Barbara Walters was the queen of provocative questions — and apparently an even harder-hitting elbow. Sage Steele, the former ESPN anchor who recently left the sports network after settling a lawsuit, claimed that she had a run-in with the late Barbara Walters backstage at “The View” in 2014. “It was Barbara, Whoopi [Goldberg], and myself … Read more
“First Take” will have a new wrinkle this Fall. Shannon Sharpe will square off against Stephen A. Smith on Mondays and Tuesdays on the ESPN debate program during football season, The Post has learned. As The Post first reported, Sharpe exited his partnership with Smith’s previous debate opponent, Skip Bayless, on FS1’s “Undisputed” after the … Read more
Sage Steele is mad as hell, and she’s not going to take it anymore. The former ESPN anchor appeared Thursday on SiriusXM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show” and talked for two hours, with the conversation built around the lawsuit she settled earlier this week with the Worldwide Leader. Steele had sued ESPN for retaliating against her … Read more
Less than two weeks after Arizona, Arizona State and Utah bolted the Pac-12 for the Big 12, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark joins the show to explain how it all went down. Yormark details the Big 12’s media rights deals with ESPN and Fox Sports and the rationale behind his decision to renew those deals … Read more
Sage Steele is starting a new chapter. The longtime “SportsCenter” anchor announced Tuesday she is leaving ESPN after 16 years to “exercise my first amendment rights more freely.” “Life update,” the 50-year-old Steele began on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so … Read more
Kenny Smith wants answers. Amid ESPN’s recent wave of layoffs, which included blowing up the long-standing NBA Finals broadcasting trio of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Marc Jackson, TNT’s “Inside the NBA” commentator wondered how the network could make such controversial changes. “I’m not really sure how they’re [ESPN] doing it. I’m not really … Read more
Dianna Russini is leaving ESPN for The Athletic to be its top NFL insider, The Post has learned. Russini had been with ESPN for eight years as one of its main NFL reporters, appearing on all of its major NFL shows. ESPN offered a raise to stay, according to sources, but Russini chose to go … Read more
ESPN is close to adding a four-time NBA champion to its talent roster. The Post has learned that Bob Myers is nearing a deal to join “NBA Countdown” as an analyst. Myers, 48, was the general manager of the Warriors for their championships in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022, with the added title of president … Read more
Details continue to emerge about the latest iteration of ESPN Radio’s national lineup. The Post first reported Tuesday that the morning show of Chris Canty, Evan Cohen and Michelle Smallmon will be replacing the program previously fronted by Keyshawn, Jay Williams and Max Kellerman. Now, The Post has learned that Chris Carlin and Joe Fortenbaugh … Read more
The skyrocketing career of Malika Andrews continues as she is becoming the new host of the NBA Finals for ESPN, The Post has learned. Andrews, 28, will succeed Mike Greenberg, who hosted the marquee shows for the past two years. Greenberg was brought in to stabilize “NBA Countdown” after the fiasco with Maria Taylor and … Read more
Dave Portnoy is back in the media spotlight and loving every minute of it. Following the deal to buy back Barstool Sports, he celebrated the occasion by appearing to purchase a horse. “I bought myself a present tonight. Goodnight,” Portnoy wrote on Twitter. The tweet was accompanied by a photo and a video of a … Read more
ESPN has their new morning team, The Post has learned. Giants Super Bowl champion Chris Canty will be joined by SiriusXM’s Evan Cohen and Michelle Smallmon on mornings with the hope that the new program begins by football season in a few weeks, according to sources. The trio replaces the combination of Keyshawn Johnson, Jay … Read more
Dave Portnoy is once again the owner of Barstool Sports. Penn Entertainment announced Tuesday that it is divesting the company back to Portnoy, who founded Barstool in 2003. In its release, Penn said it sold “100%” of Barstool to Portnoy “in exchange for certain non-compete and other restrictive covenants” and the “right to receive 50% … Read more
Stephen A. Smith got called out on his own show. Sports radio personality Chris “Mad Dog” Russo went off on Smith about his weight during the “What are you mad about” segment on Wednesday’s “First Take” show. “You know, Stevie? Here’s what I want you to do. We all saw the pictures. We all saw … Read more
Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discussed the Pac-12 media deal on this week’s podcast. Host Andrew Marchand broke all the news about ESPN’s new NBA booth next season and on this week’s podcast he explains why ESPN let go of Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy. Host John Ourand broke news this week of NASCAR … Read more
Perennial pot-stirrer Jason Whitlock unsurprisingly ripped ESPN’s decision to remove Mark Jackson from its No. 1 NBA broadcast in favor of Doris Burke. “I absolutely love Doris Burke,” Whitlock said on his show “Fearless.” “She does a really good job, but she is not qualified to be the No. 1 broadcaster on the NBA.” The ex-ESPN … Read more
Mike Breen called 15 NBA Finals with Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. The trio were synonymous with the sport’s biggest event. But ESPN decided to end the broadcast team by firing Van Gundy in late June and Jackson on Monday. This has left Breen stunned and disappointed. “It’s sad because we really thought we … Read more
Mark Jackson had nothing but love for ESPN in a statement hours after the network laid him off Monday. The former NBA player and coach had been in his second stint at ESPN and this past season had been part of the broadcast team that called the NBA Finals. Jackson wrote he was let go … Read more
Kenrick Perkins “blew off the gasket” at an AAU basketball tournament and got himself kicked out over the weekend. And his “NBA Today” colleagues were more than happy to dig up the footage and air it on national television during Monday’s show. Rumblings about it first appeared on Twitter, when Trae Young sent out a … Read more
Pat McAfee has clarified the thought process on his Larry Nassar tweet that drew backlash. Over the weekend, Evan Fox, a producer on “The Pat McAfee Show,” tweeted a photo of particularly ugly new Michigan State jerseys, and McAfee responded that “I think Nassar was in on the design team actually.” Nassar was a former … Read more