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Conor McGahey Is “Very Lucky” to Call Stanley Cup Final for His Hometown Avalanche

Peter Schwartz
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On October 6th, 1995, 10-year-old Conor McGahey was at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver attending the first Colorado Avalanche home game with his father. That night, the Avalanche beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 as Denver celebrated the return of NHL hockey thirteen years after the Colorado Rockies relocated to New Jersey.

Fast-forward exactly 27 years and 8 months later and McGahey enjoyed yet another out of body experience…

“Held back for Makar…lets it go…tipped on…rebound…score! It’s Artturi Lehkonen and you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here because this party is over!”

Those were the words of 37-year-old Colorado Avalanche radio play-by-play voice Conor McGahey. Last Monday June 6th Artturi Lehkonen scored in overtime to give Colorado a 6-5 overtime win in game four of the Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers. With that four-game sweep, the Avalanche punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001.

The Avalanche will meet the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning starting on Wednesday night in Denver.

McGahey, a native of Breckenridge, Colorado, is set for his first Stanley Cup Final as the radio play-by-play announcer for the team he rooted for as a child.

“It was a blast,” said McGahey of his opportunity to describe the moment that the Avalanche were advancing to the Stanley Cup Final.

“The Stanley Cup Final is a special and emotional time really. It’s a great honor to be a part of it. To be here is one thing but to win it is another and I hope that we’re lucky enough to win because that would make it even more special. It’s fun to soak it in and say hey you’re going to a (Stanley) Cup Final for the first time in 21 years. In that moment, it was super special.”

McGahey, a graduate of the University of Denver, spent more than ten years in the organization as in-game host while also calling play-by-play for Colorado Rapids soccer and Colorado Mammoth lacrosse. He joined the Vegas Golden Knights as a television pregame and postgame host for their inaugural season in 2017-18 before returning to Colorado when he was named the Avalanche’s new radio play-by-play voice prior to the 2018-19 season.

Now in his fourth season as voice of the Avs, McGahey is living out a dream. Not just because he’s getting ready for his first Stanley Cup Final, but because this is the type of job that he has coveted since he was a fan in the stands.  

“I’m very grateful for the blessing and the opportunity to be here and do this job no matter who it was with. If it was with the Carolina Hurricanes or L-A Kings, it wouldn’t matter to me. It’s a job that I love but it makes it even more special that it’s in my home state with the team that basically made me fall in love with hockey.”

Before the Quebec Nordiques relocated to Denver for the 1995-96 season becoming the Colorado Avalanche, McGahey did have a taste of the sport. As a youngster he followed college hockey as well as the Denver Grizzlies, the International Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders. When the Avalanche arrived, hockey fans in Denver were getting a team that was already good and just needed a few tweaks to become a Stanley Cup contender.

Those tweaks, including the acquisition of goalie Patrick Roy from the Montreal Canadiens, would help the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup during their first season in town sweeping the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.

McGahey, who already liked hockey, fell in love with it.

“I think it was the sport itself because there are so many sights and sounds and the speed,” said McGahey.  “It’s the old cliché that hockey is the best sport live.  You can watch it on TV and people will always say ‘hey I can’t find the puck’ or ‘I have no idea what’s going on’ but when you show up and watch a game, your senses just become ten times more acute.”

McGahey delivers a high-energy and entertaining play-by-play call of Avalanche games that includes some unique descriptions of Avalanche goals.

There’s “The moose is loose!” for forward Miko Rantanen. 

“The Mac attack is back Jack” for forward Nathan MacKinnon.

“Oh captain my captain” for… you guessed it… Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskog.

And there’s “All hail Cale” for defenseman Cale Makar.

“I just think that it should be fun no matter what,” said McGahey. “I don’t take myself too seriously. Everyone, for the most part, loves sports. Everybody knows pop culture references whether it would be television or movies or music.”

With pop culture in mind, McGahey had another stroke of brilliance during game four against Edmonton.

“Ladies and Gentlemen… boys and girls of all ages …this is a tie hockey game” 

“I always joked that my brother and I could communicate solely on movie quotes so that leaks over into how I call games whether that be rhymes or alliteration,” said McGahey. 

How does he come up with these lines? Most of his calls are simply him, in the moment, saying things that come up organically.  Generally, he comes up with the lines on his own but he is always open to suggestions from fans.  There was time when a fan sent him a tweet that when Andrew Cogliano scored a goal that McGahey should work in “Hey Mambo, Mambo Cogliano”.

