Media Mailbag: ESPN's relationship with the NFL; thoughts on Ohio State scandal reporting, and more

Welcome to the fourth Media Mailbag for The Athletic. Writing a mailbag — as egocentric as it is — is always a fun exercise. So thanks for sending in your questions (via Twitter). Let’s get started.

Given ESPN’s new direction regarding their relationship with the NFL, might we see more censorship of criticism of the league? I’m looking more at Outside The Lines. — Keji, Chicago, Illinois

You ask a question that a lot of ESPN journalists are asking: What does the company’s newfound and very public declaration to heal its fractured relationship with the NFL mean for ESPN’s journalism involving the NFL? I think the journalists who do investigative work would be wise to be concerned. ESPN is undoubtedly going to continue to cover the NFL daily and will break plenty of compelling stories that involve players etc … But will we see deep investigative pieces on the issues that really chafe at the NFL brass (concussions, ownership scandals, the nexus between social justice and the national anthem policy)? That’s the large question because the reality is fellow NFL media rightsholders are not doing those stories on the league. (And if you think the NFL hasn’t punished ESPN for being a reporting pain in the behind, I have a monorail to sell you in North Haverbrook — just look at ESPN’s Monday Night Football schedule prior to this year.)

On Friday, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro announced that his network would not show the national anthem as a courtesy to its NFL partners and that ESPN had proactively reached out to the league to inform them of that decision. Pitaro told The Washington Post, “I’ve spent a lot of time with league executives. The relationship is incredibly important to us. That programming cuts across everything we’re doing on the studio side, on the original content side. And we’ve made that very clear to the NFL.”

OTL itself is an interesting spot. The show will not air on Mondays this fall — the day ESPN airs Monday Night Football. The network instead will air “SportsCenter” at that time on Monday (1 p.m. ET), with that edition of SC having a high percentage of NFL content. Also, OTL’s patron saint, Bob Ley, is taking six months off to recharge his batteries (I can confirm that this was Ley’s decision and he plans to come back.) I have no doubt OTL will continue to cover the NFL with journalistic rigor but it’s still just a 23-minute show with ratings pressure and multiple segments. The reality is that what is best for ESPN’s business is to avoid covering stories that tick NFL owners off. But I’d argue ESPN’s journalism is also something that separates it from every other sports media entity in partnership with professional leagues. When I reported that OTL was losing its Monday slot a couple of weeks ago, here is what ESPN told me: “Outside the Lines will air four days a week at its regular time in the fall and we will continue to have a year-round commitment of more than 220 days to the program.”

Will Turner be using the world feed for Champions League or will they have their own announcers? — Matthew Guilder, New Jersey

From a Turner Sports spokesperson: “We are using the world feed for the live match coverage.”

Why is the NHL the only pro sports league in North America with a complete dearth of Hall of Fame players/coaches employed as talking heads and in the broadcast booth? — Chad, Toronto

Interesting question. For informed analysis, I passed your Q onto my former SI colleague Michael Farber, the greatest living hockey writer in my opinion. Said Farber:

Certainly compared to John Smoltz, A-Rod, Ernie Johnson’s basketball Merry Pranksters, Dan Fouts and NFL pre-game shows, NHL telecasts have a dearth of big-name talkers. Jeremy Roenick is the most prominent ex-player getting national studio face time, on NBC. Of course, all-timers Phil Esposito (Tampa Bay) and Denis Potvin (Ottawa, Florida) long have been fixtures on team radio or TV broadcasts. Mike Bossy is a studio guy for French-language network TVA, which does Montreal games on Saturdays and holds NHL playoff rights. And as you might recall, or not, Scotty Bowman, in the late 1980s, was a color guy for Hockey Night in Canada.

