Pat McAfee is already questioning his own fit at ESPN in some respect. McAfee, who signed a five-year $85 million pact with ESPN — a pay cut from his four-year, $120 million deal from FanDuel — isn’t sure he’ll be in the long-term plans for College GameDay. The four-letter network’s flagship college football show has … Read more
Stephen A. Smith ignited a painfully awkward moment with Molly Qerim when he couldn’t stop saying “vibrating” on-air. During Thursday’s episode of “First Take” on ESPN, Smith was discussing Raiders wideout Davante Adams and his frustration with the offense when he heard his co-host’s phone nearby. “That’s Molly’s cell phone ringing by the way,” Smith … Read more
There’s no denying the impact Bill Simmons left on ESPN during his almost 15-year run with the Worldwide Leader. The columnist-turned-decision-maker’s run ended in 2015 when ESPN opted not to renew his contract after a contentious year in 2014 that saw Simmons call NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a liar amid the league’s Ray Rice scandal. … Read more
ESPN fixed its technical difficulties just in the nick of time during Wednesday night’s decisive Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. In the final minute of the fourth quarter, the Aces held the ball and a 70-69 lead over the Liberty, with a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. The Aces’ possession was not yielding … Read more
Jim Boeheim is set to be back on the sidelines — this time on the broadcast team. Boeheim reportedly signed a deal with ESPN for the upcoming season as an in-game and studio analyst, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. It was expected that the former Syracuse coach would spend his retirement out of the spotlight after a … Read more
What are we doing? How has it gotten to a point that when you go to an NFL game you have to really be concerned about the idea that you might be in a fight or one may break out right next to you? Maybe this was always the case, but, like a lot of … Read more
Andrew Marchand (l) and John Ourand (r). As rumors about ESPN’s streaming plans continue to swirl around, hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand separate fact from fiction. They look at the types of companies that would be interested in taking an ownership stake in ESPN, and discuss the timing for when ESPN takes its main … Read more
New York Liberty and Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai really struck a nerve with Michael Wilbon. The two sides have now each fired a salvo in a war of words that began on Friday’s edition of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” when Wilbon was asked to pick a winner in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals … Read more
Troy Aikman is well aware of the memes linking him to an unlikely doppelgänger — Jay-Z. The rapper was at Sofi Stadium to take in Cowboys vs. Chargers on “Monday Night Football” this week, and ESPN play-by-play broadcaster Joe Buck narrated that he was “reaching for a refreshment”. Aikman chimed in, “Yeah, there’s a meme … Read more
Lance Bass wasn’t the only Chargers fan drawing eyeballs on “Monday Night Football.” An animated Chargers supporter became a fixture on ESPN’s broadcast of the Chargers-Cowboys game on Monday at SoFi Stadium. With the Chargers down 17-10 in the fourth quarter of the contest, the Los Angeles fan appeared to exhibit a flurry of different … Read more
Venerable ESPN college basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale is on the comeback trail. The 84-year-old Vitale released an emotional video to Tampa Bay Times reporter Joey Knight on Monday, revealing that it was the first time he has spoken in seven months while battling vocal cord cancer, as well as his plans to return to the … Read more
Shannon Sharpe recognizes he looked a little bit different on Monday. The Pro Football Hall of Famer often goes viral amid his spots on ESPN’s “First Take” with Stephen A. Smith for what he has to say, but on Monday, it happened for how he looked — dripping with makeup. Memes ensued, with X user … Read more
Marcellus Wiley’s feud with Stephen A. Smith continues with the former NFL defensive end taking the next jab. One week after Smith pushed back on Wiley’s Max Kellerman comments during an appearance on “The Breakfast Club,” Wiley called out Smith for “sidestepping the truth” and twisting his comments into something “hypocritical” — given what happens … Read more
Tristan Thompson has Kris Jenner to thank for his gig as an NBA analyst with ESPN. During the latest episode of “The Kardashians” on Hulu, Jenner explained how she made a few phone calls to ABC and Disney on a Friday, and Thompson had the job by the next Monday. The veteran center, who signed … Read more
“The Pat McAfee Show” has become the place the sports world turns for some of the most important interviews. McAfee has an engaging personality and, as an ex-All-Pro punter, a certain cachet that makes it easier for him to connect with the biggest names in sports. “Aaron Rodgers Tuesdays” and “Nick Saban Thursdays” have become … Read more
Stephen A. Smith has a bone to pick with Marcellus Wiley. Wiley spoke on his podcast last month about Smith pushing Max Kellerman out of “First Take,” and asked rhetorically if one of the reasons that happened was because Kellerman was “smarter” than Smith. He added that the main thrust of the decision was Kellerman … Read more
Vivek Ramaswamy absorbed a jab from his Harvard classmate Pablo Torre and sent one back in return. Last week, Torre, a former ESPN broadcaster who is now a podcaster for Dan Le Batard and John Skipper’s Meadowlark Media, went on MSNBC and provided some mocking memories of the Republican presidential candidate from their time in … Read more
Rich Paul had the last laugh when he dropped a joke about Stephen A. Smith’s sister, Carmen. During an appearance on Tuesday’s installment of “First Take,” the Klutch Sports CEO jokingly accused Smith of being “jealous” because Carmen loves him. “You’re jealous,” Paul said repeatedly after Smith busted him about “never listening” when the two … Read more
Joe Buck and his wife, Michelle Beisner-Buck, shined during the “Monday Night Football” countdown prior to the Raiders’ 17-13 win over the Packers in October 2023. “Good job, babe,” Buck remarked after a report. “Thanks, babe,” Beisner-Buck replied. Later in the show, Beisner-Buck zinged her husband. “That’s probably the most time we’ve spent together in … Read more
It was a unique “date” night Monday for ESPN’s Joe Buck and his wife, Michelle Beisner-Buck. Filling in for a voiceless Scott Van Pelt on the “Monday Night Football” pregame before the Raiders-Packers tilt in Las Vegas, Beisner-Buck joked about the recent time spent with Buck, who is currently in his second season in the … Read more