MLB is talking to LA28; Charissa Thompson sees a “shakeup” surrounding FOX NFL coverage; and Sam Ponder discusses her exit from ESPN. Plus additional news surrounding Harry Teinowitz, Audacy Houston, Pat McAfee and Sinclair.
Rob Manfred: MLB will not cancel 2028 All-Star Game for Olympics
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said this week that the league will not cancel its 2028 All-Star Game to accommodate that year’s Olympic baseball competition, which is set to occur around the same time from July 15-20, 2028. Instead, Manfred said MLB would prefer to play the Midsummer Classic, participate in the Olympics and then commence the second half of its regular season.
“It’s doable,” Manfred said in a recent press conference. “They put out a schedule. They tell you it’s not going to move. We’ll see whether there is any movement on that.”
The 2028 Olympic Games, which will be broadcast in the United States by NBCUniversal, occurs within the final season of the existing media rights deals between MLB and its national linear television partners. While no host city has been revealed for the 2028 All-Star Game, sources told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that San Francisco, Calif. would be the frontrunner should MLB and the MLBPA agree to participation in the Olympics.
“It is an opportunity to market the game on a really global stage,” Manfred said. “We’re trying to iron through those logistics…. It is possible to play the All-Star Game in its normal spot, have a single break that would be longer, but still play 162 games without bleeding into the middle of November. That is possible, okay? It would require significant accommodations, but it’s possible.”
Charissa Thompson discusses “shakeup” on FOX NFL coverage
Fox NFL Kickoff host Charissa Thompson described the show as undergoing a “shakeup” this coming season with the departures of Michael Vick and Peter Schrager.
“It was [Julian Edelman] and I and Charles Woodson,” Thompson said on the “Calm Down” podcast she co-hosts with Fox colleague Erin Andrews, “and so we’ll find out a little bit more as we get closer to the football season, sort of the structure and the rundown and kind of how we want to frame that show, but I think it’s a new beginning.”
In addition to her role with FOX Sports, Thompson is a host on “Thursday Night Football” and leads a panel that includes former NFL players Tony Gonzalez, Andrew Whitworth, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Richard Sherman. Thompson said the same group will be back and that everyone is comfortable within their roles entering the fourth year of the broadcast property.
Sam Ponder discusses ESPN exit
One year after she was let go by ESPN amid changes to its NFL coverage, former “Sunday NFL Countdown” host Sam Ponder said on “The Sage Steele Show” this week that while ESPN leadership expressed discomfort with her commentary on social issues, she feels that her firing took place over more than her social media activity.
“I think the model of my career at that point, of only working Sundays in the fall on “Countdown,” was not what ESPN wanted, and they felt like they were paying me too much money to do just one thing, and I had turned down opportunities in the past to work more and do more because of the season of life I’m in,” Ponder said. “Like I’ve got three little kids, and I’m not giving up that time with them for any opportunity — so I had been really clear on my boundaries at work.”
Plus: Harry Teinowitz, Bruce Logan, Pat McAfee, Sinclair
- Longtime Chicago sports talk radio host Harry Teinowitz has passed away at the age of 64. Teinowitz, who was part of the “Mac, Jurko and Harry” show on ESPN Chicago from 2001 to 2009, had reportedly been battling heart and liver problems.
- Audacy Houston has announced that Bruce Logan is returning as the vice president of programming and operations. Under his new role, he will oversee the programming and operations for SportsRadio 610 and other stations spanning multiple formats.
- Pat McAfee announced that his eponymous weekday ESPN show will air live from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Thursday, July 31 ahead of the preseason opener between the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers. McAfee’s show was live in Atlanta, Ga. ahead of the Home Run Derby on Monday and emanated from Los Angeles, Calif. before the ESPYs on Wednesday.
- Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced a new slate of football podcasts joining its AMP Media portfolio with talent such as Cardale Jones, Mike Golic Jr. and Chris Stewart involved. The five new programs focus on respective power conference schools, such as Ohio State, Alabama and Texas.
