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🎤 QUICK START ✍️

📞 Lost in translation. Temple clarified it never declined a Birmingham Bowl invitation, saying the opportunity went elsewhere before the school could respond. The Owls wanted to play but got lumped in with seven other 5-7 teams that actually said no.

🤐 Radio silence. Travis Kelce declined to speak with the media following his brutal drop that led to another Patrick Mahomes interception in Kansas City's 20-10 loss to Houston. Kelce was one of the last Chiefs players to leave the locker room, still in full uniform, unable to process what just happened.

🏎️ Nearly happened. Netflix explored buying Formula One before Liberty Media's $8 billion acquisition in 2016, with then-CEO Reed Hastings meeting with Goldman Sachs to discuss the deal. Hastings saw the vision but said sports would come "down the road" as Netflix focused on building its subscriber base first.

💰 Going hostile. Paramount launched a $30-per-share all-cash hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, bypassing the board to go directly to shareholders after WBD accepted Netflix's deal. CEO David Ellison argues that combining CBS Sports and TNT Sports creates "significant synergies" that can protect WBD's declining cable portfolio.

🎭 Fake insiders. Prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket have been partnering with fake X accounts posing as sports insiders to promote their platforms. "Scott Hughes" had a Kalshi partnership icon in his bio before X reclassified his account as a parody on Monday. At the same time, "Emma Vance" claims to be a "lead Polymarket reporter" despite having no actual reporting credentials.

⚽ More commercials incoming. FIFA plans to introduce more commercial breaks during the 2026 World Cup through extended "hydration breaks," building on the success of additional sponsor inventory during the 2022 tournament in Qatar. The breaks will be positioned as player welfare initiatives while generating additional revenue for broadcasters and sponsors

🚨LEADING OFF 🚨

Notre Dame learns what ‘not a full member’ actually means

Jim Phillips spent the better part of the last week campaigning for Miami to make the College Football Playoff over Notre Dame. The ACC commissioner went on television, issued statements, and the conference's social media accounts posted side-by-side résumé comparisons emphasizing Miami's head-to-head win over the Fighting Irish. When Selection Sunday arrived, and Miami grabbed the final at-large spot, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua had some thoughts.

"We were mystified by the actions of the conference, to attack their biggest business partner, really, in football and a member conference in 24 of our other sports," Bevacqua told Dan Patrick on Monday. "They have certainly done permanent damage to the relationship between the conference and Notre Dame."

Permanent damage. To a relationship where Notre Dame gets to play five ACC games a year, enjoy all the scheduling benefits, compete in 24 non-football sports, and maintain the precious independence that lets them cash NBC checks without joining a conference. The ACC added Cal and Stanford — two schools that bring mostly headaches — largely because Notre Dame wanted familiar opponents on the schedule. Phillips has bent over backwards to accommodate the Irish at every turn.

The ACC has spent years scheduling Notre Dame against second-tier opponents like Wake Forest and Pittsburgh instead of demanding they face the conference's marquee programs every year. Phillips has bent over backwards to accommodate the Irish at every turn, treating them like a full member without requiring actual membership.

But when it came down to an actual ACC member versus a school that refuses to join for football, Phillips did his job. He advocated for Miami, a team that not only beat Notre Dame head-to-head but actually belongs to the conference. The ACC's X account posted "No hypotheticals, just facts" alongside résumé comparisons.

Phillips emphasized Miami's five wins against top-40 teams compared to Notre Dame's two. He pointed out that Miami outscored common opponents — NC State and Pittsburgh — by 65 points, compared to Notre Dame's 51. He did exactly what a conference commissioner is supposed to do. He went to bat for his member schools.

“We didn't appreciate the fact that we were singled out repeatedly and compared to Miami," Bevacqua said. "It raised a lot of eyebrows here that the conference was taking shots at us."

Taking shots. Phillips was making a factual case for why an ACC team with a head-to-head win over Notre Dame deserved a playoff spot. But Notre Dame has operated for so long under the assumption that the ACC exists to serve its interests that they genuinely seem shocked when the conference advocates for an actual member when push comes to shove.

The Irish have convinced themselves that this arrangement is a right rather than a privilege. They've spent years getting preferential treatment — scheduling flexibility, bowl access, the ability to fill their schedule with ACC opponents while maintaining independence — and assumed it would last forever without reciprocity. The moment the ACC had to choose between Notre Dame and an actual member school, the choice was obvious.

