The UIL has found new broadcasting partners for this year's football state championships in Nexstar and Mission Broadcasting.

All 12 state championship games played at AT&T Stadium from Dec. 16-19 will be available on local television and the station's streaming platform, if applicable. Participating stations and platforms in Texas include KDAF and CW33+ (Dallas) and KIAH and CW39+ (Houston).
The UIL previously partnered with Dallas-based streaming service Victory+ to broadcast its football state ******* le games, but the service was dissolved by its parent company in September.
Victory+, which also broadcast Dallas Stars games, first launched in 2024 ahead of the NHL season. The streaming service was set to broadcast the Texas High School Coaches ******* ociation Game of the Week this season, including matchups like Humble Summer Creek versus Shadow Creek, before it shuttered.
Smithson Valley was the only San Antonio area team to play in a UIL football state championship game last season. The Rangers defeated Frisco Lone Star, 28-6, to win their second straight state ******* le. Smithson Valley is a perfect 8-0 so far and will close out its regular season Friday at Seguin.
"The UIL State Football Championships are an important tradition for high schools and communities throughout Texas," said Dr. Jamey Harrison, executive director of the UIL said in a press release. "We are excited to work with Nexstar Media and Mission Broadcasting to expand access to these championship games and we are pleased that fans will be able to watch them through streaming and local television broadcasts across Texas."

#state

The fallout from Kylian Mbappé's comments about a meme depicting Mao Zedong has extended into football video games in China, while the creator of the original montage has spoken about the reaction. On the pitch, Madrid continued preparing for Sunday's visit to Racing Santander, with Arda Güler and Fede Valverde following individual programs. Carlo Ancelotti also announced his latest Brazil squad, calling up Vinícius Júnior and Endrick but leaving Éder Militão out.
The commercial consequences of Mbappé's remarks now include measures affecting Chinese versions of FC Online and Konami's eFootball-related ******* les. Reports citing announcements on the games' local channels describe the removal of promotional material and restrictions on content featuring the Madrid forward.
FC Online said it had begun removing Mbappé-related content from external channels and would implement further changes through an update. The Chinese versions of the Konami ******* les also announced measures covering promotion of the player and the characters or cards ******* ociated with him. The reported action concerns the Chinese editions, rather than a worldwide removal from the franchises.
The measures follow the termination of Mbappé's partnerships with Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground, alongside China Media Group's suspension of LaLiga broadcasts and other programming involving the player.
Real Madrid's apology has not ended scrutiny of the club's handling of the controversy. Chinese state-linked outlets and official platforms have questioned the timing of its response and called for measures beyond a public statement. Mbappé apologized on October 27, with Madrid issuing its own apology on October 28.

#announced

Texas high school football fans will have free access to all 12 UIL state championship games through local television stations and streaming platforms under an agreement announced Thursday.
Nexstar Media Group and Mission Broadcasting will provide live coverage of the championships, scheduled for Dec. 16-19 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The four-day event will crown Division I and Division II champions all six UIL classifications.
The partnership includes television stations and digital streaming platforms in 13 Texas markets. Television coverage will vary by market, with individual games available on local broadcasts, streaming platforms or both. Fans will also be able to watch through participating stations' digital streaming platforms regardless of their location, according to the announcement. That access extends to viewers outside Texas.
"The UIL state football championships are an important tradition for high schools and communities throughout Texas," UIL executive director Jamey Harrison said in a press release. "We are excited to work with Nexstar Media and Mission Broadcasting to expand access to these championship games, and we are pleased that fans will be able to watch them through streaming and local television broadcasts across Texas."
Participating outlets include KDAF and CW33+ in Dallas, KIAH and CW39+ in Houston, and KBVO, KXAN and KXAN+ in Austin. The agreement also includes stations and streaming platforms serving El Paso, Amarillo, Abilene/Sweetwater, San Angelo, Waco/Temple/Bryan, Wichita Falls, Tyler/Longview, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa and Harlingen/Brownsville.

