Dianna Russini stayed quiet for months while an internal review dug through nearly three years of her work. That silence ended Thursday, the same day the results came out.
The Athletic released its inquiry into former NFL insider Dianna Russini's undisclosed relationship with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel on Sept. 3. The review concluded Russini was "noncompliant" with the publication's standards. Mike Semel, The Athletic's editorial director for standards and editorial quality, spent nearly five months examining more than 900 stories and 77 videos tied to Russini.
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Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) is interviewed by Dianna Russini after the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Russini declined to sit for an interview with Semel during the review. She broke her silence Thursday through a statement given to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.

#mike #semel #months

Brad Marchand has drawn criticism after mocking Tim Stutzle amid Ottawa Senators' search for its next captain. The Florida Panthers forward responded to an Instagram post naming Stutzle, Thomas Chabot, and Jake Sanderson as finalists.
A hockey page named "Puck Empire" shared a post in which they wrote, "The Ottawa Senators are reportedly 'closing in on a decision on who is going to replace Brady Tkachuk.'"
Marchand responded in the comment section and wrote, "Hahahah …..Stutzle….hahaha," dismissing the idea of Stutzle wearing Ottawa's captaincy. The comment soon drew attention and has now led to a debate over whether Marchand crossed a line.
MORE: Ex-Maple Leafs player reveals Auston Matthews' quiet leadership in Toronto
Speaking on The Sid Seixeiro Show, Seixeiro called the remark "highly disrespectful stuff." He also questioned whether Marchand's history as an agitator made the comment more significant heading into the season.

#stutzle #comment #seixeiro #wrote

All signs continue to point to Tony Romo's exit from CBS Sports being permanent, and it looks as if J.J. Watt could make his move into Romo's spot permanent as well.
Romo was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Wisconsin earlier this summer, and was later put on a leave of absence by CBS. With a September court date looming around the start of the season, Romo has not been part of the network's NFL broadcast plans.
Watt was promoted to the No. 1 NFL on CBS broadcast booth alongside announcer Jim Nantz while Romo is sidelined. The two will start the season in Minnesota for Vikings-Packers.
And according to The Athletic's sports media insider Andrew Marchand, the legendary defensive lineman has the inside track for the job long-term.
"It's definitely a tryout. I do think there's a very good chance he's a long-term answer," Marchand said this week on SportsWrap with Jason Page. "[CBS Sports president David] Berson hired him, and he did well with Ian Eagle. We'll see how he does with Jim Nantz."

#romo

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

Cam Neely Makes Surprising Admission About Bruins Captain Decision originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Bruins have two obvious candidates to become their next captain. Team president Cam Neely, however, is not convinced the organization needs to select either one.
Boston played the entire 2025-26 season without a captain after trading Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers in March 2025. David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm instead wore alternate captain letters under first-year head coach Marco Sturm.
That arrangement may continue for another season.
Neely revealed Monday that the Bruins have not decided whether to fill the leadership vacancy before the 2026-27 campaign. He discussed the decision during an appearance on the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon.

#bruins #decision

Two years ago, Bill Belichick was the hottest commodity in NFL media circles, lining up a series of gigs in the short period between coaching stints. One of them was The Breakdown, an ESPN film-room series where he and Peyton Manning broke down the X's and O's of upcoming Monday Night Football games.
This year, it appears that Luke Kuechly is the hottest name in NFL broadcasting, and he's moving into the seat previously occupied by Belichick.
According to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee will join Manning on The Breakdown on the ESPN app, with an expected start time in October, leading into ESPN's Super Bowl broadcast.
ESPN declined comment.
A radio ****** yst for the Carolina Panthers, Kuechly's stock skyrocketed in recent weeks as Netflix named him its top NFL game ****** yst. Per Marchand, who also broke the Netflix news, Kuechly auditioned earlier in July with NBC's Noah Eagle, who is expected to be the top NFL play-by-play voice for Netflix, and the duo "showed immediate chemistry."

#espn #series

The NFL insider musical chairs continues, as James Palmer is headed to Amazon Prime Video.
According to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, Palmer will replace Ian Rapoport as the NFL insider for Thursday Night Football, providing reporting for the pregame and postgame shows. It is the latest domino to fall following the merger of ESPN and NFL Network and the resignation of Dianna Russini from The Athletic.
A longtime NFL media veteran, Palmer has bounced around to several unique opportunities in recent years. Palmer now co-hosts a podcast with former NFL Network colleague Steve Smith Jr. and is Bleacher Report's NFL insider. Recently, Palmer also co-hosted Scoop City with Russini and served as the lead NFL reporter for Underdog before its pivot to prediction markets.
Also per Marchand, Prime Video pursued Tom Pelissero before hiring Palmer. On Monday, Netflix announced Pelissero would be the insider for its NFL slate this season while also podcasting at The Ringer, whose shows are licensed by the streamer.
Rapoport contributed to TNF last season, but his exclusive contract with ESPN and NFL Network forced the move. Previously, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated occupied the role in 2024, and a former ESPNer did so in 2022 and 2023.