Channeling his inner Dean Martin, McGahey jumped at the idea.

“I thought it was genius.”

McGahey also drew inspiration a couple of years ago when he was watching the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  When he heard the song Candyman, he immediately thought of forward Nazem Kadri.

“Sometimes it’s just in the spur of the moment and sometimes you run across something,” said McGahey. “I was like candy and Kadri… it’s really close… the Kadri-Man can!” 

Another entertaining aspect of McGahey calling Avalanche games has been setting the scene at the top of the broadcasts by using actual descriptions of the team nicknames.  The idea was actually the creation of Studio Host Mark Bertagnolli who came up with “Force of Nature” for the Avalanche.  He used that line for a couple of teams including when the Avs played the San Jose Sharks so the matchup would be…

“Force of Nature” vs “Fish”

“He’s been doing it for a long long time,” said McGahey. (Bertagnolli) would only do it for a couple. I said that’s a brilliant concept. Can we bring it into the top of the actual broadcast?”

And the rest is history as McGahey and company have come up with a few more… 

“Force of Nature vs Petroleum Procurers (Oilers)”

“Force of Nature vs Plural Primary Color (Blues)”

“Force of Nature vs Adjective (Wild)”

“Force of Nature vs Fiddle Contestant (Devils)”

If you didn’t get the Devils reference, McGahey is referring to the Charlie Daniels Band song The Devil Went Down To Georgia. 

And what about the Stanley Cup Final matchup?

“Force of Nature vs Atmospheric Electrical Discharge (Lightning)”

“It’s turned into a fun tradition,” said McGahey.  

NHL radio play-by-play jobs are not easy to come by. There are only 32 of them. Getting one of those opportunities is a major accomplishment. Many announcers have come and gone without ever getting an opportunity to call a Stanley Cup Final. Not only is McGahey getting that chance to call the battle for Lord Stanley, but he’s doing it for his hometown team, the team that he cheered for as a child and throughout the existence of the Avalanche.

“I’m very lucky just to be in this position,” said McGahey. 

“It doesn’t happen to a lot of guys. I understand the gravity and the scope and that’s not lost on me for one second. My overwhelming emotion every single gameday and every single day period is simply just gratitude.”

To steal a bit of Conor McGahey’s style of broadcasting…

“What an honor for Conor!”

Fox News Led Coverage for Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Verdict

BNM Staff
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The long-awaited verdict was finally in.

After a near-two month defamation trial between actors and former spouses Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, the jury officially made their decision in a Virginia courtroom on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 1. Depp emerged victorious, as his former wife Heard was ordered to pay him a net total of $8.3 million, based on the damages (as claimed by Depp’s legal team) her 2018 Washington Post op-ed (alleging domestic abuse by Depp) had done to his career.

Within the 3-4 p.m. Eastern hour, Fox News Channel led the cable news outlet in verdict coverage with 2.22 million total viewers and 436,000 within the key 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research. While CNN, with 1.18 million viewers, drew almost half of FNC’s total audience, the news network posted a closer margin in adults 25-54, drawing 314,000 of the demo — CNN’s peak performance among adults 25-54 for the week (thru June 5). MSNBC trailed behind with 713,000 viewers and 72,000 adults 25-54.

As a gauge of how much interest there was in the announcement of the Depp-Heard verdict, each cable news outlet experienced a significant boost compared to their previous hour of news (in the 2-3 p.m. ET hour on June 1):

  • Fox News Channel: (June 1, 2022 @ 2-3 p.m. ET) 1.579 million viewers; 323,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox News Channel: (June 1, 2022 @ 3-4 p.m. ET) 2.219 million viewers; 436,000 adults 25-54
  • Difference: +0.640 million viewers (+40 percent); +123,000 adults 25-54 (+35 percent)
  • CNN: (June 1, 2022 @ 2-3 p.m. ET) 0.586 million viewers; 143,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: (June 1, 2022 @ 3-4 p.m. ET) 1.178 million viewers; 314,000 adults 25-54
  • Difference: +0.592 million viewers (+101 percent); +171,000 adults 25-54 (+120 percent)
  • MSNBC: (June 1, 2022 @ 2-3 p.m. ET) 0.495 million viewers; 59,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: (June 1, 2022 @ 3-4 p.m. ET) 0.713 million viewers; 72,000 adults 25-54
  • Difference: +0.218 million viewers (+44 percent); +13,000 adults 25-54 (+22 percent)

On Thursday, June 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET, President Biden addressed the nation on gun control in the wake of recent notable mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Uvalde, Tex. Upon repeated utterances of “Enough!”, Biden fervently urged Congress to act with legislation to curb gun violence. He went so far to use the label of “unconscionable” for those GOP senators who’ve failed to even bring such proposals up for debate.

