Sports Media Thread

[Irrelevant Dude]

This appears to be a pretty big deal.  Some good, but mostly bad.

https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/apple-drops-baseball-nbc-peacock-espn-buys-mlb-tv-netflix-nabs-home-run-derby.html

The good:
No more Apple TV+ exclusives.  They have a great presentation, but it was another service I had to subscribe to just to watch maybe 1 game a month.

The bad:
No more Apple TV+ games.  Again, they had great presentation.
ESPN buying MLB.tv (on top of everything else in their recent shopping spree).  MLB.tv has always been run very well and now who knows what ESPN will do with it.  I'm guessing there goes the end of my free MLB.tv subscription every year as a Season Ticket Holder as well.
Home Run Derby on Netflix.  I guess I have watched my last Home Run Derby.

[Derwood]

In related news, someone calculated how expensive it would be to have access to every NFL game this year and it was north of $1000

[BigSlick]

I do have to say it’s insanely annoying to know where to watch NFL games. Every week it’s a scramble for me to figure out where the Bears game is airing and more often than not I just illegally stream it. 

[Brian707]

1 hour ago, Derwood said:

In related news, someone calculated how expensive it would be to have access to every NFL game this year and it was north of $1000

Not if you know a guy

[Andy]

1 hour ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

This appears to be a pretty big deal.  Some good, but mostly bad.

https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/apple-drops-baseball-nbc-peacock-espn-buys-mlb-tv-netflix-nabs-home-run-derby.html

The good:
No more Apple TV+ exclusives.  They have a great presentation, but it was another service I had to subscribe to just to watch maybe 1 game a month.

The bad:
No more Apple TV+ games.  Again, they had great presentation.
ESPN buying MLB.tv (on top of everything else in their recent shopping spree).  MLB.tv has always been run very well and now who knows what ESPN will do with it.  I'm guessing there goes the end of my free MLB.tv subscription every year as a Season Ticket Holder as well.
Home Run Derby on Netflix.  I guess I have watched my last Home Run Derby.

The ESPN/MLBTV thing is concerning. The MLBTV app is easily the streaming app I've had the least problems with, and while the ESPN app is fine, it's not as good. And of course the price increases are likely coming. I wonder if this is the end of the MLBPAA discount.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Young Danny Bernstein is back.

https://312sports.com/

[BigbadB]

On 8/20/2025 at 9:07 AM, Derwood said:

In related news, someone calculated how expensive it would be to have access to every NFL game this year and it was north of $1000

This would only be the case if you didn't already have several streaming apps. It also doesn't take into account discount pricing for new/first time members. I got Sunday Ticket for free the first year it was on You Tube TV just for signing up for You Tube TV, which I was planning to do after I got my Starlink set up anyway. I also get a $100 discount on Sunday Ticket for renewing early, which is just automatic.

 

[Brian707]

Also. Quad box for the Sunday Ticket might be the greatest invention since sliced bread.  If you don't have a setup with multiple tvs in your basement 

[Derwood]

1 hour ago, BigbadB said:

This would only be the case if you didn't already have several streaming apps. It also doesn't take into account discount pricing for new/first time members. I got Sunday Ticket for free the first year it was on You Tube TV just for signing up for You Tube TV, which I was planning to do after I got my Starlink set up anyway. I also get a $100 discount on Sunday Ticket for renewing early, which is just automatic.

 

It was calculating everything based on monthly or season subscriptions 

[BigSlick]

On 8/20/2025 at 1:45 PM, Irrelevant Dude said:

Young Danny Bernstein is back.

https://312sports.com/

I never thought the Score really needed Dan Bernstein but man the shows are a real snore without him. I really have tried to give Harris and Rahimi a try but it’s just too boring without Dan.

do I need a sports radio show? Obviously not, but what else am I going to listen to while giving a dog a walk?

[Wilson A2000]

3 hours ago, BigSlick said:

I never thought the Score really needed Dan Bernstein but man the shows are a real snore without him. I really have tried to give Harris and Rahimi a try but it’s just too boring without Dan.

do I need a sports radio show? Obviously not, but what else am I going to listen to while giving a dog a walk?

Somehow Rahimi and Harris have had decent ratings, but I just can’t see it continuing. The Score just doesn’t have the big named hosts they used to. I do like Spiegel though. 

[Irrelevant Dude]

1 hour ago, BigSlick said:

I never thought the Score really needed Dan Bernstein but man the shows are a real snore without him.

