Most Valuable Promotions and Professional Fighters League on Thursday announced a merger "bringing together world-class boxing, MMA, live events, athlete development, and worldwide content distribution under one fighter-first organization, creating a combat sports company for the new era."
The combined company will operate under the MVP banner. It will be led by Co-Founders and Board Members Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, with John Martin serving as CEO and Board Member.
""Since launching MVP, our goal has always been bigger than just building a boxing promotion. It has been to build the future of combat sports. In less than five years, MVP has become one of the most influential and culturally relevant brands in the industry, producing some of the biggest events in combat sports history, elevating women's boxing to unprecedented heights, and bringing millions of new fans into the fight game. The success of MVP MMA's first event confirmed our belief that there is enormous demand for a modern, fighter-first approach to MMA. This merger accelerates our MMA ambitions while strengthening our ability to continue investing in boxing and MVPW. By combining MVP's audience-building engine, storytelling capabilities, and brand with PFL's roster, infrastructure, and international footprint, we are creating a new global home for combat sports. Under the leadership of John Martin, a world-class media executive with deep MMA knowledge, and investment from leading financiers 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital, MVP is going to achieve great things for fighters, fans, and partners," said Nakisa Bidarian, Co-founder and Board Member of Most Valuable Promotions.
"Over the past seven years, PFL has built the world's No. 2 global MMA company, **** embling one of the sport's most elite fighter rosters while creating a world-class global business with premier media distribution across 34 broadcast and streaming partners, reaching fans in more than 170 countries. At the same time, MVP has redefined how combat sports connects with a new generation of fans, creating events that become cultural moments and proving that athletes, sports, entertainment and creators can all thrive together. This merger brings scale - in operations, in distribution and media rights, in sponsorship, in fighter development and in fan engagement. We're not just combining companies, we're bringing an entire combat sports community together and creating a more powerful platform to accelerate growth. One company, one global stage, millions of fans and we're only just getting started. I'm excited to work with Jake and Nakisa as we build the future of combat sports together, and I'm deeply grateful for the continued confidence and support of our lead investors, 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital Management," John Martin, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of the new company, said.
"We started MVP to disrupt a broken model. We wanted to give fighters fair pay and a bigger, modernized stage to

Many viewers who tuned in for Thursday night's Major League Baseball game between the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves were surprised to see who was in the ESPN broadcast booth.
Karl Ravech had the play-by-play duties alongside color commentator Eduardo Pérez.
The supposedly laid off Karl Ravech is in the booth calling Braves-Nationals for ESPN tonight
pic.twitter.com/HieiM61kgE
— Awful Announcing (awfulannouncing) July 30, 2026
This comes just over a week after Ravech was reportedly part of the layoffs at ESPN. Ravech has been an ESPN anchor, play-by-play announcer, and a huge part of the Worldwide Leader's baseball coverage for 33 years. He learned he was being laid off by a reporter, a tactic that former SportsCenter anchor Dan Patrick called out.

#ravech #Baseball #part

It's a Brasileirão-2026 night at Couto Pereira this Thursday (30).
Coritiba and Cruzeiro will face off starting at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time).
The match is valid for the 21st round of the competition.
Wagner do Nascimento Magalhães (RJ) will referee the match.
SporTV and Premiere will broadcast it.

#pereira #cruzeiro #wagner

The MMA landscape is changing, and PFL CEO John Martin is at the helm of what appears to soon be the de facto second-biggest player in the field.
The argument was already there for PFL, but now that an MVP merger has been announced, it seems the promotion has accelerated its momentum and is entering 2027 with its foot on the gas. Martin revealed Thursday that when the calendar flips at the end of this year, the promotion's branding will, too.
"We're going to work to start to integrate the organizations now," Martin told Home of Fight on Thursday. "Our goal is we're going to be fully integrated, and we're going to see the brand change over for the product January 2027. For the rest of this year, we'll be crowning PFL champions. But obviously, we're already thinking like one company. Things will officially cross over with MVP on Jan. 1."
A lot of questions remain coming out of Thursday's announcement, but perhaps none bigger than that of where fight fans will be able to watch the events. MVP MMA held one event on Netflix in 2026, while PFL's deal with ESPN concludes at the end of the year, and renewal seems unlikely.
"I hope so," Martin said of Netflix. "There's not much I can say on that other than I think, whether it's Netflix or other broadcasters, I think this merger is going to catch a lot of attention. I think for anybody who wants to partner with us, to think through it with us about what are the real opportunities and the type of events we can put on now with the strength of the PFL roster, with the strength of the women's boxing MVP has, with the blockbuster live events that it's been successfully able to put on now – not once, twice, three times – but many times. I'm looking forward to those conversations. I'm really excited."