ABC led all outlets in coverage for Biden’s June 2nd address, delivering 5.1 million total viewers. CBS (4 million) was runner-up, followed by NBC (3.11 million). Nielsen did not offer a separate time slot designation for Fox News and CNN but based on the 7-8 p.m. hour, Fox News averaged 2.675 million while CNN drew 758,000. From 7:31-7:49 p.m. ET, 1.2 million tuned in to MSNBC (“The Reidout”, which led out of the speech, was the network’s most-watched telecast of the week). 1.1 million watched the Spanish-language version of Biden’s speech on Univision.

Cable news averages for May 30-June 5, 2022:

Total Day (May 30-June 5 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.330 million viewers; 203,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.556 million viewers; 58,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.458 million viewers; 96,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.177 million viewers; 53,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.127 million viewers; 34,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.120 million viewers; 23,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.105 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.100 million viewers; 14,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (May 30-June 4 @ 8-11 p.m.; June 5 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 2.010 million viewers; 290,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.800 million viewers; 71,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.603 million viewers; 122,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.223 million viewers; 74,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.205 million viewers; 69,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.154 million viewers; 27,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.112 million viewers; 17,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.083 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54
  • NewsNation: 0.046 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54

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

1. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 6/1/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.326 million viewers

2. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 5/31/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.236 million viewers

3. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 6/3/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.095 million viewers

4. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 6/2/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.087 million viewers

5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 6/2/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.055 million viewers

6. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 5/31/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.053 million viewers

7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 6/1/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.050 million viewers

8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 6/3/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.705 million viewers

9. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Thu. 6/2/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.675 million viewers

10. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Tue. 5/31/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.671 million viewers

91. The Reidout (MSNBC, Thu. 6/2/2022 7:49 PM, 11 min.) 1.223 million viewers

104. CNN Newsroom (CNN, Wed. 6/1/2022 3:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.178 million viewers

167. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 602” (HBO, Fri. 6/3/2022 10:01 PM, 58 min.) 0.740 million viewers

310. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 6/5/2022 11:00 PM, 35 min.) 0.469 million viewers

339. Very Scary People “Ken And Barbie Killers: Pt2” (HLN, Sun. 6/5/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.438 million viewers

375. The Daily Show (CMDY, Wed. 6/1/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.366 million viewers

376. Kudlow (FBN, Tue. 5/31/2022 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.365 million viewers

396. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1107” (CNBC, Tue. 5/31/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.323 million viewers

441. Deep Water Salvage “(201) End Of The Line” (TWC, Sun. 6/5/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.269 million viewers

470. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “Episode 7215” (TBS, Fri. 6/3/2022 12:58 AM, 30 min.) 0.254 million viewers

658. Newsnation: Rush Hour (NWSN, Mon. 5/30/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.183 million viewers

Top 10 cable news programs (and the top  programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54

1. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 6/1/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.548 million adults 25-54

2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 5/31/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.500 million adults 25-54

3. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 5/31/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.466 million adults 25-54

4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 6/2/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.465 million adults 25-54

5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 6/1/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.455 million adults 25-54

6. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 6/3/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.450 million adults 25-54

7. The Story (FOXNC, Wed. 6/1/2022 3:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.436 million adults 25-54

8. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 6/2/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.414 million adults 25-54

9. Special Report with Bret Baier (FOXNC, Wed. 6/1/2022 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.413 million adults 25-54

10. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Wed. 6/1/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.413 million adults 25-54

24. CNN Newsroom (CNN, Wed. 6/1/2022 3:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.314 million adults 25-54

78. Very Scary People “Ken And Barbie Killers: Pt2” (HLN, Sun. 6/5/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.200 million adults 25-54