Look at what Notre Dame actually has here. They play five ACC games per year, giving them quality opponents without the burden of an eight- or nine-game conference schedule. They maintain their NBC contract, which is worth around $25 million annually through 2029. They compete in 24 non-football ACC sports, which provides stability and revenue for those programs. They get bowl tie-ins with the ACC. They've essentially outsourced their scheduling headaches to a conference that handles the logistics while they collect independent money and maintain their brand.

The ACC has accommodated all of this because having Notre Dame in the fold — even partially — has value. But the relationship only works if both sides understand what it actually is. Notre Dame isn't a full football member. They chose independence. That means when an actual ACC team is competing with them for a playoff spot, the conference is going to side with the school that actually committed.

Bevacqua told Patrick that the situation has "opened our eyes and caught our attention" and that the relationship is "strained" but not "irreparable." He stopped short of threatening to leave, which makes sense because where exactly would Notre Dame go? The Big Ten doesn't need them badly enough to let them stay independent in football. The SEC sure as hell isn't interested in that arrangement. Notre Dame needs the ACC more than they want to admit, and the conference finally reminded them of that fact.

"When it comes to football, we have a responsibility to support and advocate for all 17 of our football-playing member institutions, and I stand behind our conference efforts to do just that," Phillips said. "At no time was it suggested by the ACC that Notre Dame was not a worthy candidate for inclusion in the field."

Notre Dame has spent decades cultivating an identity built around independence, and now that identity is butting up against the reality of conference-driven college football. The 12-team playoff was supposed to make independence more viable by creating more paths to the postseason. Instead, it's revealed how much power conferences have in shaping narratives and advocating for their members. Notre Dame got a taste of what it's like to be on the outside looking in, and they didn't like it.

🎺 AROUND AA 🎺

Every college football fan has that one media personality they're convinced hates their team. Paul Finebaum lives rent-free in the heads of Notre Dame and Michigan supporters. SEC homers accuse Joel Klatt of Big Ten bias. Big Ten fans fire back that ESPN's entire network is an SEC propaganda machine.

The accusations fly on social media, message boards, and group chats every Saturday. But who are actually the most biased voices covering college football? And more importantly, who's genuinely objective despite the noise?

Awful Announcing is settling this debate once and for all with our inaugural College Football Media Bias Rankings. We've assembled a ballot of 40 prominent voices covering the sport, and we're asking readers to vote on their perceived bias — or lack thereof.

The methodology is simple: vote on every personality you're familiar enough with to make an informed judgment. We've cast a wide net this year, including analysts, a few reporters who moonlight as opinion-makers, and one particularly outspoken play-by-play voice. Conference-specific network employees didn't make the cut since bias is literally their job description.

Voting closes Friday at 10 p.m. ET, with results published next week. Time to prove your favorite pundit isn't as objective as you think—or that your least favorite talking head really does have it out for your team.

Click here to vote and make your voice heard on who's truly calling it down the middle and who's playing favorites.

👏 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 🗣️

• ESPN is assigning Joe Tessitore and Dan Orlovsky to call Omaha and Overtime's inaugural high school football national championship on ESPN2 Wednesday at 7 p.m. Corner Canyon (Utah) faces St. Frances Academy (Maryland) in the first-ever high school football national title game, featuring multiple Division-I recruits including Texas A&M commit Helaman Casuga.

• The NFL flexed Bengals-Dolphins out of Sunday Night Football in Week 16, replacing it with Patriots-Ravens on NBC. Cincinnati's 4-9 record and Miami's 6-7 mark made the matchup irrelevant, while both New England and Baltimore remain in playoff contention with divisional implications.

• ESPN announced more 2026 MLB schedule selections under its restructured deal that drops Sunday Night Baseball for 30 weeknight games and MLB.tv streaming rights. The network opens April 15 with Mets at Dodgers for Jackie Robinson Day and will pay the same $550 million annually, though the value now comes primarily from local rights and MLB.tv after NBC took over Sunday Night Baseball.

• The NFL and Big 12 announced an officiating partnership, giving Big 12 officials access to NFL clinics, teaching tapes, and training programs while creating a pipeline to identify officials with pro potential. The deal marks another partnership for commissioner Brett Yormark, who has also secured deals with Microsoft, PayPal, WWE, and now the NFL since 2022.

📣 NOTABLE QUOTABLES 🗣️

"Anybody who thought I was actually calling for him to be murdered and killed so he couldn't breathe, you misread this situation, and I apologize." - Barstool's Dave Portnoy clarifying his stance on murder after a viral rant about Pete Carroll and a bad beat.

"Notre Dame's now in contention for being the worst fanbase in America. I know that's been the case, but just shut up already, Notre Dame fans." - ESPN's Paul Finebaum going scorched earth on Notre Dame ahead of Sunday's College Football Playoff selection show.

