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Laura Rutledge Made Doctor’s Appointments To Ensure She Could Cover Draft

“‘You can tell me not to go. Please tell me not to go if it’s not safe.'”

Ricky Keeler

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A photo of Laura Rutledge

In a couple of weeks, NFL Live host Laura Rutledge is going to give birth to her second child. As she reflects back on when she had her daughter Reese in 2019, she remembers a time where she thought that having a child could mean the end of her career. 

Rutledge was a guest on The Adam Schefter Podcast this week and she reflected back to when she thought that she couldn’t invest the time in both being a great mom and doing all of the demands that being on TV has. Now, she has a different mindset.

“I felt like I had ruined everything I had worked for, which is so sad because that’s so ridiculous when you think about the joy of having children. This time, I have been determined to celebrate it as much as I can and also find ways to say no matter what happens, we are going to work through the challenges and there’s going to be a way to continue the career because there’s no other option. Women should feel that way no matter what career they are in.”

Rutledge was determined to cover the NFL Draft in Kansas City last month even while 9 months pregnant. She told Schefter it is her favorite event on the sports calendar. 

“I love everything about it. The fact that it’s the college football world and the NFL, my 2 favorite worlds, colliding all in one and you really do see lives change and the NFL changes and all of the things we talk about everyday kind of just come to a head wherever the draft is last year. To miss it might have actually sent me into labor at home. I would have been so frustrated.”

At the same time, Rutledge wanted to make sure she could cover the NFL Draft, so she kept checking with her doctor to make sure it was okay.

“Every week, we would sort of talk through it and I had an appointment a couple of days before I left for the draft. I said ‘You can tell me not to go. Please tell me not to go if it’s not safe.’ She said no, I want you to do this if you feel okay… Definitely was not the most comfortable I’ve ever been in life, but that’s okay. I was so thankful to be there.”

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Sports TV News

ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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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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