Awful Announcing

Mike Francesa doesn’t believe a word of the Juan Soto-Francisco Lindor reconciliation story, and he says the Mets don’t either. Soto and Lindor told The Athletic on Friday that reports of tension between them are overblown, with Lindor calling Soto “my brother” and Soto comparing their relationship to a slow-building romance: “When you meet a…

Will Compton presumably knows Travis Kelce well enough to have earned a wedding invite. Dean Blandino, evidently, knows him better. The former Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders linebacker had him on his podcast, attended Tight End University alongside him most summers since Kelce co-founded the event with George Kittle and Greg Olsen in 2021, and…

Underdog will no longer produce original content as it refocuses on its core sports prediction market and fantasy gaming business. The company, which popularized a form of daily fantasy that combined player lineups with prop-style bets, had spent heavily on content to help market its gaming products since its launch in 2020. Underdog produced top…

Elle Duncan is heading into her first Home Run Derby broadcast on July 13, and she isn’t there to be Netflix’s version of Chris Berman. As she explains it, calling the actual swings — and home runs — isn’t part of her assignment. Duncan left ESPN in December to become Netflix’s first full-time sports broadcaster,…

Rogers Communications, the Canadian telecom giant, announced on Monday that it has signed a $3.06 billion agreement to become the sole owner of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), the enterprise which owns the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. Rogers previously held a 75% stake in MLSE and purchased the remaining…

Naomi Osaka took down top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6 (2) on Sunday to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Sabalenka is a four-time major champion (Australian Open and US Open twice each), but she’s never won the Wimbledon singles title, and it’s the only major that she hasn’t even reached the final of. After the loss, a…

United States men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino had his first opportunity to respond to FIFA lifting Folarin Balogun’s one-game red card ban during a press conference on Sunday, and he’s ready to celebrate the decision, even if many others aren’t. The controversial red card occurred during the United States’ round-of-32 match against Bosnia…

After FIFA announced that U.S. national team forward Folarin Balogun would play in the Round of 16 after his one-game red-card ban was suspended, their opponent did not take the news well. “The Belgian federation isn’t just defending itself or the national team; it’s defending football in general — its integrity and its ethics,” Belgium…

The “Suitman” chronicles at Barstool Sports are the stuff of internet legend, but we got a new addition to the lore recently. Dave Portnoy stopped by Pardon My Take last Tuesday in part to discuss his new book, “Cancel Me If You Can,” and dig into the history of Barstool Sports. That rich text invariably…

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has largely been a success so far, with one of the biggest positives being the ways that host cities have been highlighted and appreciated by international fans. Those not paying close attention beforehand fully expected to see cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, and Seattle among the U.S. hosts.…

ESPN, NBCUniversal, and the Miami Herald‘s parent company filed a joint motion Thursday opposing a Florida judge’s suggestion that she could restrict media access and impose a gag order in the retrial of Rashaun Jones, the former Miami Hurricanes player accused of killing teammate Bryan Pata in 2006. The motion, filed ahead of a Monday…

After over 10 years in television, Allie Clifton has emerged as one of the rising stars in sports media for 2026, for her work across Amazon Prime and Spectrum SportsNet, where she covers the Los Angeles Lakers, and she’s crediting her role on Road Trippin’, a podcast she started in 2017 alongside then-Cavaliers players Richard…

After weeks of speculation, the Boston Celtics finally traded one of their top stars in Jaylen Brown. But where they dealt him and what they got in return were equal shocks. The Celtics dealt one of their franchise cornerstones, a five-time All-Star and former NBA Finals MVP to one of their arch rivals in the…

TGL, the tech-infused simulator golf league co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports, is in the market for a new media rights deal after having completed its second season earlier this year. The league spent its first two seasons on the ESPN family of networks, posting strong and stable viewership during a portion…

Kirk Herbstreit is best known for his discussions around the world of college football and the NFL, but the longtime Cincinnati Reds fan can throw down about baseball as well. Herbie has been known to chop it up on social media about the state of his beloved Major League Baseball team, once getting into it…

The New York Mets recently made a change at manager with the firing of Carlos Mendoza, but they continue to make brutal mistakes in what’s been a disastrous season. And those mistakes came as soon as the first batter they faced in Monday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Toronto’s George…

CHSN reporter Brooke Fletcher became the first female game analyst in Chicago White Sox history when she filled in on the telecast for Steve Stone during a White Sox game against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night. Brooke is the daughter of former White Sox infielder Scott Fletcher, and on Saturday, she interviewed her father…

On Friday, the New York Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza amid a disastrous 2026 season. While the Mets have indeed been pretty terrible under Mendoza’s watch over the last season and a half, many were quick to point out that he was the “least culpable” for the state of the franchise when compared to others…

The United States men’s national soccer team will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2006 FIFA World Cup round of 32 on Wednesday in Santa Clara, CA. And after the USMNT’s loss to Türkiye in the World Cup group stage, ABC7 Los Angeles reporter Abigail Velez made disrespectful comments about Bosnia with comments that…

The San Francisco Giants and Major League Baseball have been mired in a somewhat contrived controversy since several players protested their annual Pride Night celebration by writing Bible verses on hats that featured a rainbow version of the team’s logo. Some have wondered if the fallout from the drama, much of which has resulted from misunderstandings,…

Michael Kay jokingly invited DMX to record a song for YES Network, only to be informed DMX is no longer available. Thursday night, YES Network’s David Cone gave the scouting report for starting pitcher Cam Schlittler by using three songs. One of those songs was “X Gon’ Give It To Ya,” to which Joe Girardi…

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…

The vibes were impeccable at Thursday’s New York Knicks championship parade. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s speech was near-universally praised, James Dolan aside. And many other city politicians got the chance to speak about how the Knicks overcame adversity and the odds to defeat the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals and…

Jon Rahm was pretty sure he had a birdie all lined up on the ninth hole at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Friday. Until he didn’t. And by that point, he couldn’t help but let an f-bomb fly, one that was easily picked up by NBCSN and Peacock mics. For context, the 2021 U.S. Open…