Sports Online
Barstool Turns Coach Duggs Into Twitch Sensation
“The Twitter presence of Coach Duggs can only be described as another triumph for Barstool on social media.”
Published
2 years agoon
By
BSM Staff
Maybe it speaks to the dedication of the Pardon My Take Audience. Maybe it speaks to the brotherhood of college football fans. In all likelihood though, Barstool star Big Cat benefitted from a lack of live sports whenever he would log onto Twitch to play NCAA Football 2014. The seven-year-old college football video game still enjoys a cult following, and that cult grew thanks in part to Big Cat’s created coach Gus Duggerton, who is better known online as “Coach Duggs.”
Since launching Duggerton’s career in the game’s “Dynasty” mode back in March, Big Cat has seen his audience slowly grow. It certainly didn’t hurt that college football coaches and media got caught up in the excitement.
He was in. Refs strike again. Great game @CoachDuggs @BarstoolBigCat
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) June 5, 2020
The Game of the Century
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) May 29, 2020
Lets make it happen, for charity. pic.twitter.com/E7HnymTVZY
BREAKING: Tennessee withdraws lifetime deal to @CoachDuggs after his “meltdown” in nat’l title rout & hesitance to accept new deal, sources told @Stadium. “Like @Lane_Kiffin, looks like Duggs may leave after 1 year that ended w/blowout bowl loss to Virginia Tech,” UT source said
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) June 8, 2020
The Twitter presence of Coach Duggs can only be described as another triumph for Barstool on social media. The character has nearly 51,000 Twitter followers. A secondary character, Tennessee’s made up quarterback Caleb Pressley (another Barstool personality and a former QB and Supervisor of Morale at the University of North Carolina), is verified by the site and has more than 149,000 followers.
While Pressley’s account is mostly filled with retweets, a real life representation of Coach Duggs has generated some great audience engagement and created very funny videos.
Who wants a gator burger?! #GBO #RockyTop 🍊 pic.twitter.com/BnUHGSID1B
— Coach Duggs (@CoachDuggs) May 25, 2020
Duggs is hungry for a National Championship. Let the Big Vols eat! #GBO #RockyTop #FeelsLike98 pic.twitter.com/P9zw1gcvHd
— Coach Duggs (@CoachDuggs) June 8, 2020
Coach Duggs, who as of Monday morning is still the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, led his team into the 2017 BCS National Championship on Sunday, June 7. Pardon My Take’s Twitch channel experienced a record audience. Despite losing to the Virginia Tech Hokies, Big Cat, Duggs, PMT, and the Vols nearly doubled their largest audience ever.
Right now @BarstoolBigCat has more people watching him play the National Championship game at the Rose Bowl in a 7 year old video game than the capacity of the real life Rose Bowl. Unbelievable.https://t.co/7bCGWXzfaz pic.twitter.com/wChyd42dK8
— Clem (@TheClemReport) June 8, 2020
tough loss for @CoachDuggs
— Wicked Good Gaming (@WickedGoodGames) June 8, 2020
on the bright side @PardonMyTake topped their highest concurrent viewer record by 52,668 tonight.
Previously 73,540 and tonight they peaked at 126,208 pic.twitter.com/e9AtGsurPL
The Tennessee storyline has been the peak of this campaign for Big Cat and Coach Duggs. For those unfamiliar with the mechanisms of NCAA Football 14’s Dynasty Mode, after each season, coaches are offered new jobs and can choose to take them or stay in their current role. Speculation of Coach Duggs’s future by his followers has already spiraled out of control.
Announcement
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) June 7, 2020
I have decided that win or lose Duggs will be delaying the Coaching Carousel until tomorrow night. We will pick up exactly where we left off Monday night.
Tonight is about the kids in that locker room. #FeelsLike98
Sports Online
John Skipper: ‘Tom Brady is a Very Expensive Trophy for FOX’
“I think for Tom Brady’s pride, he had to be paid the most money because he is the greatest of all-time.”

Published
3 hours agoon
May 27, 2022By
Jasper Jones
The NFL broadcasting world went through a series of massive changes this offseason. Outside of the No. 1 crew at CBS (Jim Nantz and Tony Romo), every other network will have new faces appear on our television screens during game days.
Out of the large amounts of money being thrown around at various networks in the industry, it was Tom Brady’s massive 10-year, $375-million broadcasting deal with FOX that turned a lot of heads. Not only does the deal indicate that the seven-time Super Bowl champ will be retiring in the very near future, but some, including Dan Le Batard, wondered why such a fortune was being given to someone who has “never said anything interesting'” during his career in the NFL.