They definitely are.  Spiegel and Holmes are ok, but the rest of the Score lineup is a slog.

[BigSlick]

1 hour ago, Wilson A2000 said:

Somehow Rahimi and Harris have had decent ratings, but I just can’t see it continuing. The Score just doesn’t have the big named hosts they used to. I do like Spiegel though. 

I like Spiegel but paired with Holmes I find his show a lot less interesting than when he was with Danny Parkins. 

Maybe radio just needs a 'Dan' who is occasionally annoying or inflammatory but at least injects some pizazz in the hour. Like Danny Parkins wasn't always the smartest (he threw a "QB1" party for Justin Fields) but at least that kind of energy gives the show some momentum. Just be stupid sometimes. 

[Irrelevant Dude]

1 hour ago, BigSlick said:

Maybe radio just needs a 'Dan' who is occasionally annoying or inflammatory but at least injects some pizazz in the hour.

I don't disagree with the premise, but "occasionally"?  Dan is frequently insufferable, but it makes for entertaining radio when/if there is someone to counterbalance him.  The podcast format will be important.  If it is largely Dan solo, that might be a tough listen.

[Derwood]

I just find it funny (or sad) that half of the Score's lineup are still dudes who were there when I lived in Chicago 20 years ago

[Thurman Merman]

Yeah I like speigs and Holmes separately, but together it just doesn't quite click for me.  Danny and speigs (with an assist from both Tanny and Shane) just seemed to have great chemistry and worked well.

[BigSlick]

Danny Parkins lost his show right? Maybe he’ll be back. Who knows.

[Wilson A2000]

23 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

Danny Parkins lost his show right? Maybe he’ll be back. Who knows.

He got a different job there. He’s going to be on FS1 with Nick Wright for the last hour of that show. 

[BigSlick]

Listened to the first half of Bernstein and Matt Abbattacola's show, Dan goes over what happened with him getting kicked off the Score. Sounds like social media (particularly twitter) hooked itself into his own particular mental health struggles and he really lost his mind there for a bit. And well, thats not an isolated case. 

Dunno if I'll listen much further but was curious about what his side of the story was. 

[CubinNY]

1 hour ago, BigSlick said:

Listened to the first half of Bernstein and Matt Abbattacola's show, Dan goes over what happened with him getting kicked off the Score. Sounds like social media (particularly twitter) hooked itself into his own particular mental health struggles and he really lost his mind there for a bit. And well, thats not an isolated case. 

Dunno if I'll listen much further but was curious about what his side of the story was. 

Bernstein was/is a legend in his own mind; that's his main problem. I liked Boers and Bernstein because Terry could steer them a bit. To me, he was always auditioning for an ESPN radio gig where big personality matters more than anything else. 

[WrigleyField 22]

1 hour ago, BigSlick said:

Listened to the first half of Bernstein and Matt Abbattacola's show, Dan goes over what happened with him getting kicked off the Score. Sounds like social media (particularly twitter) hooked itself into his own particular mental health struggles and he really lost his mind there for a bit. And well, thats not an isolated case. 

Dunno if I'll listen much further but was curious about what his side of the story was. 

I mean I can emphasize that social media is absolutely terrible for mental health even if you didn't have any unrelated issues.  But yea he was absolutely unjustified in his attack that led to his firing and it was justified to let him go.   Was he excusing at all what happened or just kind of like "this is what happened and I take responsibility for it"?

[BigSlick]

Oh he was quite open that he fully accepts he was in the wrong and deserved to be fired. He just wanted to explain what happened from his perspective. 

[Wilson A2000]

1 hour ago, BigSlick said:

Oh he was quite open that he fully accepts he was in the wrong and deserved to be fired. He just wanted to explain what happened from his perspective. 

“Everything that happened was my fault.” He seems very apologetic even as he details his own mental health breakdown and continued therapy.

I’m looking forward to the podcast. Dan is still probably the best local Chicago sports talker around. 

 

Edited August 25, 2025 by Wilson A2000

[Brian707]

I listened for almost all of it. Will listen during football season.  It will go beyond sports. A lot of the meatballs won't like it,

[BigSlick]

I have to say, I enjoyed hearing Matt Abbattacola’s voice again. The best stretch of Boers and Bernstein was when he was their producer and he was constantly to giving Dan attitude. Didn’t realize he had a breakdown of his own and got completely out of the radio business for like 10 years.