#access

Taylor Swift appeared to tell ESPN cameras to stop showing her during the Kansas City Chiefs' season opener after husband Travis Kelce made a huge play against the Denver Broncos.
Chiefs cruise past the Broncos 31-10 on Monday Night Football.
Swift was back at Arrowhead to support Kelce in what was her first official NFL game since marrying the Chiefs star. She watched from a VIP suite alongside her parents and the Kelce family and was also captured with Tom Cruise.
The singer has become a regular feature of NFL broadcasts since beginning her relationship with Kelce, with cameras frequently cutting to her during Chiefs games. This time, however, a viral moment suggested she may have wanted the attention elsewhere.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

#chiefs #swift #kansas

This slate of high school football games has the potential to be much stronger.
Week 4 across Southwestern Indiana brings a top-five battle in Class 3A at the Reitz Bowl between No. 1 Memorial and No. 4 Mater Dei. 4A No. 9 Reitz also looks to keep pace in the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference **** le race with a trip to North. The highlights elsewhere? 2A No. 7 North Posey at Tell City in a matchup of unbeatens. Heritage Hills at Southridge in a key Big School Division game. We also get SIAC vs. PAC with Boonville at Central.
More: Who wins the top Week 4 high school football games across Southwestern Indiana?
Below is the schedule for Friday's games around the Evansville area, plus links to online radio broadcasts and video streams where applicable.
Follow below for LIVE scores and updates from all the week 4 IHSAA football action across the Evansville area!

#week #north #evansville

Mike Tomlin will be on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" broadcasts this season. It is the first time this century that Tomlin won't spend football season with an NFL team. Tomlin chose to walk away from the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of last season after 19 years as the team's head coach.
Tomlin appears to be having fun so far, but the real question is whether or not he'll stick with media long term or if he's just taking a break before taking another job. There was no shortage of suitors when he stepped down in Pittsburgh and at 54-years old with a Super Bowl and zero losing seasons on his resume, he remains an attractive candidate for any vacancy.
Cris Collinsworth, Tomlin's new co-worker at NBC, recently asked him if there was a chance he would return to coaching at some point. Tomlin sounded like someone who still wanted to coach, but he also isn't in a hurry.
MORE: Mike Tomlin shares emotional moment with daughter Harley after Steelers' historic streak ends
"It's certainly not a 32 team league for me," said Tomlin. "But I've also learned to never say never. I love to coach. I love all the challenges of the profession. I love the being part of growth and development of young people individually. I love the measurement of the seven day cycle, but also have enjoyed the last six months. Life on this other side that I had no idea about."

#mike #steelers #Football

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University's Ol' Crimson flag has been named the first recipient of ESPN College GameDay's new Hall of Fan honor, recognizing a tradition that has appeared on the program for 338 consecutive broadcasts.
ESPN announced the recognition Saturday as the flag continued a streak that began in 2003.
According to ESPN, the Hall of Fan honor was created to recognize fans and traditions **** ociated with the long-running college football pregame show.
Ol' Crimson has become a regular presence behind the College GameDay set regardless of where the show is held. The tradition began when WSU alumnus Tom Pounds brought a Washington State flag to a GameDay broadcast in Austin, Texas, in 2003.
"I made a flag, and I just went out in the crowd and waved the flag and thought that was the end of it," Pounds said in comments provided by the university.