Many NHL stars have stayed in the game, often in managerial or sometimes coaching capacities. You probably can tick them off without my help – Shanahan, Yzerman, MacInnis, Sakic, Francis, Roy, Robinson, Gainey, Clarke, Neely, Blake, Robitaille and the list goes on. Martin Brodeur, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November, is a St. Louis assistant GM. Wayne Gretzky coached. Mario Lemieux owned. In a different forum, you might have asked the question: Why have so few big-name football and baseball players been involved in management and coaching compared to the NHL and NBA (West, Magic, Bird, McHale, Isiah, etc.)?

Now that I’ve cleared my throat, I think there are some principal reasons: You can’t win a Stanley Cup as a broadcaster. You can as a manager or coach. For those who continue to jones on competition, the booth or studio is not an option.

Also, and here’s a shock, money. Without direct knowledge of broadcasters salaries, I would surmise, given NHL economies of scale compared to the NFL or NBA, the pay is relatively modest. And after having been compensated at the top of the NHL salary heap, joining a local broadcast would represent a significant pay cut. There is also the grind of the long season – October into June, if your team is good and lucky – with all the attendant travel. For many marquee players, that is not an appealing second career.

One addendum from me: Farber is right on salaries. Where former NFL-ers-turned-broadcasters easily clear seven figures (Jon Gruden topped the list at more than $6 million annually), I’d be very surprised if a single NHL TV analyst working in the U.S. was making more than $1 million annually.

Which 2020 Olympic sports might NBC petition the IOC to hold finals during the Tokyo morning, primetime EDT? — Stu Dolgon, Boynton Beach, Florida

NBC’s biggest ratings plays for the Summer Olympics are always gymnastics and swimming. As for your Q, it has already happened: FINA has backed the International Olympic Committee’s move to have morning finals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — meaning for NBC primetime.

What is happening to “Get Up?” Michelle Beadle hasn’t been on in over a month? — Joe, Long Beach, California

I would not read anything into Beadle’s absence. She has taken summer vacations before — including a four-week vacation last year — and her vacation follows the long grind of the NBA season as well as moving her life across the country to work on an NYC-based morning show. Summer viewership is also a dead zone for sports studio shows. I’d want my main staffers to take vacation time then. She returned to the show on Monday.

But here is something I can say about “Get Up!” Multiple ESPNers with a relationship to the show told me last week that they believe the show’s future is now tied to its viewership performance during the NFL season. I’d also bet even money you will see some new part-time additions to the show sometime this fall. But the main issue for “Get Up!” remains the same since prior to the debut. What is the compelling reason to watch? What makes it unique? It competes in the most competitive part of the day on linear television against sports and non-sports shows in the most politicized era of our time. As one ESPN on-air staffer told me this week, “What is the show?” It’s hard to answer.

According to the dedicated “Tracking Get Up” Twitter feed, “Get Up!” has reached more than 300,000 viewers in just 14 of the 96 shows the feed has tracked. The show did get a little pop with Ryen Russillo and Cassidy Hubbarth as fill-in hosts, which bodes well for additional people becoming involved as regulars. Even with the NFL gas and a guaranteed higher rating on Tuesdays thanks to people keeping their sets on ESPN overnight after Monday Night Football, it’s going to be very hard to game-change the viewership numbers. Impossible? No. But the odds are against it.

Said an ESPN spokesperson: “We’re committed to ‘Get Up!’ and are proud of the effort the team is delivering each day.”

Long time reader, first-time tweeter. Any word on the sale or future of Sports Illustrated? — Brian Reich, Seattle

A big caveat: Writing about SI is always going to be personal for me and full transparency: I’ll never be purely objective when it comes to that outlet. To your question: I think they have a future, for sure, especially given the sale price is going to be well north of $100 million. The big question will be what the buyer intends to do with the brand and will it continue to focus on storytelling and news-breaking or morph into something else. There are multiple bidders and the sale is getting close, according to a person who knows. The process has taken longer than expected and the staff is understandably anxious, especially a staff that has faced yearly layoffs for most of this decade.