134. The Daily Show (CMDY, Wed. 6/1/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.144 million adults 25-54

143. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 6/5/2022 11:00 PM, 35 min.) 0.140 million adults 25-54

147. Shark Tank “Shark Tank 1107” (CNBC, Tue. 5/31/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.139 million adults 25-54

151. Presidential News Conference “President Biden Gun Violence Address” (MSNBC, Thu. 6/2/2022 7:31 PM, 18 min.) 0.137 million adults 25-54

175. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 602” (HBO, Fri. 6/3/2022 10:01 PM, 58 min.) 0.127 million adults 25-54

259. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “Episode 7215” (TBS, Fri. 6/3/2022 12:58 AM, 30 min.) 0.099 million adults 25-54

403. America’s Morning Headquarters (TWC, Fri. 6/3/2022 9:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.067 million adults 25-54

555. How America Works (FBN, Sat. 6/4/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.049 million adults 25-54

741. Newsnation Prime (NWSN, Sun. 6/5/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.034 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

Stephen A. Smith Says He Almost Went to Cable News

BSM Staff
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According to Stephen A. Smith, he was close to dominating another sector of television. The face of ESPN was almost the face of CNN or cable news.

Smith joined the latest episode of The Old Man and The Three podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter. On the show, Smith recalled being let go by ESPN nearly fifteen years ago. It was almost the last time he’d be a prominent member of the network.

“When ESPN let me go in 2009, I appeared on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN 150 times,” Smith said. “I honestly thought that could be a possibility. In 2015, one of those networks, CNN actually interviewed me for my own show, on CNN.”

Smith believes if he had taken that path, it would have had serious ramifications for his safety.

“I can honestly tell you I believe, that if I were in politics, it might have got me killed because of the world we’re living in. If it didn’t get me killed, it would have me as a pariah by half of the country. Like the likes of a Sean Hannity or whatever,” Smith continued.

One of the faces of the ‘Embrace Debate’ era, Smith believes he would have been a polarizing figure no matter the network. He said he would “piss off millions” for being able to look at each issue independently. He also believes he’d be a threat because he would be doing whatever it took to be tops in the industry.

“Because when I’m doing stuff and I’m in, I don’t view myself as a second-place kind of guy. I’m coming to be the top dog.”

Smith doesn’t plan to discuss politics on ESPN soon, however. He has told Dan Le Batard as recently as last month that he respects the network’s decision to not have talent be vocal about controversial, political topics.

“When you’re tuning into a sports network, it is not beyond the pale for the consumer to say ‘I expect to hear about sports,’ okay?”

Charles Barkley on Sports Betting: There’s Too Much of It

BSM Staff
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That headline is not a misprint. Charles Barkley is worried that the proliferation of sports betting throughout the country is destined to do damage to sports. He is particularly worried about in-game betting.

“We’ve got people in the stands betting on who’s going make the next free throws. I mean, think about that,” said Barkley. The NBA on TNT analyst voiced his concerns in a media call meant to promote the upcoming American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in July. Interestingly enough, Barkley bet $100,000 on himself in last year’s American Century Championship… and lost.

“If I was a scumbag, I’d look at my friend in the stands, and say, ‘Yo, I’m going to miss both of these free throws.’ Now, that’s cheating.”

Barkley, who is a spokesman for FanDuel, isn’t oblivious to the reality of sports betting’s presence. He seems focused more on in-game wagering options that could affect the integrity of a game.

“Listen, gambling’s always been part of sports. That’s why the NFL is King Kong,” he said. “But I am concerned that you can sit in the stands and make bets in the middle of a basketball game.”

It is fair to scrutinize the messenger. After all, he was once fined after telling the media of an “in-game” bet had going in 1990 with Mark Jackson of the New York Knicks. The two had a running bet on who, between them, would make the play that won the game. Barkley ended up winning the bet and what turned out to be $500. That turned into a $5,000 fine from then commissioner David Stern.

Despite Barkley’s obvious affinity for sports betting, he is concerned about an aspect of it that is in it’s infancy stages. As the industry spreads to over half of the country’s cell phones, it is a concern we will have to monitor.

Brady Quinn on C.J. Stroud Car Deal: Please Don’t Listen to All This NIL Fluff

BSM Staff
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The discussion around NIL is fervent. No one seems to have an accurate idea of how a lot of this is actually happening because we aren’t sure the NCAA knows anything about it either. The hot button was pushed again when news came out that Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud was now driving around a $200,000 Mercedes AMG G 63 as part of his NIL deal. Brady Quinn saw this same headline and reacted differently.