#espn

On August 6, Versant Media Group (NASDAQ:VSNT) reported second-quarter 2026 results that capture a company in transition. Revenue slipped 3.8% year over year to $1.64 billion, and net income attributable to Versant tumbled 30.1% to $211 million. Yet the same report included a raised full-year outlook, a third straight quarterly dividend, and a second $100 million stock buyback. For a company barely eight months removed from its separation from Comcast on January 2, the numbers tell two stories at once.
Versant's headline Adjusted EBITDA fell 8.9% to $624 million, but measured against the prior year's Standalone Adjusted EBITDA, the more relevant apples-to-apples baseline, EBITDA actually grew 3.0%. That gap matters because it shows the company trimming programming and overhead costs faster than legacy revenue is shrinking. Management leaned into that momentum by raising full-year revenue guidance to $6.2 billion to $6.45 billion and Adjusted EBITDA guidance to $1.9 billion to $2.05 billion, while holding free cash flow guidance at $1.0 billion to $1.2 billion.
The growth story lives outside the traditional cable bundle. Platforms revenue, excluding the divested SportsEngine business, climbed 9.3% on the strength of Fandango and GolfNow, and Versant used the quarter to lock in two multi-year distribution renewals with major partners in the US and Canada. Sports rights remain the anchor: PGA TOUR coverage delivered its best second quarter since 2020, USA Network's WNBA broadcasts drew three of the quarter's most watched games across cable and streaming, and a new five-year Bundesliga deal adds more than 300 live matches a year, with at least 30 landing on USA Network. MS NOW backed that up digitally, posting audience growth for a seventh straight month through June and racking up close to 3 billion YouTube and TikTok views so far this year. Layer in the Full Swing acquisition completed after quarter-end, and Versant is placing real bets beyond linear television.
The pressure driving those buybacks and that raised guidance is real. Total revenue fell 3.8% to $1.64 billion, or 2.8% excluding SportsEngine, and linear distribution revenue, still the largest piece of the business, dropped 6.3% as subscribers kept leaving traditional pay TV. Rate increases only partly offset that erosion, and advertising revenue slipped another 0.6% even with better ratings and a boost from a recent acquisition.
The bottom line felt it more than the top line. Net income attributable to Versant fell $91 million to $211 million, and the company pointed to higher costs of running as a standalone public company, new interest expense tied to debt taken on after leaving Comcast, and a bigger tax bill linked to the SportsEngine sale. Those are the direct costs of standing alone rather than sitting inside a larger conglomerate. Versant's prior year financial statements were also built from Comcast's carve out accounting rather than results as a true independent company, so s

The Tennessee ****** ans revoked Jared Stillman's credential. Depending on who you ask, this is either a franchise standing up to a loudmouth who dared them to do it, or an organization delivering a blueprint to other franchises on how to silence local critics.
Teams that travel this path usually end up with more negative coverage. You can't deliver a 6 and 28 record over two seasons, change your front office and coaching staff, and then complain about unfavorable attention. Winning changes the local conversation.
I went through this in St. Louis with the Rams and in the Bay Area with the Raiders. Kevin Demoff, Amy Trask and Marc Badain were all fantastic. All knew their results shaped the local coverage. Win games and people are happy. Lose games and fire people, and criticisms follow. It's that simple.
Stillman is a longtime Nashville radio host. He broadcasts now on YouTube, and recently went viral after a testy exchange with quarterback Cam Ward. On his show the next day, he said the ****** ans wouldn't be foolish enough to pull his credential over it. He felt the backlash would be brutal and make them look like the softest organization in the NFL.
A day later, they did it anyway.

#credential #went #tennessee

It's time for the Quarter-final showdown of the 2026 Copa Betano do Brasil!
And OneFootball will stream every matchup, all the way to the big final, for audiences outside Brazil!
This Wednesday (2), we'll find out two more semifinalists in the Santos vs Palmeiras derby and Vitória vs Vasco.
You have complete flexibility to choose how you want to follow the final stretch of the tournament, with options tailored to your market.
Please note: all broadcasts will feature English-language commentary only

