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🎤 QUICK START ✍️

🏒 The Great One? Wayne Gretzky’s friendship with President Donald Trump isn’t doing him any favors north of the border, especially as he stays quiet about Trump’s “51st State” rhetoric. On Wednesday, the president said that The Great One was purposefully remaining “low-key” regarding that push, so the puck is now on Gretzky’s side of the rink to either speak up or stay quiet.

🏀 Paul’s podcast pause. Following criticism from the likes of Ryen Russillo, Paul George announced he was taking an indefinite break from Podcast P, citing a need to “focus on getting my body right, getting mentally right, and help this squad make a push toward our goal to finish the season out and give [the Sixers] a chance to be in contention to compete for a championship.”

🏈 Gronk done for good. Rob Gronkowski’s second NFL comeback attempt was a figment of someone’s imagination. After it was reported that the Fox NFL analyst was considering coming out of retirement to play for the Denver Broncos, he made it clear Wednesday that “they must know something about me that I don’t” and that playing days were definitely behind him.

🚨LEADING OFF 🚨

Two NFL insiders walk into a Starbucks…

A lot went down Wednesday between NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Fox’s Jordan Schultz. Let’s get you up to speed if you missed any of it.

Our story begins when Schultz reported that Fox broadcaster and Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady met with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford at Brady’s Montana home. According to Schultz, “Brady has been actively trying to convince Stafford to join the Raiders.”

A few minutes later, Rapoport reported that while Brady and Stafford did meet, it was “unplanned, was not extensive or in-depth and did not include Brady ‘hosting’ or ‘recruiting’ Stafford, despite reports saying otherwise.” That appeared to be a direct shot at how Schultz was framing things.

A few minutes after that, Schultz fired back. Without naming Rapoport, he wrote, “If you really think Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford just happened to run into each other at a ski resort in Montana — of all places — at the exact same time, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.”

A few hours later, Tom Pelissero, Rapoport’s colleague at NFL Network, stepped into the fray and fired a shot at Schultz on Rap’s behalf. “Reached for comment about an Internet rumor that Tom Brady hosted Matthew Stafford on a recruiting visit in Montana, Brady’s longtime agent Don Yee told me: ‘I know that reporters sometimes make mistakes in their haste, but this story’s inaccurate,’” Pelissero wrote. Rapoport then quoted Pelissero’s post, noting, “Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford, like many other high-profile people, both own houses in the same ski community.”

Referring to a Fox reporter’s report as an “internet rumor” is harsh, but it seemed as though the source-off stalemate might end there.

However, around 8:30 p.m. ET, Barstool’s PFT Commenter posted that he had heard about “a serious big time media confrontation AT STARBUCKS between two NFL newsbreakers were NFL security has been asked to step in.” PFTC has been known to make fake reports and jokes in the past, so it wasn’t clear how much anyone should believe that. However, it turns out he was telling the truth.

Late Wednesday, PFT’s Mike Florio reported that Schultz and Rapport got into a verbal altercation at the Starbucks at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, with Schultz being the instigator. According to Florio’s sources, Schultz approached Rapoport, wanting to talk. When rebuffed, he got in the NFL Network insider’s face, reportedly saying, “If you have anything to say to me, say it to my f*cking face” and “If this continues, we’re going to have a f*cking problem.”

NFL Security got involved and took statements. While Rapoport declined to comment on the fracas, Schultz told PFT, “It really isn’t anything too much. Ian Rapoport and I had a verbal confrontation. It lasted a little over a minute. Multiple agents and reporters were nearby. Rapoport was the one who called security shortly after, but it never escalated further.”

That’s where things ended Wednesday evening, though we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that Jordan Schultz is the son of Starbucks founder Howard Schultz. That detail probably doesn’t mean anything despite the coincidence, but it’s just a fun fact.

It’s hard to know exactly what to make of all this except to say that the “insider” lifestyle often sounds miserable and is essentially reporters battling over table scraps. Undoubtedly, this was not a story worth getting into a fight at Starbucks over. But add it to the list of weird moments created by Tom Brady’s quasi-conflicting status as a broadcaster and team owner.

