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🎤 QUICK START ✍️

🏈 Flex appeal. The NFL flexed Patriots-Saints out of the Week 6 national window on CBS, replacing it with 49ers-Buccaneers after Joe Burrow's injury left the network scrambling for compelling matchups. Nobody will miss watching the winless Saints.

🎤 Sideline apology. Bears coach Ben Johnson apologized for his terse halftime exchange with CBS reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala, admitting he misheard her question as a statement and overreacted. Consecutive wins probably bought him plenty of goodwill with fans who care more about results than manners.

⚾ Outrage machine. Gary Cohen drew backlash for calling the Marlins series Miami's "World Series" after the Mets collapsed and missed the playoffs, although anyone who watched the entire broadcast knows he was acknowledging how much more Miami wanted it, rather than mocking them for celebrating.

🥊 Boxing home. TKO announced that Paramount+ will be the exclusive home of Zuffa Boxing, starting in 2026, with 12 fight cards initially, and CBS potentially simulcasting some events. Dana White gets his boxing platform after months of speculation.

📺 Longer leash. Rob Stone acknowledged Barstool operates with more freedom on Big Noon Kickoff than Fox's traditional broadcast talent, saying Dave Portnoy "can say things that our executives would say, 'Why did you go there?'" The arrangement delivers ratings while Stone plays cleanup.

🚨 LEADING OFF 🚨

The stick-to-sports mandate that never existed

Paul Finebaum told OutKick he's considering leaving ESPN to run for U.S. Senate in Alabama as a Republican. He revealed he voted for Donald Trump in 2024, can't say no if Trump endorses him, and admitted ESPN's policy prevented him from discussing any of this throughout his entire broadcasting career.

The SEC Network host described the conversation with Clay Travis as "cathartic" because he was finally able to say things he hadn't intended to say.

Seven years ago, that probably would have ended a career at ESPN.

When Jemele Hill called Donald Trump a "white supremacist" on her personal Twitter account in September 2017, ESPN immediately distanced itself from her comments. The White House press secretary called it "a fireable offense." When Hill later suggested fans boycott Cowboys advertisers over Jerry Jones' anthem stance, ESPN suspended her for two weeks. She left the network less than a year later.

The network made an example of her. Stick to sports or face consequences.

But that was 2017. Sports media, and media in general, have undergone significant changes since then, and so has ESPN's approach to enforcing political expression. The difference is in the direction the politics flow.

Aaron Rodgers spent the past two years using Pat McAfee's ESPN platform to spread conspiracy theories about everything from COVID vaccines to government cover-ups. He discussed Dr. Anthony Fauci the day after the National Championship. He questioned official narratives and promoted right-wing talking points every Tuesday during football season.

And yet, he was allowed to remain a frequent guest on McAfee’s show.

The broader shift in sports media explains why. The industry has undergone a pronounced shift to the right since 2020. Fox partnered with Barstool Sports, giving Dave Portnoy a weekly spot on Big Noon Kickoff. ESPN brought in McAfee's deliberately provocative show. The NFL removed "End Racism" messaging from end zones. MLB returned its All-Star Game to Atlanta after relocating it in 2021 due to voting restrictions. Athletes who once took stands on social issues now do the Trump dance after touchdowns.

Stephen A. Smith negotiated a contract that allows explicitly for political content on outside platforms, while keeping ESPN appearances focused on sports. ESPN president of content Burke Magnus called it "drawing clear lines." But those lines only matter when the politics lean left.

Finebaum's situation makes the current reality obvious. He just told a Fox-owned conservative media outlet he's planning to run for elected office as a Republican while working for a network that supposedly prohibits political activity. He revealed his voting record, his party registration, and his willingness to accept Trump's endorsement. He acknowledged ESPN's policy prevented him from discussing politics, then discussed his politics anyway in a lengthy interview.

The culture war in sports media is over, and the right won decisively. Networks that once punished political expression now give conservative voices free rein. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visits the White House to announce draft locations. ESPN airs Trump statements during championship games. Media companies settle frivolous Trump lawsuits rather than fight them. Fox owns OutKick and partners with Barstool.

Against that backdrop, Finebaum can announce his potential Republican Senate run without ESPN saying a word. Not because the network got better at separating sports from politics, but because they stopped caring about politics that align with the current cultural moment.

The stick-to-sports mandate was always selective enforcement disguised as editorial policy. ESPN deployed it when employees criticized Trump, questioned league partnerships, or took progressive stances that might upset conservative audiences. The restriction vanished once the sports media's pendulum swung rightward and those positions became liabilities rather than assets.

What changed wasn't ESPN's commitment to keeping politics out of sports. What changed was which politics ESPN considers problematic. In 2017, criticizing Trump got you suspended. In 2025, announcing your Republican Senate candidacy while revealing you voted for Trump gets you nothing but a platform to discuss it further.

