2026 Sports Media Thread

[Dolfan in NYC]

Stugotz has said he'll hire her as his co-host immediately if she gets fired. 

 

I know you wanna stand by your friend, but .. maybe sit this out for a bit hoss

[odessasteps]

Between Sid and Stugotz, what a few days/ 

[Dolfan in NYC]

 

Hell yeah.  

I need an Old Man ESPN that's does this version of the SportsCenter intro AND has full screen graphics for the results of whatever game/event they're covering. (This has been a peeve of mine for like 20 years)

 

[dogwelder]

 

[supremebve]

14 minutes ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

 

Hell yeah.  

I need an Old Man ESPN that's does this version of the SportsCenter intro AND has full screen graphics for the results of whatever game/event they're covering. (This has been a peeve of mine for like 20 years)

 

That will never happen.  All the producers who made stupid suggestions to make SportsCenter what it is today would ruin it before it ever launched.  

[Dolfan in NYC]

Better start writing those obits.

 

[Dolfan in NYC]

TIL Field Yates is:  a) a real person and not a bot/AI and b) somehow a bigger nerd than the name "Field Yates" would imply:

 

 

[dogwelder]

 

[Dolfan in NYC]

Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic.  

 

--

I'm guessing she straight up lied about the pictures and the NYT staff called her bluff.  

[Zimbra]

Not exactly a ton of candor there.

[RIPPA]

On 4/11/2026 at 10:17 PM, Dolfan in NYC said:

Stugotz has said he'll hire her as his co-host immediately if she gets fired. 

Time to put his money where his mouth is I guess 

[Gonzo]

19 minutes ago, Zimbra said:

Not exactly a ton of candor there.

And there’s a deep drive to left by Castellanos. . .

[Zimbra]

32 minutes ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic.  

 

--

I'm guessing she straight up lied about the pictures and the NYT staff called her bluff.  

More or less

 

[Dolfan in NYC]

22 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

Time to put his money where his mouth is I guess 

"Oh shoot.  I lost all my contacts!  You know how these iPhone 7's can be!"

... Meanwhile Pablo Torre is figuring out if Vrabel was a backshot king or not. 

 

It's gonna be interesting to see if LeBatard lets him keep all that journalistic independence he's been crowing about since the day he got there.

[hammerva]

She will be hired by someone else immediately whether they know she was lying or she was set up and is innocent.  The question is whether it is someone using her for NFL news.  Stugotz would be perfect because nobody is watching for news.  She can do her "my husband sucks" character there

I also figure Pablo won't touch this one.

Edited April 14 by hammerva

[Dolfan in NYC]

8 minutes ago, hammerva said:

I also figure Pablo won't touch this one.

 

[hammerva]

Wasn't this tweet before Lebatard talked about and was extremely uncomfortable to the point of almost crying?

[Zimbra]

32 minutes ago, hammerva said:

She will be hired by someone else immediately whether they know she was lying or she was set up and is innocent.  The question is whether it is someone using her for NFL news.  Stugotz would be perfect because nobody is watching for news.  She can do her "my husband sucks" character there

I also figure Pablo won't touch this one.

I'm guessing someone will hire her, but if you were a source on one of the other 29 teams, how would you feel about leaking her non-public info now?  

Luckily for her sports reporting is dying but sports yammering is going strong and has never even heard of ethics.

[hammerva]

We can add Crissy Floyd from USA Today  to the list of people who lost her job as apparently USA Today wasn't fond of her basically saying Dianna deserved to be fired and she had a bad reputation already 

Ironically almost immediately after the firing a story comes out about how she ratted out to the NFL about some Saints QB nobody has ever heard of about violating COVID rules after they broke up

[RIPPA]

 

[Tabe]

21 hours ago, hammerva said:

We can add Crissy Floyd from USA Today  to the list of people who lost her job as apparently USA Today wasn't fond of her basically saying Dianna deserved to be fired and she had a bad reputation already 

Ironically almost immediately after the firing a story comes out about how she ratted out to the NFL about some Saints QB nobody has ever heard of about violating COVID rules after they broke up

The internet is undefeated, LOL.  It's not exactly unheard-of for reporters to date players - Sam Ponder, anyone? - but...

Edited April 17 by Tabe

[odessasteps]

I mean, if you just dated an athlete in a sport you didn’t cover … 

[RIPPA]

Quote

According to Front Office Sports, an anonymous tipster shopped the photos to TMZ, but they were ultimately published by the Post. A spokesperson for the Post declined to comment on how the outlet acquired the photographs. According to multiple people familiar with internal deliberations at the Post, the outlet was open to changing the tone of the story or possibly not running it if Russini and Vrabel could provide compelling evidence to back up their statements that they had each been on a trip with friends.

In the days before the story ran, Russini consulted advisers, including a veteran in crisis communications. Russini and Vrabel also communicated about how to respond to the Post, according to a person with knowledge of those discussions.

Executives at The Athletic learned about the impending story from Russini Tuesday afternoon, according to three people with knowledge of the timeline. Internally, Russini argued the photos were a sexist attack on a female reporter in a male-dominated field, the people said. She made the argument to her bosses at The Athletic and called Levien and said she had been traveling with friends, the people said. The Post, though, wanted to turn it into a scandal, she told people internally, according to the three people. Russini also offered to have her bosses speak to Vrabel, which the company declined, according to two people familiar with the offer.

Athletic executives held a series of meetings Tuesday afternoon. The group, led by Ginsberg, believed Russini's version of events and decided to back her publicly, according to two people familiar with the internal deliberations. Ginsberg gave a statement to the Post: "These photos are misleading and lack essential context. These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we're proud to have her at The Athletic."

---------------

But inside The Athletic last week, the Post report raised questions because it included an eyewitness account of Russini and Vrabel at the resort alone, which contradicted her version of events, according to the three people with knowledge of the timeline.

While The Athletic had been quick to rush to her defense ahead of the story, now executives asked for more evidence from Russini such as text messages about an airport pickup, screenshots of planning the trip or photos from a hike, the three people said. They said Russini never provided sufficient evidence. On Friday, April 10, ESPN reported that The Athletic had launched an investigation into her NFL coverage and the nature of her relationship with Vrabel, and a person familiar with the matter told ESPN that she would not be reporting during that process.

The New York Times's ethics policy on avoiding conflicts states: "Relationships with sources require sound judgment to prevent the fact or appearance of partiality... It is essential we preserve a detachment, free of any whiff of bias."

Close relationships with people who figure in a reporter's coverage must be disclosed to the standards editor, the policy adds.

The story does make sure to point out that the NFL isn't investigating Vrabel

[odessasteps]

“What is unctuous?” 

Edited April 21 by odessasteps

[odessasteps]