Awful Announcing

For the last six seasons, Tricia Whitaker has served as the sideline reporter of the Tampa Bay Rays on Bally Sports Florida (now called FanDuel Sports Network Florida | Sun). On Wednesday, she announced a major career change that no longer includes her longstanding role with the Rays. In a post on X, Whitaker announced that she will be stepping away from Rays broadcasts. She’ll be doing that in part to focus more on Apple TV + broadcasts of?Friday Night?Baseball, which she has had a role in each of the last two seasons.

On the latest episode, Awful Announcing’s Brendon Kleen and Ben Axelrod discuss Netflix’s?Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson disaster, Warner Bros. Discovery’s settlement with the National Basketball Association (NBA), "Inside the NBA"?being leased to ESPN, sports media’s?migration to Bluesky Social, and Jon Gruden?to Barstool Sports.

Star power is obviously driving ESPN's new era as it attempts to stave off the impact of cable's collapse and streaming's ascension. The answers to the questions ESPN is facing today are centered on hiring the biggest, best, and most famous people to attract and keep fans. But if you know anything about ESPN’s history, it’s counterintuitive to everything the network used to be.

Following the wall-to-wall coverage Tom Brady received leading up to his broadcasting debut, he received some praise and then everyone seemed to move on. Is that because he's actually good at this or because he's actually just kinda mid and no one wants to talk about it? Sean Keeley examines whether or not the sports media is giving Brady a pass in his rookie season.

The SpringHill Company, the production outfit co-founded by NBA star LeBron James and business partner Maverick Carter in 2020, will merge with Fulwell 73 Productions , the production company responsible for the hit franchise?"The Kardashians."

One of the big recent moves in podcasting has been the growth of networks, which bring together groups of individual podcasts for sponsorships, advertising, brand connections, and more. A new move there sees two networks partnering up: Bleav and The Hockey Podcast Network. Both Bleav and THPN started in 2019, and both have grown significantly since then.?Bleav?has more than 500 shows across a range of sports and lifestyle properties, while?THPN?has more than 65 hockey podcasts, including at least one for every NHL team. Bleav president Eric Weinberger told AA, “We love the NHL at Bleav and are thrilled to partner with The Hockey Podcast Network.?[THPN owner]?[Dylan Keyzer] and [senior director of operations] Kyle have built a great slate of shows for hockey fans—we look forward to helping develop, distribute, and sell for this amazing network.”

“‘Papaw, can you tell me about your college days?’ It’s a simple enough question, but dementia complicates things for my Papaw, Don Sparks. My Grandma, Mary Lynne (we call her “Mum”), has to remind Papaw of most things: when to take his medications, when and what to eat, and sometimes, when it’s time to go back to the hospital or physical therapy clinic. But Papaw’s memories from 70 years ago are always readily available – as a former member of the Western Kentucky University football team from 1951-1955, his memories of that time are borderline sacred. ‘I was a team captain and all-state in high school, and got a full scholarship to WKU,’ he recalled. ‘I’d been to Eastern [Kentucky University], where a lot of guys from my hometown, Ashland, went, and I was looking into Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. And one of the coaches was from Ashland, so I said ‘I’ll take that scholarship from Western…the Hilltoppers.’‘ Mum is as bubbly an extrovert as they come and she juggles as many roles as she has friends–far more than I can count. One such role is Papaw’s personal memory defibrillator, jolting old memories back to life when his fades. ‘And who came to visit you and your mom?’ she asked. ‘There was a man who came to visit before–’ ‘Ah yes,’ Papaw says when the memory hits him with Mum’s assist. “There was a guy who came to talk to us. And after he left, my mom said, ‘he’s a nice fella.’ And so I knew where I needed to go.’” My Papaw has been fighting dementia for years, but even on his worst days, remembering his time on the Western Kentucky University football team that won the 1952 Refrigerator Bowl lifts his spirits. And yes—it was just called the Refrigerator Bowl, which would never happen today! I talked to him about his memories from nearly 70 years ago and it’s such an interesting reminder of how much has changed in college sports and life over the years. But no matter what, Papaw will always be remembered as so much more than just an (offensive and defensive) end for his beloved Hilltoppers. We love you, Papaw ?? My latest (personal) piece for Comeback Media: https://lnkd.in/gyfxsR-z

My story on diamond sports big day in court as its chapter 11 plan gets approved. with new financial projections and an emotional judge , my story for @awfulannouncing

Diamond Sports Group’s newly branded FanDuel Sports Networks (formerly Bally Sports) will now be available on a widely used streaming service. On a?busy day for Diamond?which has seen its chances of emerging from bankruptcy reach near-certain levels, the company announced its regional sports networks will be available on Amazon’s Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios. Per the announcement, Diamond’s FanDuel Sports Networks will be available at an additional cost to Prime Video subscribers within a team’s designated geographic area.

It’s not the National Football League (NFL), it’s not college football, it’s not ESPN, but Jon Gruden is coming back and he’s doing it with Barstool Sports.