#we 're #netflix #year #Events

NASCAR's first-ever In-Season Challenge appears to have accomplished exactly what the sport and its newest broadcast partner hoped it would.
TNT Sports released new audience data this week highlighting strong growth throughout its five-race stretch of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, pointing to gains across television, streaming and younger audiences during the inaugural tournament.
The numbers offer an early indication that NASCAR's newest midseason competition resonated with fans while helping TNT build momentum during its first year back as a Cup Series broadcaster.
According to TNT Sports, coverage across TNT, truTV and HBO Max reached 16.6 million total viewers over the five-race In-Season Challenge, marking a 43% increase compared to 2025.
The network also reported its five Cup Series broadcasts averaged 2.0 million viewers. Excluding the weather-affected EchoPark Speedway race in Atlanta, which aired after a three-hour, nine-minute delay and produced the latest Cup Series finish in seven years, average viewership climbed to 2.2 million, an increase of more than 2.1 million viewers over the comparable races last season.

#race #viewers #sports #newest

ESPN formally acquired NFL Network on April 1, and starting July 30 the network is available directly to ESPN subscribers.
On Thursday, ESPN announced that NFL Network programming is now available to all ESPN subscribers with access to the Unlimited tier of the ESPN app. That now includes most major cable, satellite, and virtual pay-TV distributors after YouTube TV subscribers gained access to Unlimited earlier this week. It also means that anyone who purchases ESPN Unlimited directly or in one of Disney's bundled streaming offerings can now access NFL Network content at no additional charge.
The inclusion of NFL Network within ESPN Unlimited means subscribers will now be able to access NFL Network's seven exclusive regular-season games, five of which are part of the league's International Series with the other two being a doubleheader in Week 16, directly within the ESPN app. NFL Network will also air 19 preseason games next month, which will also be available along with the channel's usual daily live programming like Good Morning Football and The Insiders.
Thursday's launch marks the final major step in what has been an exceedingly quick merging of operations for ESPN and NFL Network. After the acquisition was announced last summer, several reports indicated the formal combination would take a minimum of one year, but possibly two years, to receive the requisite regulatory approvals. Instead, the deal was approved by federal regulators in February, merely six months after it was announced. By April, NFL Network was under ESPN control. And now, NFL Network has been fully integrated into ESPN's platforms.
Whatever the circumstances behind the fast-tracked approval were, ESPN has to be thrilled with the timeline. NFL Network is now fully under its purview and available to ESPN subscribers in the same season ESPN is set to air its first-ever Super Bowl broadcast.

#espn #subscribers #announced

Katie Nolan seems about as excited to call Boomer Esiason a colleague as Frank Isola was when Kenny Beecham joined SiriusXM Radio earlier this year.
Last week, Audacy announced a new partnership to make WFAN and 41 other local radio stations available on SiriusXM, which means Esiason's morning show with co-host Gregg Giannotti will soon be heard on satellite radio in addition to their usual platforms. Esiason and Giannotti will not be broadcasting their show from SiriusXM, and they won't be SiriusXM employees, but the new partnership between Audacy and SiriusXM is enough for Katie Nolan to kinda sorta call them colleagues. For Nolan and her producer Isabella Joson, that's a bad thing.
"You and your arch-nemesis are going to be co-workers," Nolan told Joson. "Of course we're referring to Boomer Esason. Isabella, not a huge fan."
Nolan hosts Casuals on Mad Dog Sports Radio as a lead-in to The Stephen A. Smith Show. And to welcome Esiason to SiriusXM, Nolan played back some of the former NFL MVP's more polarizing takes, pretending HR wanted to make sure Joson would be able to maintain a safe workplace environment with their new colleague.
Nolan began with Esiason calling Chinese-American freestyle skier Eileen Gu "insufferable" after watching her at the Olympics earlier this year. From there, they played Esiason saying "pipe down" and "respect the flag" in response to Olympic athletes speaking out against ICE and the Trump administration. Nolan also went back to late last year, where Esiason reacted to Yankees radio voice Dave Sims cutting a promo for Dude Wipes by suggesting a Vagisil endorsement for Suzyn Waldman.

