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The Play-By-Play is a sports media news talk show brought to you by Awful Announcing. Join AA writers Brendon Kleen and Ben Axelrod each week as they bring you the latest news and insight from the ever-changing sports media world, including all of the happenings at ESPN, Fox, NBC, CBS, Turner, Amazon and beyond. Subscribe to The Play By Play on Apple, Spotify, and wherever podcasts are found.
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Tiger Woods is taking a step back for treatment after being arrested for a DUI in Florida over the weekend, but golf media is still hesitant to treat the story seriously or address Woods' mistakes head-on.Plus, Netflix appears ready to dive into a new NFL package.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
MLB had a strong opening week on the field and on TV with big debuts on Netflix and NBC as well as the introduction of the ABS challenge system.We discuss every angle of Opening Day in our Review of the Week.-1:00: MLB on Netflix review-20:44: NBC review-38:35: Sam’s hot mic-42:15: Brendon’s hot micDownload The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The WNBA and its players agreed on a landmark six-year Collective Bargaining Agreement last week after months of difficult talks.Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports broke the news of a verbal agreement while reporting from the Langham hotel in NYC.She joins The Play-By-Play to walk through the reporting process, some new wrinkles in the CBA, what it's like being a WNBA insider, and much more!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nate Burleson, Bruce Pearl and Renee Montgomery made big first impressions on CBS and TNT March Madness coverage, while new gimmicks featuring Oz the Mentalist, "Old Ball" and more left NCAA tournament viewers baffled.We break down all changes, as well as news surrounding the future of the NFL on ESPN.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Old sports radio hosts at WFAN, WIP and beyond are on a crusade to prove the medium is dying. Are they right?Brandon Contes at Awful Announcing joins to discuss whether radio has been replaced, and what the future might hold.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Bruce Pearl has made a very loud debut on CBS coverage of the NCAA tournament before the games have even begun. Is Pearl a bad fit, or exactly what the network wanted as a replacement for Jay Wright?Plus, a closer look at the strange feud between Big Cat and Ken Rosenthal.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The World Baseball Classic has taken over the sports world in March, from the Mark DeRosa controversy to several massive highlight moments featuring MLB's biggest stars.We discuss why it has cut through and Fox's top-notch coverage, plus the latest details on a potential new deal between the NFL and Paramount.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
NBA media loses its mind about Bam Adebayo, everyone forgot about the Kevin Durant burner story from All-Star, the World Baseball Classic is on fire, and independent sports reporter Joon Lee is here to talk about it all!Plus, what does Joon want to see the government do to bring costs down for fans to watch sports?Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
From Jay Williams to Barstool, sports media always tries to hype CBB over the NBA. On TV, fans can watch more college games than ever, and the NCAA tournament is still one of the biggest events in all of sports.But new comments from Ian Eagle show that the feeling may be different among top announcers. So which side is right?Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Stephen A. Smith is the most highly paid star at ESPN, making $20 million per year to host "First Take."But as he teases political aspirations and continually creates distractions for ESPN away from his show, we question whether the partnership is worth it for the Worldwide Leader.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
YouTubers and streamers like Jesser, iShowSpeed, Druski and Kai Cenat are suddenly everywhere for sports fans.Emmanuel Morgan of the New York Times joins to discuss whether these personalities can take over sports media and become the future of how fans watch sports.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The NFL wants to redo its TV deals with Fox and CBS early. If the traditional networks can't afford to re-up, streamers like Netflix, Amazon and YouTube could come in to replace them, flipping football media on its head.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The NFL Scouting Combine is a better TV product these days than it is an intel opportunity for teams. Is the end in sight?Plus: Our Review of the Week looking at the new top "NBA on ESPN" crew.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have changed how tons of fans consume sports, and how sports are covered by the media.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tony Dungy is reportedly out at NBC's "Sunday Night Football," while Rodney Harrison, Jac Collinsworth and perhaps even more talent could soon follow.What's going on at NBC?Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The U.S. men's hockey team joined the State of the Union address after winning gold at the Olympics. Plus, a closer look at ESPN launching Women's Sports Sundays in place of Sunday Night Baseball.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CFB analyst Josh Pate interviewed Donald Trump last weekend, and the critics turned out to be right that Pate was in over his head dealing with the administration.We break down the interview, Pate's response, and why sports hosts keep getting bested by Trump.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sports media stars like Bill Simmons and Pat McAfee seized on the legalization of sports betting to create an explosion across America.Danny Funt, author of "Everyone Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports betting," explains how.Plus: what do we make of NBA stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James partnering with gambling companies, and whether sports fans are becoming more nihilistic and detached because of gambling.Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ilia Malinin aka the "Quad God" was supposed to be the biggest story of the Winter Olympics for Team USA. Instead, his failure took the world by storm.What happened here?Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The NBA All-Star game got rave reviews with the Team USA vs. World format. Plus, is there more to this MLB K-zone story than meets the eye?Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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