#betano #brasil #onefootball

It was probably not a coincidence that at the exact four week mark when the puck drops on the new season, the Canes sent out a post with news on how fans will be able to watch the other 72 games that aren't on national TV this year.
The local entity broadcasting the games will be called the Hurricanes Hockey Network. It was also announced everyone that Hurricanes fans had come to enjoy on screen will officially be back for the 2026-27 season. Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy had been announced prior, but the release made official that Shane Willis and Hanna Yates would also grace the screen during the broadcasts.
That Willis is back isn't a surprise as he was a Hurricanes employee already. Yates, however, is the news as prior to this season she was actually an employee not of the Hurricanes but of the entity that broadcast the games—Main Street Sports, last known by FanDuel Sports Network. For her to continue to appear on the broadcasts, she would have had to become a Hurricanes employee—something that was up in the air as Tom Dundon is known for being, shall we say, thrifty when it comes to the number of people he'll hire when he hast to.
That said it isn't that much of a narrative changer for Dundon. The release mentions that VP of Communications Mike Sundheim will add managing "all aspects of production, distribution, sales and marketing for HHN, in coordination with the National Hockey League." In short he'll still do all the work he did before and add more to his plate. Yates also will be doing more than just appearing on the broadcast as she added digital host to her **** le, so it's possible we'll see her a lot more on the official team videos that are sent out across social media platforms.
Unfortunately in terms of news, that was it for the communication and that leaves unanswered a huge question: how to watch? The only acknowledgement of how fans would be able to watch this new Hurricanes Hockey Network came at the bottom of the release:

#network #release

Miss Teen USA is back off network television.
Just days before the 2026 competition was scheduled to air live, The CW pulled both Miss Teen USA and Miss USA from its lineup. The sudden change comes only two months after the network announced a multi-year deal to bring the pageants back to television — and amid another turbulent stretch for the Miss USA organization.
According to USA Today, Miss Teen USA had been scheduled for August 26, with the 75th Miss USA competition following on August 27. Miss Teen USA instead streamed on Queen Beauty Network Wednesday night, while Miss USA will stream on the platform Thursday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET.
COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what's next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.
"After careful consideration and conversations with the Miss USA Organization, The CW Network has decided to forego next week's broadcasts of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants," the network said in a statement. "We wish the organization and all of this year's contestants well in the competition."

#august #scheduled

ESPN is removing its BottomLine ticker during its college football broadcast this season.
This season, all college football games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNU, and ESPNEWS will go without the BottomLine.
This is in hopes of providing a cleaner viewing experience during games.
ESPN will still give score alerts throughout game broadcasts.
Fox, CBS, and NBC do not have an on-screen ticker during games on their broadcast networks. FS1 kept the ticker on during games last season, while Big Ten Network did not.

#espn #ticker #Football #broadcast

September baseball hits differently. Every pitch feels heavier, and a single bad inning can completely derail an entire season. Over the decades, these high-stakes pennant chases haven't just thrilled fans, they've reshaped how MLB runs and how we watch the game.
These pressure-cooker games have done far more than just decide who makes it to October. Over time, they've pushed MLB to tweak its rules, upgrade TV broadcasts and rethink how it builds the regular-season schedule. Many things we take for granted today were born right in the middle of these late-season games.
MORE: Before they were legends: Best rookie breakthroughs in MLB pennant races since 2000
TV networks learned to bounce between live games at lightning speed, split-screen viewing became a standard, and managers completely changed how they handle bullpens when every single out is on the line. Even the playoff brackets and final-week scheduling evolved because of lessons learned during classic September drama.
That's what makes the final stretch of the season so special. Here are five pennant-race moments to remember.

#single

The final game of the Seattle Seahawks' 2026 preseason is just hours away, and once the game ends it'll be all about forming the 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad for the regular season.
Seattle wraps up its August on the road versus the Kansas City Chiefs, whom they'll be seeing in the regular season at Lumen Field at the end of October. There will be no starters playing for the Seahawks and highly likely the same will apply to the Chiefs, so it's one last chance for players who are just trying to make the team.
NFL preseason television rights are different than regular season, so we're here to simplify tonight's situation. KING-5 NBC, Seattle's flagship station for Seahawks preseason games and other local Seahawks television programming, is carrying Seahawks-Chiefs locally. KING-5's broadcasts are also shown on other television affiliates in the Seahawks' secondary markets, which include Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, and Hawaii. Then there are mobile and online streaming options whether you're in Seattle, somewhere else in the USA, or overseas!
Here's a quick How to Watch guide.
On Friday, Aug. 28 at 5 pm PT, with pre-game coverage on KING-5 starting at 4:30 pm PT.

