Welcome to The A Block, Awful Announcing’s daily newsletter where you’ll always find the latest sports media news, commentary, and analysis.

Did someone share this newsletter with you? Sign up for free to make sure you never miss it.

🎤 QUICK START ✍️

📺 Comedian Shane Gillis will host this summer’s ESPY awards. Given the viral moments that came from his College GameDay appearance and his overall popularity, ESPN may have finally made a way to make their awards show entertaining!

🏈 The Washington Post did a deep dive into NFL insider Jordan Schultz and the way he has disrupted the industry. But in the profile is also the news that he is a free agent after leaving Fox Sports under interesting circumstances.

🏈 Remeber Shannon Sharpe? Dan Le Batard thinks we have seen the last of the Hall of Famer on ESPN airwaves after leaving the network to care for his legal and personal troubles.

🚨LEADING OFF 🚨

Predicting the NBA Christmas Day schedule

The 82 game NBA schedule doesn’t quite contain the same drama and intrigue as the NFL schedule announcement. But with the conclusion of the NBA Finals it’s a fun exercise to look ahead at what is still the NBA’s marquee regular season showcase in Christmas Day.

While the NFL has stolen much of the NBA’s thunder (no pun intended), Christmas still represents a major milestone in the NBA schedule and the league’s biggest date on the calendar. And with a mix of upstart teams, veteran stars, and injury issues to consider, it could be one of the more unique schedules we have seen in some time.

Here’s our best projection as to what we might see in the Association on December 25, 2025. As a reminder, all games will continue to air on ESPN and ABC in the new media deals.

Noon ET: Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks - The Knicks have been a popular host for the Christmas Day kickoff game. And an Eastern Conference Finals rematch is a tasty appetizer, even without Tyrese Haliburton. The Pacers deserve a national spotlight with all the fans they gained this postseason and the Knicks will be a favorite in the East.

2:30 p.m. ET: Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers - Speaking of Eastern Conference favorites, the East’s top seed from last season in Cleveland will look to continue their regular season form and stay healthy in the postseason next year. Boston is always a big holiday draw and will have an entirely new look roster with their trades and Jayson Tatum’s likely absence and should be an intriguing team no matter what happens the rest of this offseason.

5 p.m. ET: Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs - Victory Wembanyama vs Cooper Flagg? Yes please. The Spurs with Wemby (and potentially #2 pick Dylan Harper) are still on the rise while the Mavs could boast a new Big 3 of Flagg, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving… if they all stay healthy.

8 p.m. ET: Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder - This is the best possible matchup with the defending NBA champions taking on the all-time leading scorer and a recharged Lakers team looking to go further thanks to a full season with Luka Doncic. The Thunder may not be a big ratings draw on their own yet, but LeBron vs SGA could be a matchup that symbolically passes the NBA torch.

10:30 p.m. ET: Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors - If LeBron is going to get a Christmas Day showcase, then Steph Curry will get one too. And while there are plenty of great opponents to choose from (Minnesota, Denver for starters), a rejuvenated Rockets with former Warriors champion Kevin Durant are the pick of the contenders.

📣 SOCIAL EXPERIMENT 🌟

Kendrick Perkins has some… very unique analysis about how Duke prospect and presumptive top pick Cooper Flagg projects at the next level in the NBA.

Even all these years later, the wounds still cut deep when it comes to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s move away from Seattle.

Has anyone ever been as excited to see and touch something as this Oklahoma news anchor was for the Larry O’Brien trophy at the Thunder championship parade?

🔦 IN THE SPOTLIGHT ☀️

Pablo Torre and Mike Florio spoke to AA about their massive scoop into collusion from NFL owners being hidden from sight at some of the league’s biggest media partners for a long time on Tuesday after their podcast feature broke.

🗣️ NOTABLE QUOTABLES 🗣️

“They care about looking racist. They don’t care about being racist. They care about performance and optics.” - Jemele Hill had strong words for FIFA removing anti-racism messaging at the Club World Cup in America and other sports leagues’ performative actions for social justice.

"You cannot be the GOAT if you have multiple PED infractions on your record. You can't." - Ariel Helwani didn’t hold back on his thoughts on Jon Jones’ legacy after ducking Tom Aspinall.

“How timid to put this show on streaming — they belong on the network.” - Former ESPNer Jane McManus sounded off on ESPN’s new Vibe Check women’s sports show being streaming-only.

🔥THE CLOSER🔥

Heard it through the grapevine

A funny thing happened with one of the biggest names in hockey this week.

Longtime hockey analyst Don Cherry seemed to announce his retirement from broadcasting on the podcast he hosts with his son. At 91 years of age, it might surprise many folks that Cherry has continued working out of the spotlight.

In 2019, the Hockey Night in Canada star was booted from television after controversial comments on immigrants and the country’s Remembrance Day celebration. However, he has stayed active through his podcast.

When Cherry posted a goodbye message to his social media account, most people assumed he was hanging up the microphone for good. However, he later clarified in comments to the Toronto Sun that he was only taking a break for the offseason and planned to be back for next year. All righty then!

While Cherry hasn’t been front of mind for many people in recent years, the colorful and outspoken personality was once considered one of the greatest Canadians. Ever. He even ranked above Wayne Gretzky. However, like many bombastic personalities before him, he eventually crossed a line that he couldn’t step back from and was exiled before he felt his time was done.

And yet, Don Cherry presses on. It’s symbolic of a time and age where people with large followings hardly ever actually retire anymore. And even if they don’t get second chances in the broadcast world, they can still make their voices heard thanks to social media and podcasts, even if seemingly for only their own benefit.