasn’t on the phone. J.T. Poston was waiting when Coleman opened up the conversation.

“It’s always cool to talk to a two-time major champ when it comes to golf, especially when the golfer has gotten a lot of attention when it comes to on and off the course. He is Justin Thomas …I got to ask you about something you put on Twitter seven days ago, and I quote, ‘When in the car do y’all ever kinda hope somebody doesn’t abide by driving rules so you get an excuse to honk your horn? I mean, it doesn’t happen often. But when I’m in a horn honking mood, dang it feels nice to lay on that thing. I can’t be alone here right???’ What led up to that Justin?”

“Guys, there might be a mix-up. This is J.T. Poston not Justin Thomas. (laughs) I get this all the time, the other J.T. I don’t know you might have to ask him.”

Coleman rebounded with, “My mistake, my brother, my mistake on that one.”

Poston had a sense of humor about it, posting later on Twitter about it.

Coleman was a good sport on his own, retweeting Poston’s tweet with a good natured appreciation tweet of his own.

Poston did have a good enough reason to be on the show. He did just win the John Deere Classic wire-to-wire and preparation for he and others is ongoing for The Open Championship next week. That is in fact where Coleman, and 18-year pro at ESPN Radio, pivoted to. The interview went very well once identities were confirmed.

ESPN Analyst Robert Griffin III Is Still “Ready to Play”

BSM Staff
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Robert Griffin III last played in the NFL in 2020 with the Baltimore Ravens. Since, he has begun a transition into the broadcast booth. In an impressive first year with ESPN, Griffin showed promise in storytelling but he still eyes a shot in the NFL.

“I still love to play,” began RGIII, “but right now I am just focused on doing the best as I can as a storyteller and giving back to football as much as I can.”

RGIII told Christopher Williams of KWTX in Waco, Texas that he is still working out but not just his throwing motion.

“Sometimes we don’t know that God has a calling for us in a certain area until we do it. This is something that has been natural for me. Now, I just feel like it is on me and the people around me to continue to hold me accountable to be the guy that I know that I am. To be a storyteller. To tell guy’s stories the right way. That is a big point of emphasis for me. I am trying to aid these guys and give back to the sport – not take away from it. It is not about me, it is about the guys that are playing.”

The former NFL Rookie of the Year has been all over the network’s football coverage with College Gameday and NFL Live and more. It’s pretty clear that ESPN likes what they have with him. However, if he gets that call from an NFL team?

“I am ready to go right now. I train every day. I throw and workout. I know what it takes to get my body ready and I am doing those things. Yes, it is a little bit tougher when you are flying around everywhere doing stuff for TV, but when you really want something, you make it work. So, if I get that call this year, next year, or five years from now I will be ready to play”

Chris Berman Reflects on Early ESPN Days

BSM Staff
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Chris Berman is a name that is synonymous with ESPN. There isn’t a reader of this that hasn’t mimicked his touchdown celebration or home run derby calls. He is a rarity and he joined Kenny Mayne on a recent episode of 2400Sports’ Hey Mayne Podcast.

Mayne is embarking on a new weekly flagship conversation podcast. Mayne talked to Berman about the earliest of days for the fledgling network and how his time came to be with ESPN and how the literal birthing of that network was the reason he got to be a part so early.

“We were Lewis and Clark,” Berman said. “ESPN went on the air September, 7th, 1979. I was 24, in the area, on TV, in Hartford. Right before they went on, I had an interview, then they hired me. My first day was October 1st, 1979. They said we need a junior member — I had been on TV all of three months — which was a pretty good experience at the time. Had they been on the air for a year or two, they never would’ve hired me off that…They said we’ll pay you $16,000 to do sports every night…How about $16,500?”

Berman said the newness of everything meant he was thrown to the fire very early.

“I came in to observe October 1st. I come in on October 2nd, and I go, ‘where’s Wayne?’ And they were like, ‘oh no, he just did one show so you can see how it’s done, you’re on tonight.’ I was on October 2nd, 1979.”

ESPN’s early days are a wonderful topic because for the few people there were at the network since the beginning are essentially historians of the industry. Berman went on.

“…but here we are in 2022, and they haven’t been smart enough to get rid of me yet.” Berman signed a multiyear extension ton continue hosting NFL Primetime with Mark Jackson on ESPN+.

“That’s how it was, I was in there the first month. There were about 40 to 50 of us — in all jobs — not only to get on the air, but whatever it was,” said Berman.

“Anyone that was with us in the 80s, 90s, [and] early 2000s, there will be a bond forever in that we built something pretty good. I just happened to be there on the ground floor, I was lucky, and I guess I didn’t screw it up.” 

