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Let The Games Begin…And The Chaos Continue

“Brady busts, Belichick smirks, LeBron smells glory, and L.A. launches a spaceship — but as Covid rattles college football and MLB, why is Fox downplaying the national anthem protests so paramount to NFL peace?”

Jay Mariotti

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It’s almost amusing now, the way sports is smothering us with sensory overload. America’s archivists are occupied by more pressing matters, but as they record the gnarly story of 2020, they’ll marvel at how this collective blur — football, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, golf, soccer, cornhole — has done what this country still hasn’t done: Figure it all out and make something palatable from the abnormal.

We saw Tom Brady lose to Drew Brees AND Cam Newton on the same Sunday, as Bill Belichick grinned and hawked Subway sandwiches. We saw Aaron Rodgers flip the script and Cleveland flip the bird at Baker Mayfield, while Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson carried on. We saw LeBron James reach another conference final and the Clippers again clutch their throats. We saw Joe Burrow’s heartbreaking debut and the opening of a futuristic but barren $6-billion palace in Los Angeles, down the street from homeless encampments amid unbreathable air choked with wildfire ash.

We saw Alec Mills pitch a no-hitter weeks after Lucas Giolito did the same, which must be a sign of what could happen only during a pandemic: a Cubs-White Sox World Series. We saw Dodgers fans gather on Vin Scully Avenue and greet the Astros’ buses with trash cans, Joe Kelly pouty faces and other references to the electronic sign-stealing scandal. We saw two grown men ejected from the NBA Bubble, one the trash-talking brother of Rajon Rondo and the other for inviting a female COVID-19 tester to his hotel room. We saw Naomi Osaka take over women’s tennis while wearing names of Black shooting victims on her face masks.

And we saw almost no fans in the endless slabs of empty seats, hearing nothing but echoes and canned noise that only reminded us of the force-fed greed and frivolousness of it all.

They want us to think this is sports utopia, a heavenly convergence of seasons and events unprecedented on Planet Earth. In truth, it’s part of our ongoing dystopia. And there was no more glaring example Sunday than how the leagues and certain TV networks, with a collective conscience of zero, tried to pretend that two persistent viruses don’t exist.

Racial injustice? The NFL already is facing protest-related upheaval, a division between teams that don’t buy into the league’s sudden embrace of social reform and others that dutifully line up on the sideline and stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner.’’ A pattern is developing — some teams boycott the national anthem by remaining in the locker room; some teams are split between players who kneel, stand or sit on the sideline; some teams stand united with no one kneeling; and some teams link arms and stand together, not just for the national anthem but the traditional Black anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing.’’ It’s a potential powder keg when the Patriots, coached by military man Belichick, have no players kneeling while the Dolphins, led by Black head coach Brian Flores, are in the locker room. Or when the Packers stay in the locker room while the Vikings are split — some standing, some kneeling — as nine members of George Floyd’s family watch from a stadium concourse in Minneapolis. Or when the Texans remain in the locker room while Patrick Mahomes, Face of the League, stands with the Chiefs as only one teammate kneels.

This divergence happened throughout the league and won’t be ending soon. I am not an advocate of keeping score on how people protest, but I know a sitting President who does just that, sadly making this a story. And I know an unemployed quarterback already disgusted by it all, with Colin Kaepernick tweeting Sunday that “the NFL runs propaganda about how they care about Black Life.’’

So why wouldn’t we notice every display? The Jaguars remained in their locker room while Colts head coach Frank Reich was the lone man kneeling on his sideline, as all his players stood. Mayfield, who had vowed to kneel, decided to stand, while Myles Garrett joined two other Browns players in kneeling. The Bills and Jets both stayed in their locker rooms in Buffalo, while the Falcons and Seahawks took a collective knee for the opening kick in Atlanta. The Cardinals stayed inside while the 49ers mostly stood. In Baltimore, Jackson kneeled while coach John Harbaugh stood. Carolina’s Teddy Bridgewater kneeled. All of which were powerful scenes that feed directly into America’s noxious pre-election climate, creating the disunity desired by President Trump and no doubt causing heightened tensions in a league in which 70 percent of the players are Black. I’d like to think each player would respect the decisions of others, but once Trump gleefully weighs in about the small percentage of kneelers — and early TV ratings declines — yes, there will be Players Association backlash and hard feelings that lead to … God, who knows what?

