On Christmas night, the Amazon Prime Video NFL crew said goodbye for the season as they won’t work the Week 18 slate of games. And they did so by going out in style.. with Ryan Fitzpatrick getting his chest waxed live on air.

After the Denver Broncos defeated the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night, the Amazon studio crew showcased the real main event of the evening on the postgame show.

As punishment for losing the picks contest throughout the season, Fitzpatrick got the TNF initials waxed into his robust chest hair. For a man that loves taking his shirt off as much as Pat McAfee… and has a lot more hair all over his body… it was a very hilarious and very painful result.

Fitzpatrick’s Amazon colleagues in Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, and Richard Sherman even helped to do the honors.

It’s almost a shame to wreck the fantastic chest hair of Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the image of seeing a former NFL quarterback get up from the wax table and scream “my nipple” is one of the most incredible television moments of the year. We even had instant replays of the waxing! Just look at those facial expressions throughout and you can only imagine the intensity of the pain and agony that he was experiencing. It makes the punishment dished out to the wet bandits in Home Alone look like real child’s play.

Given Christmas Day was filled with backups and teams out of playoff contention, this may have been the best entertainment that the NFL gave us on the holiday. Hopefully for Fitzpatrick, he can take some solace in the fact that providing gifts like this is one of the reasons why he was named the top studio analyst in 2025 at Awful Announcing. At least they didn’t touch his glorious beard.

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There’s panic in the realm when it comes to the future of bowl games in college football.

With the College Football Playoff destined to expand by some undetermined number of teams, high-profile schools like Notre Dame choosing to opt out of a bowl after narrowly missing out on a playoff berth, and schools like Kansas State and Iowa State foregoing bowl games on account of coaching changes, the future of non-playoff postseason college football is very much up in the air.

At the moment, it seems like fewer and fewer bowl-eligible teams are willing to participate in Bowl Season. That’s an issue for ESPN, which owns several bowl games under its ESPN Events arm, and broadcasts the vast majority of bowl games on its networks. What was once a source of pride for many college football programs has become something much less desirable in the era of expanded playoffs and the transfer portal.

Bowl contracts are set to expire after this cycle, and a retooling of how Bowl Season operates could very well be in order. That won’t be possible until the College Football Playoff decides exactly what format it’s looking towards for future years (a decision that will need to be made by mid-January should expansion happen next season).

But Nick Carparelli, the executive director of Bowl Season, isn’t overly concerned with the headwinds facing non-playoff bowl games. He sees them as still a key part of the college football season, and one that will find a way to fit in regardless of how playoff expansion shakes out.

“We certainly have our issues that need to be resolved, but there’s probably not one issue that college athletics faces in general that doesn’t need to be reevaluated,” Carparelli told The Athletic. “At this point in time, we’re going through a major transition in the sport, and we’re excited to talk to our conference partners once bowl season’s over to work with them to decide, what does bowl season need to look like in the future?”

Part of that equation is the difficult task of determining just how many bowl games are appropriate. With more teams inclined to opt out of bowls, should fewer be on the schedule? Carparelli views the conundrum as something the market will dictate.

“The bowl system is a market-driven system,” he said. “Through the 100 years of bowl games, no one has ever dictated how many bowl games there are. They’ve been strictly a function of host communities that want to host them and teams that want to participate.

“If at any point in time, the institutions decide as much as we love the bowl system, we may want to participate at a different level, then the bowl system will adjust accordingly. But no one’s in a position to say what the number is, or to make any of those decisions. The market will dictate it.”

So far the market, at least from a television viewing perspective, has remained strong. Despite certain teams not having interest in participating in bowl games, fans are still tuning in at high clips. Last year, nine bowl games averaged more than four million viewers, with several games eclipsing the six-million mark. These games are still very clearly lucrative for television networks, even if they are not as meaningful as they once were to the teams playing in them.

Now, if there’s a dramatic drop in team quality, viewership could begin to decline over time. But bowl games fill windows on the sports calendar when little else is happening and people tend to be away from work, which is a great combo for viewership. So long as people continue to watch, there’s incentive to keep the bowl system humming.

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We don’t know if Christmas night was the final home game in the incredible career of Travis Kelce, but the Amazon broadcast was sure acting like it was.

After going to five of six Super Bowls and winning three of them, the Chiefs dynasty has fallen on hard times. Even before a devastating injury to Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City was already on the outside looking in at the playoffs. After their star quarterback went down and with a roster that underperformed this year, there are now serious questions if we will ever see the Chiefs back at their elite best.