ESPN Puts Derek Jeter Advertisement Outside Fenway Park

BSM Staff
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ESPN is set to soon premiere a docuseries surrounding the life and on-field contributions of the New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter. In preparations for such, advertising will be plentiful. This weekend saw one ad placement that was at the very least, creative.

How does outside of the Hall of Famer’s biggest rival’s stadium sound?

That’s exactly what ESPN did when setting up advertising for the seven-part series. As seen below, the series’ director Randy Wilkins caught the advertisement outside of Fenway Park. He took a photo and tweeted. “This is currently outside of Fenway Park. Go YANKEES. #TheCaptain Shout out to ESPN marketing for the placement”.

The Captain is set to debut on July 18 after the Home Run Derby on ESPN. It promises “unseen footage and candid, insightful interviews with Jeter,” and “aims to “discover the man behind the iconic Yankees No. 2 jersey,” said director Randy Wilkins. “I set out with this thesis statement that Derek is not just a great baseball player, but an American icon.”

Joe Rogan Reveals Turning Down Offers to Have Donald Trump on Podcast

BNM Staff
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There’s plenty of speculation regarding if former President Donald Trump will be running for president in 2024, with many believing he will run again for a second stint. 

However, should Trump be in the running again, he shouldn’t expect any help from podcaster Joe Rogan. “The Joe Rogan Experience” host stated discussed the Trump era on his podcast during Monday’s episode with guest Lex Fridman. 

“The Trump era is also going to be one of the weirder times,” Rogan said. “When people look back historically about the division in this country, he’s such a polarizing figure that so many people felt like they could abandon their own ethics and morals and principles just to attack him and anybody who supports him because he is an existential threat to democracy itself.”

Rogan stated he thinks the former president intends to run for office again, with Fridman following up on those remarks by asking if he feels Trump could win. 

“Well, he’s running against a dead man, you know? I mean, (Joe) Biden shakes hands with people that aren’t even there when he gets off stage. I think he’s seeing ghosts,” Rogan said. 

“You see him on Jimmy Kimmel the other day? He was just rambling. I mean, he’s — if he was anyone else, if he was a Republican, if that was Donald Trump doing that, every fucking talk show would be screaming for him to be off the air.”

The comedian added that he’s no supporter of Trump and has rejected multiple offers to have him on his show. 

“By the way, I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape, or form. I’ve had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once — I’ve said no, every time. I don’t want to help him,” Rogan revealed. “I’m not interested in helping him.”

Twins Radio Announcer Cory Provus Was Visiting Family in Highland Park at Time of Mass Shooting

BSM Staff
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Cory Provus was having breakfast with his parents in his hometown of Highland Park, Illinois when the parade shooting happened.

Provus, who was in town to call the Twins/White Sox for Minnesota radio, had taken the time to visit with his parents. They live in Highland Park which is about thirty miles north of Guaranteed Rate Field.

It was there that Provus got a phone call from his brother saying there was an active shooter a mile and a half away at the town’s Fourth of July parade downtown.

Provus told his story to KARE 11 in Minneapolis.

“He said there was a live shooter at the Fourth of July parade downtown. And I said, ‘what?‘” Provus recalled. “Within minutes, we could hear sirens and helicopters.”

Provus had family at the parade. His sister-in-law’s mother attended but reported herself safe.

“My parents would bring me in my stroller and we’d sit there with the music and the floats and the food, and it was what July 4th was all about,” Provus said recalled of his history with the event. “It was about family and celebrating, and today it turned into tragedy. It really is sad what took place.” 

The game between the Twins and the White Sox did go on as planned. The White Sox took time to hold a moment of silence before the game.

“That will hit me pretty hard. Once the game starts, the amazing thing about this sport is it does bring people together,” Provus said. “Once we get through the moment of silence, through the national anthem, and the first pitch is thrown by Johnny Cueto and hopefully Luis Arráez hits a double down the right field line, then that sadness I think will turn into a smile, for just about three hours. Real life will be on pause and we’ll watch a baseball game and hopefully the Twins prevail tonight.”

But his hometown of Highland Park will never be far from his mind.

“Am I taken aback that I can’t believe that this happened in downtown Highland Park? No. Because that’s our world today. With the gun laws that we have in our country, they’re going to keep happening. That, to me, is a problem, and those are my feelings on it,” Provus said. “I know people watching it right now probably will disagree, and if so, you’re entitled to your beliefs, I’m entitled to mine. But to say, ‘I can’t believe this happened in Highland Park, Illinois,’ I think is just flat-out naïve.”

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