Behind the Line

Dana White and the UFC announced Wednesday...that Joe Rogan would be in his usual role for UFC 271 tonight on ESPN+. Apparently...this was too much for some on Twitter to handle. UFC and ESPN announced 48 hours later...that due to a scheduling conflict...Joe Rogan would be absent from the UFC pay-per-view tonight.

We refute the scheduling conflict claim...and reveal the possible reason Joe Rogan was removed from UFC 271. We explain how this could be another example of ESPN overreacting to Twitter.

The most recent report for NBA television ratings was released. While NBA ratings are up double-digits in certain timeslots...it's important to put the numbers into perspective. We reveal and react to recent NBA ratings.

Instead of comparing ratings to 2020 and 2021...we compare recent NBA ratings to the ratings from the past ten years. We also compare NBA ratings to college basketball and the WWE. 

We discuss a couple of reasons why NBA ratings continue to struggle...and what they could do to draw and sustain a larger audience.

After USA Swimming tightened their standards on Lia Thomas' eligibility to compete...the NCAA intervened and made their own ruling. The NCAA announced earlier today that Lia Thomas will be allowed to compete in women's swimming for the remainder of the season at Penn.

We react to the news from the NCAA...and to a letter sent to the NCAA signed by over 300 student-athletes. These student-athletes wrote a letter in support of Lia Thomas. We discuss several fallacies in the letter from the athletes supporting Lia Thomas.

The 2022 Winter Olympics have been a ratings failure thus far for NBC. The Winter Olympics began with a ratings dud last weekend...and the ratings continued their decline earlier this week for NBC. We reveal and react to the most recent ratings for the Olympics.

We also analyze the mainstream media reaction to the Olympics ratings. We discuss two stories from the Pittsburgh Tribune and Washington Post. The Washington Post tried to claim the Olympics aren't in trouble with these low television ratings. We dispute the claim...and compare media coverage of the Olympics to the NBA.

Brian Flores has been the center of the media world for the past week...after filing a lawsuit against the NFL for lacking diversity. Emmanuel Acho called out Brian Flores for the hypocrisy behind the lawsuit.

Emmanuel Acho investigated the law firm representing Brian Flores...and found the firm has less diversity than the NFL. We play and react to the commentary of Emmanuel Acho...and praise him for being one of the few in the mainstream media who remains a common sense thinker.

We double down on our theory that Brian Flores is being used. We explain how Brian Flores has put himself in a position...where he will likely never work in the NFL again.

Project Veritas released their full investigation of ESPN Tuesday night...and it was eye-opening. Former ESPN employee Trevor Adams interviewed and recorded numerous employees at ESPN...allowing them to explain what goes on behind-the-scenes at the network.

We play and react to several clips from the Project Veritas investigation. We explain how this confirms what many have known all long...ESPN makes decisions based on Twitter reactions. We show how this isn't a color or gender specific issue at ESPN. The network bases their employee treatment off political affiliation.

For nearly two years...there have been rumors and accusations at ESPN about their treatment of certain employees. As Stephen A Smith has gained a more prominent role at the network...the balance at ESPN seems to have shifted.

Project Veritas released a trailer to an investigation they conducted on employee treatment at ESPN. We play and react to the trailer...and discuss how this confirms our suspicions about what goes on behind the scenes at ESPN.

ESPN announced in 2020 that they would be producing a documentary featuring Colin Kaepernick. Two years later...ESPN finally gets around to hiring Spike Lee as the director of the project. 

We discuss the fact that yet another documentary is being produced about Colin Kaepernick. We explain how he's heralded as a hero in the social justice community...when Colin Kaepernick actually uses the cause for his own financial gain.

We discuss media reaction to the Spike Lee news...and predict the Colin Kaepernick documentary will be a ratings failure for ESPN.

We thought we were finished with Jackson Mahomes until the NFL regular season...but he couldn't pass up the opportunity the Pro Bowl provided him to bring attention to himself. We play and react to several clips of Jackson Mahomes from the past week.

We explain how Jackson Mahomes is using the fame of Patrick Mahomes to keep himself relevant. Jackson Mahomes is making a living by tarnishing his brother...and the instances at the Pro Bowl this weekend emphasize that point.

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PGA Radio host Mark Lye is no longer employed by SiriusXM. Over the weekend while covering the PGA Tour in Pebble Beach...Mark Lye expressed his opinion on the WNBA.

We reveal and react to the opinion of Mark Lye...and compare his situation to JA Adande at ESPN. JA Adande made remarks Friday on ESPN that were viewed negatively...but he was allowed to keep his job. Mark Lye wasn't given the same consideration.

We explain how this is another example of hypocrisy in media.