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Marc Bertrand Has Fought Like Hell

We’ve had a great run. We’re fully aware of how great this has been and how lucky we’ve been to have this run of success.”

Brian Noe

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Marc Bertrand

Laurence Fishburne’s character, Morpheus, once said in The Matrix, “You take the blue pill – the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Marc Bertrand is a successful sports radio host in Boston. Although he can’t dodge bullets and contort his body at lightning speed like Matrix characters, he once faced a similar choice.

Take the blue pill and remain at WEEI, the heritage station he had dreamed of working for as he commuted to college. Take the red pill and work at the Sports Hub, an upstart with potential but lots of unknowns. Marc chose the red pill, and the rabbit hole has been way better than he ever imagined.

For the past 14 years, 98.5 The Sports Hub has been Marc’s radio home. He’s hosted middays with Scott Zolak for eight years now. Marc talks about how much it means to him to be recognized by his peers as the number one midday show in a major market. He also talks about his humble beginnings in the industry and the lengths he went to for real opportunities. Marc is an awesome storyteller. He describes the meaning behind his nickname and shares funny stories about Deion Sanders and Mary Lou Retton. Enjoy!

Brian Noe: How was everything in Phoenix for Super Bowl week?

Marc Bertrand: Well, it was my first time back since the pandemic. The last time we were there was Miami right before this mess began. My impression of it was that it was back in a big way. It’s changed for sure; it’s not all radio anymore. It made me a little bit sad when I came down the escalator at the convention center and saw that a sign said Media Row and not Radio Row. But it’s great. It was lively. There were a ton of big names in the room, which is great to see. It looks healthy, is what it is.

It’s changed a little bit. There’s social media people there. It’s not all radio, like I said, there’s TV in there. I’m just glad that it’s a big deal still, that there are outlets that still want to be there and be a part of it. It is my absolute favorite part of this job is doing radio row. It’s the thing I look forward to every single year in this job is going and doing that week. I was happy to be back and I’m happy to see that it’s still a pretty good event.

BN: Do you have any funny stories from all those times being on Radio Row?

MB: Here’s probably the funniest one. Going back to the Super Bowl in Houston when the Patriots were there to take on the Falcons, we managed to get Deion Sanders on our show. Deion Sanders didn’t do a lot of radio hits, but he came on our show. Zo talked with him about getting picked off by Deion twice in an interview. And in that interview, he decided midway through that he was done with the interview because he saw Antonio Brown walk by. So he just got up and dropped the headset on the table in the middle of the interview and walked away. And that was the end of our interview. [Laughs] There have been weird things like that happen.

I also love, I think it was that same year, Hardy [Rob Poole], who’s on our show, met a childhood idol of his in Mary Lou Retton, which is the last person you’d expect to see on Radio Row. He told her a story about how he went to a shopping mall in suburban Detroit 25, 30 years ago to meet her when he was a kid, and how they were reunited and she just loved the story. They got these great pictures together hugging. It’s just sort of the funny stuff like that happens. Some of the guests, you don’t have to try too hard and their presence can be funny.

BN: That’s funny, man. I love both stories, but you couldn’t script that any better where Deion’s like ‘Oh, it’s AB, I’m outta here’. That is just hilarious to me.

MB: Yeah, and then it ended. It was like there goes Deion Sanders, the greatest cornerback that ever lived.

BN: [Laughs] Thanks for the time, Deion.

MB: And when he was on, he was funny. He was engaging. He was great to talk to and then when he decided it was time to get up and go see a friend, that was it. The interview was over and he left us without even a goodbye.

BN: That’s great, man. What did you think about the way the game played out?

MB: I liked the end result because I was rooting for Patrick Mahomes. I think he’s the most marketable, most likable player in the sport. I like the Chiefs and I like the fact that they’ve got a great quarterback. I believe in quarterbacks. It’s sort of a thing that I have. Having watched Tom Brady for two decades with the Patriots be the reason why they won so many games, I just sort of believe in that way of doing business, having great quarterbacks.

The game itself had a bunch of points. Points scored in different ways, a defensive score, a long punt return, there was a lot to like about that game. I’m not the least bit angry about the holding call at the end of the game. I have no issue with the call. I think the Chiefs took it to the Eagles in the second half and the Eagles couldn’t get a stop. At the end of the night, the better quarterback, you let him hang around, he’s going to win a game. That’s how it played out.

BN: Tom Brady is known as the GOAT. On his Pro Football Reference page, it says he’s also known as the Pharaoh. I’ve never heard one person refer to him as the Pharaoh. Have you guys ever done that?

MB: I’ve never referred to him as the Pharaoh and I have no idea where that started.

BN: [Laughs] I don’t either.

MB: No idea.

