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🎤 QUICK START ✍️

🎯Gen Z Conservatives are living in a sports bubble. A new Morning Consult report, shared by Awful Announcing, finds that conservative Gen Zers are consuming NFL, NBA, MLB, and ESPN content at rates nearly 10 points higher than their moderate and liberal peers. That gap isn’t ideological so much as demographic — young men lean conservative and love sports — but outlets care more about eyeballs than nuance. ESPN’s shift away from perceived “woke” programming toward shows like The Pat McAfee Show highlights just how much networks are chasing that right‑leaning Gen Z male demo.

⚾ Sunday Night Baseball finds resonance. Despite opting out of its $550 million deal after the 2025 season, Sunday Night Baseball is delivering unexpectedly strong viewership. Recent telecasts have drawn roughly 1.75 million viewers per game — an 11% jump from last year. That ratings bump comes just as ESPN and MLB quietly reconvene to explore a three-year media rights renewal, potentially securing the fate of the summer staple.

🧡 Buck Martinez takes health break from Blue Jays’ booth. Veteran Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez recently skipped his expected return to Sportsnet after a “little health setback,” according to a statement aired during Monday night’s game. Though he says he's “feeling pretty good,” he's taking extra time off as a precaution. The well-loved 76-year-old, who has been part of the organization for nearly 40 years as a player, manager, and voice, has missed games since May 28.

🗣️ Stephen A. Smith says he’s ‘happy’ Max Kellerman is thriving. On the latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, Stephen A. doubled down on his appreciation for ex-cohost Max Kellerman’s work, despite their well-documented fallout. He clarified he never wanted Kellerman fired or unemployed, calling him “brilliant” and affirming he “deserves a check,” especially with Kellerman set to call the Sept. 13 Canelo vs. Crawford fight on Netflix.

🚨LEADING OFF 🚨

NBA free agency isn’t dead, but Shams tried to convince us it was alive

So far, NBA free agency has been a bigger letdown than being a New York Mets fan. I can make that Family Guy joke because I am a Mets fan, and I know a thing or two about letdowns. And so does Shams Charania.

After all, ESPN’s senior NBA insider has been the guy hyping this offseason to death, calling it the “craziest ever” during a May 27 appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. Since then? Kevin Durant got traded to the Rockets, Desmond Bane landed with Orlando, and that’s about it. Otherwise, June and the first day of July have felt like your average, low-key offseason at best.

We did get a Cam Johnson-for-Michael Porter Jr. swap, Myles Turner ditching the Pacers for the Bucks, and the Bucks promptly waiving Damian Lillard. But beyond that? Meh.

So what gives?

Why are we suddenly getting push notifications about Drew Eubanks and Josh Minott?

It feels like a slap in the face after all the “craziest offseason ever” hype. So here’s the real question: was Shams Charania intentionally hyping this mess on behalf of ESPN to drive clicks and eyeballs, or did he genuinely misread the market?

On one hand, Shams has built his brand on breaking big NBA news before anyone else, and ESPN definitely benefits from the buzz around a “wild” offseason. Pushing the narrative of nonstop blockbuster deals keeps fans glued to their apps and networks. But on the other hand, if this was all smoke and mirrors, it’s a risky move. The actual moves so far have been underwhelming, and casual fans aren’t exactly checking their phones to celebrate Cam Johnson for Michael Porter Jr. trades or one-year deals for fringe players.

The bottom line? Either Shams overhyped it — intentionally or not — or the NBA market just decided to take a rain check on fireworks this year. Meanwhile, we’re stuck getting alerts about role players instead of stars, and that’s a letdown that even Mets fans can feel deep in their souls.

NBA free agency isn’t dead; it’s just been quietly cruising under the radar. But Shams? He tried to convince us it was roaring back to life like never before. So far, that hype hasn’t matched the reality. And we’re all left wondering if the “craziest offseason ever” was just a clever illusion.

📈 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 💰

Randy Moss is back on Sunday NFL Countdown. After stepping away in December 2024 to undergo treatment for bile duct cancer, Moss made a brief return during the Super Bowl broadcast in February. Now, ESPN has confirmed that the Hall of Fame wide receiver will rejoin the show full-time starting Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. Moss, 48, expressed gratitude for the support he received during his recovery and is set to resume his role alongside hosts Mike Greenberg, Rex Ryan, Tedy Bruschi, and Alex Smith.

Ahmed Fareed is stepping into two major hosting roles at NBC Sports. Starting this August, he’ll helm Big Ten College Countdown, the network’s weekly Saturday night college football studio show. After the football season, Fareed will also lead NBC Sports’ Monday night NBA coverage, which will stream exclusively on Peacock.

Julie Stewart-Binks has reached a resolution in her lawsuit against Fox Sports and former executive Charlie Dixon. The former FS1 host filed a request for dismissal of her 2025 lawsuit, which alleged that Dixon sexually assaulted her in 2016. Settlement discussions between Stewart-Binks and Fox had been ongoing since April.

Longtime SportsCenter anchor Linda Cohn is facing uncertainty after ESPN shifted the 1 a.m. ET edition from Los Angeles back to Bristol. According to The Athletic, “Cohn’s ESPN future [is] ‘still being determined,’” leaving the network legend in limbo as programming moves and internal strategy shakeups continue.

📣 NOTABLE QUOTABLES 🗣️

"Sis, you play in Indiana." - Jemele Hill firing back at Sophie Cunningham’s criticism of Detroit’s WNBA expansion bid.

“Arch Manning is the best college football quarterback we have seen since Tim Tebow entered the scene in 2006.” – Paul Finebaum, on Get Up, boldly proclaiming that the Texas QB might already be legendary.

“Absolutely. I don’t think there’s any question about it.” - Bill Cowher on whether Aaron Rodgers should have full autonomy in Pittsburgh.

“About halfway through it … I realized this was just an attack on my character. Which was bizarre to me, because I thought it was going to be a celebration of the show.” – Marc Hochman on feeling blindsided during the Dan Le Batard Show 20th anniversary episode.

🔥 THE CLOSER 🔥

Can we give Bobby Bonilla Day a rest already?

Every July 1, the internet acts as if it has just uncovered Bobby Bonilla’s $1.19 million Mets check for the first time. It’s cute, really. But we’ve been down this road every year. Same story, same jokes, same recycled clicks.

Trust me, I get it. I got those texts on Tuesday morning. I know why people point and laugh at the Wilpon-era Mets. The Bonilla contract was ridiculous at the time — and yeah, it still is — but it wasn’t unprecedented. That deferred deal helped the Mets sign Mike Hampton (who left in free agency for the better school systems in Colorado) and secured David Wright as a compensatory pick.

It’s merely a financial footnote — or a business deal dragging on way longer than anyone expected. And yet every July, the memes flood in, the takes start flying, and the “Did you know?” stories pop up like it’s the biggest thing in baseball.

The Mets have bigger things to worry about than Bobby Bonilla. And armed with the richest owner in the sport, his yearly check is just another drop in the pocket. It was different when Fred Wilpon owned the team and was taking loans from Major League Baseball and Bank of America, all while refusing to spend like a big market team in the bigger market in North American professional sports.

That was then. This is now.

This isn’t some scandal or loophole. It’s a routine deferred payment schedule everyone agreed to. The Mets aren’t villains for paying it. Bonilla isn’t cashing checks from a glitch. It’s just sports accounting doing its thing.

If you’re still fired up for Bonilla Day, cool. That’s entirely your prerogative.

Mike Mayer at MetsMerizedOnline breaks down every July 1 deferred contract in MLB history. Bonilla’s deal? Just one chapter in a much longer story.