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Leah Hextall Felt Unwelcome in NHL Broadcast Booths

“It was just, to me, that I survived that, that I survived the mental attacks, I survived the outside attacks from social media, I survived the internal attacks from other people within the hockey world, I survived attacks from some of my colleagues not at ESPN but just different things I heard,” she said.

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Leah Hextall

Last year ESPN made its triumphant return as a media rights holder for the NHL, and among some of the more notable moves the network made was including female voices on its broadcast crews.

But Leah Hextall, who even led play-by-play during ESPN’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, said it wasn’t such a wonderful experience.

Talking to Richard Deitsch on his podcast Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, Hextall said she was unwelcome in a lot of different settings in the league. That compounded many of the vile and sexist messages and threats she received for just doing the job.

“To me, you add that on to the fact that then I didn’t feel welcomed in some press boxes, and I didn’t feel welcomed at some rinks and in some conversations,” she said. “I realized that I was once again the lone woman and the outsider looking in, and I wasn’t one of the boys and I wasn’t going to be no matter how hard I tried.”

Hextall gave a presentation earlier in the summer that spotlighted a lot of what she went through. She said she was a survivor and elaborated more on what she meant by that.

“It was just, to me, that I survived that, that I survived the mental attacks, I survived the outside attacks from social media, I survived the internal attacks from other people within the hockey world, I survived attacks from some of my colleagues not at ESPN but just different things I heard,” she said.

The comments, threats and treatment she received took its toll. Hextall said she struggled with having to keep all of that stuff private.

“I have been really taught that in this industry, keep your head down, do the work and don’t draw attention to yourself because this is just something you have to deal with. You have to deal with it,” she said. “But I’ve also never wanted to draw attention to myself in that way, because I didn’t want to give that person the satisfaction of retweeting that or sharing this on my social media platform because I also don’t want people to think I’m complaining. I know I’m not complaining but that’s how it looks like.”

“Because of that, I kept a lot of this silent,” she added.

But with a new season on the horizon, Hextall said she’s going to have a different approach. She’s not going to be fearful of making sure people know the types of things she’s subjected to.

“This season I think I will have a different mentality about it,” she said. “I would think more about passing it along when somebody references a threat or knowing where I live or something like that because at the end of the day, as my brother in-law who’s a cop says, you don’t know that they don’t need this. And if you get enough of them, maybe it’s time to start making people be held accountable for what they think is OK and how they treat people.”

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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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