Sports TV News

PTI Rips Other ESPN Shows For Aaron Rodgers Coverage

Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon spoke on PTI on Monday about Aaron Rodgers Monday night interview on SportsCenter.

Published

1 year ago

May 26, 2021

ESPN icons and real-life Statler and Waldorf embodiments Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser spoke at length on Pardon The Interruption on Monday about Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s late-night SportsCenter appearance.

Rodgers joined the program in a taped interview — later shown to be warranted — to give his well wishes to longtime anchor Kenny Mayne, who was anchoring his final show at the network. The Packer quarterback has been a fashionable topic of conversation at ESPN as pundits posit whether or not he will remain with the only team he has called home. Wilbon, a notorious Chicago Bear fan, did not mince words when discussing his feelings on the ongoing coverage of the saga.

“I know everybody at this network has to fawn all over this story every minute of every day, I’m not going to because there wasn’t enough there,” he said of the previous night’s Rodgers-Mayne visit.

Kornheiser also lamented the lack of substance, calling Rodgers “vague and mysterious” for his answers about the situation. The quarterback spoke of his love for seemingly everyone in the organization all the way to the neighboring dairy farms, but notably omitted some executives in his praise. Kornheiser said how much he loves personnel sagas and that he laments the Dak Prescott contract negotiations came to a close, citing his similar feelings on the matter to that of another popular ESPN program.

“Like First Take, I could talk about him for 20 minutes every single day,” Kornheiser said, while wishing Rodgers would own up to his NBA-like star power and say what he wants to say. “What I want is a declaration of this is exactly what I feel and this is what I am going to do. Rodgers has leverage; he’s (like) an NBA player.”

Michael Quirk

Michael Quirk is a news writer for Barrett Sports Media. Additionally, he is a co-host of the Spgahetti Junction Boys and a contributor to 5 Reasons Sports in Miami. His prior experiences include writing for 247Sports, Bleacher Report, FanSided, and The Key West Citizen. To connect, find him on Twitter @SJBMichael.

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ESPN Will Honor Vin Scully By Airing Iconic 1988 World Series Game 1 Tonight

ESPN will air an encore presentation of Game 1 of the 1988 World Series as a tribute to Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scull

Published

2 hours ago

August 3, 2022

BSM Staff

ESPN will air an encore presentation of Game 1 of the 1988 World Series as a tribute to Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully. The network will air the game tonight, August 3 at 8pm ET on ESPN2.

The 1988 World Series was between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics. Scully was on the call for the classic game which is notable for an injured Kirk Gibson coming off the bench and hitting a walk-off home run.

BSM Staff

Sports TV News

Matthew Berry Joins NBC Sports

Berry is expected to host a daily podcast and have his own Sunday fantasy football show.

Published

3 hours ago

August 3, 2022

BSM Staff

Matthew Berry, the fantasy football expert that helped to elevate the niche to mainstay programming surrounding the football season, is joining NBC Sports.

Berry, who left ESPN less than a month ago, is expected to host a daily podcast and have his own Sunday fantasy football show, sources told The New York Post. The show might go against Fantasy Football Now, his previous show that airs on ESPN2.

The show is also expected to be on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, as well as possibly on some NBC affiliates. Berry could also make appearances on Sunday Night Football.

NBC Sports declined comment.

BSM Staff

Sports TV News

NBC Pushing for Big Ten/NFL Primetime Pairing in Media Rights Deal

“The Big Ten would have exposure in every TV home,” said one source to Front Office Sports. “It would also be a smart idea to follow the model of the most successful sports league in America.”

Published

3 hours ago

August 3, 2022

BSM Staff

Big Ten media rights negotiations are getting closer to being completed. The results could mean a minimum of $1.25 billion annual distribution for the conference’s soon-to-be sixteen members. One of the bidders in the process, NBC, has an interesting idea to make the Big Ten the “NFL of college football conferences.”

NBC has reportedly pushed the idea of combining Big Ten broadcasts with its existing Notre Dame coverage and would feature the Big Ten in its primetime window. With CBS, ESPN/ABC also bidding on coverage packages, such a series of deals would make the Big Ten the only college football conference that would be seen across all of the American broadcast networks. Something only few entities have done, like the NFL.

NBC is also pushing the allure of having primetime Big Ten football on Saturday night and primetime coverage of Sunday’s only NFL evening game with Sunday Night Football.

“The Big Ten would have exposure in every TV home,” said one source to Front Office Sports. “It would also be a smart idea to follow the model of the most successful sports league in America.”

The Big Ten’s current media rights deals expire after the 2023 season.

BSM Staff