The Utah Jazz are looking for a new TV partner and team owner Ryan Smith has a very specific goal in mind. He wants everyone in Utah to be able to see the team’s games on television.

“Right now we’re producing Jazz games to 40% of our market. I stood up publicly and said that’s not gonna fly this next year. We’re going wall to wall in the state, 3 million people. Everyone’s going to have access. If you’ve got rabbit ears on your television, you’re going to be able to watch the games,” he said on the latest edition of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts podcast.

The Jazz are one of several teams that have become free agents after WBD Sports decided to shudder the company’s regional networks.

Amidst uncertainty facing the RSN model, multiple teams in the Western United States have chosen to do television deals with local television groups. The Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury will have their games shown across Arizona thanks to a deal with Gray Television. Scripps Sports signed a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights that will have the team’s games on local stations in multiple states.

Smith isn’t just thinking about local television. He wants Jazz fans to be able to stream the team’s games too.

Whatever company ends up in business with the team, it will be the first time the Utah Jazz will be on a new network since 2009. Smith says even if that means taking a hit in revenue, a TV deal that puts the team on more screens is a sound investment.

“That’s super important to me … we’ll figure out how to offset the revenue contract for that another way, but our players and coaches … they’re working way too hard to not have their games be viewed by the masses.”

Hot takes are what Skip Bayless does. They may not be popular with everyone, but there is nothing irresponsible about them. The FS1 host dropping private information about Jimmy Butler’s family on an episode of Undisputed is totally different though and crosses a line according to The Dan Le Batard Show crew.

On Monday, Bayless made reference to a health issue in the Butler family to explain Jimmy Butler’s poor shooting performance. 

Le Batard, on Tuesday, said it was irresponsible and an invasion of Jimmy Butler’s privacy.

Producer Mike Ryan added that the story was well-known by people that cover the Miami Heat. It had not been reported out of respect for the family.

“I was really surprised that, number one, Skip Bayless had the sources to know what was going on because it’s deeply personal,” he said. “Number two, they went to air with it.”

Stugotz took a bit of a different view. He did not excuse Skip Bayless for revealing the private information. He just did not share the shock his colleagues had.

“I mean, him knowing is one thing and maybe I should be surprised by that,” Stugotz said. “Him using it on the air and unveiling it to the world? We should not be surprised. I’m not saying ‘He’s Skip. No one else is Skip!’ like he’s great. That’s what Skip does.”

Le Batard pushed back saying Skip Bayless may try to shock his audience for ratings, but that is very different than breaching someone’s privacy.

“Dan if there was a media member who would have released that information, and I gave you one guess, who are you guessing?” Stugotz responded.

Show contributor Greg Cote did not mince words. As a journalist, he said that there is no justifying what Bayless did.

“It’s a disservice to journalism to invade someone’s privacy like that. Jimmy Butler deserves to deal with personal issues personally and privately, and to put that out there in the middle of the Finals to try to explain why he’s had a couple of shooting games in a row is irresponsible.”

The spotlight has been on Shannon Sharpe as he prepares to exit FOX Sports and Undisputed with Skip Bayless, but there hasn’t been much talk about who will replace Sharpe on the debate show. On The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Monday, Dan Le Batard threw that very question out to his audience.

“If you liked that show in whatever incarnations that Bayless did it in, who do you put opposite him right now that you’d want to watch it the same way?” Le Batard said. He noted that there was just the right dynamic between Sharpe and Bayless before things started going south. “Because you’re hanging on to a 70-year-old star.”

Le Batard, who is 54, pointed out that there are examples of debate shows still chugging along with older hosts. Pardon The Interruption on ESPN came to Dan’s mind, but the point is that the landscape has evolved even in sports debate.

“Kornheiser and Wilbon are still doing it, but Shannon Sharpe is here to play a different game. Pat McAfee is here to play a different game,” Le Batard said. “There is a different game being played right now. ESPN is slashing costs, there are going to be fewer and fewer of these jobs.”

Suggestions of Emmanuel Acho and Chris Broussard for replacements were thrown out there, but ultimately Dan wondered who would subject themselves to the situation of having to constantly battle a guy like Bayless.

“Who wants to work next to someone every day that they don’t like so much that they would on their way out the door say ‘Shannon Sharpe would like your tweet,'” Dan asked.