#palmer

ESPN talent changes continued this week, with NFL **** yst Damien Woody reportedly parting ways with the network.
Andrew Marchand was first to report the news for The Athletic, reporting Woody's contract was not renewed. Woody will, however, continue contributing to ESPN's NFL coverage for the remainder of this month, which he told Marchand was his choice.
Karl Ravech, who was unceremoniously laid off this summer after 33 years with ESPN, will similarly continue working this month, calling Wednesday night's New York Yankees-Seattle Mariners game before returning to his post as the voice of the Little League World Series one last time. In contrast, Ryan Clark was laid off and forced off NFL Live during a commercial break.
Several years ago, ESPN made a big contract offer to keep Woody from going to FS1, who sought to pair him with Craig Carton. At the time, Woody still had a year left on his contract, allowing ESPN to keep him from making the switch. Carton has since returned to WFAN in afternoon drive after his FS1 show was ultimately canceled.
Woody's media career has surpassed his NFL one in longevity, having played 12 seasons with the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions and New York Jets before retiring in 2011. From there, Woody immediately transitioned into broadcasting with ESPN, where he became synonymous with the network's NFL coverage.

#york

Former Carolina Panthers star Luke Kuechly is set for a new sports media role heading into the 2026 NFL season.
The retired All-Pro linebacker figures to appear on phone and television screens this fall after reportedly landing a high-profile commentating gig. However, Kuechly's role doesn't appear to have him covering NFL games every week.
MORE: Philadelphia Eagles, Jalen Carter reach historic NFL contract extension
The Athletic's Andrew Marchand reports that Kuechly is set to become the lead **** yst for Netflix's gameday NFL coverage. This comes as a massive development nearly a week before Kuechly is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The 36 year old earns his 2026 Hall of Fame induction on Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio alongside a star-studded group. Kuechly is joined by Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Adam Vinatieri and Roger Craig.

#role #appear #former #panthers

Carolina Panthers legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly may be ready to add another ***** le alongside his name.
According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, Kuechly will be the lead game ***** yst for Netflix's NFL coverage in 2026. The former linebacker, per Marchand, impressed executives during a recent tryout for the gig.
For his first ***** ignment, Kuechly is set to join play-by-play commentator Ian Eagle on the streaming service's presentation of the Week 1 matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. That NFC West clash will take place from Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia on Thursday, Sept. 10.
Before that, Kuechly will take his place in Canton, Ohio as one of five inductees into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 8.
But he isn't the only Panthers great set for an expanded presence on your screens this season.

#hall

By Leo Marchandon
July 23 (Reuters) - SAP's finance chief said on Thursday that artificial intelligence in enterprise software must move beyond chatbots and ‌coding tools into more complex business processes, where clean data, reliability ‌and cost control matter more than access to the most powerful model.
Companies have poured money into generative AI but are still seeking evidence of broad productivity gains, and SAP is arguing that the returns will come less from general-purpose models than from governed systems embedded in specific business processes.
CFO Dominik Asam told reporters after SAP's ‌second-quarter results that the "lion's share" ⁠of AI token consumption today was spent in "low-hanging fruits" coding ******* istant and chatbots, where AI's hallucinations matter less because the ⁠output carries limited risk if it fails.
But applying AI to finance, supply chain or other core business processes is harder because errors carry over multiple steps, increasing risk against compliance standards, he said.