During the “local hour” of his popular show on Thursday, Le Batard welcomed former ESPN president and his Meadowlark Media partner, John Skipper. He expressed a similar.
“There’s very little economic value. He’s a very, very expensive trophy,” Skipper said on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. “I think he’ll probably be okay on the game. It doesn’t really matter that much other than for pride and I guess he’ll shake advertisers’ hands.”
To put into context how massive Brady’s deal is, the future Hall of Famer will not only be making more in 10-years than he has throughout his entire 20+ year NFL career ($302.96 million in total earnings) but he will also be leapfrogging broadcast vet Troy Aikman–getting paid twice the amount of the former Cowboys QBs’ new deal with ESPN.
“I think for Tom Brady’s pride, he had to be paid the most money because he is the greatest of all-time,” Skipper said.
Skipper continues to add that the money FOX gave Brady could’ve been put to better use, making a more significant impact in other areas of the business, including securing live event rights.
He then brought up Mike Tirico, who called Monday Night Football at ESPN during Skipper’s tenure at the network. No matter how much faith he had in the play-by-play man, Skipper said he didn’t feel the need to overspend on a partner to help him shine.
“I put Mike Tirico in the booth and thought he did an outstanding job, but I would not have paid any ex-player $15, $20, or $25 million to sit next to him.”
Jasper Jones
Jasper Jones writes sports media news stories for BSM. He is also a sports content producer for Audacy’s sports team. You can find him on Twitter @JonesJ2342 or email him at Jasper.Jones@Audacy.com.
Sports Online
North Carolina Lawmakers Expect Mobile Sports Betting By Football Season
“North Carolina’s neighbors, including Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, have already legalized mobile sports betting.”
Published
1 day agoon
May 26, 2022By
BSM Staff
It is already legal to place bets in North Carolina on sporting events. It is just incredibly difficult. Bets can only be made inside of 2 Cherokee casinos in the western part of the state. That could change before football season.
The State Senate, which is politically divided, passed SB 688 last year. If it makes it through the State House, it would become law and North Carolinians could then theoretically place bets online legally.
SB 88 was sponsored by Paul Lowe, a Democrat from Forsyth County. He told WRAL-TV in Raleigh that he is optimistic about what will happen in the House.
“We just want to make sure we have drummed up the votes, and I think we have,” he said. “I feel confident about it.”
North Carolina’s neighbors, including Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, have already legalized mobile sports betting.
Politically, North Carolina is considered a purple state. That is showing up in the effort to legalize mobile wagering. One of the bill’s biggest advocates in the House is Jason Saine, a Republican from Lincoln County.
“We’re ready to rock ‘n’ roll. I’ve not heard any new opposition,” he told WRAL. “I think we have a pretty smooth glide path once we do kind of start rolling into session.”
The state’s Lottery Commission would oversee sports gambling. If the SB 688 is passed, operators would pay $500,000 for a five-year license, which can be renewed for $100,000. They would also pay an 8% tax on adjusted gross revenue. Both of those numbers are low compared to other states.
“Once we pass this bill, there’s some tweaks we’re going to do,” Lowe said. “But right now we’re just trying to get it out of the chute.”
Sports Online
Lachlan Murdoch: ‘FOX Bet Has Been Disappointing’
“In a recent interview, he told Axios that the app has around 6.5 million users since its launch.”
Published
2 days agoon
May 25, 2022By
BSM Staff
FOX is the only network to have a stake in the sports betting industry. The network partnered with FanDuel to launch FOX Bet in 2019. So far, FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch has not been pleased with the results.
In a recent interview, he told Axios that the app has around 6.5 million users since its launch. He called the performance thus far “disappointing.”
Sports betting is a crowded marketplace. It is possible that players are watching games on FOX and seeing advertisements for the betting app, but are choosing to trust their experience to companies like FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, and other companies that are more commonly associated with gambling.
Murdoch believes that a dispute with FanDuel owner Flutter has set FOX Bet back. The two companies have been involved in a standoff over who owns which aspects of FOX Bet and what price FOX is obligated to pay in order to acquire an 18.6% stake in FanDuel. Murdoch says everything “should be resolved by the summer.”
In March, Bloomberg reported that the app is struggling to find new players. FOX Bet is one of the betting partners of the NFL and can advertise its services during games in the fall, but its potential is hindered by only being available to bettors in four states.