“We don’t need another publicity parade, so we’ll just stay inside until it’s time to play the game,’’ Dolphins players said.

“Our intent is to bring attention to the issue of systemic racism and the injustice therein. We wanted to demonstrate a symbolic gesture of how we believe meaningful change happens,’’ the Colts said of Reich’s solo display. “(Kneeling) is not a posture of defiance but rather one of humility — taken by the White community — to acknowledge the injustice and inequality that is present and to find courage and resolve to make the changes needed.’’

“I have been showed that a gesture such as kneeling will only create more division or discussion about the gesture,’’ tweeted Mayfield, “rather than be a solution toward our country’s problems at hand.’’

The differing approaches were as complicated as racism itself. Not that you’d have known if depending on the Week 1 TV coverage. For a historic matchup of all-time quarterbacks, on what Fox Sports called “America’s Game of the Week,’’ the network didn’t bother showing the live anthem scenes in New Orleans. Wasn’t it important to see if Brees — who drew a firestorm of offseason criticism when he condemned sideline kneeling as a form of “disrespecting the flag’’ — chose to stand or kneel? And what would Brady do as a Trump associate? The only way of knowing was via news reports: Buccaneers and Saints players all stood during the anthem, and Malcolm Jenkins the only New Orleans player not on the field.

Where was Fox? The network showed the Vikings during the national anthem — and responded with broadcast-booth silence, saying nothing about the Vikings or Packers. Given the presence of Floyd’s family, wasn’t the scene worth commentary from Chris Myers and the crew at U.S. Bank Stadium? Or is this a hint that Fox — and, by extension, the NFL — will cowardly stick to football after NBC’s Cris Collinsworth at least addressed the racial tension before kickoff Thursday night? CBS was responsible in showing the Dolphins’ no-show and how the Bengals and Chargers linked arms for the anthem, with requisite booth and sideline commentary. And NBC got it right Sunday night, showing about a dozen Rams kneeling as quarterback Jared Goff stood, and, with owner Jerry Jones placing a hand over his heart, Dallas players standing at attention except for nose tackle Dontari Poe, who kept his vow to kneel. But naturally, the NFL Network loaded up the day with game highlights and little protest footage.

I bring this up not because Americans should be inundated by activism, but because players demanded that the league and TV partners cover the Black Lives Matter movement consistently — and not quickly turn away when audience segments are offended, as seen late in the Kaepernick movement. If players don’t trust the motives of commissioner Roger Goodell, the first evidence is how the networks handle the story. So far, the coverage is erratic.

And the coronavirus? What coronavirus? College football and Major League Baseball resumed shameless money grabs, despite a relentless flurry of positive tests that ignore health risks and already have turned seasons into mayhem. In a disturbing contradiction, Big Ten presidents were meeting to discuss a return to football as Michigan State, a member institution, was asking the entire student body to self-quarantine for 14 days. All while Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley was making a mockery of Covid, saying he wouldn’t be forthright about positive tests heading into a game. “Just like we would with an injury, we made the decision not to broadcast that,’’ Riley actually said. “You don’t want to give your team a competitive disadvantage.’’ So let’s just conceal an infectious disease in the name of winning a football game! Boomer Sooner!

After a thrashing of Missouri State, Riley said the game nearly was postponed because, yep, his team was hit with a torrent of Covid cases, sidelining the starting running back and All-America kicker and leaving his offensive line in disarray. “It hung in the balance for a little bit, but we were able to do it,” Riley said after the 48-0 win. “Thankfully, we were able to.’’

Thankfully? Anyone concerned about the players, their families, their grandparents? How positive tests will contribute to more virus spreads on campuses, the current scourge of American academia? Across the sport, teams have Covid issues: Clemson was without three starters in beating Wake Forest … five Auburn starters have the virus … several games were postponed … and the ACC said it will scrap the season if at least eight of its 15 teams aren’t available to play, which likely would cause the SEC and Big 12 to fall into lockstep and shut down the College Football Playoff. Why are they even playing football when campuses are the nation’s hottest virus spots? “This is not a time when you can state with any sort of veracity that you’re going to play all your games,’’ Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby admitted. “We could find ourselves in the same situation that the Big Ten and the Pac-12 are in later in the season. I’m not prepared to have any bravado about it whatsoever.”

