ESPN has reached agreements with two high school basketball stars to become the face of SportsCenter’s new merchandise brand, but some fear it could compromise its ability to cover the sport. ESPN revealed today an agreement with high school basketball stars Kaleena Smith and Beckham Black to become the faces of SportsCenter NEXT’s new content…
In order for the New York Knicks to end their long, long championship drought this spring, owner James Dolan had to score another major win first. That’s what YouTube sports commentator Joon Lee reported in a video this week covering the Knicks’ NBA championship, revealing that some Knicks officials attribute Dolan’s more hands-off approach in…
Just hours after ESPN announced it had aired the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998, the network revealed the Stanley Cup Final set a pretty nice multiyear record itself. The 2026 Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights averaged 5.2 million viewers across six games on ABC, making it the most-watched Stanley…
It isn’t a massive surprise to learn that The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart would take issue with the UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House, but it was interesting to see Stewart take the opportunity to twist the knife on his bosses at Paramount, who aired the event. The comedian and Comedy Central host, weighing…
At 77 years old, having spent 31 consecutive seasons as the most identifiable face of Fox NFL Sunday and absorbed plenty of scrutiny over his increasingly visible decline on camera, Terry Bradshaw settled, at least for himself, whether he intends to retire before someone makes him. “Retirement is not something that… I mean, I may…
If the New York Knicks are proof that any team can win an NBA championship, then ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill believes the Larry O’Brien Trophy might be on the verge of becoming a participation trophy. The Knicks won their first championship in 53 years Saturday night after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in five games. With…
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Don Van Natta Jr. has reached a new multiyear contract with ESPN. Per Sports Business Journal’s Richard Deitsch, the contract term is four years. Van Natta joined ESPN in 2012 and has worked as a senior writer within ESPN’s Investigative, Enterprise and Digital Journalism Unit since then. “Don brings experience, expertise…
Fox’s World Cup coverage has added some international star power this year, meaning viewers got the unique opportunity to hear directly from French national team legend Thierry Henry at halftime of the squad’s opener against Senegal on Tuesday. With the match tied 0-0, Henry didn’t have much to celebrate. Instead, Henry was asked to respond…
The New York Knicks’ first championship in 53 years provided ESPN the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998. Saturday’s title-clinching Game 5 between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs averaged 24.5 million viewers on ABC, good for the most-watched NBA game since Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State…
Unsurprisingly, the UFC event at the White House caused a totally unnecessary and disgusting firestorm thanks to controversial comments from fighter Josh Hokit about former first lady Michelle Obama. In spite of cries from conservatives to keep politics out of sport, there was Dana White and Donald Trump walking side by side out of the…
Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t say whether he took James Dolan’s advice to abstain from sex during the playoffs, but his fiancée, Jordyn Woods, didn’t love the idea. As the Knicks embarked on their quest for a championship before the playoffs began in April, Dolan gathered the team for an impassioned speech about the importance of making…
There are a ton of interesting subplots to enjoy with the New York Knicks winning their first NBA championship in over 50 years. And Mike Brown’s love of the 2000 cult hit “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men is one of the most entertaining. Or if you’re one of his star players, embarrassing.…
Jim Furyk found his new analytics team, and it includes one of golf media’s most recognizable stats voices. The U.S. Ryder Cup team has hired Justin Ray and Hunter Stewart to lead its data analytics operation ahead of the 2027 matches at Adare Manor, according to Golfweek, replacing Scouts Consulting Group, which had supported U.S.…
If you ever questioned the power and popularity of soccer as the world’s game, the story of Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha should put all doubts to rest. The 40-year-old goalkeeper was the unlikeliest of World Cup cult heroes with a remarkable performance that led the tiny island nation to a heroic 0-0 draw with Spain…
Bob Bradley led the U.S. Men’s National Team through some of its most memorable moments in modern history as manager throughout the 2010 World Cup cycle, which included qualification for the tournament in South Africa, a historic second-place finish in the 2009 Confederations Cup which included a 2-0 win over Spain in the semifinal, and…
For the first time since 1952, CBC will no longer air National Hockey League games. The news was announced in a joint statement by Sportsnet, the exclusive Canadian rightsholder, and CBC. “After a successful 12-year partnership, Sportsnet and CBC today announced the public broadcaster will no longer carry NHL broadcasts after the current season as…
President Donald Trump caused an uproar by going to the Knicks’ house for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, but now that they’re champions, the Knicks will have to decide whether they should return the favor by visiting Trump’s White House. The New York Knicks haven’t received a formal invite from the White House yet,…
Manchester United have agreed to a record-breaking documentary deal with Amazon, opening the club’s doors to “All or Nothing” cameras for the first time. Cameras will follow the team starting in preseason through the entirety of the 2026-27 campaign, with the series set to debut in summer 2027 across more than 240 countries. United is…
Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to their first championship in 50 years, won Finals MVP, and scored 45 in the clinching victory. And in doing so, he won a victory for small guards of all places and times. There were serious questions about whether Brunson could ever lead the Knicks to a title,…
This originally appeared in Tuesday morning’s edition of The A Block, Awful Announcing’s daily newsletter with the latest sports media news, commentary, and analysis. Sign up here and be the first to know everything going on in the sports media world. The NBA Finals ended Saturday night with the Knicks winning their first championship in over…
NBC’s coverage of the U.S. Open will look just a bit different this year as the network tries to take advantage of the late hours of Friday’s second round. According to a report by Josh Carpenter in Sports Business Journal, “the NBC broadcast network will carry coverage through its conclusion on Friday” rather than shifting…
UFC CEO Dana White teased the possibility of UFC Freedom 250 being simulcast by CBS when the event was being planned for the White House lawn last year. But it appears that possibility was never under serious consideration. According to a report in Sports Business Journal, “UFC and Paramount always planned to have Sunday’s White…
The New York Knicks put together a performance for the ages in the 2026 NBA Finals, winning the franchise’s first title since 1973. On the flip side, the San Antonio Spurs suffered an embarrassing string of losses where the wheels came off the bus at the most important time. That includes blowing an historic 29-point…
It’s fair to say the NFL’s ongoing effort to negotiate new broadcast deals several years before its post-2029 opt-out has not gone according to plan. The league has faced hurdles in the form of federal scrutiny of its antitrust exemption, which more or less facilitates the model by which broadcast rights are sold to media…
The Toronto Tempo will be the subject of a new ESPN docuseries. ESPN announced Monday it has greenlit “Setting the Tempo,” a four-episode series on Canada’s first WNBA franchise, directed by Kathleen Jayme, whose previous credits include the ESPN 30 for 30 “I’m Just Here for the Riot.” The series will follow the Tempo’s all-women…