ESPN Articles - Page 5

The inaugural ESPN Band of the Year rankings have been released, sparking significant reactions. We have our own thoughts on the new list and would like to share them. According to HBCU Gameday, the Division I Band Rankings are as follows: Southern University “Human Jukebox” NC A&T “Blue and Gold Marching Machine” Bethune-Cookman University “Marching […]

NHL legend Wayne Gretzky has paid tribute to hockey ESPN analyst Barry Melrose amid the latter’s shocking Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Wayne Gretzky (@waynegretzky) Wayne Gretzky posted a video montage of Barry Melrose’s memorable moments in hockey on his Instagram page. The video showed their […]

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker is not considered a top-10 player in the NBA by ESPN, which released its players ranked No. 50 through No. 11 for the 2023-24 season and had Booker at No. 11. ESPN provided the following explanation as to why Booker fell one spot from last year’s rankings. “On the verge […]

Southern University and Langston University are leading the pack in the first ESPN Band of the Year rankings, per returns released by HBCU Gameday exclusively. In the Division II/NAIA rankings, Langston University is ranked number one due to being first in Auxillery rankings and top five in Drum Major performance (3rd), Musicality (3rd), Percussion (2nd), […]

Countless NCAA women’s basketball teams dream of playing during March Madness. The competition and rewards are unmatched. Last year, the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Basketball Tournament saw all-time excitement when LSU beat Iowa in the Final Four. ESPN is looking to take that excitement to a new level. The network struck a deal with the […]

Pat McAfee didn’t hold back on the highly-anticipated debut of New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Monday. The Jets were hoping the 39-year-old Rodgers will help end their 12-year postseason drought. Their hopes were dashed when Buffalo Bills pass rusher Leonard Floyd sacked Rodgers in the Jets’ 22-16 win. The veteran quarterback sustained a […]

Pat McAfee is officially moving his Pat McAfee Show over to ESPN this week, and that means more opportunities across the platform for the former NFL punter. One of those opportunities is going head-to-head with the loudest voice on the network, Stephen A Smith, on First Take. Smith announced that Pat McAfee will join himself. […]

“The Pat McAfee Show” is just several hours away from making its much-anticipated ESPN debut. Fans who have followed the show on YouTube and Spotify are already used to his profanity-laced takes for the past several years. With McAfee and Co. debuting on ESPN one wonders if he will tone down on the swearing and […]

NFL analyst Mina Kimes came to terms with ESPN on a huge deal worth over $1.7 million per year. Despite many notable layoffs at ESPN over the summer, the company made sure to keep one of their top analysts in Kimes secured with a new contract. Despite the great news for Kimes, not everyone gave […]

If covering pro athletes like a pro wasn’t enough for Mina Kimes, now she’s making a salary in line with the sports professionals she reports on as well. According to The New York Post, she has signed a contract with ESPN that will pay her more than $1.7 million per year. Keeping Mina Kimes at […]

The Chris Mortensen era at ESPN has officially ended. Mortensen revealed on social media he retired after the 2023 NFL Draft in April, per USA TODAY’s Chris Bumbaca. “Excited about another season but it’s time to reveal after my 33rd NFL Draft in April, I made a decision to step away from ESPN and focus […]

Sage Steele continues to air the dirty laundry from the messy breakup she had with her ex… her ex-network that is, ESPN. After visiting the Alabama football program, it was time for the next stop on Steele’s right wing tour by going on Fox News to be interviewed by Jesse Watters. Here she dropped some, […]

Dick Vitale is one of the most beloved NCAA basketball announcers in the history of the sport. The longtime ESPN personality is known for his infectious positivity as well as  his catch phrases including “That’s awesome, baby!” Vitale vowed to “fight like hell” after revealing a cancer diagnosis earlier this summer. Vitale became cancer-free last […]

The Phoenix Suns are considered the biggest threat to dethrone the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference, according to an ESPN forecast of wins and losses for NBA teams in 2023-24. The story is compiled by unnamed ESPN experts. The article projects the Suns will finish 51-31, which would be the second-best record in the […]

Shannon Sharpe recently announced that he will be joining Stephen A Smith on ESPN’s First Take, firmly closing the chapter on his career on FS1’s Undisputed. Nevertheless, Skip Bayless and the Undisputed team wasted no time in retaliation, as it is official that Keyshawn Johnson will be joining the show after reaching an $18 million […]

It seems ESPN is trying to flag Fox Sports for a false start penalty after Skip Bayless broke the news that Keyshawn Johnson would be joining the cast of the rebooted FS1 series Undisputed. Apparently, ESPN isn’t ready to let Johnson out of his contract that easily. Even though the worldwide leader in sports fired […]

ESPN analyst and First Take host Stephen A. Smith clapped back at Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball’s attempt to prove he is healthy. "You really going to sit poolside on the bench and think because you getting up and sitting down… that makes you healthy? … Bro, you ain't healthy." Stephen A. Smith claps back […]

Stephen A. Smith had a lot to say about Sage Steele leaving ESPN. The often controversial Sportscenter anchor settled her lawsuit against ESPN and Disney and then decided to leave the company so she could “exercise [her] first amendment rights more freely,” and now the First Take pundit has weighed in on the situation. On […]

ESPN analyst and former NBA player Kendrick Perkins claimed the Philadelphia 76ers’ 2023-24 season is “already a failure” in an appearance with “First Take” Monday morning. "This season for the Philadelphia 76ers is already a failure. If I was Philly, I would blow the whole thing up right now and I would start with building […]