Baseball never should have attempted a season. The Covid interruptions have made the games unwatchable, stripping an already dawdling sport of all continuity and interest. MLB Is in a shameful race to claim $1 billion in TV revenue if a postseason somehow is completed. But now players are balking at commissioner Rob Manfred’s proposal to utilize Bubbles in the playoffs, in Texas and southern California, wondering why qualifying teams would have to quarantine for a week and force players to separate from their families. The answer is as obvious as a swab up the nose: The NBA and NHL have succeeded in keeping Covid out of restrictive environments; baseball has failed miserably so far outside a Bubble. Yet the pushback is considerable, especially from teams that have been Covid-free. “You’re asking us to choose between our families and the playoffs?” Justin Turner, the Dodgers’ union rep, told The Athletic. “That’s a stupid question, especially when we’ve played however many successful games this season. Obviously, there were two blips early on (Marlins and Cardinals), but it was out of poor choices by individuals. Other than that, it has been a pretty successful season. Why change all the protocols now?’’

Is he really asking that question? Unlike a regular season in which a team’s games could be paused for days or weeks after an outbreak, one positive test makes a mess of a postseason that can’t afford hiccups. 

Still, from Saturday morning through Sunday night, America managed to feel awake again, if not close to completely alive. This is the September buffet we’d heard about but never thought would happen, the full-blown resumption of sports that I railed against all summer. There’s still nothing remotely prudent about it, and if athletes who dare to play amid Covid are fighting significant medical effects years from now, please remember how I damned the leagues and networks that prioritized wealth over health. Billions of dollars breed corruption, and as we absorb Riley’s comments, tell me: Do you trust any people in power to be transparent when they can hide behind privacy laws or just openly lie? `As the NBA and NHL approach final rounds and MLB stumbles toward October, beware of such fakery.

It’s impossible to ignore the swirling convergence of crazy activity. The games are on TV around the clock, which gives the industry a chance to remind us “why we love sports,’’ as ESPN says. The surreal events of 2020 also mean people might not care about sports as much as they once did. They can watch, as a diversion, but can you really pull on a replica jersey when you’re trying to stay employed, pay a mortgage, educate your kids online and avoid the virus? I’ll be anxious to monitor the ratings. More sports are live in a single timeframe than ever before, yet even with a lack of original programming choices, who’s to say people will flock back to sports? The Jaguars, the only NFL team to allow fans Sunday, made 16,800 tickets available.

Only 14,100 showed up.

The games and individual performances still need to move and inspire us. Front and center were Brady and James, as they’ve been since the start of the millennium, creating new chapters in epic careers. James and the Lakers become the favorites to win the NBA title, resting as the hallway-rival Clippers crack as usual under pressure. Giannis is gone. Kawhi might be next. After all this time in confinement, think LeBron isn’t smelling the weirdest championship of his or any other lifetime?

“I understand the Laker faithful and what they felt or were going through over the last decade of not being in the postseason, or not competing for championships,” James said. “I took that responsibility as well. I’m happy I’m able to do a little bit and be a part of it.’’ Notice his humility when he’s in control.

Brady will be happy to survive his 44th year on Earth in one piece. He threw two interceptions, fumbled once and was sacked three times in a 34-23 loss to the Saints, and already, we hear Camp Belichick declaring victory — Brady was the product of the New England system and needed Belichick more than vice versa. It’s too early for all that, but so far, Newton — mobility! — owns one more victory in 2020 than the toast of Tompa Bay.

One of Brady’s picks went for a touchdown. The Bucs could have kept James Winston to do that. And if Brady thought Belichick was gruff at times, his new coach, Bruce Arians, blamed him for both interceptions.

“Poor execution. I made some bad, terrible turnovers,’’ Brady said. “I’ve obviously got to do a lot better job.  There’s no excuses. We’ve got to clean that up for next week.’’

And we’ll see him, at home against Carolina, on Fox.

