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🎤 QUICK START ✍️

🏈 Prediction payback. Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz and player Daylan Carnell called out student reporter Zach Sweet in a postgame press conference for picking Kansas to win, with Sweet owning his terrible take while defending his journalistic integrity.

📺 Pizza over football. Dave Portnoy won't be on Fox's Big Noon Kickoff this weekend, likely due to his One Bite Pizza Festival, leaving Big Cat to fill in and test the #AskDaveButDanAnswersForHim hashtag.

🗽 Geography lesson. Ian Eagle refused to show Manhattan skyline shots during the Jets-Steelers broadcast, instead giving viewers a tour of Hoboken and New Jersey since that's where the game was actually played.

📻 RedZone trolling. Mike Florio used his NBC Football Night in America appearance to subtly blast NFL RedZone's new commercials by featuring a "Commercials make NFL RedZone Channel worse" headline prominently behind him.

🏆 Prediction revenge. Rams president Kevin Demoff trolled Ryan Clark and ESPN analysts after they went 0-for-4 picking against LA, tweeting, "I guess being an ex-player doesn't help analysts make better picks."

📺 Old habits. Terry Bradshaw accidentally called the Washington Commanders by their old name during Fox NFL Sunday highlights, proving some muscle memory never dies, even five years later.

🚨 LEADING OFF 🚨

The Ryan Clark of it all

Ryan Clark is one misstep away from becoming the next cautionary tale about how quickly things can spiral in sports media.

The ESPN analyst spent the summer apologizing to his own family after a self-destructive feud with Robert Griffin III, then opened the football season by randomly attacking Peter Schrager on live television. Two significant controversies in four months isn't a coincidence; it's a pattern. And we've seen how this story ends.

Clark has built himself into one of ESPN's most prominent voices through talent and hustle. He won a Sports Emmy in 2023. He hosts Inside the NFL. He's got his own podcast empire at The Pivot. But somewhere along the way, he started treating every conversation like a debate he had to win, and now he's providing easy ammunition to people who were already looking for reasons to tear him down.

The criticism against Clark is snowballing in ways that go beyond typical sports media feuds. This follows a familiar playbook we've seen deployed against other prominent Black voices in media. The same people who constantly attack ESPN for being "woke" have found their latest target, and Clark keeps giving them material to work with.

Once that narrative reaches a certain point, you end up with a whole treasure trove of ex-ESPNers, all talented people who built successful independent platforms but are no longer part of the mainstream conversation. There are pros and cons to that path, but it definitely means working harder and scrapping for everything.

The frustrating part is how preventable this feels. Clark didn't stumble into these controversies through bad luck or industry politics. He created them himself. The RGIII feud was entirely self-imposed. The Schrager attack came out of nowhere on a random Friday morning. These weren't calculated risks that backfired—they were unforced errors.

ESPN has invested heavily in Clark across multiple platforms. He's not just another talking head that can be easily replaced. However, the network also can't afford to have one of its most visible analysts constantly apologizing for behavior that undermines its other talent. At some point, the disruption outweighs the value. Just ask Shannon Sharpe.

This football season becomes critical for Clark in ways that go beyond standard performance metrics. He needs to prove he can focus on football analysis without creating unnecessary drama. No stretching for viral moments. No personal attacks on colleagues. No feuds that require apologies to his own family.

The blueprint for success is actually simple: show up, deliver sharp football analysis, work well with colleagues, and go home. Clark has demonstrated he can do all of this at an elite level. The question is whether he can resist the urge to turn every segment into a performance piece where he has to dominate everyone else on set.

If Clark can navigate this season without major controversy, he'll probably be fine. ESPN has shown patience with talent who deliver ratings and analysis. But if he provides one more easy target for critics, we might be looking at a post-football season "mutual decision to pursue other opportunities" announcement.

The talent is undeniable. The track record speaks for itself. But in 2025, being good at your job isn't enough if you keep making your employer explain why they employ you. Clark built his platform through smart takes and authentic energy. Getting back to those basics isn't complicated; it just requires him to get out of his own way.

📱 SOCIAL EXPERIMENT 🌟

Marcus Spears shared his foolproof method for identifying future Hall of Fame defensive players on ESPN:

Ryan Clark and Peter Schrager made peace three days after their viral on-air exchange:

Cam Newton doubled down on the Ravens the morning after they lost to Buffalo:

Mike Tirico called a perfect game with a perfect ending, then immediately nerded out:

👏 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 🗣️

• Exclusive: Front Office Sports Co-Founder Russell Wilde Jr. is joining The College Sports Company as COO, expanding the content network that currently works with Clemson and Penn State to new universities while developing additional branded experiences for advertising partners.

• YouTube's NFL debut drew 17.3 million global viewers for the Chiefs-Chargers game, including 16.2 million in the U.S., beating last year's Peacock opener but falling short of the paradigm-shifting numbers some expected from one of the world's biggest platforms.

• NBC's Eagles-Cowboys kickoff game averaged 28.3 million viewers to become the second-most-watched NFL Kickoff game ever. However, a 65-minute rain delay prevented it from topping last year's Ravens-Chiefs record of 29.2 million.

• WPIX extended its deal with SNY to carry Mets games through 2028, expanding to five upstate New York markets for the first time while maintaining one of the more stable relationships in New York sports media.

• TNT Sports' 17-year partnership with NBA TV officially ended with Saturday's Basketball Hall of Fame broadcast, marking the final remnant of Turner's previous NBA media rights deal before the network loses live games this season

📣 NOTABLE QUOTABLES 🗣️

"Ryan Clark, who's one of the all-time jerks in the history of mankind — he is a race-baiter. You can say that. He is. The only time he's in the news is when he's picking fights and then apologizing." - Dave Portnoy on FS1's Wake Up Barstool, responding to Clark's attack on Peter Schrager.

"Charles, let's be honest, you literally joined a team with Hakeem Olajuwon because he had won two championships. Wow, that sounds like LeBron going to join D-Wade." - Richard Jefferson calling out Charles Barkley's hypocrisy about NBA superteams on his podcast.

"I've never filmed you guys going to the bathroom and don't know what that looks like." - Steve Sarkisian's bizarre response when asked about Arch Manning grimacing while throwing against San Jose State.

"Did you have the play calls, Paul? Did you see them?" - Brian Callahan, getting defensive with reporter Paul Kuharsky about the Titans' horizontal passing game after their Week 1 loss to Denver.

"I know I could have went in the league and got you eight to 10 rebounds a game and got you eight to 10 points a game. There's no doubt in my mind, call me crazy, I could've done that." - Tony Gonzalez on The Dan Patrick Show, insisting he could have played in the NBA based on scoring three points in two summer league games.

"Until you level the playing field of strength of schedule or who you're playing, quality opponents, you're going to have McNeese State and Samford and Grambling." - Dan Patrick pitching a college football preseason to eliminate cupcake games from the regular season.

️‍🔥 THE CLOSER 🔥

Aaron Rodgers wants it both ways

Aaron Rodgers always likes to be the victim. It's actually what he's best at.

The 41-year-old quarterback spent all week insisting this was "just another game," then couldn't help himself after beating his former team. "There were probably people in the organization who didn't think I could play anymore," Rodgers said postgame. "It was nice to remind those people I still can."

The Jets gave him everything he wanted: his preferred coaches, his handpicked players, and complete control over the franchise. But somehow, he's still the wronged party in his own story. The media bought his victim narrative despite all evidence pointing to Rodgers being the problem, not the solution.

Click to read more from Awful Announcing’s Sam Neumann on how Rodgers perfected the art of being the victim while being the villain, and how the media fell for it once again.