👏 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 🗣️

• Pat McAfee may have gotten a good tan during his vacation, but his skin remains as thin as ever. During his first show since Super Bowl Monday, McAfee claimed he had heard that some in the industry were wondering if he might not return to ESPN airwaves. Considering how happy the Worldwide Leader has been with him, that would have been news to everyone.

• Unrivaled, the upstart 3-on-3 women’s basketball league airing on TNT Sports properties, is trying something unique. Every game's first and fourth quarters will now air commercial-free, an initiative to immerse fans in the product.

• Annika Sorenstam, a 72-time LPGA Tour winner, is throwing her support behind former Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott for the same role with the LPGA. That news was met with plenty of derision on social media, given everything that happened to the Pac-12 during and after his tenure.

• ESPN has retained a cornerstone of its NFL coverage, announcing that it has re-signed Laura Rutledge to a multi-year deal. Rutledge will remain the host of the daily shows NFL Live and SEC Nation, among other duties. 

📣 SOCIAL EXPERIMENT 🌟

NBA Centel, the parody social media account that has duped so many basketball fans, pundits, and media members with their patently false reports and graphics, appears to have been shuffled loose the X coil. The X account no longer shows any posts, leading to speculation that it has been suspended or at least threatened in some way to remove its content. That said, they’re still posting on other platforms, so who knows? While Centel has certainly been a source of frustration to many over the years, considering what’s flourishing on X these days, their fake news was downright quaint. Ballsack Sports, meanwhile, isn’t just thriving; they’re leading the resistance.

You have to admit, there’s something very tempting about wanting to believe the image above. Of course, this over-the-shoulder shot of Luka Dončić staring down Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison was too good to be true because it was 100% fake. That didn’t stop ESPN NBA analyst Jay Williams from sharing it as if it were real, the latest in a long line of ESPN NBA people falling for fake social media posts. 

Speaking of ESPN talent making bad decisions on social media, Stephen A. Smith “liked” a post about Israeli influence over America from far-right political commentator Nick Fuentes on Tuesday. Wednesday morning, Smith denied clicking the “like” button on purpose, claiming he doesn’t know who Fuentes or the video is. We’ll take SAS at his word, but it’s not the best look for someone who may have his sights set on a Democratic Party presidential nomination.

📈 DATA DUMP 📊

• The Luka Dončić trade isn’t paying off for the Dallas Mavericks yet, but it’s doing wonders for the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA, and the league’s media partners. Tuesday’s 107-99 Lakers win over the Mavs was TNT’s most-watched regular-season game of the year outside of opening night. It also set a record as the most-watched regular-season game ever on Max.

• Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race on The CW averaged 1.31 million viewers, a 10% increase from last year’s broadcast on FS1. The race finished second among sports events on Saturday, trailing only ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets (2.87 million viewers).

️‍🔥THE CLOSER🔥

The messenger is as important as the message

Almost a month after the Baltimore Banner first reported that Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by six massage therapists, a number that has since grown to 16, he finally publically responded for the first time.

Tucker’s statement was as one might expect. He categorically denied the heinous allegations and maintained he was never inappropriate with any massage therapist.

"I maintain I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session, nor have I ever been told I am unwelcome at any massage therapy provider,” said Tucker in a statement. “These claims are simply not true."

What Tucker had to say Wednesday was almost secondary to who he said them to. Faced with damning, corroborating allegations, the Ravens kicker could have given his initial rebuttal to any number of media outlets. The Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, or ESPN all would have been happy to run the story. Instead, Tucker gave his initial response to OutKick, the Fox-owned conservative outlet founded by Clay Travis.

In doing so, Tucker seemed to be sending a message in the form of his chosen messenger. The conservative-minded sports outlet often comes out combative on stances that align with right-wing causes, men’s rights, and anti-liberal sentiment. Tucker’s statement might sound penitent and introspective, but by giving OutKick the exclusive, he’s sending a very different message, intended or not. It’s a message that the NFL and Ravens will also notice.

If the goal was to drum up support on social media, the choice may have backfired. As many users learned that Tucker went directly to OutKick, it seemed to send a very specific signal. While the reactions were perhaps to be expected on a platform like Bluesky, even the ones on X lacked much sympathy for his cause or chosen messenger. And if you can’t drum up support around a topic like this on Elon Musk’s X, your strategy probably isn’t working…