And those questions extend to Travis Kelce and whether he will come back at all. After the Chiefs lost to the Broncos 20-13 on Christmas night, the Amazon cameras followed the tight end closely for two minutes after the game. They showed him walk around the field exchanging greetings with many Broncos players, going over to the fans, and showed Taylor Swift in a rare television appearance this season.

But when the Amazon cameras tried to follow Kelce down the hallway into the locker room, a Chiefs security guy gave a very stern glance and a rejection that would have made Dikembe Mutombo proud.

pic.twitter.com/qjsmXUnkih

— welovesports40 (@welovesports40) December 26, 2025

After the cameraman was blocked, Amazon did have some stationary cameras in the bowels of Arrowhead Stadium to capture a couple more candid moments of Travis Kelce. But the security guy stiff-arm did not please Al Michaels. After Kirk Herbstreit joked that he was “bowed up” and ready to go, Michaels expressed his exasperation with the heavy-handed approach.

“We can’t let a camera go down the hallway for whatever reason, don’t ask me. I mean come on,” Michaels muttered in frustration.

The 36 year-old tight end and future Hall of Famer certainly has enough outside of football to keep him busy with his podcast, movie and TV appearances, and his upcoming wedding to Taylor Swift. Travis Kelce hasn’t said anything about retirement directly and made a Powerball joke when asked about it after the game.

If he follows in the footsteps of his brother Jason, Travis Kelce might take his time before making it official. And when he does make that announcement, odds are that it will be a tear-jerker.

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The Los Angeles Lakers have a three game lead in the Pacific Division, but all is not well in Tinseltown, especially after a home blowout defeat to the Houston Rockets in primetime on Christmas Day. And ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins wants head coach JJ Redick to take more responsibility for his team’s performances.

In spite of their 19-10 overall record, the Lakers have lost three straight games. On Christmas, they lost by 23 points at home to Houston in what was an embarrassing effort. After the game, Redick blasted his team’s professionalism in the press conference, saying that the Lakers were a “terrible basketball team” and that the players don’t care enough.

While JJ Redick called out his players, Perkins called out Redick on SportsCenter after the game.

Perk:

“Everybody find it cute and funny when he goes on his rants and publicly calls out his team but JJ Redick gotta do better as well. It’s always everybody else fault but not JJ Redick’s. That’s a problem for me” https://t.co/NwJJC30LN0 pic.twitter.com/Taaqks2ntT

— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) December 26, 2025

“JJ Redick, everybody finds it cute and funny when he goes on these rants and publicly calls out his team, but JJ Redick gotta do a better job as well,” Perkins said. It’s always everybody else’s fault but not JJ Redick’s. That’s a problem for me. And he talks about his team not being consistent, not playing hard, not doing the little things. Well guess what? That’s a reflection on the coach. When your team is not responding, your team is not putting in the effort that’s needed to be to compete at a high level, that means that they are not listening to the coach and the respect level is not there.”

Kendrick Perkins didn’t have criticism for JJ Redick alone. He also called out Lakers superstars LeBron James and Luka Doncic as well – James for his body language and Doncic for his complaining to the referees on a constant basis.

And they were all sentiments that he echoed on the day after Christmas in an appearance on Get Up where he lit into Redick, James, and Doncic once again.

“It’s always somebody else’s fault. It’s never JJ Redick’s fault.”

—@KendrickPerkins on JJ Redick’s comments after the Lakers’ loss to the Rockets pic.twitter.com/Y2GdJyb9uI

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 26, 2025

Kendrick Perkins and JJ Redick traded barbs when they were ESPN colleagues so it’s no surprise that the Perk isn’t a fan of the Lakers coach.

In fact, when he made his debut with the Lakers, Perkins admitted on national television that he wanted to criticize Redick, but didn’t have the ammunition to do so. Now that the Lakers have Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves as their big three and they aren’t living up to their full potential, it’s now open season on the Los Angeles head coach.

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Sling TV has won another favorable court ruling over the sale of short-term “Day Passes” to consumers.

The Dish-owned virtual pay TV platform was given a positive ruling earlier this week against Warner Bros. Discovery, the second major content provider to sue the company over the sale of “Day Passes” which allow consumers to purchase full live TV subscriptions for as little as 24 hours at a time, rather than committing to a full month as most services require.

Sling has advertised these subscriptions specifically at sports fans that may want to watch one game, or a weekend’s full of games, without paying a steep monthly fee. Content providers like Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney, both of whom have filed suit against Dish, are claiming breach of contract.

