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🎤 QUICK START ✍️

🎙️ Le Batard apologizes. After his eponymous show received a significant amount of negative feedback for celebrating the Fourth of July by re-releasing its previous Donald Trump interviews, Dan Le Batard apologized on his podcast’s postgame show, stating that he was “sick to his stomach” and “embarrassed” over the weekend.

🏈 Will Blackmon joins GMFB. As the 2025 NFL season approaches, Good Morning Football’s cast is continuing to take shape. That includes the addition of Will Blackmon, with the former NFL defensive back set to join the NFL Network’s flagship morning program as an on-air contributor.

⚾️ Pat McAfee is heading to Atlanta. One week after he publicly expressed a desire to do so, Pat McAfee confirmed that he will host his eponymous show in Atlanta next Monday, just hours ahead of the Home Run Derby.

❌ ESPN and NFL respond. After Mark Gastineau filed a $100 million lawsuit against ESPN and the NFL over The New York Sack Exchange 30 For 30 episode, both the network and the league have now responded. And in doing so, ESPN and the NFL moved to dismiss the lawsuit, which they say has no merit based on the contracts he signed and the First Amendment.

🎮️ Belichick and Sanders opt out. While college football fans celebrated the early release of EA Sports’ College Football 26 video game on Monday, two of the sport’s most famous coaches were nowhere to be found. As first noted by The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, neither Bill Belichick nor Deion Sanders opted in to participate in the game, which marks the first installment of the franchise to feature real-life coaches.

🚨LEADING OFF 🚨

Malika in the morning

Despite LeBron James’ best efforts, the NBA offseason has already calmed down. And with NFL training camps still a few weeks away from opening, that means the quietest period of the sports calendar is officially here.

But while many use this time for some much-needed rest and relaxation, others see it as an opportunity to expand their horizons.

It appears applies to ESPN’s Malika Andrews, who is set to guest-host ABC’s Good Morning America this Saturday and Sunday, as well as the show’s digital program the following Monday, according to Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel. Although Joe Buck is in line to guest-host later this month and fellow ESPNers Laura Rutledge and Elle Duncan have also been discussed for the role, Andrews’ opportunity specifically stands out.

After all, not only is the 30-year-old’s contract at ESPN set to expire later this year, but she has also already been positioned as the type of talent who could follow in Robin Roberts’ footsteps from the Worldwide Leader to network TV. Andrews’ guest-hosting gig appears to be a step in that direction, even if nothing is guaranteed beyond these three upcoming appearances.

If Andrews crushes it, that could add a whole new dynamic to her contract conversations with Disney, whether it’s guaranteeing similar opportunities down the line or officially putting her on the sports-to-news career track that has become so commonplace at networks nowadays. It’s also worth reiterating that the Oakland native is only 30, so it speaks volumes that she’s already been put in such a position.

Andrews might be in a contract year, but her future in the industry is clearly secure. And if this weekend’s assignments are any indication, her next deal could position her as not only one of the key talents at ESPN, but Disney too.

💬 AROUND AA 💬 

Predicting the NFL’s 2030 media rights

What will the NFL’s next media rights package look like when the league inevitably opts of its current deal at the end of the decade? Awful Announcing’s Drew Lerner did his best to predict just that.

🎤 MEDIA MOMENTS ✍️ 

• The Atlanta Braves’ disappointing 2025 season hasn’t just affected its players, coaches and fans, but those who cover the team too. That was clear this past weekend, as The Athletic’s David O’Brien authored a seven-post thread on X expressing frustration with the way some of his coverage has been received.
  

• Excerpts from Christine Brennan’s new book about Caitlin Clark have begun to make the rounds. That includes one in which the USA Today columnist details being confronted by DeWanna Bonner over her line of questioning to DiJonai Carrington following an on-court incident with Clark last fall.

• Could you imagine an alternate universe where Craig Carton is a football coach? Apparently, it nearly happened. On Monday’s episode of Breakfast Ball, the FS1 star re-told a story to Eric Mangini about how Bill Belichick offered him a gig as an unpaid intern when he was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in the early-1990s. Carton said no, Mangini got the job instead and the rest, as they say, is history.

🔥 THE CLOSER 🔥 

Farewell, College Football 25

Ever since EA Sports began releasing the Madden video game series on a yearly basis, most installments of sports video game franchises have largely blended together. Sure, there are some years where a new tweak (like the hit stick) or the arrival of a new system changes everything. But by and large, new sports video games are primarily roster updates.

There are, however, some games that manage to break out and stand the test of time, especially for gamers of a certain age. NBA Live 2003, Madden 2005, MVP Baseball 2005, FIFA 2006, NBA 2K13, NCAA Football 14.

College Football 25 was one of those games.

You can read my full tribute here, in which I detail the ways in which the online dynasty feature effectively helped me maintain some semblance of a social life (no, really). But perhaps the most impressive part of CFB25’s legacy is that it didn’t just live up to unrealistic expectations — it surpassed them.

College Football 25 was a longtime coming, as it had been 11 years since EA Sports stopped manufacturing college sports video games in the wake of Ed O’Bannon’s lawsuit. NIL regulations, however, paved the way for the franchise to be revived, featuring real-life college players (who were compensated for their participation) for the first time in its history.

The game wasn’t perfect, but it was close to it, and got so many of the little things we love about college football right. It was also the best-selling sports video game in history, which is no small feat considering the state of the industry.

As for College Football 26, the recently released sequel promises to be an improved version. But in terms of the game’s legacy, it already has a lot to live up to following last year’s revival.