Who is the frontrunner to succeed Erin Andrews as the sideline reporter with (FOX NFL’s) first team? And when will it happen? — Dennis Otte, Aalborg

There is no frontrunner. I think Andrews has that job for the foreseeable future.

How does the NHL TV contract look? Also, are they looking to shop and get back into ESPN? — Phil, Minneapolis

The NHL deal with NBC runs through the 2020-21 season and I’d bet on them retaining. The league is happy with how NBC has produced the sport. Most sports media observers I speak with expect ESPN to be a strong bidder for the NHL given the property is a much more attractive buy than it was when ESPN last aired it. (Think of all the young stars in the game — Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, etc.). ESPN already has a deal with the NHL via its MLBAM deal, which is why ESPN+ airs some NHL. What seems clear is that the NHL has significant leverage this go-around. They’ll do much better than the $200 million annually they received from NBC in 2011-12.

Will ACC Network replace one of the existing ESPN networks when it launches next year? — Jeff Pollard, Leesville, Louisiana

For this one, I asked my pal John Ourand of the Sports Business Daily who has covered the ACC Network launch much deeper than me. Says Ourand: “No. The ACC Network is launching as its own distinct channel and already has deals in place with Altice and at least one of the over-the-top players. Right now, ESPN executives say that it will not replace any of their existing channels.

Thoughts on ESPN+ four months in? Seems they have created a good mix of content for $5, especially for soccer fans. — Raul, Chicago

Only the consumer can determine whether the price point is worth it. I wrote last week about how ESPN landed Serie A and one of the things network officials told me was they were really pleased with the streaming metrics for MLS games on ESPN+ and that increased ESPN’s appetite to add more soccer long-term for its streaming product. You see what they have now on + including Serie A, the FA Cup, the Dutch league, Australia’s Hyundai A-League, the Chinese Super League and Westfield W-League (the top women’s league in Australia), UEFA Nations League, the English Football League and the USL. The company is clearly using global soccer as an inducement to get people to sign up for ESPN+, which I think is very smart.

Why are media outlets demeaning the oral history article by doing things that happened 8 minutes ago? — The Lufti, Glassboro, New Jersey

It’s en vogue to hate the oral history these days but I like the format when it’s done well and I think the quality of the form remains high at major sports websites. Our own Katie Strang did a terrific one recently on the history of the Gus Macker Tournament. One of the best books I read recently was Jonathan Abrams’ oral history of “The Wire.” Here’s an excerpt.

With Sports Illustrated adding an odds tab to their website, do you think ESPN, Fox, etc… will soon add a betting or odds page to their website? Expand live on-air talk about odds? — Josh, Toronto

ESPN already has a subsite dedicated to gambling — ESPN Chalk and has added more gambling content on ESPN+. Fox Sports has plans to create a gambling show, per Mike McCarthy of The Sporting News. Yahoo Finance reported that ESPN plans to go very heavy on gambling info on ESPNews. All the major sports media brands are going to increase their footprint in sports gambling. (Worth reading is this profile of the Action Network from Ben Strauss]. You’ll see more sports gambling info on the bottom line crawls at ESPN and other places. The place I think where outlets will continue to be judicious is live game coverage of major sports. I think we are ways from ever getting game announcers to regularly cite real-time prop bets etc…

Any chance a network or internet giant bids for the total NFL package when it’s up for bidding? I’m talking NFC/AFC, Thursday/Sunday/Monday night all on one platform? — runCMB, San Antonio

I would say about the same odds of someone mistaking me for a Hemsworth brother. The NFL wants to spread its programming over multiple partners to maximize revenue and keep its product for the most part on linear TV.