The same can’t be said for the anthem, which, at the moment, is much more important to the national condition than Tom Brady’s arm strength.

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How to Help Your Clients with Low Website Conversions

Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

Jeff Caves

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Graphic for how to increase website conversions
Credit: WPDesigner.Biz

Are your clients dealing with low website conversions? Whenever a marketing campaign is run, and the goal is to convert website visitors into leads, the temptation is to blame low traffic, amongst other issues, for low form fills or appointments being generated.  Just spend more money, you may think! Sometimes, you must look at at least four other potential issues to tackle poor conversion rates. Here are some actionable steps using the IT services industry to increase website conversions.

IT Solutions specializes in providing products, services, or solutions related to technology, particularly in areas such as software development, hardware sales, IT consulting, cybersecurity, cloud computing, networking, and digital transformations. They faced challenges with their website conversions. Despite driving substantial traffic through Google Ads and other SEO tactics, they struggled to convert website visitors into form fills for appointment requests. A 2% to 5% conversion rate could be considered reasonable. Of course, conversion rates can vary based on various factors, such as the competitiveness of the local market, the quality of the website (and radio stations help most to fix that) and its user experience, the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, and the reputation and offerings of the IT solutions business. Focusing on improving the quality of leads and providing exceptional customer service can be just as crucial as achieving high conversion rates. Don’t blame EVERYTHING on the marketing tactics! 

The Diagnosis

Upon thorough analysis, several critical issues were identified with IT Solutions’ website:

1. High Bounce Rate: Nobody was checking out the business. If 70% or more of website visitors only visit the landing page, that is an issue.  It could be slow loading times, irrelevant content, poor user experience, or unclear calls-to-action that prevent them from wanting to know more about IT Solutions. You can check the bounce rate on the Google Analytics page for the website in the left-hand sidebar, click on “Behavior” to expand the menu, then click on “Site Content,” and finally, click on “Landing Pages.” You’ll see a list of landing pages and their respective bounce rates.

2. Complex Navigation: It was hard to move around the website to find relevant information about IT services, and it was unclear who they were initiating contact with and for what purpose.

3. Unclear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): The website lacked clear and compelling CTAs guiding visitors toward requesting an appointment. Simply stating “click here for an appointment” is like asking for a meeting whenever or without establishing value. Here are 28 CTAs for free.

4. Lengthy Forms: The appointment forms were long, without qualifying information, and requested excessive information upfront, deterring potential leads from completing them.

Action Plan

1. Optimize Landing Pages:

   – Redo high-traffic landing pages with clear messaging and compelling CTAs.

   – Showcase IT Solutions’ services as benefits, making it easier for users to request appointments, thereby increasing user engagement and conversions.

2. Simplify Navigation:

   – Reorganize the menu and add more action-oriented links.

   – Provide additional options for users to access relevant information, such as “Get a free IT Solutions 15-point checkup NOW” and “Take this 5-question survey to diagnose your IT issues,” motivating them to book appointments.

3. Enhance CTAs:

   – Utilize concise and persuasive messaging throughout the website.

   – Encourage visitors to take action, whether requesting a free download about “5 things you can do to solve your IT issues on your own” or “get a free pizza for booking an appointment.”

4. Improve the Form Fill:

   – Add a further line about the number of employees who qualify for incoming leads.

   – Highlight the value of leads based on company size, prioritizing forms with higher potential impact.

Review landing pages, navigation, CTAs, and form experience to address website conversion issues. Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

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‘NHL on TNT’ Gives Hockey Fans the ‘NBA on TNT’ Treatment

Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

John Molori

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NHL on TNT studio

Let’s play a little word association, sports media style. If I say TNT, what is your response? Chances are it will be a three-letter abbreviation of your own, namely, NBA. Over the years, TNT has built a reputation as arguably the premiere network to telecast the National Basketball Association.

The NBA on TNT pregame and halftime shows have become the gold standard with stars like Ernie Johnson, Jr., Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal. Still, it’s not just this quartet of roundball royalty that has fortified TNT’s hoops coverage.

