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ESPN Alleges V Foundation, Halle Berry, Ryan Clark Refused To Work With Sage Steele

“Steele is under contract with ESPN through 2024 and continues to work on SportsCenter.”

Jordan Bondurant

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ESPN SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele is suing the network claiming her right to free speech was violated, and ESPN recently filed a motion to have that lawsuit dismissed saying there wasn’t enough proof there to show her right was violated.

Now details are emerging that show of some of the consequences Steele faced for her comments on Jay Cutler’s podcast about the COVID-19 vaccine mandate at Disney and former president Barack Obama.

Among some of the assignments Steele was removed from were an interview at a conference with actress Halle Berry and a fundraising event for the V Foundation.

While Steele alleges the decisions were ESPN’s doing, the network said in their motion to dismiss the lawsuit that both Berry’s PR people and the V Foundation asked to have Steele removed from those opportunities.

The V Foundation said Steele’s comments, particularly on the COVID vaccine, were “anti-science.”

Meanwhile, ESPN colleague and NFL analyst Ryan Clark allegedly refuses to work with Steele.

Clark put out a Tweet on Friday saying in part, “I work with a ton of people who think differently than me on (politics, vaccination opinions, fashion). Bottom line I don’t rock with Hate! I’ll leave it there.”

Steele did also receive blowback from ESPN colleagues on social media, from which Steele claims in her suit that the network didn’t do enough to protect her.

Steele is under contract with ESPN through 2024 and continues to work on SportsCenter. She has remained on-air while the litigation is going through the courts.

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Joe Buck: I’m Not Looking Up Taylor Swift Lyrics for Cute References

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Joe Buck
Courtesy: Getty Images

Taylor Swift has taken over the NFL world with her reported romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Despite the attention, ESPN’s Joe Buck says he won’t be referencing her on a broadcast anytime soon.

During an appearance on The Michael Kay Show Monday, Buck was asked if he had done any homework on the pop star with the intention of working in references during future broadcasts.

“I would not be the guy looking up lyrics trying to cutely add something in for a tip of the cap to all the Swifties out there. So no, I’m glad to just do a football game. I’m kind of glad to do football tonight,” Buck said as ESPN New York 98.7’s Peter Rosenberg said, “I love you for that”.

“I don’t even think you’d have to look up because I know you’re cool enough that you probably know some of her songs,” replied Kay.

“I’m not cool enough,” Joe Buck joked, “but I do have two daughters in their 20s both living in the great city of New York who went to both the New York Taylor Swift concert and one of them followed her to Kansas City, which from what I’m told it was the genesis of this whirlwind romance with one Travis Kelce.”

Swift was in attendance at Sunday Night Football between the New York Jets and Chiefs. The broadcast was the most-watched Sunday television program since Super Bowl LVII, garnering 27 million viewers.

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MLB.TV Sees Record Numbers in 2023

MLB.TV had nine of its top-10 most-watched days in its 21-year history in 2023.

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MLB.TV
Courtesy: Major League Baseball

When MLB.TV was launched in the summer of 2002, the product revolutionized the way people consume the game of baseball, especially for people out of the home marketplaces of their favorite teams. The app has engendered people to become immersed in fandom across the country, a cable television subscription notwithstanding, and has been one of the most successful streaming packages on the market.

In the 2023 season, Major League Baseball reports that there were 12.7 billion minutes of action watched on the platform, up 9% from last year. Furthermore, the outlet has experienced a 14% increase in users, along with a concurrent 17% increase in the games watched. These changes are attributable to the remodeled portal, and likely the rules changes that have hastened play and grown offensive output.

MLB had a 24-minute decrease in the average length of a standard, nine-inning contest and a 7% increase in runs per game, leading fans to come to the ballpark in droves.

The out-of-market streaming service further backed the trend that baseball is on somewhat of a resurgence, with fans ages 18-24 watching 16% more games in 2023 than last season. MLB.TV had nine of its top-10 most-watched days in its 21-year history in 2023, including the top five of all-time. Overall, the number of games watched from start to finish rose by 17%, evidence of the sport being able to more effectively capture the attention of consumers.

Major League Baseball’s postseason coverage begins on Tuesday afternoon with Wild Card round matchups in both the American League and National League on ABC/ESPN.

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Big Ten on Peacock Basketball Schedule Released

In addition to 32 regular season matchups, Peacock will exclusively stream early-round games from the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament.

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A photo of the Big Ten and Peacock logos

As part of its new media rights deal, NBC Sports has the right to exclusively stream 47 Big Ten men’s basketball games. For the inaugural season, 34 matchups will be on the streaming service.

In addition to 32 regular season matchups, Peacock will exclusively stream early-round games from the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The announcement of the schedule comes on the heels of reporting that former ESPN analyst Robbie Hummel will serve as one of the color commentators for NBC Sports and Peacock’s coverage of the Big Ten. Additionally, Jordan Cornette, Zora Stephenson, and Noah Eagle are also joining the network for its basketball coverage.

The Big Ten on Peacock basketball schedule is below.

DateTime (ET)Matchup
Mon., Nov. 67 p.m.Princeton vs. Rutgers (Trenton, N.J.)
Fri., Nov. 107 p.m.Texas A&M vs. Ohio State
Fri., Nov. 107:30 p.m.UTSA vs. Minnesota
Fri., Nov. 108 p.m.Alabama State vs. Iowa
Fri., Nov. 109 p.m.Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
Fri., Nov. 177 p.m.Morehead State vs. Penn State
Sat., Nov. 182 p.m.USC Upstate vs. Minnesota
Sat., Nov. 184 p.m.Oregon State vs. Nebraska (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
Tues., Dec. 57 p.m.Wisconsin vs. Michigan State
Tues., Dec. 59 p.m.Indiana vs. Michigan
Sat., Dec. 164:30 p.m.Arizona vs. Purdue
Thurs., Dec. 217 p.m.LeMoyne vs. Penn State
Fri., Dec. 297 p.m.Maine vs. Minnesota
Fri., Dec. 298 p.m.Jackson State vs. Northwestern
Tues., Jan. 27 p.m.Purdue vs. Maryland
Thurs., Jan. 47 p.m.Penn State vs. Michigan State
Thurs., Jan. 49 p.m.Minnesota vs. Michigan
Tues., Jan. 97 p.m.Indiana vs. Rutgers
Tues., Jan. 99 p.m.Purdue vs. Nebraska
Tues., Jan. 167 p.m.Purdue vs. Indiana
Tues., Jan 237 p.m.Ohio State vs. Nebraska
Tues., Jan 239 p.m.Michigan vs. Purdue
Tues., Jan. 307 p.m.Illinois vs. Ohio State
Tues., Jan. 309 p.m.Michigan vs. Michigan State
Tues., Feb. 67 p.m.Indiana vs. Ohio State
Tues., Feb. 69 p.m.Michigan State vs. Minnesota
Tues., Feb. 137 p.m.Michigan vs. Illinois
Tues., Feb. 139 p.m.Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
Tues., Feb. 207 p.m.Iowa vs. Michigan State
Tues., Feb. 209 p.m.Maryland vs. Wisconsin
Tues., Feb. 277 p.m.Wisconsin vs. Indiana
Tues., Mar. 57 p.m.Purdue vs. Illinois
Wed., Mar. 136:30 p.m.Big Ten Tournament
Wed., Mar. 139 p.m.Big Ten Tournament

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