What did you think of Bryan Curtis’ profile on Joe Tessitore? He really came across to me as overzealous towards the NFL. If I can quote the great Frank Constanza, “This guy, this is not my kind of guy.” — Nick, Bristol, Pennsylvania

I thought it was an excellent profile and authentic. I interviewed Tessitiore in person for an hour last May and had lunch with him a couple of years ago. This is who he is, all the way down to the “bro’s.” he drops. Sure, he showed you some performance art in Curtis’s piece and when you interview him, that’s part of his personality. As for the NFL, he’s going to sell much harder than Sean McDonough did for two reasons: One, that’s who he is. Two, the NFL relationship with ESPN has become one of the company’s biggest priorities in the post-John Skipper era. I know some of Tessitiore’s professional friends and they all swear by the guy. As a general rule, if you love horse racing the way Tessitore does, you can’t go wrong by me.

Will NFL ratings still be king in 2020? — Feder, Ft. Lee, New Jersey

In sports? Unquestionably. No sport will be close in 2020. Will the numbers be lower than today? Likely.

How do you think the PGA Championship will rate in the new May spot compared to August? So many other sports are going on in May compared to August when they essentially had the stage to themselves. — Rob Roddy, Erie, Pennsylvania

It’s definitely in a tougher slot given the NBA/NHL playoffs and I’d predict the numbers will be down from this year unless Tiger Woods goes on another Sunday run. Sure, more people watch sports in May but there’s a lot of competition here. One plus is it does connect all the majors closer and the casual sports fans will probably be more aware of a May golf major than an August one.

I’ve heard the name ‘Norby’ mentioned as one of the reasons SC has made an emergence. Could you elaborate on his role and the power he wields in Bristol? — Ike, San Jose

Norby is Norby Williamson, a longtime ESPN executive who has worked for ESPN in various roles since 1985. His power has ebbed and flowed inside ESPN’s C-Suite over the years but he has Game of Thrones himself back into the top floor of Casterly Rock. Williamson is the lead executive in charge of “SportsCenter” among other duties and the moves that have happened under him over the last 12 months include Jemele Hill and Michael Smith leaving SportsCenter, the return of the noon ET “SportsCenter,” Chris Berman likely getting some Sunday night reps and a return of a highlight-driven brand. Those are all a result of him being back in charge of that brand. He’ll also be a player regarding whatever happens to “Get Up!.”

What is your opinion on Steve Nash being one of the pundits for B/R football’s studio show? He knows his stuff but do you think it’s a risk? — Eric, New York, New York

Minimal risk, and the possibility of a big reward. Champions League fans are tuning in no matter the broadcaster and there’s enough soccer heads around that desk for the hardcore stuff. Nash was one of the great interviews in NBA history — smart and thoughtful — and I’m interested in hearing what he has to say.

How does ESPN’s Laura Rutledge do college football reporting, appearances on “Get Up,” and anchoring “SportsCenter?” — Jeremy, Chattanooga, Tennessee

I imagine she has a good agent and doesn’t get much sleep. ESPN management really likes her. Look for her profile to continue to expand at the company.

Chances that Netflix or Amazon land a major portion of an NFL package when the contracts come due (Late West Coast Sunday window perhaps? Or permanent Monday DH’s?) — Rob, residing in Amman, Jordan

I still can’t see one of the pure digital players land a major portion of the NFL schedule and certainly not the highest-rated game of the week (the late-afternoon Sunday window). But I think they will be a player for a single night package like Monday Night Football.

I’m curious why there aren’t more sports books out there. All the best sellers right now (and most of the time) are political. Are folks not writing sports books? Or are the sports books being published right now not very good? What’s missing? — Brian Reich, New York

We are living in one of the most polarized and politicized eras in our nation’s history and such tribalism is going to produce book sales for certain groups. On your question, I asked NYT best-selling sports author Jeff Pearlman what he thinks. Pearlman has had a couple of sports books on the NYT list and has a new book coming out on the history of the USFL: “Football for a Buck:

“So here’s what I’m seeing with sports books. They are being published, and they are selling. But it’s become a bit of a tough nut to crack, because nowadays publishers are focused hard on the big sell. What I mean is, book publishers are struggling. Not in the way newspapers are, but it’s certainly not a golden age for book sales. Hence, publishing houses aren’t taking nearly as many chances on projects that maybe/possibly/perhaps could sell. So, the book about, oh, that amazing game between the Reds and Cubs from 1983, when a gazillion pitchers were used and Ron Oester hit a deciding home run in the 17th inning? In the past, publishers might give a writer $25k and if it sells—great. And if it doesn’t sell—oh, well.