The rep was also built on tremendous play-by-play announcers like Bob Neal and Kevin Harlan, color analysts like Doug Collins and Reggie Miller, and courtside reporters like the late Craig Sager and current sideline star Allie LaForce.

Indeed, TNT and the NBA have become synonymous, but I have some news for you. This network is not just about professional basketball. This past week I went off the grid with TNT looking at their in-game and studio coverage of the NHL.

On March 24, the NHL on TNT provided coverage of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche matchup. Kenny Albert did play-by-play with Eddie Olczyk on color. Albert is not as noted as his legendary broadcasting father Marv Albert, but he has certainly staked his claim as one of the best in the business – able to cross over to multiple sports with equal aplomb.

Hockey is a strong suit for Albert. His rat-tat-tat, drama-building style draws viewers in and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Similarly, Olczyk is one of the top four or five NHL game analysts in the business. His style is understated, providing calm and clear analysis of key plays. They work really well together.

Albert eschews any kind of hackneyed and trite catch phrases for his goal calls. An emphatic, “He shoots and scores!” is plenty enough.

Hockey is a different beast when it comes to play-by-play. Unlike basketball, baseball, football, or even soccer and tennis, there is a minimum of breaks in the action. With hockey, a play-by-play announcer has to know the names of the players like he or she knows her kids’ names.

To me, it is the hardest sport for play-by-play and equally difficult for a color analyst. In basketball, after a team scores, the play-by-play announcer will keep silent and give the color analyst time to talk until the play crosses center court. In baseball and football, there is ample room for commentary.

Hockey does not offer such space, but Olczyk gets the most out of the minimal amount of time. Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

Coming back from a break in the game, Albert and Olczyk provided on air commentary and then tossed to ice level reporter Brian Boucher who has grown into a tremendous asset to the TNT broadcasts. Boucher provided real talk about Colorado’s objectives of staying on top of their division and vying for the top seed in the Western Conference.

The Penguins, squarely in a rebuilding year having dumped talent at the NHL trade deadline, surprisingly jumped out to a 2–0 lead in this game, and the TNT between periods studio crew was all over it. The excellent Liam McHugh hosted alongside Colby Armstrong, Anson Carter, and Keith Yandle.

Armstrong was especially entertaining. With Pittsburgh outshooting the Avs 16-4, Armstrong noted that it’s the best he’s seen Pittsburgh play in a long time. His reasoning was that teams get geared up for playing Colorado even if it’s out of fear. Great stuff.

Both teams tallied two goals in the second period giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead heading into the final frame. When Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon set up Jonathan Drouin for a goal to make it 4-3, Albert and Olczyk showed their strengths.

Albert called the pass from MacKinnon and one-timer goal from Drouin, and immediately noted that MacKinnon now had a point in all 34 of Colorado’s home games this season. On the goal replay, Olczyk showed how the play developed pointing out how McKinnon allowed Pittsburgh’s Evgenii Malkin to come in close before making the past to Drouin.

The TNT production team then showed a graphic displaying that McKinnon is now second all-time in longest home points streaks trailing only Wayne Gretzky. This was a sublime sequence of symmetry between talent and technicians like a songwriter, musician, and singer creating beautiful music.

What was supposed to be a blowout win for Colorado had now become a hockey barn burner, and the TNT crew was up to the task. Every goal and key play was followed up with replays from multiple angles showing the genesis of the action.

TNT has certainly taken to the velocity of the hockey broadcast with movement that challenges directors, graphics professionals, and videographers.

When there were breaks in this non-stop action, Olczyk was at his best. No hockey analyst draws on his experience as a player and explains that experience better to viewers. The TNT broadcast also lets Boucher freewheel and join in the flow of discussion without having to be introduced.

TNT does not merely rely on the traditional wide shot of the entire rink. We see close-up shots of each goaltender after a great save and the sweat of players on the bench or in the penalty box.

When McKinnon tied the game at 4-4 with 4:38 left in the third period, we got a series of tremendous crowd shots showing the Colorado fans going absolutely berserk. The sage Albert and Olczyk wisely remained quiet for several seconds, letting the cheers do the talking.

