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Allison Williams Talks Vaccine Refusal With Dan Dakich

“Dakich and Williams routinely worked games together for ESPN during previous college basketball seasons.”

Russ Heltman

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Courtesy: SiriusXM

Allison Williams is adjusting to a new role at The Daily Wire following her departure from ESPN, and she joined Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich to discuss the exit with an old friend.

Dakich and Williams routinely worked games together for ESPN during previous college basketball seasons. Williams told Dakich she was surprised at the attention her choice not to take the COVID-19 vaccine received.

“I was not prepared for the attention it would draw,” Wiliams told Dakich on the show. “I think I posted my video on Friday, and Monday my phone just started blowing up, and there were media requests from NPR and The Wall Street Journal and FOX and all these people… I felt like I was having a little bit of an anxiety attack for the first time in my life because I just was not prepared for the amount of attention I was going to get.”

Williams was in the midst of a contract negotiation with ESPN when she chose not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. ESPN’s vaccine mandate went into effect on Aug. 1.

“That’s a problem with these mandates, Dan,” Williams said. “They make people make health decisions for social reasons or for professional reasons. These decisions should be exclusively for health reasons, and that’s what’s scary about mandates. You’re forcing people to make decisions about their health because of societal implications.”

Williams chose not to get the shot because she wants to have another child and was concerned with the health effects the vaccine could present in that goal (The CDC deems the COVID-19 vaccine safe for pregnant women).

“It was honestly a risk-benefit analysis on the medical side,” Williams said when asked why she didn’t get the vaccine. “I was very low risk for COVID, I knew that, and I got COVID. Very mildly affected; it was about a day. So I felt like there was no health benefit to me getting the vaccine. The risks for me are unknown. I read all the stuff. I went to all the websites. I’m so sick of the media acting like the people who decide not to get vaccinated are the ones misinformed.”

Sports TV News

Alex Rodriguez: You Used To Be Able To Hang Out With Reporters And Know It Was Off the Record

“I would say that back then it was a little bit more of a camaraderie.”

Jordan Bondurant

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The way that MLB players interact with reporters has evolved and changed significantly over the years in Alex Rodriguez’s eyes.

In a media availability Tuesday ahead of the season premiere of the KayRod Cast, ESPN’s alternate feed of select games slated for Sunday Night Baseball featuring Rodriguez and Yankees play-by-play man Michael Kay, A-Rod was asked for his biggest surprises as the media coverage has transitioned over the years.

“I would say that back then it was a little bit more of a camaraderie,” Rodriguez said. “You could actually go to a bar and have drinks with reporters, believe it or not, and talk about, you know — and everything was pretty much off the record.”

In today’s game, Rodriguez said you won’t find it being the case where reporters and players are friends away from their respective jobs.

“That ship has left, right? I think it’s just a lot more Twitter, get out there first. Fact check later, but shoot first,” he said. “As a result, I think it’s made players and everybody a little bit more aware.”

“I think in a long-worded answer, I think relationships that go back many years, I think, win in the long run, that trust,” A-Rod added.

The second season of the KayRod Cast starts on Sunday at 7 p.m. featuring the defending N.L. champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas Rangers.

Kay and Rodriguez will be live from ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York City. There are eight total editions of the KayRod Cast scheduled for the 2023 season.

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Elite 8 Sees Ratings Drop

“Much of the pandemonium, given the number of upsets in this year’s tournament, unsurprisingly impacted viewership as things advanced.”

Jordan Bondurant

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With the last two number one seeds bowing out of the 2023 NCAA tournament by the end of the Sweet 16, viewership for the Elite 8 expectedly dropped.

Over 11 million tuned in for the Miami/Texas regional final on CBS. Viewership for the two versus four seed matchup was down 17% compared to the Elite 8 game in the same window last year (UNC/Saint Peter’s). The broadcast was also the lowest rated and least-watched Elite 8 game in that window in seven years.

San Diego State/Creighton in the early game on Sunday drew 8.34 million viewers, which was down 12% year over year.

Almost 8 million watched UConn cruise past Gonzaga on TBS late Saturday night, while Florida Atlantic’s historic upset over Kansas State had a little more than 7 million watch. The Owls’ win over the Wildcats was only down 1% when looking at the numbers from the same window in 2022 (Villanova/Houston).

Much of the pandemonium, given the number of upsets in this year’s tournament, unsurprisingly impacted viewership as things advanced.

But the Final Four and the national championship are often the three most-watched college basketball games of the year, so there should be no shortage of eyeballs glued to Houston this weekend.

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Hawk Harrelson: ‘I Didn’t Retire, I Got Retired’

“I got fired is what it all boils down to.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Former Chicago White Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson opened up about his departure from the team in 2018. In an appearance Tuesday on the Foul Territory podcast, Harrelson said his whole farewell that season was forced.

“I didn’t retire,” Harrelson said talking to former White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski and co-host Scott Braun. “I got retired.”

“I got fired is what it all boils down to,” he added.

Harrelson, who was the 2020 Ford C. Frick Award winner given by the Baseball Hall of Fame, said he stand behind the claim that he was shown the door.

“I’m sure that they will deny that. But it’s what led up to that and everything else, that’s interesting,” Harrelson said.

The White Sox hired Jason Benetti in 2016 as Harrelson’s fill-in. Benetti continues to call games on NBC Sports Chicago full-time.

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