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Lane Kiffin To Michael Wilbon: Life Is Too Short To Be So Angry

“Kiffin is known to interact with his fans and detractors on Twitter, so when one of his followers sent Wilbon’ criticisms his way, the Ole Miss coach responded.”

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ESPN’s celebration of PTI’s 20th anniversary began on Tuesday. While the network was busy celebrating the show’s success, the show was busy carrying on business as usual. That means Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon were commenting on the biggest names and stories in sports. With Alabama set to welcome Ole Miss to Tuscaloosa for a top 15 match up this week, that is where the duo’s college football focus rested.

Wilbon didn’t just say that he expected Alabama to win the game. He unleashed a brutal rant on Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. He called Kiffin “a clown,” said he “has been an embarrassment everywhere he goes,” and characterized him as nothing more than “a cute little story for guys like us who have to talk about sports every day”.

If this were 2013, it would be hard to argue with Michael Wilbon. That was the year USC athletic director pulled Lane Kiffin off the team bus, fired him and left him on the tarmac after giving up 62 points in a loss to Arizona State. Remember, that came after Al Davis claimed Kiffin “conned” him and fired Kiffin as Raiders head coach for cause. After that, Kiffin bolted Tennessee after one season to take the USC job.

Plenty has changed in the last eight years though. Lane Kiffin may still not behave like a traditional football coach, but he rehabilitated his image and won a national championship as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator and put together a resume at Florida Atlantic good enough to get him back to the SEC.

Kiffin is known to interact with his fans and detractors on Twitter, so when one of his followers sent Wilbon’ criticisms his way, the Ole Miss coach responded.

No response yet from Michael Wilbon, but this doesn’t seem to be a shots fired situation. It will be interesting to see if he bites back at Kiffin at all on Wednesday’s edition of Pardon The Interruption.

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Final ‘Good Morning Football’ Episode from New York Studio Airs Before Hiatus, Move to LA

After today, ‘Good Morning Football’ will take a brief hiatus, then move to LA. But outside of host Jamie Erdahl, who else will join the show on the West Coast?

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Good Morning Football

Today marks the last Good Morning Football episode to air from its New York studios on NFL Network. After today, the show will take a brief hiatus, then move across the country to Los Angeles. But which of the shows beloved cast members will move along with it?

We already know host Jamie Erdahl will be there once she gives birth to her child. The newest GMFB show member gave an emotional send-off to the show’s New York studios before announcing she was headed for maternity leave and would see everyone in LA.

Host Kyle Brandt delivered this message late last night, saying that viewers should tune in to he and his colleagues and that “he has a lot to say.”

As the show ended today, Brandt said, “I am not saying goodbye to any of you…Candidly, I have a lot of questions myself. Here’s what I know: I personally will be intensely involved in Good Morning Football moving forward. And I want to spend the rest of my career with the NFL. And Good Morning Football is not ending, it is expanding. And it’s exciting because it’s a bigger show and it’s more show…It’s all in and it’s all happening and yes, we will be covering the draft. GMFB is leaving home for college…it’s time to evolve. And we are flattered that you are wondering and maybe worried about what’s coming next with the show…I am very proud of what we have built here…it has been a dream job and I know we are going to make a fantastic show from Los Angeles…I’ll see you this summer.”

Earlier this week host Peter Schrager delivered his own goodbye message — one that may sound like a man who’s not ready to move his family across the country at a moment’s notice:

However, no hosts outside of Erdahl have given confirmation that they’re either staying or going.

The NFL’s move to take the show from New York to Los Angeles has been widely criticized by fans and media members alike. Bill Simmons wondered if the move wouldn’t spell just the end of GMFB but the NFL Network as a whole. It has some wondering if this is the end of football’s best show.

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ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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