#radio

Anchor Ryan Clark was fired from ESPN during a live broadcast of his NFL Live show.
Recently, anchor Ryan Clark, 46, was fired from ESPN during a live broadcast of his NFL Live show. Many critiqued ESPN's decision to fire Clark mid-show, but the network defended its decision, citing fears that Clark would find out the news through the grapevine. In an episode of The Pivot Podcast post-firing, Clark claims he adjusted who he was to keep his job at ESPN, specifically stating that he felt he couldn't be "too Black."
ESPN declined an official comment regarding these claims, directing Forbes to a memo Chairman Jimmy Pitaro sent to employees on July 21 that stated the following: "Over the past several months, we've made significant progress integrating the NFL ***** ets that we acquired into ESPN. Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today. While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition. Even in moments like these, the strength of ESPN comes from our people, our teamwork and our shared mission to serve sports fans."
In 2019, actor Gabrielle Union, who was a judge on the TV show America's Got Talent was told her hair was "too Black."
Clark is not unique in his experiences. Workplaces that make Black employees feel like they must tone down their Blackness are a persistent experience across different fields and industries. In 2019, it was reported that actor Gabrielle Union, who was a judge on the TV show America's Got Talent: The Champions, was told her hair was "too Black." That same year, actor Reagan Gomez-Preston alleged in a series of tweets that while filming for That 70s Show, she had to tone down her Blackness and was humiliated by a white male director who critiqued every scene, making remarks asking her for "less sass."

#espn #show #ryan

It's a Brasileirão 2026 night at Neo Química Arena this Thursday (30).
Corinthians and Athletico will face off starting at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time).
The match is valid for the 21st round of the competition.
Paulo Cesar Zanovelli da Silva (MG) will be the referee.
Premiere, Record, and Cazé TV will broadcast it.

#corinthians #paulo #silva

Another domino has fallen for Victory+: On Thursday, the NWSL became the latest to cut ties with the streaming platform. In a statement, the NWSL announced that it had "terminated" its agreement with Victory+ "effective immediately."
The move comes as Victory+ has experienced reported financial difficulties, leading multiple teams to pull out of their deals. The NWSL severed the partnership after less than a year following a missed rights payment, per multiple reports.
Per the statement, games on Victory+ will instead be shown on the league's free direct-to-consumer platform NWSL+ starting this weekend. Sunday's match between the Utah Royals and the Portland Thorns will be the first to reflect this change.
In addition to the NWSL, five individual clubs (Bay FC, Washington Spirit, Orlando Pride, Gotham FC and Angel City FC) have regional deals with Victory+; the Pride and Bay both announced on Thursday that those agreements have been terminated, with Awful Announcing reporting that Gotham will make a similar announcement on Friday.
The NWSL becomes the latest to pull out of Victory+ amid the platform's ongoing financial troubles. On July 15, the Texas Rangers announced that the franchise would be switching from Victory+ to BZZR for all local broadcasts.

#pride

Charlotte Hornets broadcasters Eric Collins and Dell Curry landed an endorsement deal recently, starring in an advertisement for fast food chain Whataburger.
Collins, known for his energetic and over-the-top calls, provided the same energy during the sponsored video. As for Curry, he aided his counterpart in naming Whataburger locations throughout the state of North Carolina.
Curry and Collins have worked together for 11 seasons covering Hornets basketball and have recently ventured outside of Charlotte, landing a deal to cover exclusive primetime games with Amazon Prime, which began last season. Curry, a 10-year Hornets veteran in his own right, had his jersey retired by the franchise last season.
This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Charlotte Hornets broadcasters land local endorsement deal

#hornets #recently #last

Former UFC champs head to the wrestling mats for an international headliner.
Real American Freestyle announced on Thursday that past UFC middleweight ***** leholder Khamzat Chimaev is set to make his second appearance with the promotion to face former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the main event of RAF Moscow. The event takes place Sept. 5 on streams exclusively on FOX Nation in the U.S., while other global broadcast details will be announced.
Chimaev had a successful RAF debut with a first-round pinfall win against Dillon Danis in the main event of RAF 10 in June. The match was heated as Danis appeared to attempt a choke on Chimaev after a takedown, and the aftermath led to an all-out brawl between the two teams. In a recent interview with RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein, he told MMA Fighting that Chimaev is expected to compete multiple times for the promotion before the year ends.
Woodley is already slated to compete at RAF 12 in August against Joaquin Buckley. "The Chosen One" seeks his first combat sports win in nearly eight years as he dropped his final four UFC bouts before heading over to the boxing world for a trio of fights — losing twice to Jake Paul, including a brutal knockout loss in their second meeting, and a TKO loss to Anderson Silva in his most recent contest this past December on the Paul vs. Joshua card.

