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‘Fearless’ Anthony Rizzo maturing into ‘Inside the Pitch’ role

Anthony Rizzo’s first season as a broadcaster has gone about as smoothly as his career at first base. Speaking on a conference call with reporters earlier this week, Rizzo opened up about his first season as NBC’s Inside the Pitch contributor on Sunday Night Baseball, a role he said came together over dinner with NBC…

MLB

Analysis: Just 1-3% of Fox viewers tune out during World Cup hydration breaks

For all the stink about Fox’s full-screen commercials during hydration breaks at the World Cup, very few viewers seem to be tuning out because of them. According to a recent analysis by the sports media consultants at Octagon, Fox is only losing between one and three percent of its active viewership during World Cup hydration…

San Francisco radio hosts barred from asking Giants CEO any Pride Night questions

The San Francisco Giants continue to botch every aspect of their response to the controversy stemming from a Pride Night at Oracle Park two weeks ago. For the uninitiated, a quartet of Giants pitchers opted to protest Pride Night, either by inscribing Bible verses on their rainbow-colored caps or by choosing to wear the traditional…

Brian Windhorst believes LeBron James should ‘stop talking about legacy’

LeBron James is one of the only modern star athletes to achieve enough success to engage in the debate about his own case as the greatest of all time in his sport. And ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who has chronicled most of James’ legendary career and was singled out by the Los Angeles Lakers star last…

NBA

Linda Cohn shares reasons for ESPN exit: ‘I didn’t want to go back to anything that might have felt toxic’

After 34 years and over 5,500 SportsCenter episodes, Linda Cohn has decided to leave ESPN and begin charting her own path. As Awful Announcing first reported earlier this week, Cohn and ESPN could not agree on a suitable role for her moving forward. Cohn hosted the late-night SportsCenter from Los Angeles up until last year, when ESPN opted…

ESPN shifts Wimbledon coverage to ESPN Unlimited

ESPN is placing more content exclusively behind the ESPN Unlimited paywall. On Thursday, ESPN announced its coverage plans for Wimbledon, which begins in four days. Much of the network’s linear coverage remains the same, with ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 all contributing extensive coverage throughout The Championships. However, many fans might be frustrated to hear that…

Tracy McGrady says his NBC deal was for one year, future with network unclear

Tracy McGrady’s future at NBC is uncertain. Speaking with Front Office Sports, McGrady revealed that his deal with the network covered only one season, and it’s currently unknown whether he will return to NBA Showtime next year. “I give ourselves a B+,” McGrady said of the group’s performance. “And we have a lot of room…

NBA

Tracy McGrady says his NBC deal was for one year, future with network unclear

Tracy McGrady’s future at NBC is uncertain. Speaking with Front Office Sports, McGrady revealed that his deal with the network covered only one season, and it’s currently unknown whether he will return to NBA Showtime next year. “I give ourselves a B+,” McGrady said of the group’s performance. “And we have a lot of room…

NBA

ESPN’s Chris Evert reveals cancer recurrence, will miss Wimbledon

Tennis Hall of Famer and longtime ESPN analyst Chris Evert revealed her ovarian cancer has returned for the third time, keeping her from attending Wimbledon this year. Evert was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Dec. 2021. In Jan. 2023, Evert announced she was cancer-free, but later that year, she revealed the disease had returned.…

Mets-Phillies is most-watched Sunday Night Baseball game since 2013

The New York Mets are a mess, but that apparently hasn’t stopped anyone — this writer included — from watching them. NBC’s June 21 broadcast of Mets-Phillies from Citizens Bank Park averaged 3.0 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, according to the network, making it the most-watched Sunday Night Baseball game since August 2013, excluding…

Dave Pasch signs multiyear extension with ESPN to include NFL, will leave Arizona Cardinals radio booth

Dave Pasch is remaining at ESPN for the foreseeable future and will see his role at the Worldwide Leader expanded to include the NFL. On Thursday, ESPN announced that Pasch, a 23-year veteran of the network, has signed a multiyear extension that will see him continue his roles as a play-by-play voice on NBA, college…

CBS could turn to Ross Tucker to fill open analyst spot

Ross Tucker could be the answer to CBS Sports’ open analyst problem heading into the 2026 NFL season. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, appearing on the most recent episode of the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast with Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, said he thinks there’s “a pretty good chance” the network tabs Tucker to fill…

NFL

CBS could turn to Ross Tucker to fill open analyst spot

Ross Tucker could be the answer to CBS Sports’ open analyst problem heading into the 2026 NFL season. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, appearing on the most recent episode of the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast with Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, said he thinks there’s “a pretty good chance” the network tabs Tucker to fill…

NFL

FS1 celebrates highest viewership week ever

The World Cup isn’t just lifting Fox, it’s also doing wonders for cable network FS1. It’s almost hard to believe that FS1 has been in existence for 13 years now since its debut in August 2013. The network has been through plenty of changes in its lifespan. When it started, it was very clearly aligned…

MLS

Stephen A. Smith invites Jaylen Brown to podcast debate

We may finally be reaching the end of the Jaylen Brown-Stephen A. Smith feud that has been going on for months. Or at the very least, the two may finally be ready to settle their differences in person. After trading shots and threats back and forth through their own shows and podcasts, it appears that…

Boomer Esiason calls on Caitlin Clark to leave WNBA

If the WNBA isn’t going to roll out the red carpet for Caitlin Clark, then Boomer Esiason thinks she should take her talents elsewhere. After a very physical game between the Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever earlier in the week, their second bout Wednesday night was no different, leading to an injury for Clark. After…

Gary Cohen and Ron Darling put Mets on blast: ‘Nothing short of ugly’

Broadcasters Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez continue to be an isolated bright light in a very dark season for the New York Mets. On the verge of earning “the worst team money can buy” moniker for the second time in franchise history, the 2026 Mets and their near $400 million payroll have already…

MLB

Fox Sports renews Gold Cup rights, adds Nations League

Fox Sports is going to remain a player in the international soccer game for several more years to come. Although the rights for the 2030 World Cup are up for grabs, Fox made the announcement on Wednesday night that the Gold Cup, the CONCACAF championship tournament, will remain with the company. In addition, Fox is…

MLS

Prime Video’s NASCAR viewership rises 6% in second season

The second year of the short NASCAR on Prime Video series is over, and the Amazon-owned streamer is reporting strong viewership. Amazon revealed that its five-race NASCAR schedule averaged 2.29 million viewers in 2026, up 6% from last year. Amazon also reported a median age of 57.7 for its viewers, the youngest among NASCAR broadcasters.…

Disney agrees to $50 million settlement over ESPN carriage practices

The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class action lawsuit that claimed Disney used ESPN carriage agreements to inflate prices for streaming TV services such as YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream. The lawsuit was initially filed in November 2022 in the Northern District of California. “These carriage agreement mandates—which…

Dianna Russini told New York Times she is a ‘former journalist’

Dianna Russini has not been publicly heard from in weeks, ever since the scandal with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel went nuclear. After issuing a defiant resignation letter to The Athletic in the immediate aftermath of intimate photos of the pair being published by the New York Post, Russini deleted or locked her…

World Cup delivers massive audiences for Fox including single-day record

With the first full week of the 2026 FIFA World Cup complete, Fox is reporting record-setting English-language audiences. Led by United States-Australia, Fox says last Friday was the most-watched FIFA Men’s World Cup day in English-language history. History continues to be made on FOX! 🏆⚽️📺 Friday, June 19 now ranks as the most-watched FIFA Men’s…