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Maria Taylor, Ernie Johnson Share Memories Of UGA Graduation Speeches

Maria Taylor talked on The Steam Room podcast with Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley about delivering the 2021 commencement address at UGA.

MIchael Quirk

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Dorothy Kozlowsky

ESPN analyst, host, and sideline reporter Maria Taylor can often be heard on the airwaves speaking proudly of her alma mater, the University of Georgia. She got to do one better on May 13, delivering the commencement address at her alma mater, giving the Class of 2021 both advice as well as perspective.

May 13 also marked the 60th anniversary of the desegregation of the University of Georgia, a school Taylor’s grandmother, Lavonia Matthews was unable to attend when she graduated high school due to that very reason. Taylor spoke about the significance of being able to represent the school on behalf of her later grandmother.

The Georgia-native graduated from The Grady College with a degree in journalism in 2009, and also earned her MBA from UGA in 2013. Taylor recently appeared on the Steam Room, co-hosted by Charles Barkley and fellow UGA alumni Ernie Johnson, who also delivered the commencement address in Athens back in 2017. Barkley asked each to describe their nerves before giving the speech.

“You definitely have some butterflies, but the excitement of being able to do that and the honor of being able to do that far outweighed any of that,” Johnson said. “I can’t even describe the honor and the privilege that that was.”

“I was more nervous to give the commencement speech than I am doing most shows that we do,” Maria Taylor said, noting the live audience and gravitas of the moment. “You recognize what an honor that really is.”

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SiriusXM and MLB Sign Extension Through 2028

“We’re very proud to continue Baseball’s rich history of reaching fans through their radios.”

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A photo of the SiriusXM and MLB logos

SiriusXM and Major League Baseball have announced an extension of their partnership that goes through the 2028 MLB season.

Every MLB game will remain available to SiriusXM subscribers on their car radios and in the SiriusXM app. The new deal also ensures that MLB Network Radio will continue through the 2028 season.

“We’re very proud to continue Baseball’s rich history of reaching fans through their radios. Today, we’re delivering those fans the sounds of the game through SiriusXM’s state-of-the-art platforms in the car and on the SiriusXM app,” said SiriusXM President and Chief Content Officer Scott Greenstein.

“Being able to hear their team’s announcers is important to fans, and no matter where you are listening from across North America, you’ll get access to every team’s broadcast for every game on SiriusXM. Couple this with the best daily talk and analysis of the game on the MLB Network Radio channel and SiriusXM is a must-have for baseball fans, and will be for years to come.”

The new agreement continues the relationship between SiriusXM and MLB that dates back to the 2005 season.

“The collection of MLB game presentations and content that has developed through our extended relationship with SiriusXM has been a powerful asset in making our game more accessible to fans wherever they are,” said MLB Executive Vice President of Media & Business Development Kenny Gersh.

“The sounds of Baseball are an important part of our story and we’re proud to continue to work with SiriusXM as they advance and grow the MLB streaming experience for fans on their platforms.”

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Jonathan ‘T-Bone’ Smith: I Want to Be the First Radio Show on OnlyFans

The conversation occurred two days after co-host Mike Ricordati wanted to skip commercial breaks following Ohio State’s loss to Michigan.

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Jonathan Smith
Courtesy: Joseph Scheller, Columbus Dispatch

Earlier in the week, Mike Ricordati of 97.1 The Fan wanted the afternoon program to skip all of its commercial breaks for the remainder of the show to discuss the Ohio State Buckeyes’ third consecutive loss to the Michigan Wolverines. After addressing the incident at the start of the program on Tuesday, the show took the air and outlined how fans can interact with the hosts during the midst of the show. That then led to a suggestion from Jonathan “T-Bone” Smith about a new distribution medium for the afternoon program.

“I’m hopeful that we become the first radio show to cross over to OnlyFans, but not because we’re like, ‘Check out what’s going on. Click on my OnlyFans,’” Smith said on Wednesday’s edition of Common Man & T-Bone. “It’s not that; it’s more of we’re on there doing an uncensored show, but we’re not visually. We can have a picture of us.”

Upon being told by Ricordati that he was essentially describing a podcast, Smith described how it would be a delivery device where subscribers would have to pay to consume the content. Ricordati expounded on the idea and divulged his vision about what such a program would entail and how it would differ from the current iteration of the show.

“We do a straight show just like this, except people tune in to the webcam and we’re just sitting there in S&M outfits,” Ricordati said. “We make no mention of it; we do nothing with it, but we’re sitting there in studded leather clothing with a dog collar and whips and chains and a meathook hanging from the ceiling, and we just do a regular show just like that.”

“I am 100% in on this,” replied Jonathan “T-Bone” Smith.

Ricordati continued by stating that the money for the program would be donated to charity, specifically citing the United Sex Workers of America, and continued the segment for several more minutes. The debauched conversation continued by pondering if any of the coaches at Ohio State had ever heard of the OnlyFans platform, something Smith surmised they had because of their proximity towards upperclassman football players.

“We have a show login for pretty much every single website that exists in the sports world – like ESPN+ and [The] Athletic and whatever,” Ricordati said. “….Corporate’s paying for it. We have a show login. I wonder if over at the Woody [Hayes Athletic Center], they have a generic login for OnlyFans just to see what’s going on.”

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Fred Toucher: Everyone in Boston is Talking About Who Will Replace Rich Shertenlieb

Toucher’s comments came after 98.5 The Sports Hub played suggestions from listeners on who should replace Shertenlieb.

Jordan Bondurant

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Fred Toucher
Courtesy: Beasley Media Group

Since the departure of Rich Shertenlieb, the co-host vacancy alongside Fred Toucher on Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub has become a popular topic of discussion and speculation.

On Wednesday, Fred Toucher utilized a “Man-on-the-Street” segment headed up by producer Nick Gemelli to point out the fact that the question of who will replace Rich on the show is something on a lot of people’s minds.

“This is simply just Nicholas asking people who should take Rich’s place, which is a topic of conversation,” Toucher said. “Our own Nick Gemelli, only son of Mark Gemelli, went out to talk to people. I can’t speak to this I haven’t heard any of these, just about who will fill this coveted chair that people are texting me about that have no experience in radio and think they have a legitimate shot at it.”

But the segment seemed to get some criticism from longtime listeners of the show, as initially Toucher was unsure of whether to call the segment drunken recaps or not. But Fred said it didn’t make sense to call it a drunken recap because Boston Celtics fans tend to be more well-behaved.

Fred added later that the goal of the segment wasn’t to try and dunk on Rich, since drunken recaps is a bit from Toucher and Rich. It was just simply a chance to try and get a sense of the pulse of station listeners about who should be the next co-host.

“The point I was trying to make is that I’m not trying to do a drunken recap here,” he said. “All anyone is talking about in the region at all, the only thing anyone’s talking about, is who’s taking the Rich chair.”

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