#chimaev #Event #past #PROMOTION

The Columbus Blue Jackets are the latest team to eliminate separate radio and television broadcasts, moving to a unified broadcast across platforms for the 2026-27 National Hockey League season.
Blue Jackets television broadcasters Steve Mears and Jody Shelley will continue in their current roles for the simulcast broadcast. Radio play-by-play announcer Bob McElligott, who has been with the Blue Jackets for the past 17 years, did not have his contract renewed.
Dylan Tyrer, who has been a radio host for the past seven years, will remain in that role.
"Bob McElligott has made significant contributions to the Blue Jackets organization on the air and in the community over the past 17 years," said Blue Jackets Vice President of Business Intelligence and Broadcasting Marc Gregory. "Bob's voice was at the heart of many of our club's unforgettable moments and helped shape memories that will live on for years to come. We sincerely thank him and wish him nothing but success moving forward."
The Blue Jackets are one of seven NHL teams seeking a new television home following the shutdown of the FanDuel Sports Networks. The team has not yet announced where its television broadcasts will air during the 2026-27 season, though it has announced that the broadcasts will be produced by NHL Productions. Radio broadcasts will remain on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus.

#jackets #television #broadcasts #past

Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian are once again at the forefront of a major shift in the combat sports landscape.
The two industry partners, who co-founded Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) in 2021 and entered the MMA ******* e in 2026 with Netflix's record-breaking Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight, are principal actors in a merger between MVP and the promotion many regard to be MMA's No. 2, the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Both entities announced the news Thursday morning.
Under the terms of the merger, the PFL brand will eventually become MVP MMA after a brand migration that is expected to take place over the coming months.
The new joint company is set to be led by Paul and Bidarian, with current PFL CEO John Martin staying on as MVP MMA's new CEO and a board member. Bidarian is expected to continue overseeing MVP's boxing business, which currently boasts the most decorated collection of women's talent in boxing and a broadcast deal with ESPN. The merged company will be financially backed by 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital Management.
Said Bidarian in a statement Thursday morning:

#merger #expected #boxing

The Ohio Cup is officially Cleveland's for the 2026 season. Yippee.
The Cleveland Guardians beat the Cincinnati Reds in last night's series finale 6-1 behind a four-run fifth. Joey Cantillo was scoreless, but had a high pitch count and only threw four innings. Erik Sabrowski, having not pitched in nearly a week, earned the win. The team has a much needed off day before they start a two series homestand. Cleveland will host the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend and the New York Mets to start the post trade deadline portion of the baseball season.
Tom Hamilton said, on last night's broadcast, that the team is "actively trying to improve" at the trade deadline but could not elaborate further.
The time to scoreboard watch is now. As the Guardians were defeating the Reds, the New York Yankees gave up a four run lead late in the game against the Chicago White Sox, tying the game at 4-4 going into the ninth. The White Sox ultimately walked it off in the twelfth inning.
The Detroit Tigers were humiliated by the Baltimore Orioles. Behind Tarik Skubal, who threw his 1000th strikeout yesterday, the Tigers gave up a seven run lead to lose 10-9 in extras.

#last

European governing body UEFA will hold an emergency meeting later on Thursday to deal with plans from FIFA to bring private investors into its events led by the World Cup.
Sources told dpa that the meeting also reported by other media is scheduled for the afternoon.
UEFA has condemned the plans which FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended late Wednesday and which have drawn mixed reactions from other confederations.
Germany's Bild paper said leading officials including German Football Federation (DFB) president Bernd Neuendorf discussed the FIFA plans via a UEFA video call on Wednesday.
"We must not lose the fans' support, but we are well on the way to squandering that support. I consider this to be extremely problematic and unacceptable," Neuendorf told broadcasters ZDF.