The co-host of 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe on FOX Sports Radio with LaVar Arrington and Jonas Knox went oh their show to say that the headlines around NIL may be flashy, but it isn’t what it appears to be especially in Stroud’s case.

“Do you want me to tell you the exact details of the deal,” Quinn began. “I want everyone to listen very closely: please don’t listen to all this NIL fluff. It’s not as much money as everyone’s portraying it to be.

C.J. Stroud gets a 45 day lease… There is zero cash involved. He gets paid no cash and you might say, ‘Well hey, driving a car like that and getting that free and, that to me is incredible.’ You know what the car dealership and CJ Stroud haven’t thought about? He’s going to have to pay taxes on it. That’s the laughable part. They feel like he’s getting this great gift and everything else, they don’t realize when you get something like that, you have to pay the tax value on that…”

The former Notre Dame and NFL quarterback was growing frustrated with the discussion around Stroud’s “extravagant” deal. He went on to opine that he figured this deal would end up poorly, especially for the dealership he partnered with.

“Tell me LaVar this isn’t gonna end up in a dumpster fire when the first person pukes in the back of the seat,” said Quinn. “Or it gets towed because he illegally parks it, or the first bad game C.J. Stroud has and some jerk fan who’s jealous that he gets this car deal is gonna scratch it or throw something at it. I mean, the possibilities are endless and yet we sit here and act like, ‘Oh my gosh, he gets this car.’ No he’s not. It’s a 45 day lease. It’s gonna end terribly. No cash. He has to pay taxes on it… That’s the reality folks.”

Bomani Jones Explains How College Basketball Recruiting Put Him On The Map

BSM Staff
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Bomani Jones Explains How College Basketball Recruiting Put Him On The Map

Before Bomani Jones became a star in national sports media, he was doing sports radio in North Carolina. While he was there in 2009, he got caught in the middle of John Wall and Harrison Barnes being recruited to ultimately go to Kentucky and North Carolina respectively. 

On the latest episode of A Brief History of Triangle Sports with Joe Ovies, Jones talked about what happened over a decade ago and how it gave him his first national platform.

Back in 2009, Jones was hosting Sports Saturday at  850 The Buzz and The Three Hour Lunch Break on 620 The Bull and he found himself in the middle of John Wall’s recruitment. However, he never talked to Wall because he knew the adults were more of the story. 

“The story was all the maneuvering of the grownups, all of whom I believe to this day had John’s best interests at heart. They also had their own best interests at heart at every turn because this was the ticket for everybody,” he told Ovies. “I just remember at the end of it being like, I’ll never do this again. I’m not built for this. I have too much of a heart to be involved with something that involves so many vulnerable people.” 

As Wall was getting closer to signing with Kentucky, Jones’s radio shows were being live-streamed in the Blue Grass State. He was gaining national notoriety and getting caught in the middle of the story.

As the conversation shifted to Barnes, Jones dove into the story of how he found out Barnes turned down Duke to go to UNC and how Duke wasn’t viewed as cool by some of the recruits that eventually chose other programs back then. He called that attitude the product of a bygone era.

“I think the peak of that was 2019. I don’t think anybody can be a cool college basketball program anymore because I don’t think there’s such a thing as cool college basketball anymore. I don’t think these kids have any interest in doing it. They’d rather go do Overtime Elite stuff, which is a terrible idea. They would rather engage in those activities than be a part of a program.”

NBC Not Going To Avoid Discussing LIV Golf During US Open

BSM Staff
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NBC Not Going To Avoid Discussing LIV Golf During US Open

Golf is in a curious place right now. Known players choosing to participate in LIV Golf events and the PGA responding by suspending those players’ memberships is a subject that likely cannot be avoided by journalists.

NBC held a media conference call Thursday to promote the US Open, which starts next week in Brookline, MA. The event is not governed by the PGA Tour, so even if a golfer is suspended by that organization for competing with LIV, he is still eligible to win next week’s major.

Producer Tommy Roy made it clear that no matter what tour you are a part of if your result is significant this week, it will be something he expects his talent to talk about next week.