Will Apple TV take over ESPN in the future? According to Wall Street analyst, Daniel Ives, it’s a real possibility. As Apple TV looks to up its game in the streaming market, they know acquiring live sports will be key to increasing subscribers. After recently getting rights to Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball, […]

Stephen Curry has a lasting passion for golf. It was exemplified this NBA offseason when he competed in various celebrity tournaments and even won the ACC Golf championship. The Golden State Warriors star does not just keep this passion for himself. Rather, he imparts it to an HBCU like Howard University and its golf team. […]

Sage Steele has come out in the open after her controversial suspension from ESPN in the fall of 2021. Steele had a clean track record since she joined ESPN in 2007. That run ended in October 2021 after the network suspended her for her controversial comments on Jay Cutler’s podcast. When Steele returned to work […]

Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee is taking his wildly popular sports talk show to ESPN this fall, and we now know the Pat McAfee Show premiere date on the Worldwide Leader. The former NFL player will launch his show on the network the same day the 2023 NFL season kicks off. On Thursday, Pat […]

Already this NBA offseason, Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden has opted into his player option for next season, demanded yet another trade, called Sixers general manager Daryl Morey a “liar,” and vowed to never play for the franchise again. And ESPN NBA analyst and former player Kendrick Perkins says if Harden isn’t careful, these actions […]

Malika Andrews is set to become ESPN’s new host for the NBA Finals, replacing Mike Greenberg – who has hosted the show for the last two years – next season. Andrews rose to prominence during the 2020 NBA bubble, when she reported for ESPN directly from Orlando. She subsequently replaced Rachel Nichols – who she […]

ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins spoke out on an argument he and former NBA player JJ Redick had on “First Take,” when Redick criticized him for pointing out Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Nikola Jokic, who are each white players, won the Most Valuable Player when they did not finish top-10 in points per game during […]

The “Worldwide Leader in Sports” is getting into the gambling business with ESPN BET. However, in some corners of the sports world, the bigger news related to this deal is that this partnership between ESPN and PENN Entertainment means that the controversial Dave Portnoy just got ownership of Barstool Sports back for next to nothing. […]

New details about ESPN’s Band of the Year competition have been revealed. John Grant, the executive director of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and the Celebration Bowl, joined the BCSN Sports Wrap and gave more information. “We’ve been working on the ‘Band of the Year’ concept since 2017,” he said at the start of the interview. “It […]

Mike Breen has broken his silence on the departures of Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy from ESPN’s NBA coverage. Breen thought highly of his long-time NBA on ESPN broadcast partners. He gave Jackson and Van Gundy credit for his success in the broadcasting booth, per the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand. "It's something we'll all […]

NBA analyst Mark Jackson has broken his silence following his shocking dismissal from ESPN. Jackson posted a message on social media thanking his NBA ESPN co-workers Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Lisa Salters, Tim Corrigan, and the rest of the staff members. Jackson also sent his well-wishes to his successors on the NBA ESPN set. […]

Former NBA point guard Mark Jackson spent nearly fifteen years as a member of ESPN’s NBA television broadcast team. But his time with the network has now come to an end. Jackson is out at ESPN, and the network has decided to have former Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers take Jackson’s place on ESPN’s NBA […]

ESPN is “closing in” on promoting Doris Burke to its main broadcast team for NBA games, according to the New York Post. The network is hiring Doc Rivers to join her and Mike Breen in the broadcast team, the report said, but the deals are not finalized. ESPN fired former analyst Jeff Van Gundy in […]

SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland was forthcoming when discussing media rights at SWAC Media Day. The commissioner spoke with several outlets concerning the conference’s partnership with ESPN, touting the success the conference drew with its current media rights deal. “When we get our numbers from ESPN there were ESPN plus games that outdrew ESPN games, […]

HBCU Bands are set to get a huge national platform this year. ESPN Events will host the inaugural Band Of The Year Championship. The event is scheduled for December 15th at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Band Of The Year Championship will be a part of Cricket Celebration Bowl weekend, with the traditional […]

Scott Van Pelt is the top candidate among ESPN managers for the role of host on ESPN’s Monday Night Football Countdown for the upcoming 2023 season. Van Pelt has yet to accept the job and a formal announcement has not been made. ESPN’s Laura Rutledge was reportedly the other top candidate up for the job, […]

A former National Basketball Association (NBA) player has risen in the ranks to be the successor to former coach Jeff Van Gundy as an analyst for ESPN’s league broadcast. Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy reported that JJ Redick “has zoomed to the top of the contenders’ list to join ESPN’s top NBA game broadcast team.” […]

Jalen Rose recently made headlines after he was included in ESPN’s recent purge. The network deemed it necessary to cut costs after the recently-concluded NBA season, and this meant having to let go of no less than 20 on-air personalities. The layoffs included multiple big names in the broadcasting industry which unfortunately for him, also […]

Disney CEO Bob Iger has hinted that the company may be looking to sell some of its traditional TV assets, such as ABC and FX, as the media giant shifts its focus to streaming and digital platforms, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Bob Iger, who returned to the top job in November after a brief […]

WNBA ratings are significantly increasing this season on ESPN platforms midway through the 2023 season. WNBA games on ESPN are averaging 548,000 viewers, up 46% from the 2022 season. On ABC aired games, WNBA games are averaging 647,00o viewers, an 18% increase from 2022, per a graphic posted by ESPN PR’s Twitter account. #WNBA midseason […]