TNT’s Charles Barkley is again floating retirement, saying this coming NBA season will be the last for him — and host Ernie Johnson. Plus: Stan Verrett is back at ESPN by way of NFL Network; Mark Sanchez is pleading guilty; and more.
Barkley says he and Johnson plan to retire at end of season
TNT Sports and “Inside the NBA” analyst Charles Barkley said in an interview with Bill Simmons published Thursday that he and host Ernie Johnson plan to retire after the coming season. Barkley said that he initially planned to retire two years ago — when he said on-air during the NBA Finals that he would leave at the end of the 2024-25 season — but agreed to return when the show moved from TNT to ESPN in order to ensure its staff would continue to be paid.
Barkley told Simmons that he remained with the show at the behest of Johnson, who told him that he planned to retire after two years. “Me and Ernie are a package deal,” Barkley said. “Ernie said to me, ‘Chuck, would you please stay for two more years?’ I said, you know what, Ernie? I love you, man. You’re the best. I said, I’ll stay for two more years. So right now, unless Ernie changes his mind, next year is my last year 100%.”
Barkley, who has hinted and backed away from retirement plans numerous times dating back to his playing career, left open the possibility of continuing to work beyond this season if Johnson “changes his mind.” Otherwise, he said, “if Ernie retires after next year, I’m done, because we are a package deal.”
ESPN acquired “Inside the NBA” as part of a 2024 licensing deal with TNT Sports that went into effect last season. The show remains produced by TNT Sports in the company’s Atlanta studios, traveling on-site for last year’s NBA Finals on ABC.
It’s me, Stan: Verrett back with ESPN
Former ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Stan Verrett has returned to the company as a host of “NFL Total Access” on NFL Network, it was announced Thursday. Verrett had been one of the primary hosts of the Los Angeles-based “SportsCenter” ESPN discontinued last year, and opted to leave the network rather than relocate.
Verrett will remain in Los Angeles for the NFL Network role, as ESPN assumed ownership of the NFL production studio in nearby Inglewood as part of its broader acquisition of NFL Media assets. (The NFL facility will remain home to the NFL Media programming ESPN has acquired — plus NFL RedZone, which the league will continue to produce — and the Los Angeles-based ESPN studio shows that previously originated from the network’s since-shuttered studio space at L.A. Live.)
During his year away from ESPN, Verrett contributed to local broadcasts of the Los Angeles Clippers and had a regular role on the now-defunct FanDuel Sports Network. He will be joined on “Total Access” by Steve Wyche and various insiders and reporters.
“Total Access” is also making a return, as the brand had not been in use since the original version was canceled in 2024. The show will run Tuesdays-Fridays from Noon to 2 PM ET starting Tuesday.
Ex-FOX analyst Sanchez to plead guilty
Former Fox Sports NFL analyst Mark Sanchez plans to plead guilty in the criminal case over his alleged assault of a truck driver last year, according to court filings obtained by multiple media outlets Thursday. It is not clear which charges Sanchez will plead guilty to, or what the potential consequences will be of his plea.
Sanchez faced multiple charges, including one felony, related to the bizarre incident last year in which he is said to have accosted, pursued, assaulted and maimed a truck driver during a late night confrontation over a parking spot while in Indianapolis to work a Colts game for FOX.
The incident resulted in serious injuries to both Sanchez, who was stabbed, and the truck driver. Sanchez was widely assumed to be the victim when news of the incident was first reported by TMZ the following day, but the narrative quickly shifted when additional details came out indicating that he was the aggressor. In short order, he was arrested, charged, suspended and fired.
Sanchez was replaced on the Colts game in question by Brady Quinn, with Fox hiring Drew Brees a few weeks later to take his spot permanently. It was already vanishingly unlikely that Sanchez would ever work again in sports television even before any guilty plea.
Plus: WNBA Finals schedule, Magic-DAZN, The Athletic LIVE, Rogers SportsNet
- The WNBA Finals is scheduled to begin Saturday, October 17, with a potential Game 7 set for October 31 — the same night as a potential Game 7 of the World Series — according to the league’s website. Games 1 and 4 will air on NBC, with all others on USA Network. Game 1 will be the first Finals game on broadcast television that did not air on an NFL Sunday since NBC last carried the event in 2002. The WNBA Playoffs begins Sunday, September 27 with the best-of-three first round, with the best-of-five semifinals running from Sunday, October 4 through as late as October 14.
- The NBA Magic officially announced Thursday a deal to make DAZN the official streaming home of their local broadcasts, with games available either as a standalone service or as an add-on to an existing DAZN subscription. The team previously announced linear, over-the-air deals with Cox-owned WRDQ and WFTV in Orlando, plus additional affiliates throughout the state of Florida.
- The Athletic is launching a live, nightly show that will stream on its website, app and YouTube, The Wrap reported this week. Titled “The Athletic LIVE,” the show will debut on Tuesday and run three nights a week initially, expanding to a five-nights-a-week format next month. It is said to feature “game coverage, watch-alongs and discussions.
- Canada’s Rogers SportsNet has reached a new sublicensing agreement with Quebecor, owner of the French-language broadcasters TVA Sports, it was announced Thursday. Under the 12-year agreement, games will continue to air on TVAS and TVAS Direct, plus illico+. The French-language networks have gained rights to ten additional Montreal Canadiens games than under the prior agreement, and will carry all-but-three Stanley Cup playoff series. Rogers also signed a new sublicensing deal with Prime Video and dropped its long-standing association with CBC.