"Notre Dame makes all that money off that NBC contract, but does anybody watch these games? No. On the week of their biggest game of the year against Southern Cal, I think they lost in the ratings to LSU and Vanderbilt on ABC." - Finebaum doubling down after Notre Dame's playoff snub, questioning whether the Fighting Irish brand carries the weight it once did compared to SEC and Big Ten programs.

"They completely misunderstood why he's good, which is par for the course for ESPN, by the way." - Bill Simmons explaining to Vanity Fair why ESPN failed to maximize Max Kellerman's talents during his two decades at the network before bringing him to The Ringer for a podcast with super-agent Rich Paul.

"Why wouldn't they want Notre Dame when they can't get Notre Dame any other time? They can only get Notre Dame in the playoffs. Can't get Notre Dame any other time." - Pat McAfee pushing back on the perception that ESPN is anti-Notre Dame, pointing out that College GameDay launched last year's playoff at Notre Dame and that ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro's kid goes to Notre Dame.

"I don't know that I felt more empty than I did at that moment in my life." - Troy Aikman, revealing to the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast that he considered retiring from broadcasting after calling Super Bowl XLII in 2008, despite it being one of the greatest games he'd ever called. The feeling never returned, and now he can't imagine working into his 70s.

"I did say I was gonna strip down butt naked and I was gonna run around the Square. Now listen, that is just a Southern phrase. We say things like that, we don't mean it." - Chef Elizabeth Heiskell walking back her promise to run naked through Oxford Square if Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss, claiming it was just an expression

️‍🔥 THE CLOSER 🔥

TNT draws the short straw again

The CFP announced its first-round schedule last month, and TNT drew the short straw for the second straight year. Ole Miss-Tulane kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20, followed by Oregon-James Madison at 7:30. Fox countered with Eagles-Commanders at 5 p.m. and Packers-Bears at 8:20. The two Group of 5 matchups in the bracket go directly against NFC division games with playoff implications in late December.

ESPN grabbed Friday night with Alabama-Oklahoma and the noon Saturday window with Miami-Texas A&M. Both games air on ABC with zero NFL competition. TNT gets cable-only broadcasts of the weakest matchups while Fox runs them over with broadcast NFL.

Last year proved this arrangement doesn't work. TNT aired SMU-Penn State at noon and Clemson-Texas at 4 p.m. in December 2024. The NFL scheduled the Chiefs-Texans game on NBC and the Steelers-Ravens game on Fox, directly opposite each other. Clemson-Texas pulled 8.6 million viewers on TNT. Steelers-Ravens drew 15.4 million on Fox. SMU-Penn State managed 6.4 million against the Chiefs game. The gaps were 7 to 9 million viewers per matchup.

The CFP's adjustment for 2025 was shifting TNT's windows from noon 3:30 to 3:30 to 7:30. The afternoon game gets about 90 minutes before Fox's 5 p.m. kickoff. The night game still goes head-to-head with Packers-Bears at 8:20. The noon window went to ESPN on ABC, which now has arguably the best game of the weekend without any NFL competition, while TNT handles the tougher slots.

The NFL asked the CFP to move another first-round game to Friday, creating a two-two split instead of one Friday and three Saturday. That would have eliminated most of the overlap and let fans watch everything. The CFP refused because they wanted three Saturday games. So the NFL scheduled two of its most compelling late-season matchups on broadcast television in the exact windows TNT needed.

ESPN reportedly presented data to the CFP Management Committee showing that the first-round games cut into NFL ratings more than the NFL cut into CFP ratings. That might be technically true depending on how you measure it, but the NFL's absolute numbers were still significantly higher. ESPN is using that data to justify keeping the current schedule, which protects ESPN while TNT absorbs all the damage.

TNT is paying for a sublicense deal that runs through 2028 and expands to include two quarterfinals and a semifinal starting in 2026. They lost NBA rights and pivoted heavily into college football. The CFP keeps handing them the worst possible inventory in impossible time slots. Ole Miss-Tulane and Oregon-James Madison would struggle to draw big audiences without NFL competition. Against Eagles-Commanders and Packers-Bears in December with playoff seeding on the line, they're finished before kickoff.

ESPN gets Friday night and early Saturday on ABC. The CFP maintains its preferred structure. The NFL proves again that pro football owns December. TNT gets Group of 5 matchups on cable, going against the broadcast NFL. This year will be worse than last because the matchups are weaker, and the NFL has learned it can dominate this window.