BN: None either. I’ve never heard it one time. How about your nickname though? Beetle — how did that come about?

MB: So Tony Mazz (Tony Massarotti), going back to 2009 when we first launched the station, decided that he needed a nickname for me. I wish there was a good story behind it, but Mazz tried out a handful of nicknames over the course of the week. For some reason that one stuck, and I don’t even really know how it started. At one point, we had a producer who said he thought it started from the Beetle Bailey cartoon, going back I don’t know how many decades ago that comic strip was.

It was one of about three or four nicknames that Tony Mazz tried out one week as like a running joke that he needed to establish a nickname for me, and that one was the one that stuck. It took a little bit of time, but he called me that enough times that it lasted. Now it’s become a nickname that almost everybody listener-wise calls me. It just sort of stuck. I don’t know why. I mean, it’s terrible, I wish I had a cool story. I wish it were actually based on something. But it most definitely isn’t.

BN: I actually think it’s better that way. I love that story. Do you remember the two or three other nicknames that were in the running?

MB: I don’t, but they all were B’s. They were all B nicknames to have the alliteration with Bertrand. I wish I could recall; we’re going back 14 years ago now. I don’t remember, but it was so contrived, and so forced that I can’t believe that it stuck. I really can’t.

BN: You just signed a new extension, how does that feel to you?

MB: It feels great. To still be in the same place that I was 14 years ago when we started the station, it’s home, it’s my radio home. It’s where I’ve worked for the overwhelming majority of my adult life. And so, it’s great. It feels great to have the security of a new deal. It’s comfortable, is what it is to come to work every day and know all the people you work with and know who they are and know what they’re about.

Now on middays with Zo and Hardy, we’ve been together for eight years. That’s a really sort of comfortable situation that there’s not working through any newness. We’re still doing it, man. It feels great to still be doing it and still be doing it at a sports station that is still doing so well. We’ve had a great run. We’re fully aware of how great this has been and how lucky we’ve been to have this run of success.

BN: Is Zo any different off the air than he is on the air?

MB: I would say that on the air he’s subdued from what he is in real life. [Laughs] And so yes, he’s slightly different off the air in that he might be just a tad bit crazier, and I say that with all the love in my heart because Zo’s a fun guy to be around at any given moment. It’s sort of funny, because on trips to radio row and trips to the Super Bowl site every year, you spend a lot of time with your co-hosts. You sort of live with them for a week.

We got to the airport last Friday night coming back to town from Phoenix and we all went our separate ways. It’s sort of like, oh, what are you doing tomorrow? They sort of become like members of your family. I spend more time with Zo and talking to Zo than I do my own wife and children. For the most part he is the same guy, but I would say he could be a little bit more wild and a little bit more fun when he’s off the air.

BN: Your show was just named the top major market midday show on the Barrett Sports Media Top 20. When you get recognition like that, being number one in your daypart, what’s your reaction to that?

MB: Oh, it’s awesome. It’s still a thrill, don’t get me wrong. We love it. We watched out for it last week when it dropped that morning to see if we won again. I love that it’s people that we work with in the industry, which I think is the best kind of recognition. People that do this job, people that are managers in this job, people that really understand programming and understand radio.

I think that’s the thing that makes it probably the most rewarding that it’s recognition from within the industry, people who have a clue. It’s not some fan contest or listener contest, it’s people that understand the job. That is why we’re still really happy to get that respect. I can’t thank the people enough that thought we were worthy of their vote. It’s great. I don’t know any other way to put it other than we love the fact that we’re number one again.

BN: Getting recognized by people in the industry, does it cause you to reflect on the beginning of your path and how you initially started out?

MB: I totally agree with that. I do think it’s, for me, really rewarding to say I went from doing updates on weekends, to now having a show that my name is on, and is being recognized not only by people here in Boston but people across the country. To be number one in anything in the country is huge. So yeah, I do, I definitely have reflected on that. Especially with having won it more than once, which is remarkable. If it had happened once, it would have been a big deal. For it to now happen three times, I’m over the moon for it. It’s unbelievable. I think there’s definitely some reflecting.

The other part that I reflect on when something like that happens is all the people that go into that. It’s easy for Zo and me and Hardy to be the faces of the show and to be the guys who sort of get this credit and recognition. But we’ve got so many people that help us do our job. Our producer, Tom Morgan, he took over for Jim Louth two years ago. Jim Louth has now moved on to be our APD. Tom Morgan stepped up and has been fantastic is his first time as an executive producer. I can’t tell you how great he has been over the last couple of years since taking the job, and taking on more responsibility, and how much that guy helps us every day.

