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ESPN Plans Cowboys Special

Jason Barrett

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Largely boxed out from prime-time regular-season Cowboys games by NBC, which has an annual three-to-one advantage, and outside the lines when it comes to training camp sagas as brought to you by HBO’s Hard Knocks, ESPN has come up with a way to add Cowboys content to its programming lineup.

Coming to a TV set near you on Aug. 4, a Tuesday, will be a live 90-minute special from the Cowboys’ Oxnard, Calif., training camp.

The idea is to take viewers through an afternoon practice with Kenny Mayne, Jon Gruden and Darren Woodson as tour guides.

This will be ESPN’s second such foray into training camp. Last summer the concept debuted with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. If you think the New England Patriots, the Seahawks’ successors as kings of the hill, would be the logical choice for this summer, you haven’t been paying attention.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick would rather have outside cameras at his anesthesia-less root canal than invite them into his training camp laboratory. The Patriots, history has shown, prefer to be on the other side of the lens.

So when ESPN producer Jay Rothman decided on an encore performance of his inside training camp experiment, he went directly to a team with “meat on the bone” that doesn’t mind offering a taste. The Cowboys provide the perfect ingredients, including an owner who likes cameras and a magnet that draws eyeballs.

In an interview this week, Rothman said he approached the receptive Cowboys at the Super Bowl and got the final approval last month.

“Jerry Jones is terrific, he gets it,” said Rothman, whose main role is producing Monday Night Football. “And there’s no secret that with the Cowboys, the ratings are big.”

(Note: The Cowboys-Redskins appearance on Monday Night Football in October was easily the highest-rated and most-watched game on ESPN last season.)

The idea for the training camp series popped into Rothman’s head while he watched an ESPN special that focused on Boston Red Sox batting practice soon after the start of the 2014 season.

(Added note: The other team taking batting practice that day at Fenway Park was the Rangers.)

Rothman thought the idea would easily translate to the NFL.

Unlike Hard Knocks, which lingers at training camps and depends on character development, Rothman’s production will rely on Xs and Os. Already he has met with Gruden and Woodson for six hours of Cowboys film study.

You might expect ESPN to “mike up” several players, coaches and a certain general manager. But that won’t be the case.

Rothman explained he tried that approach with the Seahawks and didn’t like the results. Besides, it’s always dangerous to have hot microphones in a live athletic setting.

Toward the end of our conversation, Rothman noted that although his show, scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m., was booked for 90 minutes, it could go longer.

(Final note: Last season Gruden sat down with Jones for what was to be a four-minute feature. They talked much longer. Rothman deemed it worthy for more. There was “enough meat on the bone” for a 30-minute special, which drew surprisingly strong ratings.)

Most assuredly there will be replays of the Cowboys training camp show on a variety of ESPN networks. Who knows? This could translate into an annual event. Maybe even a series. When it comes to the Cowboys, the networks’ appetites are insatiable.

Credit to the Dallas News who originally published this article

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Mike Florio: The NFL Will Have Games 7 Days a Week & Will Expand To Make it Happen

“So if you wanna increase the total number of games so you can have games Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Friday night, Saturday night, at some point you need more teams to get more games.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Could you picture NFL games on every night of the week from September to January? ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio thinks it’ll happen in his lifetime.

In an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, Florio said it’s inevitable that we’ll see the league play games every night.

“I think sooner than later we’re gonna have Tuesday Night Football, we’re gonna have Wednesday Night Football,” he said. “It’s gonna be hopefully in my lifetime a seven day a week, primetime event. There’s too much money to be made.”

“I would love to have football on every night of the week,” Florio added. “It would be nice to have a night or two off. Like Friday night and Saturday night would be nice, but I’d be fine with Tuesday and Wednesday.”

How does Florio think the NFL will get to the point of playing seven days a week during the season? Expansion. And the league has already expressed interest in establishing franchises in Europe.

“I think they’re gonna start moving that number from 32 to in time 34, 36, 38 eventually 40,” Florio said. “Quarterbacks is the key. Is there ever gonna be enough quarterbacks to have 40 NFL teams? But I think that would be the ultimate maximum number.”

Even McAfee added that an 18th NFL regular season game will be coming sooner rather than later. Florio said in order to justify the need for one more game, expansion is the answer.

“When it comes to the inventory, 18 games is the most they’re gonna get away with,” Florio said. “So if you wanna increase the total number of games so you can have games Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Friday night, Saturday night, at some point you need more teams to get more games.”

“If the money’s there to be made by the owners, they’ll deal with it,” he added.

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Nick Khan: We Hope Pat McAfee Wants To Do More With WWE

“The world is his oyster.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Pat McAfee continues to be on hiatus from his obligations to WWE. As the media star and father-to-be weighs options for the future of his daily sports show and other dealings, WWE’s CEO wants McAfee to keep wrestling in the mix.

Appearing on The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, WWE CEO Nick Khan said with the company’s signature live event this weekend, WrestleMania, don’t expect McAfee to show up like he did in January at the Royal Rumble.

“We have no plans to have him there this weekend,” Khan said.

Co-host Andrew Marchand asked how WWE handles talks with McAfee, who is believed to be ending his relationship with FanDuel two years into a four-year $120 million contract. WWE has a relationship with NBCUniversal, with WWE Network and its massive library of content being absorbed into Peacock in 2021. McAfee has since been replaced at the SmackDown announce table by former WWE superstar Wade Barrett.

“The world is his oyster,” Khan said. “He’s 36 years old and look at his relevancy factor when you talk to young children, as I have two young children. When I talk to them it’s often McAfee, McAfee, McAfee. That’s what’s in the wheelhouse for them. So if you look at any of the traditional buyers, what do they want? They want a young, diverse audience. What does McAfee bring? He brings a young, diverse audience.”

Khan noted how McAfee tends to not get overly political or controversial with his show and how he’s developed relationships with athletes like Aaron Rodgers and gives them a platform to speak freely without condemnation.

“He’s not looking to annihilate anybody, or crucify them,” he said. “He’s looking to have good content, and his content has been terrific. He’ll determine ultimately where he wants his home to be. And our hope is that he does more with us.”

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Diamond Sports Group Makes Rights Payment to San Diego Padres

Earlier reports on the matter claimed that Bally Sports San Diego loses $20 million per season on the current deal with the Padres.

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Diamond Sports Group has reportedly made its rights fee payment to the San Diego Padres, which averted triggering a clause in the contract that would revert the clubs television rights back to MLB.

Earlier this month, Diamond Sports Group — which operates the Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks — admitted it had not paid the Arizona Diamondbacks. Reports then surfaced that in bankruptcy proceedings, the company would look to get out of its contracts with the Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Guardians in addition to the Diamondbacks.

Earlier reports on the matter claimed that Bally Sports San Diego loses $20 million per season on the current deal with the Padres.

During a Wednesday appearance on 97.3 The Fan, the team’s flagship radio home, Padres CEO Erik Greupner said he had been given assurances that payment would be given to the team before the grace period deadline eclipsed, which was at 11:59 PM tonight.

San Diego’s Opening Day is tomorrow, and had the cable channel failed to make its payment, MLB has previously said it would step in to produce and distribute any games that had seen disruptions due to the downfall of either the Bally Sports or AT&T SportsNet regional sports networks.

Sports Business Journal reports Diamond Sports Group was motivated to make its rights fee payment to the Padres due to the team’s likelihood of on-field success in 2023. With star players like Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Xander Bogaerts, and Yu Darvish, the team is expected to be a World Series contender.

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