Stadium News
Breaking News from the Bench to the Bleachers
NBA teams have been forced to go their own way with local television and streaming deals for the 2026-2027 season after the RSN ecosystem collapsed. And while some teams have valued reach and accessibility, the Cleveland Cavaliers are not one of them. Coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, the Cavs were one of several…
ESPN Radio legend Dan Davis, known as “The Duke” by friends and coworkers, has died at the age of 84. Davis was a founding member of ESPN Radio when it launched in 1992 and spent two decades as a SportsCenter update reporter. Before joining the Worldwide Leader, Davis had already made his mark as the…
College Football Playoff expansion remains wildly unpopular among fans, at least according to the latest unscientific surveys. Thankfully for that cohort, college football’s playoff won’t get any more bloated for at least a little while after the new 24-team format takes effect next season. According to a report by Ross Dellenger in On3, ESPN and…
If this year’s ManningCast headlines are that the Monday Night Football altcast is losing steam and falling behind in the ratings, then the Pat McAfee Field Pass altcast didn’t even leave the station. With the Mannings taking one of their customary weeks off for the Commanders-49ers game this week, McAfee and company filled the void on ESPN2 with their…
The Big Ten and SEC run college football, but as the sport tries to chart its future, the two sides haven’t found much in common. Until now? After an exhausting period of negotiations, brinksmanship, and fan unrest, college football is moving towards a 24-team College Football Playoff. The Big Ten had held out against the…
Tyrese Haliburton last played in an NBA game in June 2025. Then, the star point guard of the Indiana Pacers tore his Achilles tendon after a blistering start to Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pacers lost the game, and Haliburton missed the entire 2025-2026 season. On Wednesday night,…
Over the past week, multiple reports have swirled around Troy Aikman’s standing at ESPN. ESPN will broadcast the Super Bowl for the first time in February, and it may serve as the grand finale for Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who have shared a booth since 2002 and took over Monday Night Football in 2022. While…
Paul Finebaum is no longer going along with ESPN’s account of his absence last fall. On the Awful Announcing Podcast, Finebaum said ESPN pulled him from its programming after he told OutKick’s Clay Travis in September 2025 that he was considering a run for Tommy Tuberville’s U.S. Senate seat as a Republican, a year after ESPN…
J.J. Watt entered the 2026 NFL season as the number two NFL analyst at CBS alongside Ian Eagle. He will now be the lead analyst for the network not just for this season, but for many years to come. The former Houston Texans legend was moved up the depth chart alongside Jim Nantz when lead…
The World Series is almost here, and few people understand what the Brewers and Rays pulled off better than David Samson. Samson was president of the Florida Marlins when they won the 2003 World Series with one of the lowest payrolls in Major League Baseball. More than two decades later, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay have…
All Times Eastern Australian Rules Football AFL Women’s — Round 11 Port Adelaide Power vs. Collingwood Magpies — FS2/Fox One, 4 a.m. (Friday) Boxing Ring Champs with Ak and Barak — DraftKings Network, 9 p.m. College Field Hockey Maryland at Northwestern — Big Ten Network/Fox One, 8 p.m. College Football Week 8 Announcers: Jordan Kent/Robert…
On this week’s episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast, host Brandon Contes is joined ESPN’s Paul Finebaum. They discuss Finebaum’s hot takes on Arch Manning and Bill Belichick. Finebaum also discusses his relationship with Tim Tebow, his loyal radio following, whether he was sidelined by ESPN last year after considering a run for senate, his…
The NBA season saw it’s first full night of action on Wednesday with most of the league’s teams playing their first game of the season. That meant we got our first look at LaMelo Ball teaming up with Anthony Edwards for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Our first look at NBA refereeing was a reminder that we…
The WNBA Finals are off to a good start with the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries. WNBA ratings are always under the microscope, whether with or without Caitlin Clark. And although this year’s Finals are missing perennial contenders and big names like the Fever, Aces, and Liberty, they do have Angel Reese. And the…
Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t backing down from his Bo Nix criticism, but there’s one line he’d like to have back. Fitzpatrick teed off on Nix during Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football postgame show last week, calling the Broncos quarterback’s play “almost disrespectful to the quarterback position” after Denver squeaked past the Seattle Seahawks 17-14 in overtime.…
As more and more NBA players sit out games due to load management, the league has been actively exploring ways to combat the issue, such as eliminating back-to-backs attached to nationally televised games and fining teams for sitting players in those contests. One frequently proposed, and rather simple, solution from players and fans has been…
Five months ago, Tracy McGrady wasn’t sure NBC wanted him back for a second season, and now the network is effectively going into business with him. In an exclusive interview with The Athletic’s Jerry Brewer published Tuesday, McGrady unveiled a two-year strategic partnership with NBC Sports that puts his Ones Basketball League games on Peacock,…
As the Philadelphia Eagles face questions over their handling of Jalen Hurts, Adam Schefter is asking why. Last week, the Eagles announced Hurts would miss Sunday’s game and be sidelined indefinitely due to a superficial blood clot in his calf. Monday morning, news broke that Hurts would miss the rest of the season after further…
There were a whole lot of upsets in college football on Saturday. No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama, and No. 7 Texas all lost. While the Hoosiers were technically underdogs in their matchup against No. 4 Ohio State, and Bama and Notre Dame were both up against ranked…
Earlier this week it was reported that the College Football Playoff would be expanding to include 24 teams starting next year. While the timeline is a bit earlier than many expected, the expansion to 24 teams was widely viewed as inevitable after the playoff’s initial expansion. Now it has come to pass. Critics of the…
On Thursday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that the College Football Playoff was “nearing a deal to expand to 24 teams,” beginning with the 2027 season. This may sound hyperbolic, but it’s not: Nearly everyone hated the news, though nobody hates it more than Josh Pate. Amidst the backlash, Nick Saban called a spade a spade.…
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix threw for 107 yards on four yards per attempt, while Denver punted on six straight drives in the second half. But Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold tossed a back-breaking interception in overtime, allowing the Broncos to escape with a 17-14 win on Thursday Night Football. Denver’s defense may have bailed…
Charley Steiner has accomplished a great deal in his storied career in sports media. One of the iconic SportsCenter anchors of the 1980s and 1990s. Perhaps the best thespian of them all in ESPN’s This is SportsCenter ad campaign. For a brief time, a radio voice of the New York Yankees. And since 2005, the…
ESPN is all-in on supporting the Protect College Sports Act and David Samson sees no problem with the approach. The network’s college football coverage has been very political this year, and it’s mirroring what is happening at the corporate level. ESPN given free rein to Nick Saban to say what he wants about a bill…
