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Jay Glazer: ‘We Changed It Into a Relationship-Based Business’

“I’m going to build relationships and over time, more scoops would come from those relationships.”

Ricky Keeler

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While Jay Glazer is famous for his work as an insider on FOX NFL Sunday, his journey to get to that point shows where hard work and a dedication to never giving up can take you once your foot is in the door.

Glazer was a guest on The Adam Schefter Podcast to talk about his new book, Unbreakable: How I Turned My Depression and Anxiety into Motivation and You Can Too and he got into the origin of how he got into the sports business.

When Glazer was covering the Giants for the New York Post, he knew he did not have the same experience as other reporters, so he had to find a different way to stand out. He did it in a way that now seems normal to any reporter, but was not common in the late 90’s:

“When I walked in the Giants locker room early on, I said, man, I don’t have the same education as everyone else, I don’t have the same experience,” Glazer recalled. “How can I be different? If these guys work 9-5, I’m not going to outwork them by a little, I’m going to outwork them by a lot. I’ll be here at 7 a.m. till Strahan drops me off at 9 p.m. because I couldn’t afford bus or subway fare both ways. Michael would drive me in every single day. He understands my plight. That’s a great friend right there.

“I also said I’m going to build relationships with people. I think back then, it was taboo to have relationships with players and coaches. In New York, it was taboo to do that. I said, well, that’s where I am going to be different. I’m going to build relationships and over time, more scoops would come from those relationships.”

After Glazer was at the New York Post, he got a full-time job as the NFL insider for CBS SportsLine beginning in 1999. While he wasn’t on TV, he was able to do something different that changed the media landscape:

“What that allowed me to do is become the first minute-by-minute breaking news guy in America, Me vs. Len Pasquarelli and John Clayton of ESPN… That was the birth of what we do,” said Glazer. “There was no crawl before us. You newspaper guys used to get pissed at us because you guys would file something at 6 p.m. and then we break something at 10 p.m. at night so your back page would be moot. We started an industry with this. We raised access for everybody. We changed it into a relationship-based business.”

Despite Glazer competing with ESPN and other media outlets to be first with stories, he still calls Adam Schefter before the beginning of the season to wish him good luck. In fact, Schefter says Glazer was the one who is the most responsible for the credit system on ESPN’s bottomline:

“I tried to make it into a fight, me vs. all of ESPN, David vs. Goliath,” Glazer said. “People don’t know Adam and I talk before every season. I call you up and say to you and Mort, good luck. We need each other because we need opponents. We need to fight someone. Let’s do it clean. We can all get rich and do it the right way. Let’s make sure we get all of our stuff right.” 

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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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Colorado Rockies & DirecTV Reach Agreement to Carry Games on TV

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination for their favorite local teams. We will continue to work with MLB…so fans can get their games.”

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Colorado Rockies

Breathe easy, Rockies fans — you will be able to watch your club on linear TV this year. At the buzzer, DirecTV and the Colorado Rockies agreed on terms to distribute the team’s games throughout its local service.

Starting today, DirecTV Choice subscribers across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Southern Idaho, Western Nebraska, and Northern New Mexico can now watch the Rockies on a special channel simply titled, “ROCKIES.” The games will be available on DirecTV and DirecTV STREAM via channel 683.

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination to get all their favorite local teams,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer of DIRECTV. “We will continue to work with MLB, the NBA, NHL, and other top leagues and their local franchises so the most avid fans can get the games they want while other customers have more choice over the content they want to pay to have in their homes.”

Reports just days ago out of Colorado said there were “no guarantees” the Rockies would not find a TV home in time for Opening Day following the sunsetting of AT&T SportsNet. The only other way to watch the team is to use its direct-to-consumer Rockies.tv streaming service, which fans say is too pricey for a team that lost 103 games last season. Luckily, the team was able to secure a TV home for 2024, though the future is still uncertain.

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Erin Andrews Reveals Infertility Journey in Emotional ‘Today Show’ Interview

FOX reporter Erin Andrews sat down with ‘The Today Show’s’ Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

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Erin Andrews

FOX reporter Erin Andrews shared her story of infertility and surrogacy with NBC’s Today Show. Last summer, Andrews and her husband welcomed a baby boy via surrogate after trying for a decade to get pregnant via IVF, during which she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016. Today, she sat down with Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Andrews says Welker’s announcement on the Today Show made her think a baby could be possible. “I remember Kristin Welker’s announcement on your show,” Andrews said last year, “and I actually watched that the morning Mac was born, because that just hit me.”

When they finally sat down, Welker asked Andrews why her journey resonated with the sports reporter so much:

“Because I see myself in you. Kristen, the video of you moderating debates after you’re waiting on bad news or maybe you just received it, that’s me. I can tell you every stand-up I’ve done at a football game where I’ve gotten the news that it didn’t work. I’d be talking about Tom Brady going for this record and my record is that I still was failing…I would have chest pains every time I was waiting for the call if it worked, and I knew it wouldn’t work.

Erin Andrews on ‘Today’

Andrews knew surrogacy was the only path to having a child. Although her family’s first attempt failed, her second attempt was a success, and she got to hear her child’s heartbeat for the very first time. The pair discuss the complex emotions that come with surrogacy, saying that bonds with their child could be affected because they didn’t carry their child. However, Welker assured Andrews that those feelings go away once you can talk to your child.

Once her son was born in June, who Andrews called, “a miracle,” she then talks about her child glowingly, talking about how he is just like mom — vocal. “He’s all me,” she says.

Andrews supports Baby Quest, a non-profit that grants money to families in need of IVF or surrogacy to have a baby but don’t have the funds to pursue these expensive treatments. Both Andrews and Welker acknowledged how difficult and unattainable their journies are for some families — and Andrews even used the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative to raise awareness for her cause.

“People don’t need to feel embarrassed that they have a surrogate or are looking for other help,” Andrews said.

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