I don’t see that happening nearly as much these days. Publishers are risk averse more than ever. The other thing about sports books: They tend to be hyper specific. I wrote a book, “Gunslinger,” about Brett Favre. Well, I did huge sales in Wisconsin because he’s an icon there, and it’s a state that traditionally does well when it comes to book numbers. But it’s v-e-r-y hard to find a subject in sports that transcends specific markets. Jonathan Eig’s “Ali” transcended. “Moneyball” by Michael Lewis transcended. But it’s rare.

Political books, on the other hand, transcend. You’re pro-Trump—a book bashing libs appeals to you, regardless where you live. You hate Trump—a book slamming 45 is gold to you.. So sports books are out there. Some really great ones. But cracking the list ain’t an easy task.

My book about the USFL, “Football for a Buck,” comes out in a few weeks. The great Jane Leavy has a Babe Ruth bio about to hit the markets. Ben Reiter’s “Astroball” has sold very well. Kerry Eggers’ “Jail Blazers” sounds amazing. Again, they do exist.”

We loved when Jalen Ramsey trashed all the other QBs in the league. When you see two sports media personalities going after each other, do you think that is good for their brand or business? Or is it just two guys who don’t act their age? Do you like it when that happens? — Mark Zinno, Atlanta

I loved Ramsey’s honesty in GQ and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy sports media scraps given I’m a sports media nerd. The latter part of your question is about the specific discourse and the outlet who employs you. For some outlets, to steal a political expression, fighting with another brand is a way to rally the base, not to mention drum up page views. Having been in some dumb Twitter fights, it can have a positive short-term impact (increased name recognition, ego-stroking, more social media followers) but if you do it too much I think it can diminish your work. Looking back on some of the things I’ve tweeted during them, I’ve come off like an ass even if the other person is a bigger one. Twitter rewards and amplifies conflict so you are going to see this these types of scraps occur on that sports media service.

Do you foresee sports streaming services becoming more specific to a given sport/league, or combining under a few big services? — Robert Steele, Hamilton

I think they’ll be a mixture of both. ESPN+ and B/R Live are going to highlight multiple sports as a way to attract an audience — the Netflix model. But we could see a smaller player be sport specific for a niche sport.

Given new content on ESPN+ (like Serie A, UFC, boxing), how do you weigh short-term costs of acquisition rights vs. long-term vision of building the platform — Garrett, Los Angeles

Many of these costs are rounding errors for a company such as Disney. ESPN+ doesn’t have a contract in the NBA/NFL/NFL landscape when it comes to dollar figures so I think the purchases have been smart. You have to make that platform as attractive as possible to as many people as possible.

How long do you think it will be before a high-level NCAA football game (Let’s say Ohio State vs. TCU as an example) airs exclusively on ESPN+? — Colin, Washington D.C.

I’d say under 50 percent in next couple of years. I could see ESPN doing a one-off as a way to get some subs but there is big downside risk of alienating major fan bases who likely already pay for the linear channel in some form.

Rank these Week 1 college football games by your predicted amount of viewers: Auburn-Washington, Michigan-Notre Dame, Alabama-Louisville, Miami-LSU, Florida State-Virginia Tech? — Patrick, Sylvania, Ohio

Michigan-Notre Dame
Alabama-Louisville
Miami-LSU
Florida State-Virginia Tech
Oregon State-Ohio State
Auburn-Washington

The Ink Report

1. Since joining MLB Network in 2014 and Fox Sports in 2014, where he is now the color analyst of the World Series, John Smoltz has been one of the most thoughtful and informative analysts working today. As one of the guests on Episode 19 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch along with Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand, Smoltz discussed a number of topics including the production meetings he has with managers.