#coding #matter #marchandon #july

Peter Schrager's 2 p.m. show seems to be sports media's worst-kept secret at this point.
OutKick's Bobby Burack reported that ESPN is expected to announce a new 2 p.m. show hosted by Schrager in the coming week(s). The show itself has been the expected outcome of ESPN's afternoon lineup shuffle since at least May, when The Athletic's Andrew Marchand reported that a program built around Schrager was the leading candidate to replace the 2 p.m. edition of SportsCenter.
Schrager's name has been tied to ESPN's afternoon shakeup since almost the moment Around the Horn was canceled. When CNBC's Alex Sherman first reported that ESPN was considering replacing the 2 p.m. SportsCenter, he described the concept as an "all-sports" show rather than another NFL-only hour, and Marchand reported last spring that Schrager doing a show at 2 or 5 p.m. was "pretty likely," floating the idea that he could be "a central figure in some sort of ensemble" rather than a solo act.
Schrager joined ESPN from NFL Network and Fox Sports last April after nearly a decade as one of the faces of Good Morning Football, and quickly became a fixture across Get Up, First Take, NFL Live, and The Pat McAfee Show. He stole the show at McAfee's NFL Draft Spectacular that spring, launched The Schrager Hour podcast with Omaha Productions in the fall, and stepped in as a guest host for Mike Greenberg on Get Up, a run that gave ESPN executives confidence he could anchor an hour of his own, per Marchand's reporting. He's also been candid about missing the three-hour daily runway he had at Good Morning Football, where he could spend eight minutes on whatever topic interested him that day. A solo show would hand him something close to that format again.
The 5 p.m. hour, by contrast, looks like it's staying put. That slot has also been filled by SportsCenter since Around the Horn's cancellation, and while Scott Van Pelt was floated for months as a candidate to take it over, he confirmed on his own podcast in April that he's staying in his late-night role rather than moving. ESPN executive Burke Magnus had pushed hard for a reunion between Van Pelt and Ryen Russillo to anchor the new hour, telling Andrew Marchand it was "a bit of a selfish concept by me" given how big a fan he'd been of their old radio pairing, but Russillo's own schedule — and later move to Barstool — made the setup unlikely. Without a concept he could actually build around, Van Pelt opted to stay with the format that's already earned his SportsCenter 10 Emmy nominations and regularly lands him timely interviews with players and coaches in the immediate aftermath of major games, interviews that simply wouldn't be available to a show airing at 5 p.m. instead of after primetime.

#show #sportscenter #marchand #sports

Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark being laid off by ESPN sent shockwaves into the NFL world, but he apparently isn't the only big name being cut by the sports juggernaut.
According to a new report from The Athletic, top NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero is joining Clark and Karl Ravech among a growing number of employees being laid off by ESPN.
"Karl Ravech, one of ESPN's most prominent on-air voices for more than three decades, and NFL insider Tom Pelissero were laid off as part of the network's latest round of cuts Tuesday, according to sources briefed on the moves," Marchand wrote.
Pelissero, who worked for the NFL Network since 2017, has been quoted by us at Steelers Wire more times than we can count. We wish him, Clark, and Ravech the best as they navigate this tough situation.
For up-to-date Steelers coverage, including any offseason moves, follow us on X TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.

#steelers #clark #ravech #network

In the first big soccer broadcasting move coming off the North American World Cup, Versant has reportedly acquired rights to air Bundesliga games in the U.S.
The top German soccer league, home to European powers Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund and several USMNT stars, will receive $100 million across five years on the new deal, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. Games will be split between USA Network and Fandango, the online platform most known for publishing movie information and selling movie theater tickets.
For the past six years, Bundesliga matches have aired primarily on ESPN+ in the U.S., with a limited number set aside for ESPN linear networks. That deal earned the German league $30 million per year, according to reports from when the deal was signed.
Despite the slight downtick in revenue in moving from ESPN platforms to Versant’s, Bundesliga figures to reach a greater audience with Versant, with USA Network airing at least 30 matches and the rest airing free on Fandango, according to The Athletic and Sports Business Journal.
“The key headline for us is that we are expanding our accessibility in the U.S. while simultaneously delivering strong financial results,” Robin Austermann, an executive at Bundesliga Americas, told SBJ.

The Rays continued to add athleticism to their 2026 draft class by selecting shortstop Taj Marchand with the 33rd overall pick in Competitive Balance Round A. A standout at James Island High School (S.C.) and an Ole Miss commit, Marchand is regarded as one of the top prep defenders in the class, combining smooth actions at shortstop with plus arm strength and advanced defensive instincts. Scouts believe he has a strong chance to remain at the position long term.
At the plate, Marchand offers an intriguing blend of bat speed, athleticism, and projection. While his offensive game is still developing, evaluators see the potential for above-average power as he fills out, along with the speed and instincts to impact the game on both sides of the ball. The selection aligns with the Rays’ preference for up-the-middle athletes with high developmental ceilings, giving the organization another toolsy high school position player to add to its farm system.