#seahawks #Seattle #preseason

The Oklahoma City Thunder have announced their broadcast plans for the 2026-27 regular season. Following FanDuel Sports Network's demise, the ***** le contender was one of several teams living in flux over the last few years regarding their broadcast situation.
Finally, the Thunder cleared up some long-asked questions. There will be multiple ways to catch OKC's 2026-27 regular season games. The 'Thunder Gameday Network' will launch the 'Thunder+' app as well as expand its relationship with Griffin Media.
Now, what exactly is 'Thunder+' and what should OKC fans know about the new streaming option? Let's take a look at what it means for this upcoming season:
At the heart of the Thunder Gameday Network is Thunder+, a new direct-to-fan subscription streaming service available through the NBA App across the five-state Thunder broadcast region. The five states are Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Fans will be able to watch the scheduled 67 Thunder games that are not among the team's 15 scheduled national exclusive broadcasts.
Thunder+ will be available throughout Oklahoma and the five-state region for $19.99 per month or $108.99 for a season subscription. Fans who sign up for Thunder+ between Sept. 8 and Sept. 30 will receive a special season price of $99.99. In addition to live games, Thunder+ will feature on-demand full game replays and recaps for the entire season.

#thunder #oklahoma #fans #sept

The NFL broadcasts games on ABC, Amazon Prime Video, CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC, Netflix, and Peacock. Then, there's NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone. Why not further test the limits of the human attention span this season?
According to Brian Steinberg of Variety, X (formerly Twitter) is launching a "NFL Gametime" feed designed to integrate creators, data, and news.
"X users can choose to put the new topic-focused stream alongside mainstay feeds like 'For You' and 'Following,'" Steinberg wrote. "The stream will be available from season kickoff through the end of the 2027 Super Bowl. The move is seen not only as a way to court sports fans, but also big advertisers that may have felt more ambivalent about working with the Elon Musk-backed social giant in months past."
"Advertisers can now reach highly passionate fans across the entire funnel, from awareness and cultural conversation to real-time engagement during live games, all on X," Monique Pintarelli, head of global advertising for X parent ******* eXAI, said in a statement to Variety. "Together with the NFL, we're giving brands a powerful, authentic way to show up throughout the season."
Brent Lawton, the NFL's vice president of media, underscored NFL Gametime as a hub for "official scores and stats, team content, and the conversation together in one place."

#variety #gametime #together #conversation

New York-based Fox Corporation (FOX) operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company in the United States. Valued at a market cap of $25.8 billion, the company operates in four segments: Cable Network Programming, Television, Credible, and The FOX Studio Lot, and broadcasts through channels such as FOX News, FOX Sports, the FOX Network, FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes, and more.
FOX stock has underperformed the broader market over the past year and in 2026. FOX stock has grown 13.2% over the past 52 weeks and declined 5.1% YTD. In comparison, the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has returned 18.3% over the past year and risen 11.8% in 2026.
IonQ vs. Rigetti: The Better Quantum Computing Stock for Long-Term Investors
QQQ is Still in a Negative Gamma Regime. Here's How a 'Put Wall' and Fibonacci Support Could Come Into Play.
IBM Just Hit a New Quantum Computing Milestone. How to Play IBM Stock Now.

#past #sports

ESPN is making a significant change to its college football broadcasts for the 2026 season.
According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, ESPN is getting rid of the BottomLine ticker that appears during a college football game. The network is making this change to make the presentation look cleaner.
MORE: Paul Finebaum applauds Big Ten, SEC bans on NFL players
"We're always looking for ways to better serve sports fans. By removing the BottomLine during live action, we're creating a cleaner presentation that keeps the focus where it belongs—on the field," an ESPN spokesperson told Glasspiegel.
The ticker already doesn't appear during College Football Playoff games, and that will now be extended to regular-season games.