#plans

Bob McElligott has broken his silence after the Columbus Blue Jackets decided not to renew his contract.
The move ends his 17-year run as the team's radio play-by-play voice. Columbus announced that all games will be simulcast across television and radio beginning in the 2026-27 NHL season.
McElligott confirmed the news in a heartfelt post on X. He wrote, "As some of you have heard, I learned today that the Columbus Blue Jackets have decided to simulcast their TV broadcast, and my contract as the team's radio play-by-play announcer will not be renewed."
MORE: Montreal insider says Canadiens are built to pull off Kirill Marchenko trade
He thanked the organization, ownership, and the fanbase for their support. McElligott added, "To the #5thLine , I am especially grateful to you. Your passion, enthusiasm, and caring motivated me and drove me to give you the best broadcast I could."

#blue #jackets #decided

After summer stops in Illinois and Minnesota, Michigan gets its turn as PGA Tour host when the Rocket Classic tees off in the Motor City this week.
South African Aldrich Potgieter enters as the defending champion after winning last year at age 20. World No. 3 Cameron Young is listed as the tournament favorite with both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy resting up ahead of the FedExCup playoffs.
Golf Channel and Golf Channel mobile will be broadcasting and streaming Round 1 coverage of the Rocket Classic from 3-6 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Here's a look at the groupings and tee times for the first 18 holes at Detroit Golf Club (note: streaming links will be provided here once available).
Rocket Classic - Rd 1

#rocket #Streaming #motor

The 2026 AUSL championship became the most-watched professional softball game on record, as the softball league continued to report strong viewership in its second season.
The championship game between the Utah Talons and Chicago Bandits averaged 732,000 viewers on ABC Sunday, a record for a softball game. The game was the first professional softball game to air on broadcast television.
Overall, according to Sports Business Journal, ESPN games averaged 375,000 viewers, up 150% from last year. Games also aired on MLB Network and CBS Sports Network.
"It just continued to build, crowds grew, ratings grew as the season went, and sponsor activation grew as we went as well," Athletes Unlimited co-founder and CEO Jon Patricof told Sports Business Journal.
The AUSL made a notable change for the 2026 season, moving teams back to their home markets after they toured in 2025. The league recorded 25 sellouts in 2026, with the Portland Cascades accounting for nearly half.

#business #journal

European governing body UEFA will hold an emergency meeting later on Thursday to deal with plans from FIFA to bring private investors into its events led by the World Cup.
Sources told dpa that the meeting also reported by other media is scheduled for the afternoon.
UEFA has condemned the plans which FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended late Wednesday and which have drawn mixed reactions from other confederations.
Germany's Bild paper said leading officials including German Football Federation (DFB) president Bernd Neuendorf discussed the FIFA plans via a UEFA video call on Wednesday.
"We must not lose the fans' support, but we are well on the way to squandering that support. I consider this to be extremely problematic and unacceptable," Neuendorf told broadcasters ZDF.

#plans #support

For 21 grueling years, Azerbaijani-Russian sensation Elbek Alyshov has poured his heart and soul into martial arts.
However, the true motivation pushing him through the daily grind isn't the intoxicating allure of fame, legacy, or even the glimmer of 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold. It is a profoundly simple vision: putting a permanent roof over his family's head.
That quiet but incredibly powerful purpose will be front and center when the undefeated challenger faces reigning ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion "The Tormentor" Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu at The Inner Circle 24.
The massive World ******* le showdown broadcasts live in Asia primetime on Friday, July 31, from Bangkok's historic Lumpinee Stadium, exclusively for subscribers at live.onefc.com.
Ahead of the defining moment of his career, Alyshov spoke with genuine honesty about the life-changing dream that could permanently transform the trajectory of his loved ones' lives.