“You have younger managers and guys who have been on the other side and for the most part understand questions and you know what information you can get and what value you can access on that information,” Smoltz said. “I had just retired when I got into broadcasting and played against a lot of the managers who were there so I did not feel comfortable asking a lot of questions early. Now it is my greatest resource, And I now know the difference between asking a question and asking a question where you will not get an answer. I like picking the brains of guys who think this 24/7. I try to think of questions that no local person would ask and then maybe I’ll get something. There is a way to ask a manager how much confidence you have in this player or that player or this situation without saying something like, ‘He has been bad for two weeks. What are your thoughts?’ There are ways to figure out what a guy is doing and not doing and the managers are pretty honest with us. It’s kind of been a learned art for me so I gain the trust and I am not abusing the information of what I am getting.”

In the podcast, Ourand discusses ESPN’s new weekly lineup changes and recommitment to “SportsCenter;” the end of “SportsNation;” why Ourand thinks the move to 4 p.m. ET is good for “High Noon;” the run on global soccer rights for streaming entities such as ESPN+ and B/R; whether out-of-home-viewership stats have any business significance for networks and why Fox pushed it for the World Cup; Keith Olbermann’s turn as baseball caller for ESPN; the anger from some that ESPN has employed Olbermann, and much more;

Smoltz discusses why he decided to pursue broadcasting following the conclusion of his playing career in 2009; the role of a baseball broadcast in 2018; how he prepares for a studio show versus a game broadcast and which one challenges him more; how he looks at the role of analytics for both the studio and the booth; what is different about calling a World Series game versus another game; how he judges on-air success; why he does not watch replays of his work; where he stands on players getting involved in the media who were not cooperative with the media; how forthcoming managers are in production meetings; the type of questions one can ask to get more candor from baseball personnel, and much more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

PODCAST BREAKDOWN

2:30: Ourand on the new ESPN afternoon lineup including the cancellation of “SportsNation”, the time shift of “High Noon” and adding another “SportsCenter.”

13:00: ESPN+ acquiring global soccer inventory.

19:00: Talent working on ESPN+ vs. linear ESPN.

21:30: Fox’s out-of-home viewership for the world cup and what these numbers mean.

26:30: Keith Olbermann doing play by play and criticism of his game broadcast work and hire.

34:00: Why Smoltz got involved in sports broadcasting.

40:00: What a baseball broadcast should look like in 2018.

44:44: Smoltz’s process for studio and game broadcasts.

49:00: What Smoltz thinks are good questions for managers.

51:52: How Smoltz views analytics in a baseball broadcast

55:30: How he approaches calling the World Series.

1:01:30: Why it works with Joe Buck on Fox.

1:05:11: How Smoltz judges on-air success.

1:08:12: Should how a player or coach interacts with the media while active in the game impact their hiring when they leave the game.

2. I received some questions this week about the journalistic merits of Brett McMurphy’s most recent story on Zach Smith, the former Ohio State wide receiver coach at the center of the Ohio State University investigation on football coach Urban Meyer. McMurphy reported for Stadium that Smith had sex toys delivered to him at Ohio State’s football headquarters in 2015 and took sexually explicit photos of himself during a White House visit in 2015 and at the Ohio State football offices. Smith’s lawyer denied the photos were of his client.

Was the story valid to publish? I believe it was given the current investigation at Ohio State and the subjects involved. I see Smith as a public figure both for his position at Ohio State as well as his relationship to Meyer (clearly a public figure) in this story. He’s at the least (IMO) a limited purpose public figure. He is news. Would all sports outlets have published? No, and there’s a fair discussion to have on the publishing merits given the dirty laundry. But I think many major outlets would publish and ESPN, USA Today, Yahoo Sports and Sports Illustrated among others all ran stories off of McMurphy’s reporting. Would sports outlets have published the lists of the items Smith allegedly purchased? Unlikely, and many did not.