Tyler Milliken, who’s also on our show, these guys put in more hours and more work to make us look good. I think about those guys and how much they do to make this show happen every single day. I don’t know that I could do it all myself. Zo couldn’t do it all himself. The support we get from our two producers, just always actively involved, as is Rick Radzik, who I know does get credit. They put his name in the story. We have so much great support behind the scenes across the board that make it possible to be in this position.

BN: I’m curious what you would have been more surprised by, if someone had told you when you were a weekend update anchor that you would have risen to the position that you’re currently in, or if someone had told you when the Sports Hub launched, that it would turn out to be the ratings juggernaut that it is, which would have surprised you more?

MB: Oh, that is a talk radio host question right there; the very difficult either/or. I can tell you this, I dreamed of being a host in this market. They didn’t call it manifesting when I was in college, but I used to drive by on my way from where I grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, back and forth to college at UMass Amherst. I used to drive by on the Mass Pike, the New Balance building where WEEI used to be when I was in college. I used to drive by it with my girlfriend, now my wife, and I would say I’m going to work there someday. I used to say that. And she was like, okay, fine, whatever, you’re going to work there. I used to say, I’m going to work there someday. That’s where I want to be. I’m going to work there.

Then I got an internship there in college and even did updates on weekends. That’s what I dreamed up. That’s just something that was in my mind was being a host on the best radio station in the market for sports. I did not dream when the Sports Hub started that it was going to be the monster that it turned into. I was going to the Sports Hub if I’m being honest in 2009, because it represented an opportunity, and it represented more hours of work, and a little bit more money. At the time, that was really important, working part time, very little guaranteed money, guaranteed role, guaranteed anything.

There were people in my own family that said, what are you doing? You’re on the air at the station you always wanted to be on, and now after a year and a half you’re gonna walk out the door for the upstart? You must be crazy. Maybe I was a little crazy. Maybe it was a little shortsighted, but I thought it was going to be a good opportunity.

I fought like hell to get the job. They were focused on who their hosts were going to be filling out the dayparts with the major headliners and the names; I was just looking for an update job. I badgered Mike Thomas until he gave me the job, and sat in the lobby at the radio station without an appointment, telling the receptionist that I did have an appointment with Mike Thomas, and sat it out, and waited for hours until he agreed to come out and talk to me.

I look back on it now and say, there’s no way I could’ve predicted this. I could not have predicted that the station was going to be this successful, or that I personally was going to be this successful, but it all worked out in the end. It’s worked out better than I could have ever imagined.

BN: Man, that’s an amazing story. When you initially began at the Sports Hub, maybe you thought more long term, but if I were in those shoes, I would’ve been thinking more about the here and now. Did you make a decision thinking of the next 10, 15 years?

MB: No, absolutely not. I was not thinking about the next five years; I was thinking about the next year or two. What could I do in the next year or two to make myself a better candidate for whatever that next job might be? That to me was the thing I was thinking about was the opportunity to get on the air more, the opportunity to do more. That’s what it represented. That’s what I was most concerned with was having more reps.

That’s one of the things that really was different in the beginning for the Sports Hub, is everybody was on board, everybody was really eager to do well, everybody was eager to sort of have David slay Goliath. That’s what we were in it for, was this massive challenge and how it wasn’t going to happen without people really putting in the work. I was lucky because I got the chance. I got on the air and had the chance and was given an opportunity and got a whole heck of a lot better along the way, which I don’t think I would’ve ever received had I stayed doing the weekend updates on EEI.

BN: When you think about your future, considering the way you had to battle in the beginning to get opportunities and to move up to where you are, do you think that causes you to think more about what’s now instead of what’s next?

MB: I think the job makes you so busy with the here and now that sometimes it’s really hard to think beyond tomorrow’s show, or this week’s shows. That’s a little bit different as you get older because when I started at the Sports Hub, I was 24. I now have the show to take care of every day. That is a lot more time consuming than being an update anchor or a weekend guy.

I have far more responsibility in the job now than I did when I was 24, but I also have way more real life responsibility at 37 than I did then. I’m married now and I have three kids. The time to sit there and ponder anything beyond this week and what time is basketball practice for a nine year old, it’s just a busy life. It’s hard to think about anything beyond what I’m doing in the here and now.

I’m sure as time goes on, there could be chances for more opportunities to do something that is different from the show. Nothing in this job is permanent. Nothing. This is where I want to be. This is the show I want to be on, and when you get a new contract you don’t have to think about the what ifs. What if there is a change? What if they do go in a different direction? Things of that nature.

I often say, I’ll be doing sports radio here or nowhere. That’s what it comes down to. I would not want to work in another market because I just don’t know that I’d be invested enough. I care about the teams here and I care about the people here because it’s my friends, my family, it’s everything. I don’t know that I could do it somewhere else.

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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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