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Kenny Mayne: ‘I Didn’t Prepare Aaron Rodgers for F You Moment’

“I knew that it would be a funny way to end it, but I didn’t write it down and I almost forgot to do it.”

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In what was not a shock to anyone, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was not at mandatory minicamp on Tuesday as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday. It has been a while since anyone has heard from Rodgers, but the last one who did was former ESPN personality Kenny Mayne. 

Rodgers, who is a good friend of Mayne’s, appeared on the ESPN legend’s last SportsCenter a couple weeks back. On this week’s episode of The Adam Schefter PodcastMayne talked about the now famous interview. 

“It was a weird position to be in and then you add in the weight of the ESPN bosses, ‘hey we know it is your last day, but can you get some f**n Aaron Rodgers questions for us to run them on SportsCenter?'” Mayne joked. “I sent him a note. I said we are not planning anything, just be prepared for everything. I’m not going to screw him over when he’s doing me a nicety of that’s a pretty big name to get on your final show. Aaron didn’t complain afterwards. He wrote something funny. He wasn’t offended and I think he wants to answer some things seriously. We kind of did it all in my opinion. I did what I wanted to do. It was my last show. He said what he said. I don’t know what’s going to happen, I have no idea.”

During the conversation with Schefter, Mayne said that he has no idea what’s really going on with Rodgers and has never asked him about it privately nor did he know anything other than rumors when the news Rodgers reportedly wanted out was reported the night of the NFL Draft. He knew that regardless of what he asked, he wouldn’t get Rodgers to tell him everything.

“I told people before and after I can be as straight as can be, I can be as silly as can be, somewhere in between, which I probably was. He’s going to answer how he wants to answer. No one can beat the information out of anyone. I can’t make Aaron tell me precisely what he’s thinking and what he’s exactly going to do and how he thinks it is going to turn out. He was kind of just doing the long, philosophical answer of people vs. institutions and I tend to agree with his point.”

Of course, what might be more famous than Rodgers’ thoughts on his current situation in that interview was the final question Mayne asked where he joked about getting into cryptocurrency. Schefter said it might have been “the single-greatest last question that I’ve heard asked of anybody ever.”

Mayne did not prepare the quarterback for the joke either and mentioned how he was doing it more to help him than for the actual show itself: 

“I daydreamed about that a day or two before,” Mayne said. “I knew that it would be a funny way to end it, but I didn’t write it down and I almost forgot to do it. All of those interviews, there were no scripts or prompters. I knew ahead of time ‘hey I want to hit these four things and you see where the interview goes. At the very end, it hit me to do that thing. As he is wrapping up, I pretend like we’re done. I referenced the last time I interviewed him and did the big joke at the end. He didn’t know it was coming for sure. That was a genuine reaction. I was doing it more for him than the room. I didn’t think they would run it out. They were like we had to run this.”

While Mayne said some people can criticize him for not addressing the trade request enough, he did the interview the way he wanted to do it and for someone’s final show in a great career, that’s all a person could ask for.  

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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Colorado Rockies & DirecTV Reach Agreement to Carry Games on TV

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination for their favorite local teams. We will continue to work with MLB…so fans can get their games.”

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Colorado Rockies

Breathe easy, Rockies fans — you will be able to watch your club on linear TV this year. At the buzzer, DirecTV and the Colorado Rockies agreed on terms to distribute the team’s games throughout its local service.

Starting today, DirecTV Choice subscribers across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Southern Idaho, Western Nebraska, and Northern New Mexico can now watch the Rockies on a special channel simply titled, “ROCKIES.” The games will be available on DirecTV and DirecTV STREAM via channel 683.

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination to get all their favorite local teams,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer of DIRECTV. “We will continue to work with MLB, the NBA, NHL, and other top leagues and their local franchises so the most avid fans can get the games they want while other customers have more choice over the content they want to pay to have in their homes.”

Reports just days ago out of Colorado said there were “no guarantees” the Rockies would not find a TV home in time for Opening Day following the sunsetting of AT&T SportsNet. The only other way to watch the team is to use its direct-to-consumer Rockies.tv streaming service, which fans say is too pricey for a team that lost 103 games last season. Luckily, the team was able to secure a TV home for 2024, though the future is still uncertain.

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Erin Andrews Reveals Infertility Journey in Emotional ‘Today Show’ Interview

FOX reporter Erin Andrews sat down with ‘The Today Show’s’ Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

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FOX reporter Erin Andrews shared her story of infertility and surrogacy with NBC’s Today Show. Last summer, Andrews and her husband welcomed a baby boy via surrogate after trying for a decade to get pregnant via IVF, during which she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016. Today, she sat down with Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Andrews says Welker’s announcement on the Today Show made her think a baby could be possible. “I remember Kristin Welker’s announcement on your show,” Andrews said last year, “and I actually watched that the morning Mac was born, because that just hit me.”

When they finally sat down, Welker asked Andrews why her journey resonated with the sports reporter so much:

“Because I see myself in you. Kristen, the video of you moderating debates after you’re waiting on bad news or maybe you just received it, that’s me. I can tell you every stand-up I’ve done at a football game where I’ve gotten the news that it didn’t work. I’d be talking about Tom Brady going for this record and my record is that I still was failing…I would have chest pains every time I was waiting for the call if it worked, and I knew it wouldn’t work.

Erin Andrews on ‘Today’

Andrews knew surrogacy was the only path to having a child. Although her family’s first attempt failed, her second attempt was a success, and she got to hear her child’s heartbeat for the very first time. The pair discuss the complex emotions that come with surrogacy, saying that bonds with their child could be affected because they didn’t carry their child. However, Welker assured Andrews that those feelings go away once you can talk to your child.

Once her son was born in June, who Andrews called, “a miracle,” she then talks about her child glowingly, talking about how he is just like mom — vocal. “He’s all me,” she says.

Andrews supports Baby Quest, a non-profit that grants money to families in need of IVF or surrogacy to have a baby but don’t have the funds to pursue these expensive treatments. Both Andrews and Welker acknowledged how difficult and unattainable their journies are for some families — and Andrews even used the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative to raise awareness for her cause.

“People don’t need to feel embarrassed that they have a surrogate or are looking for other help,” Andrews said.

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