“If we show a LIV player who won last week, that will be mentioned,” he said “That’s being journalistically sound. We’re not going to shy away from something like that.”

Dan Hicks, who will call the action, says it doesn’t make sense to avoid mentioning LIV Golf. Fans of the sport are aware of it and they are aware of which of the most famous and accomplished players have signed on to participate.

“If a guy’s in contention, you cover him. You mention that he’s part of the LIV Tour. You cover that because that’s been obviously a gigantic talking point, and then you see where the championship takes you from there.”

The game of golf and a relationship with the PGA are both obviously important to NBCUniversal. The company owns The Golf Channel, which already lost Jerry Foltz to LIV earlier this month. To that end, Roy said that he will put some governors on the broadcast. He isn’t interested in talking about the dynamics between LIV Golf and the PGA. He’ll keep discussion of the Saudi-backed tour to what happened on the course.

“In terms of getting into fracturing the game of golf and all that, we’re not doing that. This is U.S. Open week now and not talking about that stuff.”

Game 3 Continues Disappointing Ratings Performance For NBA Finals

BSM Staff
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The NBA Finals saw its most competitive game yet in Game 3, but even though the spread was considerably closer than the previous contest, there was no significant ratings uptick. 

Viewership for the Boston Celtics’ 116-100 victory peaked around 11:15 pm with 13.25 million viewers. That means it is the least-watched Game 3 in the NBA Finals since 2007 outside of the two seasons effected by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The game averaged an audience of 11.52 million. That is good enough for a 6.2 rating.

It’s a trend that the NBA certainly isn’t happy about. Andrew Marchand said recently on an episode of Marchand and Ourand that it shouldn’t be all doom and gloom though.

Ratings are important as leagues get ready to negotiate their next TV rights deal. There are plenty of networks and streaming companies that want to be in business with the NBA. The ratings drop off in the NBA Finals will not make the league’s next media rights deals any less lucrative, especially considering that the games are still beating everything else on TV when they are on.

Game 4 is set for Friday night. It is another late tip-off. Boston won’t begin it’s attempt to string together back-to-back wins until 9 pm. The start time is something that has likely been a problem for ABC and potential viewers.

Justin Shackil, Rickie Ricardo Announced As First Fill-Ins For John Sterling

BSM Staff
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Justin Shackil, Rickie Ricardo Announced As First Fill-Ins For John Sterling

With John Sterling set to skip select Yankees games in the second half of the Major League Baseball season, WFAN will use fill-in broadcasters at least 25 times. The station has announced the first two names to get the call.

Justin Shackil will call the teams’ games in Toronto from June 17 through June 19. He regularly serves as a digital reporter for the team. He also contributes to Jomboy Media.

The Yankees’ Spanish radio voice Rickie Ricardo will move to the English-language booth in Tampa from June 20-22.

Sterling has clarified that this is not being forced on his by the Yankees. The decision to take more time off is his. 

“I really hate going on the road and I’ve been doing it with teams nonstop for 52 years,” he told Carton & Roberts Tuesday.

Andrew Marchand was the first to announce Sterling’s reduced workload. He speculated that Shackil may be in line to get the bulk of the work. He also mentioned other potential candidates including Ryan Ruocco and Suzyn Waldman, who will join Ricardo for the games in Tampa.

Joe Biden: Media Only Worries About Its Clicks on the Nightly News

BNM Staff
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President Joe Biden believes the media coverage in America has deteriorated to the point where reporters sensationalize stories just for “clicks.” 

Biden appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Wednesday in what was his first sit-down interview in more than 100 days. According to The Hill, Biden last appeared in a network-style format interview with NBC’s Lester Holt on Feb.13. Since that time, inflation and gas prices have reached record highs. 

“Look how the press has changed. … Here’s the deal, one of the things is that it’s very difficult now to have a, um, even with notable exceptions, even the really good reporters, they have to get a number of clicks on the nightly news,” Biden said. 

Kimmel engaged Biden in a back-and-forth about right-wing media outlets reporting alleged false information. 

“The fact that this makes sense is why it doesn’t make sense and why it seems so crazy and that we have so many problems and that may be just Americans aren’t as knowledgeable as they should be, or maybe there’s a Death Star pumping false information in,” Kimmel said.

“Fox, right?” Biden responded.

“It’s enough already, and I think you just need to start yelling at people, is really what I think,” Kimmel replied.

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