#espn #glasspiegel

Tony Gonzalez will soon resume his ****** yst duties on Amazon Prime Video's Thursday Night Football broadcasts, but the Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end just picked up another gig.
It has absolutely nothing to do with football.
On Tuesday, iHeartMedia and SMAC Productions announced No Safe Words with October and Tony Gonzalez, a weekly podcast launching on iHeart's My Cultura network, dedicated to elevating Latino voices and stories, according to an official release.
"We want you to join us on our new podcast, No Safe Words with October and Tony Gonzalez, where we get real about marriage, parenthood, ****** , divorce, and all the nitty-gritty stuff we all think about but just don't say out loud," October Gonzalez says in the official audio trailer.
"Now, we aren't licensed therapists, but we are certified in 'been through some stuff,' Tony Gonzalez adds. "In each episode, we'll share the real-life ups and downs we've experienced together."

#october #safe #podcast #stuff

Undefeated Turkish juggernaut Shamil Erdogan has forged one of the most impressive resumes in ONE Championship. Armed with pure stopping power, the 36-year-old brings a suffocating brand of dominance that leaves opponents with few paths to survival.
The Dagestani-born star has carved out a flawless 13-0 professional record, boasting a 100 percent finishing rate across three weight classes in the world's largest martial arts organization.
His arrival at heavyweight comes at the perfect moment. With the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Championship sitting vacant in the wake of former three-division king Anatoly "Sladkiy" Malykhin's retirement, the division is wide open.
Erdogan takes one step closer to the coveted 26 pounds of gold when he meets fellow knockout artist Paul "King of the North" Elliott at ONE Fight Night 48 on Prime Video. The highly anticipated heavyweight clash broadcasts live in U.S. primetime from Bangkok's storied Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, October 2.
Ahead of his pivotal showdown, let's look back at the trail of destruction Erdogan has left on the global stage.

#heavyweight

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers get their first preseason game at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday night when they host the Kansas City Chiefs. As the regular season approaches, the second preseason game gives Tampa Bay another chance to evaluate its roster before cuts in a few weeks.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET, but where you can watch it depends on where you live. This isn't one of the preseason matchups being carried live nationally by NFL Network, so local broadcasts and streaming options will be the primary ways to follow the Bucs.
Fans in the Tampa Bay television market can find the game on WFLA-TV, NBC 8. The Buccaneers have used WFLA for their preseason broadcasts, and Saturday's matchup will once again be available through the station.
For those in the Kansas City market, KSHB 41 carries the Chiefs' local preseason coverage. That means fans with cable, an antenna, or a live-TV streaming service that includes the appropriate local station should be able to watch without needing a separate national broadcast.
Fans outside the two local markets also have options. NFL+ provides access to live out-of-market preseason games, giving Bucs fans elsewhere a way to follow preseason action. Tampa Bay also makes its live preseason broadcasts available through Buccaneers.com and the Buccaneers app for viewers within the team's local market.

#fans #broadcasts #kansas

In the biggest Colorado Avalanche news of the summer, our beloved LG Red is back at Altitude for the upcoming season! Lauren Gardner won't be exclusive to just Avalanche broadcasts but she is back in Colorado and will be on our TV screens. Welcome home, LG!
The NHL announced they are committing to regular season games in Germany for three years starting with the 2026-27 season as the league continues to increase their global reach.
There will be a new specialty jersey coming this fall for every team, dubbed the Hometown Remix. Word on the street is that just like their two versions of the Reverse Retro, the Avalanche will have a white sweater in this upcoming collection as well.
Preseason isn't just for the Avalanche as the Colorado Eagles are expected to participate in what's been dubbed the Southwest Showdown. The Tucson Roadrunners will serve as host while the Eagles will play the Texas Stars on September 26th and the Henderson Silver Knights on September 27th. Giddy up!

