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Pablo Torre: Dan Le Batard ‘Changed My Perspective’ on What Media Career Could Be

“I wanted to be a part of your family. That was fundamentally the decision that I made.”

Ricky Keeler

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A photo of Pablo Torre

Pablo Torre had worked with Dan Le Batard for many years at ESPN, but most recently made the move to join him at Meadowlark Media. While Torre is still doing some work for ESPN, he has also found a place where he enjoys working with the people that he works with.

Torre was a guest on Le Batard’s South Beach Sessions podcast and it was a powerful hour-plus conversation. Torre told Le Batard that he didn’t get what The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz was about until he became a part of the show.

“I didn’t listen to your show before I was on your radio show. I had heard it, I was a guest once or twice. I was shedding the exoskeleton of literary sportswriter. When I came in and realized what the f*** you guys were doing, it changed my perspective on what this job could be. The fact that this moved so quickly, that it’s light, easy, and fun, it literally was not dreamable for my parents that this would actually be more worthwhile than anything that was pain.

“The reason I went from full-time Disney employee who they wanted to do the shows that I was doing. I have nothing bad to say about ESPN on that front. They believed in me. The fact I went from that to working for and with you and giving up healthcare while I have a 3-year-old is nuts. Who could have ever thought that?”

Torre mentioned that one of the reasons he likes working with Le Batard is that he gets to work with people who he loves and that he wanted to be a part of their family.

“In an uncertain future in which we don’t know what icebergs will be remaining, I want to work with people that I love, that seem to have figured something out about how this could be. I wanted to be a part of your family. That was fundamentally the decision that I made. Yes, great, I can do some TV stuff, stay at ESPN, I don’t want to minimize that. That is so important to me. I’m here because I love sports, but that’s not why I’m staying. I’m staying because I love these people. Those feelings are in my naive brain, a better business model than let me serve you sports wherever you can get them with these takes.

“I want to be the neighbor to this house, I don’t want to be off across the country. I want to be a wing to this bizarre estate because so much of the engineering to this business comes from a place of attention, manipulation, and trying to engineer habits and it comes from the artificial and you start the other way. You start from what’s inside and people feel that. I feel that and that’s what drew me to this.”

During the interview, Le Batard did talk about how when he used to write stories, he would know if it was good enough if the story met his standards. He mentioned that when Torre asked him what he is most confident in being better than anyone in the industry.

“It is because if it meets my standard, I know it’s good enough. I give it to editors and I’m like this isn’t going to have to be changed. I’m not going to have to fight you on much. Whenever I was handing something in to one of these people who were at the top of the industry, if it met my standards, I knew it would meet theirs. Mine is a discerning taste when it comes to writing.

“When I know I have written well, that’s the most immune I am to any doubt…I’ve got a pretty good idea when we are speaking into microphones whether I’m giving the audience something that will be objectively interesting to the average person. Nowhere is it more honed than writing.” 

Also, Le Batard revealed about Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser that there aren’t many people that the duo both agree to work with, but that Le Batard and Torre are two of the people that share that rare honor.

“People don’t know this about Kornheiser and Wilbon. They are between them beyond being very different, there are very few people that both of them are willing to work with. I am one and you are one and I just remember after you had written 5-6 articles, telling you because I saw you were on the same path, get out of writing without having to do the noble writing of pouring yourself into the most challenging thing and then judge all the TV and radio people for choosing the cotton candy instead of the crossword puzzle.” 

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Saquon Barkley to WFAN’s Tiki Barber: “Don’t Feed Into the B.S.”

Barkley said any narrative that he chose to go to Philadelphia over staying with the Giants is incorrect because New York never offered him a contract.

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Logo for the New Heights podcast and a photo of Saquon Barkley

Former New York Giants and current Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley made an appearance this week on New Heights, the podcast hosted by Travis and Jason Kelce. In addition to several football related topics, Barkley spoke about his war of words with WFAN host and former Giants running back Tiki Barber.

After Barkley signed with the Eagles on a three-year, $37.5 million deal, Barber said that Barkley was “dead to us,” referring to New York Giants fans. Barber has said those comments were more about what the fans were thinking and were “tongue-in-cheek.” Barkley came back at Barber on social media and said he was a “hater” since he came to New York.

