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Todd McShay Says He Will Never Steal Mel Kiper Jr’s Job

“Although the debates between the two about draft prospects can get heated on occasion, McShay mentioned how Kiper has been a major support system for him.”

Ricky Keeler

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With the 2020-21 NFL season now in the books, the focus will soon go towards the NFL Draft in April. That means more people will be reading and analyzing mock drafts from Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. over at ESPN. This week, McShay released his second mock draft of 2021. 

Before that was released on Tuesday, McShay joined Marty Smith on the Marty Smith’s America: The Podcast to talk about the Super Bowl as well as the path that got McShay to ESPN. Both Smith and McShay joined ESPN back in 2006. 

Shortly after McShay got to ESPN, he got a call from executives in Bristol asking if he was interested in joining Mel Kiper Jr. on TV to debate the upcoming draft. The thing is, ESPN actually called him before they called Kiper.

Although the debates between the two about draft prospects can get heated on occasion, McShay mentioned how Kiper has been a major support system for him. 

“The thing about Kiper and I, the real story is we get hostile with each other once-in-a-while. But it’s like with your buddy who you are having a legitimate fight with and two seconds later, you are over with. He has been probably the top 2 or 3 people at ESPN in terms of supporting my career throughout and nobody knows that. The bottom line is for as much bickering as we do back-and-forth, he has always had my corner from Day 1. 

“He’s Mel Kiper. He’s the institution. He’s never had to worry about some young punk stealing his job and he’s acted with that confidence the entire time. He has always been in my corner and I will never forget what he’s done for me.” 

McShay’s early claim to fame was when he was helping Sporting News with their draft guide as a part of The War Room. The one thing that put McShay on the map, he revealed, came in the early 2000s. Before the draft that year, he had a higher evaluation than most on a certain seven-time Super Bowl champion.

“I graduated in 1999. I got an internship in ’98 with this guy named Gary Horton (worked for ESPN for a long time). He had started this company called the War Room that turned into Scouts Inc. I was making 12,000 calls my first year coming out of college. For the first 2 years, I studied tape and we wound up doing for Sporting News, a draft guide.

“At the time, I gave him [Tom Brady] a 3rd round grade and said he was the most underrated player coming out of that year’s draft. That got attention and helped my career at that point. I thought he was better than people thought he was, but I still gave him a 3rd Round pick, so I can’t take a lot of credit.”

You can catch McShay on the coverage of Trevor Lawrence’s Pro Day at Clemson on Friday beginning at 10 a.m ET on the ACC Network. 

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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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