#World #live #russian #bantamweight

The WNBA's momentum, which started gaining steam with Caitlin Clark's arrival in the 2024 draft, has been unstoppable. Heading into the 2026 season, ESPN's VP of women's sports programming and espnW, Susie Piotrkowski, spoke about the network's view of Clark as a "gateway drug" into women's sports.
"If that brought you in, I'm going to keep you here," Piotrkowski said.
Through the first half of the season, she, along with the WNBA's other media partners in its new 11-year, $2.2 billion media deal, have delivered. The league held its 2026 All-Star Weekend in Chicago over the weekend, and per a report from Austin Karp at Sports Business Journal, WNBA telecasts are up 12% compared to last season at the All-Star Break across its rights partners.
To Piotrkowski's credit, Clark has certainly been the biggest driver of that success, as the top seven broadcasts in the first half of the season all involved her Indiana Fever. Indiana's win over the New York Liberty on July 18, which averaged 2.58 million viewers, was the most-watched WNBA telecast ever on CBS, and the second-most-watched WNBA game this season, behind only Fever-Las Vegas Aces (2.64 million) on NBC and Peacock on July 12.
Unsurprisingly, Clark's ratings impact was also felt over All-Star Weekend.

#WNBA #sports #piotrkowski #clark

Anthony Smith has been released from Sarpy County Jail in Nebraska.
The former UFC light heavyweight ****** le challenger, who later transitioned to the role of ****** yst for UFC broadcasts, was arrested last Monday night (July 27, 2026) on felony charges of Attempted First Degree Domestic ****** ault, Terroristic Threats, and First Degree False Imprisonment.
Smith appeared before the judge on Wednesday morning and released on $500,000 bond.
That's according to a report from MMA Fighting, though Smith's arrest affidavit remains sealed. All we know at this stage is that "Lionheart" is facing serious allegations and will return to court at some point in the near future. Neither Smith nor UFC have issued a statement at the time of this writing.
Smith, who turned 38 just a few days back, retired from UFC in early 2025 but returned to action for Jorge Masvidal's Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA in April, securing a submission victory over fellow UFC export Chase Sherman. If convicted, Smith (39-22) could be facing up to 20 years in prison.

#released

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current CBS Sports broadcaster Tony Romo was arrested in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin on the night of July 23, according to police records obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
According to the records, Romo is accused of operating a vehicle while under the influence (OWI). Romo was stopped going southbound on I-43 and "performed poorly on SFSTs (standard field sobriety tests)." On July 28, new details came to light after bodycam footage surfaced.
Obtained by TMZ, the footage showed what took place during the stop and led to his arrest. Romo explained he was heading to his grandparents' home at the time of the stop, which occurred after the quarterback left a golf tournament nearby.
Take a look:
According to the officer, the reason for the stop was "unsafe passing on the right," and "cutting across the gore."

#july

For nearly two decades, Mike Tomlin was the steadying anchor of the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise. But as the team endured years of postseason frustration, former Steelers safety Ryan Clark found himself facing one of the most agonizing moments of his broadcasting career: suggesting on national television that Pittsburgh and Tomlin needed a mutual fresh start.
Appearing on the "Not Just Football with Cam Heyward" podcast with his former teammate, Cameron Heyward, Clark opened up about the emotional toll of offering that critique.
"One of the hardest things I did in TV was maybe a year or two ago, saying I thought that the Steelers and Mike Tomlin should have a conversation about him leaving. I was very clear, I was like, Mike Tomlin is unfireable, I don't believe he should be fired. But I do believe that maybe the Steelers and Mike T, if a Super Bowl is the goal, could benefit from a conversation about is this the right thing going forward," Clark explained.
The comment triggered intense backlash from both ends of a divided fan base.
"In the same conversation I got from the people that hated him, 'What you mean he's unfireable?' And then from the people that loved him, 'You said Coach should be fired!' Tell me how those two things correlate, you dummies," Clark noted.

#tomlin

FIFA sparked controversy on Tuesday by announcing its intention to open the door to private investment in its commercial division, particularly in relation to broadcasting and advertising around the World Cup. UEFA had already opposed the move, but on Wednesday it renewed its attack.
"Today we have learned of FIFA's deadline to ******* ociations to support their proposals or have the one-off payout offer withdrawn. This says everything you need to know about this plan," a statement from the governing body read today.
"But having held discussions with many stakeholders across the game, UEFA knows there is significant and growing opposition to FIFA's scheme. FIFA cannot continue to use our sport to enrich themselves and their friends. We can grow the game correctly. It's time to prioritise ******* ociations, clubs, leagues, players and fans."
What is at stake
In an official statement sent to newsrooms, FIFA explained that it intends to "increase funding for football development to more than $10 billion (US dollars), subject to approval by FIFA's Member ******* ociations (MAs)."