#Avalanche #season #dubbed

Opening week of Bay County football is here and this will be the hub for coverage and scores of this week's Thursday and Friday games. Monitor this page as it will be updated with scores results throughout the night.
Week 1 predictions Reporter and AI face off for Bay County football predictions
Week 1 previews Bay County high school football teams to be tested in season openers
You can also view games on the NFHS Network, which is a subscription-based streaming service that broadcasts high school sporting events across the nation.
I cannot attend every game, so if you are at one and can report the score, do not hesitate to direct message me at the handle above or email me at abamideleusatodayco.com.

#scores #games #school

When Luke Kuechly was still roaming the field, there was no better defender in the NFL who understood what opposing offenses were trying to do. That unparalleled schematic genius has helped the former Carolina Panthers linebacker land several ******* yst gigs in his post-football career.
According to a report by Andrew Marchand at The Athletic, the newly-enshrined Hall of Famer just got another one—replacing North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick on Peyton Manning's Monday Night Football Xs and Os preview show, The Breakdown.
Kuechly is already a game ******* yst for CBS Sports' college football coverage, and will be debuting as the top ******* yst for Netflix's NFL broadcasts this season—alongside play-by-play voice Noah Eagle.
The slate of games for Netflix in 2026 includes the Week 1 matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, a Thanksgiving eve game between the Rams and the Green Bay Packers and two games on Christmas—including the Packers against the Chicago Bears and the Buffalo Bills against the Denver Broncos.
Unfortunately, Kuechly won't be joining Manning's MNF preview show until October. The Monday night games scheduled for that month are as follows:

#analyst #carolina #preview

The man who pioneered wholesale change in sports media with the founding of ESPN has died.
Bill Rasmussen, the entrepreneur who conceived the 24-hour cable sports network ESPN, died on Tuesday at age 93, the network announced. Rasmussen, along with his son Scott, famously came up with the idea for ESPN while stuck in traffic traveling to the Jersey Shore. Now, nearly 50 years later, ESPN is a behemoth prepared to broadcast the first Super Bowl in the network's history next February.
"Bill was a remarkable man – a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. "Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn't for Bill's passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s – key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day."
Rasmussen's time at ESPN was essential but short-lived. The network launched in 1979 on the back of emerging satellite technology and funding from Getty Oil. The early days of ESPN were programmed with the flagship SportsCenter news and highlights show surrounded by a hodgepodge of live sports rights. Securing early-round NCAA Tournament broadcasts in March of 1980 proved to be a springboard for the fledgling network, helping bring ESPN into the mainstream.
Rasmussen left ESPN in October 1980 just over a year after its formal launch. Despite his brief tenure, his impact on the sports media industry was profound.

#sports #Media #died

The NFL season is only a few weeks away, with the preseason in full swing. A new quest for Super Bowl LXI will begin as the Seattle Seahawks open the season as defending champions.
The league has recently been placed front and center in the world of sports gambling. Most notably, the NFL and the NCAA had to deal with the threat of lawsuits from former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who sought to play professional football in 2026.
Now, the NFL continues to embrace its complicated relationship with sports betting. A recent report indicated that the league has struck a new deal with Fanatics Sportsbook to become an official sportsbook partner.
MORE: Roger Goodell has 'no doubt' there will be NFL teams outside the United States
"Fanatics has signed on as an official sportsbook of the NFL, breaking a logjam that left the sponsor category vacant for the league since multiyear deals with FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars expired at the end of March. The deal, expected to be announced before the start of the season, includes rights to promote across NFL-controlled media channels, allowing Fanatics to air spots during game broadcasts," Bill King of the Sports Business Journal reported.