With their second round pick in the 2026 draft, the Orioles chose outfielder Ty Head from North Carolina State. That follows on the heels of their first round pick going to a high school outfielder, Eric Booth Jr.
On MLB’s draft telecast after the pick, the **** ysts offered praise for Head as a player, describing his potential for elite contact rates along with “stick in center field” level defense, plus potential for speed and power as a 20 homer/20 stolen base guy.
Of course, if Head was a strong probability to do all of those things, he would have been picked much higher than #46 in the draft. Head’s elite contact rates haven’t equated to a high batting average in his time with the Wolfpack; he posted just a .293 average this season. He walks a ton and doesn’t strike out much. I’m talking 59 walks and only 23 strikeouts. That’s a crazy ratio. It’s not uncommon to see a player praised for “more walks than strikeouts” in his college tenure and you look at those guys and it’s usually like, a handful more walks than strikeouts. Head is more than doubling up his number of strikeouts with walks.
The downside there is some pitches you don’t actually want to hit, and you will end up with a lot of not-great contact. Head has had his share of that while facing ACC level competition. It’s only going to get harder in the pros. Even Low-A pitchers are going to be better than a lot of the guys who are pitching for college teams.
The Orioles had to wait a long time to make this pick between their first round selection and this one. That’s because they traded the pick they would have had at #33 to the Rays as part of the Shane Baz trade. The Rays selected a South Carolina high school shortstop, Taj Marchand, with that pick. If any player selected in the 33-37 range pops, that’s going to hurt a little bit. That group includes the son of Hall of Famer and former (for a short time) Oriole, Jim Thome. The younger Thome, Landon, was taken from the Illinois high school ranks at #34 .

Fox Sports has **** embled a motley crew for its coverage of the North American-hosted 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup this summer, with a top panel consisting of Alexi Lalas, Thierry Henry, and Zlatan Ibrahimović, and anchored by Rebecca Lowe.
Despite what has appeared to be clear disdain from Henry and Ibrahimović toward Lalas, Lowe has insisted that there is "a lot of respect" between the panelists. However, those insistences have done little to curb others from declaring open season on Lalas and his hot takes and half-baked **** ysis; from The Athletic's Andrew Marchand penning a column wishing Lalas hadnever learned English to The Guardian's Aaron Timms claiming that Lalas specialized in "trollish, hyperventilating garbage."
Now, one of Lalas's most heralded teammates on the USMNT, Eric Wynalda, has thrown his hat in the ring.
"I think it's been unwatchable at times," Wynalda told John Shrader during an appearance on The Soccer Media Podcast. "Yeah, I think, I mean, I think a lot of people feel that way. I mean, Alexi is, kind of true to the Fox brand, has been told: this is what we need you to do, start a fight, say some things, insult some people, say something outlandish that no one will believe, and we'll see how many people will click into that. I think the American public has grown up now. I think our community, our soccer community is way too knowledgeable to fall for that anymore."
Eric Wynalda has covered the Bundesliga, the UEFA Champions League, and the FA Cup for Fox, so if anyone has an inside track on what the network wants from its soccer **** ysts, it'd be him.

By Leo Marchandon
PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - OVHcloud plans to train frontier AI models - the most advanced, large-scale systems built from scratch using ‌vast data and computing power - its CEO said on Wednesday, ‌positioning the firm as a potential European challenger to Mistral.
The move marks a shift for OVHcloud, Europe's largest cloud provider, as governments and companies seek alternatives to U.S. and Chinese AI systems - a search made more pressing by the recent abrupt switch-off of Anthropic's top-tier models.
"It became quite clear to us that if we don't ‌master this technology, we ⁠can't guarantee our future," OVHcloud CEO Octave Klaba told Reuters at the VivaTech conference.
Klaba said the economics of developing such ⁠cutting-edge models have shifted, citing advances in chips, training techniques and synthetic data. A project that might once have cost about 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) could now be attempted for 150 million to 200 million euros, he said.

A set of quotes purportedly from Jürgen Klopp, eviscerating the World Cup’s commercialized hydration breaks, deluged social media on Friday and were picked up and aggregated by several outlets.
There’s one problem: the former Liverpool manager never said any of it.
The invented remarks portray him delivering a withering indictment of FIFA’s decision to let broadcasters monetize the tournament’s mandatory three-minute breaks, calling football “held hostage by executives ensconced in air-conditioned offices,” dismissing the interruptions as “a golden cage built for sponsors,” and warning that the sport risks degenerating into “background music for an advertising show.”
The quotes were attributed to an appearance on the German broadcaster ZDF, but Klopp has spent the tournament working with Magenta, the German telecommunications company that secured domestic streaming rights to the World Cup, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand previously reported that Fox pursued several high-profile names for its World Cup studio before landing on Zlatan Ibrahimović, among them David Beckham and Klopp himself, with Klopp at various points appearing close to accepting before ultimately choosing Magenta instead.
So Klopp is working as a broadcaster at this tournament, just not the one the quotes were attributed to, and not for the network at the center of the controversy.

Very happy for Brad. Well deserved.

But I can’t help thinking about where the Panthers franchise would be if Marchand scored on the breakaway late in Game 5 in 2023 to clinch the series for the Bruins. Panthers probably would have blown things up and not won either Cup.