#statement #game

After several years as one of ESPN's most visible personalities, hosting the 6 p.m. SportsCenter and anchoring WNBA Finals coverage, Elle Duncan departed the Worldwide Leader to become the face of Netflix's growing sports venture. She's also been tabbed to lead USA Network's studio coverage for its WNBA broadcasts.
On Monday, Duncan appeared on The Sports Gossip Show podcast and discussed the ever-prevalent and increasingly bizarre coverage surrounding Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. Over the 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend, Clark sat down with ESPN's Malika Andrews and discussed how "emotionally exhausting" the constant coverage surrounding her can be.
"I feel like media and journalism have a responsibility to tell the stories," Clark told Andrews, "and a lot of the time you guys are the ones controlling the narratives about what people read and what people talk about. And a lot of that is sometimes so far out of touch with what is reality."
Although Duncan doesn't believe Clark is at fault for how far out of control things have spun, she wants to see the three-time All-Star take more ownership of the situation.
"I would love for it to be very clear to the people who think they are her fans but are using her, if she would say, 'stop that sh*t, I don't want it, I'm tired of it.' As opposed to what we've seen, which is 'the media makes up these narratives, the media makes up this discourse.'

#Media #andrews

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current CBS broadcaster Tony Romo was arrested for OWI last week in Wisconsin. Bodycam footage of that arrest was published by TMZ on Tuesday. Within hours of that, conversation had already drifted to an unexpected place in the podcast realm.
"She has something against Tony right there," McCoy said on his "Speakeasy" show. "Unless she gambled. She might have placed some bets on Tony. On a serious note, though, sometimes I think, and I'm not saying the law enforcement, but sometimes, like, we're overdoing our job. Because he doesn't even seem drunk."
Emmanuel Acho attempted to clarify exactly what McCoy was saying by directly asking if it was that Romo should be given a pass, which McCoy was easily able to answer.
"I'm giving him a pass, God dang it," McCoy said before asking why Acho also wouldn't give him a pass.
"If you're driving under the influence I will never give you a pass," Acho explained. That serious comment lingered for barely a split second before everyone involved started laughing about an old viral video.

#mccoy #pass #romo #serious

Tony Romo arrest video: New bodycam footage shows NFL broadcaster cooperating with cops during OWI incident originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
An arrest for suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated put NFL broadcaster and former QB Tony Romo in the headlines on Friday, less than two months before he's set to return to the CBS booth alongside Jim Nantz.
Romo was arrested Thursday night in Milwaukee and now reportedly plans to keep a "low profile" for the remainder of the offseason before diving back into his broadcasting work in September.
Video of the arrest was released for the first time on Tuesday, showing Romo's interactions with police and his sobriety tests.
Here's a look at the video first released by TMZ.

#first

In a major development, London-based streaming platform DAZN will have a major hand in distributing local NBA broadcasts to fans next season.
According to a report by Austin Karp in Sports Business Journal, "DAZN is close to acquiring full exclusive local broadcast rights next season" for five NBA teams formerly under contract with Main Street Sports Group, owner of the now-defunct FanDuel Sports Networks. Those teams are the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, and Memphis Grizzlies. Additionally, DAZN is close to securing streaming-only arrangements with the Orlando Magic and "possibly" the Charlotte Hornets.
DAZN will also overtake what is now known as the Gotham Sports app, a joint streaming venture between YES Network and MSG Networks that sells access to local broadcasts for seven New York-area franchises — the Yankees, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders, Devils, and Sabres.
The news is a culmination of DAZN's nearly year-long effort to break into the local sports broadcast market in the United States. After initially considering a lifesaving merger or acquisition of Main Street, DAZN instead chose to allow the company to collapse and attempt to court local rights for franchises independently. The streamer initially struck out on every MLB team following Main Street's collapse, but is now set to own streaming rights for at least nine NBA clubs, with the possibility of adding the Washington Wizards as a tenth under a non-exclusive streaming deal, per Sports Business Journal.
With the NBA looking to launch a centralized local streaming hub ahead of the 2027-28 season, DAZN will reportedly sign deals that are either one season in length or have mutual opt-out clauses following the upcoming season as teams demand the flexibility to join the league's aggregated local rights solution when it launches. If DAZN or a team invokes an opt-out clause, it will reportedly pay a termination fee unless, in the team's case, DAZN fails to meet certain performance metrics.

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