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Draymond Green Wants To Be Basketball’s Tony Romo

“If you’re going to mimic an analyst, Romo, with his rich contract, isn’t a bad choice.”

Brandon Contes

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At 30 years old, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green should have plenty of basketball left in the tank. But the three-time NBA champion doesn’t mind having missed the playoffs this season, using it as a chance to work on his future as a broadcaster. 

During the NBA restart, Green has worked as a part-time analyst for TNT, and just over a month ago, he joined CNN as a contributor. Green’s often viewed as a potential studio analyst, but he recently told The New York Times Marc Stein that it’s the in-game analysis he prefers. 

Quarterbacks strive to be Peyton Manning, basketball players want to be like Mike, it only makes sense that a game analyst will try to emulate Tony Romo right now because he’s at or near the top of his craft. The former Cowboys quarterback was an instant hit when he joined CBS as their lead game analyst three years ago, and last February he signed an extension with the network worth nearly $180 million. If you’re going to mimic an analyst, Romo, with his rich contract, isn’t a bad choice.

“I love to try to educate through the TV position,” Green told Stein. “The offense is lined up and the defense is lined up and he’s telling us exactly what the offense is about to do because of what he sees.

“Similar to Tony Romo, I want to give the world insight on what is actually going on out there on the court, as opposed to people thinking they know what’s going on.”

Green wasn’t highly touted after college, he’s not the most athletic player in the NBA, but his basketball savvy and IQ is elite, making him an All Star and an intriguing analyst.

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WWE Moving Smackdown From FOX to USA in 2024

“Under the terms of the deal, NBCUniversal will produce four primetime WWE specials each year too. Those will run on NBC.”

Demetri Ravanos

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WWE Smackdown Logo

All good things must come to an end. That is the case with the relationship between the WWE and FOX. Smackdown will leave the network next year and return to USA according to John Ourand of Sports Business Journal.

Several reports from earlier this year have indicated that FOX was unlikely to renew the deal.

The financial terms were not disclosed, but other details were. A five-year deal between the WWE and NBCUniversal begins in October 2024. It will put Smackdown on USA, where it ran from 2016 until 2019.

Under the terms of the deal, NBCUniversal will produce four primetime WWE specials each year too. Those will run on NBC.

This does not mean all of WWE’s media rights are accounted for. The company is still in discussions for a new deal for Raw.

USA has enjoyed a more than 20-year relationship with Raw. It has been the anchor of the network’s Monday night programming and is routinely WWE’s most-viewed TV product.

NBCUniversal’s Peacock is also the home of WWE Network. The addition of Smackdown, should strengthen the company’s position with the WWE.

Ourand reports that while the signs seem to indicate that WWE will exclusively be doing business with NBCUniversal, nothing is decided. Disney and Amazon have both met with TKO Holdings about acquiring some WWE programming and the companies have discussed the potential for Raw to move to a different night as part of a new deal.

 

 

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ESPN Decision Not to Show Nick Chubb Replay ‘Out of Respect to the Viewers’

“We viewed the replays in our production truck immediately after the play and decided to use discretion out of respect to the viewers and Nick Chubb.”

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Nick Chubb
Courtesy: Nick Cammett, Diamond Images via Getty Images

The decision made not to show a replay of Nick Chubb’s injury on ABC’s Monday Night Football broadcast has been met with scrutiny. The network did not offer a detailed explanation for the decision.

“We viewed the replays in our production truck immediately after the play and decided to use discretion out of respect to the viewers and Nick Chubb,” an ESPN spokesperson said when asked by The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch how the decision was made.

The spokesperson added that the decision did not come down from network brass. It was made onsite by the Monday Night Football production crew.

On the broadcast, Troy Aikman revealed that the injury was “as bad as you can imagine” after Joe Buck told the audience that he had been informed that the network had decided not to replay the interview.

While some members of the public praised the decision, some sports media professionals have had the opposite reaction, including Dan Patrick, who said ABC had a duty to the viewers to show a replay to put the sport and the event in context.

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Marcellus Wiley has ‘No Love & No Respect’ for Stephen A. Smith’s Ethics

“I love the truth more than any of these fools, and the truth is, you cannot attack Max’s credentials.”

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Marcellus Wiley
Courtesy: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Kershaw’s Challenge

Marcellus Wiley doesn’t want to hear Stephen A. Smith caping for Shannon Sharpe. He said its hard to overlook the hypocrisy of the ESPN star saying it is unfair to see Sharpe “pushed out” of Undisputed when he did the same thing to Max Kellerman on First Take.

On his podcast, Never Shut Up this week, Wiley addressed the comments Smith made about Kellerman on The Joe Budden Show

Smith said that he has no ill-will towards Kellerman but did not like hosting First Take with him. He claimed that his ultimatum to ESPN management that one of them had to go was about the show not resonating with audiences the way it used to.

“He got Max fired. Put off the show,” Wiley said. “It’s hard to say. Stephen A felt threatened point blank. Ain’t no way around it.”

Wiley says that part of Stephen A. Smith’s problem with Terrell Owens is that Owens touched a nerve with his joke that Kellerman sounded Blacker than Smith. Wiley said that for whatever reason, it is something Smith remains sensitive about.

He also took Smith to task for claiming that he knows the story behind Sharpe’s ouster from FS1 but cannot tell it. Wiley says Smith has a more compelling story to tell and that people just want to hear him own up to  why Kellerman had to go.

“I still got love for Stephen A,” Wiley said. “At the same time, you know me, I love the truth more than any of these fools, and the truth is, you cannot attack Max’s credentials.”

He added that for all of the talk about Kellerman never being the right fit for First Take, he can remember working with Kellerman on ESPN Los Angeles and hearing Smith call to try and convince Kellerman to move to New York to join First Take

“Grandma always said ‘can’t makes sense out of nonsense.’ Let me say this. Stephen A gets a salute from all, especially me, because I respect his work ethic. But right now, and a lot of people are seeing it right before our very eyes, no love and no respect for your ethics.”

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