When Drouin scored the game winner at 4:06 of overtime, Albert exercised controlled enthusiasm, raising his voice on the call of the goal, but not becoming the show and overshadowing the play itself. He is definitely in the mold of Dan Kelly, Gary Thorne, and Sean McDonough, announcers who enhance but do not supersede the game.

Putting a cherry on top of this hockey Sunday, TNT showed a graphic that the Avalanche now led the NHL in comeback wins this season with 25 and that they were riding a 9-game winning streak. In analyzing the goal, Olczyk opined that the altitude of playing in Colorado was prevalent as the Penguins seemed to tire as the game progressed – really interesting insight.

In the postgame show, Anson Carter made a great point that the chemistry between Drouin and MacKinnon stems from the fact that they have been playing together going back to junior hockey. McKinnon joined in from the arena for a postgame interview. The analysts asked solid questions and even did a funny MVP chant together as the interview ended.

The NHL on TNT takes no back seat to its elder NBA sister. The broadcast provides viewers with flash, dash, and serious hockey talk from every angle – in studio, from the broadcast booth, and on the ice.

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Kim Mulkey Now Has Everyone Anticipating Washington Post Story

I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it.

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photo of LSU women's college basketball coach Kim Mulkey
Credit: Dailymail.co.uk

The Washington Post, you might’ve heard, has a story coming out about controversial LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey. The reason you might’ve heard is because Kim Mulkey told you. The Tigers coach read a fiery prepared statement just before her team started the Women’s NCAA Tournament. In the statement, Mulkey threatened to sue The Post for defamation before the first word was even published.

Now, I’ve never run a public relations firm but that did not seem like a good idea. The Washington Post story on Mulkey is one of the bigger stories in sports right now and nobody even knows what’s in it. The reason the story, apparently unflattering to Mulkey, is even on anyone’s radar screen is Mulkey herself.

It all started with an innocuous social media post by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde right in the middle of the most anticipated two days in sports, the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. On his X account, Forde posted: “Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.”

You know what generally will go unnoticed at 4:00 on the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament? A post on X about a women’s basketball coach. But don’t tell Mulkey, she saw Forde’s post and decided to fight fire with nuclear weaponry. The result: the average person like me now is really interested in what has Mulkey so incensed. By “average person like me” I mean that I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it. Maybe:

“LSU Women’s Coach Discovers Ark of the Covenant”

Or:

“Mulkey Reveals True JFK Assassin(s)”

Perhaps:

“Famed Women’s Basketball Coach Reveals the Mystery Behind Slow Drivers in the Left Lane”

Literally any of those catch my attention more than whatever will likely be the Washington Post headline about Mulkey. But now Mulkey is “Mad as Hell and is not going to take this anymore” so I now have an interest I would never before have had in this story. It has been fascinating to watch the online speculation about the subject of the article and all we really know, as of now, is that it will be written by Kent Babb. This is a dream come true for Babb; he writes an article that is, presumably, not flattering about Kim Mulkey and, before it is even published, she gives the article the greatest commercial anyone could give it. Babb couldn’t have entered into a business agreement with Mulkey and had this turn out better for him.

For those who don’t follow Babb, he is a former NFL reporter who now is an award-winning writer for the Washington Post. In his 14 years with The Post, he has written sports features and authored a couple of books. One of those sports features stories was a deep dive into what he viewed as a large inequity in the level of pay for LSU head football coach Brian Kelly and his LSU players. It is this piece Mulkey described as a “hit piece” and, based on that piece, referred to Babb as a “sleazy reporter.” Babb, and many others, resented the fact his story was labeled as a hit piece. In fact, Babb essentially confirmed he was the author Mulkey was referencing when he shared the original article on X with the comment: “Hit piece?”

Whether a printed piece or a recorded interview, I can’t imagine a better promotion for it than the subject of the interview threatening a libel/slander lawsuit, especially before it is even released. That simply screams “This piece is salacious!!” Also, libel and slander suits get settled all the time, right? Of course they don’t, they seem to never even get filed. That little thing called discovery is a scary thing for most public figures.

The NCAA Tournament has been very entertaining, and I think the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be terrific. For only the fifth time ever, the top two seeds have advanced to the third round which sets up for a remarkable weekend. For me, I guess it will now include a Washington Post article, not a sentence I’d normally say.

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