Finebaum called his OutKick conversation cathartic. He finally said things he'd kept quiet for years. His ability to say them without consequence doesn't prove ESPN evolved past its stick-to-sports mandate. It proves the mandate only ever applied to politics, which made the network uncomfortable with its current audience and business partners.

📣 SOCIAL EXPERIMENT 🌟

Joe Buck's karaoke skills get put to the test on live television:

Troy Aikman still hasn't forgiven Jaxson Dart for picking USC over UCLA during his recruiting days:

ESPN dug up footage of Arnold Schwarzenegger losing his mind during the Jets' 2000 Monday Night Miracle comeback:

Tony Romo's awkward attempt at optimism after Lamar Jackson's injury:

📺 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 🎬

• DraftKings secured an exclusive multi-year partnership with NBCUniversal covering NBC's entire sports portfolio, replacing the failed PointsBet deal that was restructured and eventually sold to Fanatics. The new agreement is structured as straight advertising rather than equity stakes.

• EA Sports was sold to investors, including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, in a $55 billion deal that marks the largest all-cash take-private investment in history. The Madden and FIFA publisher goes private after being publicly traded since 1990.

• Amazon added Chris Haynes as an NBA insider and Marcus Thompson for feature stories ahead of its debut season as an NBA rightsholder, with Haynes returning to television more than a year after leaving TNT Sports.

• NBC hired Chris Mannix as its NBA insider for studio and digital coverage starting in October, joining Grant Liffman on the editorial side as the network staffs up for basketball's return after more than 20 years

📣 NOTABLE QUOTABLES 🗣️

"It's really good to see this for DeBoer. Because it feels like if Alabama had lost this game after losing to Florida State, and Florida State just lost to Virginia… that place is vicious. Watch that trash, Paul Finebaum, to see how vicious… It's just not good. It's just not good. Humanity. Get my little shot in at Paul, one of the all-time cowards." - Todd McShay on his Ringer podcast, calling out Paul Finebaum's coverage of Kalen DeBoer after Alabama upset Georgia.

"I'm just gonna compose myself before I say something I'd regret. But yes, I think this team is resilient. I think it is relentless. We haven't played good enough football, and I think those are two very different things." - Titans coach Brian Callahan deflecting reporter Paul Kuharsky's question about whether his 0-4 team is resilient.

"I like Cleveland. I keep joking with the guys, I didn't even know Cleveland had water, so, um, it's been nice getting out the house, weather's been good. I know that's not gonna last too much longer." - Lonzo Ball on discovering Cleveland sits on Lake Erie after being traded to the Cavaliers.

"The NBA is going to do their job. None of us did no wrongdoing. That's it. We invite the investigations. It's not going to be a distraction for me or the rest of the team." - Kawhi Leonard addressing Pablo Torre's reporting on the Clippers' alleged salary cap circumvention scheme.

"Who the hell ran that clock last night?! If I ever see that joke, ooohh I'm gonna tackle his head! Are you joking? You let that finger come down slowwwly to press that clock. Oh, game over? Game over. Ain't nothing you can do about that!" - Michael Irvin melting down on First Take over the clock operator stopping the clock with one second left in the Cowboys-Packers tie.

"Something's missing with this kid. This kid talks, and he runs his mouth. Like he said, 'I can be a starting quarterback' with his arms crossed like this. Get your ass in the front row and study and do all that. If I know, the whole league knows. Quit being an embarrassment that way." - Rex Ryan ripping Shedeur Sanders after the Browns’ rookie claimed he could start over some current NFL quarterbacks.

🎺 AROUND AA 🎺

Pablo Torre has made a name for himself uncovering sports' biggest secrets, from the Bill Belichick-Jordan Hudson relationship to the Kawhi Leonard salary cap allegations. But what other mysteries deserve the Pablo Torre Finds Out treatment?

Awful Announcing's Michael Grant compiled five unsolved sports mysteries that deserve the Pablo Torre Finds Out treatment, including the whereabouts of the removed Joe Paterno statue, the identity of Lizzo's mysterious Minnesota Vikings player, and the holy grail of sports interviews: a sit-down with Steve Bartman.

Click to read the full list of sports mysteries that need Torre's investigative touch.

️‍🔥 THE CLOSER 🔥

Baker Mayfield can't stop airing old grievances in the media

Baker Mayfield doesn't need to do this anymore.

The Buccaneers quarterback has made back-to-back Pro Bowls, led Tampa Bay to consecutive playoff appearances, and has his team off to a 3-0 start. His reputation is fully rehabilitated from the Cleveland years.

Yet after beating the Jets, Mayfield made the win "personal," claiming defensive coordinator Steve Wilks "was the one that cut me in Carolina." Never mind that Wilks was an interim head coach for barely two weeks when Mayfield was released, or that both sides agreed it was mutual.

The chip-on-shoulder mentality served Mayfield well when he was fighting for respect. Now that he's established himself as a franchise quarterback, that same intensity might be better focused on the present rather than relitigating old grievances.

Click to read more from Awful Announcing's Sam Neumann on why Mayfield keeps manufacturing storylines he no longer needs.