#fanatics

The most unique ballpark innovation in Major League Baseball this season was conceived through something many millions of people do every day: Doomscrolling on Instagram
Last October, Malcolm Rogel, the Seattle Mariners' vice president of fan experience, started seeing videos of Florence, Italy's historic buchetta del vino — wine windows carved out of holes in the wall that originated in the 16th and 17th century. Knock on an ancient set of tiny, non-descript wooden doors during operating hours, and get sold a libation in one of the most unique ways possible. Rogel texted Megan Murray, the district manager at Sodexo Live, which operates concessions at the Mariners' T-Mobile Park, and asked if this concept could be replicated at the stadium.
Over the cold, rainy offseason, Rogel and Murray went to work on bringing this idea to life. Rogel's father-in-law built a wooden door in the shape of home plate. His close friend's son welded a door knocker in the shape of the Mariners' classic trident logo. Murray toured the ballpark with Seattle's liquor control board to get approval for the concept and the location of the door, which opens up to sinks and closets in the back and counter ***** e with enough room for up to seven staffers to safely work within the location's tight confines.
On opening day, the Mariners' Sea-cret Door was born as a speakeasy selling one specialty ***** tail per game, with the concept spread strictly through social media influencers and word of mouth. There's been no team advertising and no mention of the door on radio or TV broadcasts all season — the door's location purposefully kept secret to create a sort of scavenger hunt for fans searching for it at the park.
While it took until the seventh inning of the first game for the drink special to sell out its roughly 100 orders, now the offering is bought up within the first hour or so, with a full queue forming in about 12-15 minutes. Yet Rogel and Murray decided early on that the door wouldn't be open every game, and would probably only operate during about 30 of the team's 81 home games. And when the door isn't open, the M's bolt a storage bin in front of the wall to preserve its location and identity.

#Mariners #concept

The WNBA is gaining attention for all the wrong reasons, especially as of late. However, despite those issues, the league continues to bring in more viewership, revenue, attendance and intrigue. This past weekend, Ric Bucher added another layer to the WNBA's attention-grabbing news cycle. The former ESPN NBA **** yst raised a question that many people have asked privately within their own circles of friends: Why are all the color **** ysts and studio hosts on national WNBA broadcasts women?
Unfortunately for Bucher, his question is nothing new. It's the same question people have been asking about women in the NFL, MLB and nearly every other major sport for generations. But Bucher's context for asking the question is where the real debate and questions lie.
As much as people love a good headline, this isn't a debate about men versus women on WNBA broadcasts. It's a conversation more about how networks approach controversial topics surrounding the games and leagues themselves.
If you look at the totality of Bucher's words, his argument wasn't centered around that the WNBA doesn't include men. His argument was that the women in the roles they currently hold are too protective of the league itself.
"Is the WNBA not worthy of being discussed and dissected by a variety of voices and perspectives in the same way the NBA is? There are some smart basketball-savvy women, both in the studio and the broadcast booth, but I don't hear a whole lot of differing opinion or debate. It all comes off as safe and monotone and cookie cutter, especially when it comes to controversial topics," said Bucher.

#WNBA #attention #league #studio

Michael Chiesa will get his shot at the big time at UFC Fight Night 286 when he enters the commentary booth for the first time on an official UFC event.
Chiesa, a longtime lightweight and welterweight veteran who retired from MMA in February, has been slowly groomed for the opportunity to work color commentary. He has appeared on LFA broadcasts in the role, but also worked numerous UFC events as a desk **** yst, as well as calling fights on "Road to UFC" and Dana White's Contender Series.
His work will soon be exposed to a much greater audience, however, when he works the Aug. 29 card at Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in China, which is headlined by a key bantamweight bout between Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong.
"I got the call last Wednesday from my boss Zach Candito that I'm going to get my shot at UFC Shanghai," Chiesa told MMA Junkie on Monday. "I was supposed to go there to commentate 'Road to UFC.' He called me and said, 'We're going to give you a chance.' So it's not like I have a contract in place. We're taking it one step at a time, but I get to do color commentator for my first official UFC event. I will be on the sticks with Brendan Fitzgerald and Dominick Cruz commentating UFC Shanghai.
"I'm super excited. I feel like the UFC has been building me up to this moment. They've given me so many opportunities starting me as an **** yst and then sliding me in on some Fight Pass Invitational Shows. Now I'm doing BJJ and Contender Series. They're building me up for this moment and I feel very prepared for it and I'm very excited for it.

#time #fight #series #commentary