Others reporting the story disagree with McMurphy and Stadium, as do many writing extensively about it and I linked a couple here.

One of the best people I know on such issues is my former colleague Michael McCann, an associate dean of UNH Law and Sports Illustrated’s longtime legal analyst. I asked him what he thought.

Here my two cents: the latest McMurphy piece is newsworthy in that it has attracted public interest; it involves a public figure who is at the center of a public controversy; there’s no evidence as far as I know that McMurphy obtained this information unlawfully; and, assuming the information published in the piece is accurate, it’s not defamatory since it would be true. So unless there are things that I don’t know about the piece, it appears to be a lawful story. That said, I do think there’s a healthy debate to be had about editorial decision-making in publishing a story that straddles between information relevant to a controversy and information that is arguably less relevant to the controversy and more damaging to a person in the center of the controversy. But that is more of a journalism question than a legal one.

Now, has McMurphy made it clear that he an advocate for Courtney Smith? He has, and he clearly finds her believable as well as the evidence she has presented to him. I interviewed McMurphy for a podcast when the story initially broke and you can judge his words there. I texted him this weekend to ask him his reasons for publishing his latest story. He sent back the below response (which he first sent, at least in part, to Bruce Hooley of 105.7 The Zone in Columbus). From McMurphy:

Zach Smith was an employee at Ohio State, having sex with a subordinate in the football offices. He was taking photos of these acts, nude photos of himself in the facility and at an official team function at the White House with a phone he conducts university business on.

The staff member he engaged in these sexual acts with gets reassigned to another department, but Zach was not disciplined. Zach has all these sex items (more than 30 deliveries in a 12 week span) sent to him — not at his home — but his place of employment, a state university that receives both federal and state tax dollars. This is another example —along with his 2009 domestic violence arrest at UF, 2013 drunk driving arrest in Ohio and 2015 domestic violence incidents — of Zach’s utter lack of credibility because he continues to say Urban didn’t know anything (except 2009 arrest at UF). We’re to believe he kept all of this devious behavior secret from Urban — a coach he worked under for 11 years — even though other staff members were aware of it.

I have not used one anonymous source in any of my reports and everything —every single thing — I’ve reported an employee or employees at Ohio State already had knowledge of. Yet Zach Smith remained an Ohio State employee until it became public and only then did Urban Meyer fire him. If I never reported any of this, Zach Smith would still be OSU’s wide receivers coach.

2a. I asked McMurphy if he had received any death threats, which often happens to reporters working on stories involving college sports. He said he had received many through Facebook and his email. (I saw one of the Facebook threats to confirm — not stuff you’d want your family to see.)

3. Sports pieces of note:

The Athletic’s Melissa Lockard wrote about the passing of her husband. Please read.
From John Branch of the New York Times: My son and his cubes have been inseparable for years. Like hundreds of other children, he found his tribe at the CubingUSA nationals.
The journey of WNBA MVP candidate Liz Cambage. By Mirin Fader of B/R Magazine.
From Anna Williard for Oiselle: A lesson in fear.
The Ringer’s Shea Serrano on Washington Mystics star Elena Delle Donne.
From Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post: A football player died, and all of the University of Maryland is diminished.
Via Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal: Is It Time to Sell Your NFL Team?

Non-sports pieces of note:

Longreads compiled 12 essential pieces on Aretha Franklin.
By Wesley Morris of the NYT: Aretha Franklin Had Power. Did We Truly Respect It?
From Reuters: Inside Facebook’s Myanmar operation: Hatebook.
From The Guardian’s Chris McGreal: How Dollar General took over rural America.
Via Joanna Connors of National Geographic: How a Transplanted Face Transformed Katie Stubblefield’s Life.
From The Washington Post’s Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan: The un-celebrity president: Jimmy Carter shuns riches, lives modestly in his Georgia hometown.
This is excellent from Joshua Yaffa: How Bill Browder became Russia’s most wanted man.

(Top photo of Zach Smith: Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)