CWNNewsFeed

• ESPN Removes Rachel Nichols from Coverage and Ends Her Show

  Aug 26, 2021 SportZ 0 Comments

  Source: ESPN takes Rachel Nichols off NBA coverage and cancels her show (link)

   

  Just days after Max Kellerman moved on from "First Take", another dramatic change in ESPN television has developed, and for a wholly different reason.

  ESPN is now pulling reporter Rachel Nichols from its NBA coverage and canceling her show "The Jump," the network confirmed Wednesday. The decision follows backlash over leaked comments she made about her former colleague Maria Taylor, which notably caused controversy a couple of months ago.

  "We mutually agreed that this approach regarding our NBA coverage was best for all concerned. Rachel is an excellent reporter, host and journalist, and we thank her for her many contributions to our NBA content," said David Roberts, ESPN's senior vice president of production.

  In July, The New York Times first reported on the leaked audio. Nichols, who is White, said Taylor was only chosen to be the sideline reporter for last year's NBA Finals because she is Black. "If you need to give her more things to do because you're feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity - which, by the way, I myself know personally - like, go for it, just find it somewhere else," she said in the recording. Several days later, ESPN ended up benching Nichols from reporting on the sidelines of this year's NBA championship series. But she continued to cover the series on "The Jump" and later reported on this year's summer league tournament. Rachel later apologized for the comments on her show.

  Last month, Taylor also parted ways with the network after both sides failed to agree on a contract extension.

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• Angel's Shohei Ohtani Responds to Controversial Commentary

  Aug 19, 2021 SportZ 0 Comments

  Source: Angels' Shohei Ohtani gives classy reaction to Jack Morris' controversial commentary (link)

   

  Another day, another controversial comment about Shohei Ohtani.

  Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani offered a respectful response to the controversial comments made by Detroit Tigers broadcaster Jack Morris during Tuesday night’s broadcast that resulted in his indefinite suspension. Ohtani stated he had heard the remarks made by Morris while he was at bat, which imitated an Asian accent, and said he wasn’t offended by it, going so far as to compliment Morris as "a big influence in the baseball world."

  During the sixth inning of the Tigers-Angels game, Morris was asked by play-by-play announcer Matt Shepard how the Tigers should pitch to Ohtani, and Morris responded by saying: "Be very, very careful" in a mimicking accent. He later issued an apology on-air saying he has the "utmost respect" for Ohtani. Still, Morris was indefinitely suspended as a result, not long after the initial comment. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch even spoke out against Morris’ comments on Wednesday, calling them "unnecessary" and "unwarranted." 

  The network in question later released a statement regarding the incident: "Bally Sports Detroit is extremely disappointed with the remarks analyst Jack Morris made during last night’s Tigers game. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bias or discrimination and deeply apologize for his insensitive remark."

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• Carl Lewis Calls US 4x100 Performance a "total embarrassment"

  Aug 5, 2021 SportZ 0 Comments

  

  Source: 'A total embarrassment': Carl Lewis slams U.S. track leadership after 4x100 relay failure (link)

   

  Trayvon Bromell called it “BS.” Carl Lewis called it “a total embarrassment.” Whatever you want to call it, the U.S. still can’t find four men who can pass the baton to one another while running as fast as they can. For the fourth straight Olympics, U.S. men failed to win a medal in an event they once owned. The favored Americans finished sixth in their 4x100-meter relay heat Thursday and didn't qualify for the final largely because Fred Kerley and Ronnie Baker botched the baton pass between the relay's second and third leg. What started off as a scant margin turned out to be the difference between a lifeline and misery. China, Canada, Italy, Germany and Ghana all qualified for the final from the U.S.’s heat. The Americans once again were left to stare at the video board in dismay and figure out what went wrong.

  The U.S. couldn't recover despite deploying its three fastest men in the prelims. Bromell owns the top time in the world this year in the 100. Kerley and Baker finished second and fifth, respectively, in the Olympic final. Even Cravon Gillespie, who placed sixth in the 100 at the U.S. Olympic Trials, is the fastest remaining American who didn't run in the men's 200 final less than 24 hours earlier. 

  There's no doubt the relay was a complete disappointment. Even Carl Lewis, nine-time Olympic gold medalist, joined in on the criticism. He tweeted that the U.S. relay passed the baton worse than AAU teams, calling it a "total embarrassment". Lewis also took issue with which Americans ran which legs. It's unclear exactly what Lewis meant, but the decision to put Gillespie on the anchor leg was a head scratcher. So was using Baker to run the curve on the third leg. Why not leave that to someone with a background in the 200 and let Baker showcase his 60-meter speed on the opening leg?

  Regardless, speed is never the issue for the U.S. men's 4x100-meter relay. Inevitably, it's preparation - and essentially everything else - that plagues the Americans. 

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• Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah Wins 200m Gold - Pulls Off Double Double

  Aug 3, 2021 SportZ 0 Comments

  

  Source: Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah wins 200m gold to complete second straight Olympic sweep (link)

   

  Elaine Thompson-Herah won the gold medal in the women's 200-meter race in 21.53 seconds on Tuesday in Tokyo, the second-fastest time in history behind only Florence Griffith-Joyner's 21.34. With this gold, the 29-year-old Jamaican completes a sweep of the 100 and 200 for the second straight Olympics, the first woman to ever do it twice. In the 100, she also set the Olympic record with her time of 10.61, beating Florence Griffith-Joyner's time of 10.62, set in 1988, by 0.01 seconds. Flo-Jo is now the only woman in history to run faster than Elaine Thompson.

  Meanwhile, Namibia's Christine Mboma took the silver medal in 21.81, while the United States' Gabby Thomas earned bronze at 21.87. Thomas in particular edged out Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the line to medal. The Harvard graduate was another gold medal favorite, who grabbed the attention of the world when she ran a 21.61 at the US Trials back in June, which at the time was second-fastest time in women's 200 history. Of course, that mark would soon be surpassed by Thompson-Herah's performance in this gold medal race, which surpassed the Thomas's PB by almost a tenth of a second. 

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• Blitz Sports Magazine - The Players Change but Same Game

  Jul 30, 2021 CWN Publisher 0 Comments

  Malik Spann is back after a 6-month hiatus talking about everything from Olympic athlete to the black athlete in America, Giannis, Sixers vs Ben Simmons, new NIL, NCAA rules, Anti-Vaxers and Keviin Samuels.  Topics include:

  • The US Soccer Team vs Shikari Richardson
  • Simone Biles vs Dominic Dawes
  • USA Men's Basketball  
  • 1968 vs 2020 Olympics
  • 1960 politics vs now. 

  No excuses.  Taking no prisoners. 

   

  This is not the regular dry talk sports podcast.  It's the fly talk sports podcast.  Multimedia. Indie tracks. Hot music.

  Click on the image above to Listen to the podcast.

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