In explaining what made him upset about Barber’s response, Barkley said he didn’t think it was right to be attacked by a former player.

“I love seeing NFL guys, I love seeing OGs, I love seeing you guys, you have a platform, this is a place where you know ball, you can talk, you can educate fans,” Barkley said. “Maybe use that time to show, ‘Maybe this is why Saquon is going to Philly’ … the business side of it, use that to show, I’m not saying you got to have loyalty to me because I don’t care for that, to be honest, but you are an ex-NFL player, an ex-NFL athlete, don’t feed into the B.S., let fans do that, they’re supposed to do that, they’re emotional.”

Barkley said any narrative that he chose to go to Philadelphia over staying with the Giants is incorrect because New York never offered him a contract.

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Joe Buck Misses Calling Baseball But Says He’s Already Called it for “A Lifetime”

“People go, ‘Do you miss calling baseball?’ — I did it for 35 years, that is a lifetime in broadcasting…I feel like I put my time in.”

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Credit: Richard Shotwell AP

Longtime sports broadcaster Joe Buck gave up calling baseball when he made the switch to ESPN and, while he says he misses the sport, he’s called 35 years’ worth of the sport. On the latest edition of Nothing Left Unsaid with Tim Green, Green asks his former broadcast partner about the lack of baseball in his life. While Buck says he misses parts of baseball, he doesn’t miss all of it.

“People go, ‘Do you miss calling baseball?’ — I did it for 35 years, that is a lifetime in broadcasting…I feel like I put my time in. I did 24 World Series — that’s a lot, 24 more than I ever expected to do on national television. What I do miss is calling the game for the home crowd. I do miss the local stuff, where you go into the booth, and you’re the Cardinal announcer, and when the Cardinals win, ‘Yay,’ and when the Cardinals lose, ‘Boo.’ When you do the network stuff, it’s like death by 1000 cuts. It’s, ‘you hate my team, screw you,’ and it gets in your head and it takes a little bit of the fun out of it…I don’t miss the stress that comes with all that, but I do miss calling baseball for [a local team]…You show up, you’re not just there for an organization, but for their fans, and you’re kind of rooting along with them. That’s fun. And so, I miss that, but as far as the national stuff, I don’t miss a lot of that.”

Buck reiterated points he made months ago on 810 WHB with Jason Anderson. “I miss doing local baseball. I miss putting on a headset and being the eyes and ears of Cardinal fans, Royal fans, Rangers fans, whatever,” Buck said back then. “That’s more fun than being Switzerland and getting all the junk that comes with it.”

He stopped calling baseball when he and longtime football partner Troy Aikman moved from FOX to ESPN to call Monday Night Football. While he said publicly that he would miss calling the World Series, he also said the 2022 World Series would have been his last anyway. Buck says he may one day feel compelled to call baseball again, though, saying, “I’ve never said that before, but I just feel like I’m 53, basically 54, [and] I think it’s too early to say nevers at this point in my life. I think at some point, I’ll get the itch again.”

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Former Red Sox Pitcher Jonathan Papelbon Joins Roster of ‘Foul Territory’ Hosts

“I am joining the Foul Territory podcast full-time, no more guest spots…I’m coming in and I can’t wait to pop a bottle on this year’s baseball season.

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The already-stacked roster on Foul Territory just got its closer. Jonathan Papelbon, formerly of the Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, and Philadelphia Phillies, announced today that he was joining fellow former All-Stars A.J. Pierzynski, Todd Frazier, Adam Jones, Lorenzo Cain, Brock Holt and Jason Kipnis on the show.

The podcast also features former MLB Network host Scott Braun and former 11-year MLB catcher Erik Kratz.

“I am joining the Foul Territory podcast full-time, no more guest spots,” Papelbon said in a video posted to his X account. “Whether it’s a big Ohtani gambling scandal or me giving you baseball gambling winners…I’m coming in, no bulls—-, real talk, and I can’t wait to pop a bottle on this year’s baseball season.”

Papelbon has been a contributor to the show in the past as a guest but will now join in an official capacity. He has also contributed to linear and digital content for NESN since 2021 and will reportedly head to the booth this year.

The former closer will join Alanna Rizzo on the Foul Territory network, who was brought on just a week ago to co-host the podcast’s live program, Fair Territory, with baseball insider Ken Rosenthal.

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