Just last month, U.S. District court judge Arun Subramanian ruled against Disney’s injunction to halt the sale of the short-term subscriptions. And on Tuesday, Subramanian made a similar ruling in favor of Sling TV against Warner Bros. Discovery.

At the heart of the rulings are poorly written contracts that fail to define exactly what a “subscriber” is. Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney argue that Sling’s short-term subscription offerings undercut the longstanding business model of the pay TV bundle. Traditionally, distributors like Sling pay content providers like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery a set monthly fee per subscriber. The current contracts do not account for customers that subscribe to a service for less than a month because, before Sling launched its short-term passes, there was never an option to subscribe for less than a month.

Sling has essentially taken advantage of a loophole in the contract. Companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are paid based on the number of subscribers Sling has on the 21st day of any given month. That means if, for instance, a consumer purchased a Day Pass for the 14th day of the month, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery wouldn’t receive a dime for that subscriber since they weren’t active on the 21st. However, if a consumer happened to purchase a Day Pass for the 21st, Sling would be on the hook to pay Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery a full month’s price for that subscriber, even though they only paid for one day of content.

These contracts will almost certainly be rewritten to address this very issue whenever Dish needs to renew agreements with Disney or Warner Bros. Discovery.

While the move to sell short-term subscriptions is paying off for Dish so far, it might not be the best decision long-term. Dish has now successfully angered two of its most important business partners when it comes to accessing live sports programming, and both companies will be sure to play hardball when it comes time to negotiate new contracts. Whereas if Dish had held off on selling short-term subscriptions until negotiating new contracts with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, rather than exploiting a loophole in its current agreements, the two sides likely could’ve came to an agreement that would have been beneficial for both.

In that hypothetical scenario, the content providers could’ve charged a premium per-day rate for subscribers that didn’t purchase a full month. This would’ve allowed Sling to sell Day Passes in a way where companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery still stand to benefit. Instead, the content providers see Sling as functionally stealing valuable content.

Now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the content providers try and shutdown this practice entirely during future negotiations. Monthly subscribers are the core of any subscription video business, and have been for quite some time. In the never-ending battle to reduce churn, content providers are much more inclined to incentivize long-term offerings rather than allowing for consumer friendly short-term subscriptions.

Dish, and anyone who uses Day Passes, should enjoy this setup while they can, because it likely won’t be around for long. At least not at the current affordable rates, which start at just $4.99 per day.

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With College GameDay on campus for the first round of the College Football Playoff, the studio show visited College Station for the matchup between the Texas A&M Aggies and Miami Hurricanes. And while former star quarterback Johnny Manziel was advertised to be the guest picker, Rece Davis doesn’t sound like he is buying why he missed the show.

The former Texas A&M Heisman winner is no stranger to battling personal demons, especially in the wake of his NFL career going bust with the Cleveland Browns. He’s even opened up about that in a documentary about his rise and fall. So when he was abruptly replaced by Oklahoma City Thunder NBA champion Alex Caruso at the last minute, it certainly raised questions as to the nature of his absence.

Manziel took to Instagram, apologizing for missing the program and saying that the nature of his absence was out of his control. He had attended the Anthony Joshua-Jake Paul fight the night before. And at least according to tabloid The Daily Mail, it was a sudden illness that knocked the former quarterback out for College GameDay.

But host Rece Davis sounds like he is skeptical of that story.

On this week’s College GameDay Podcast with Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel, Davis took what amounted to a veiled shot at Johnny Manziel. Although he didn’t mention the troubled former Heisman winner by name, he alluded to the situation after Wetzel brought up the Paul-Joshua bout.

“When you go to a fight like that, you’ve got to be very careful about where you eat breakfast the next morning,” Davis said. “Because it can leave you ill and give you difficulty in reaching the locales where you are scheduled to be. But I digress.”

After Pete Thamel made light of Manziel’s Instagram post where he referenced perpetuating false narratives, Davis continued.

“I just wondered, is that what the kids are calling it these days? A bad breakfast? Anyway, wouldn’t cast aspersions anywhere. For those who follow closely, you’ll be able to read between the lines there. You have to follow a little closely,” Davis added before he and Thamel both complimented Alex Caruso on what a great job he did as the guest picker.

Certainly, Johnny Manziel would have been a big draw at Texas A&M for College GameDay. But given his history, College GameDay had to know that there was a chance that he wouldn’t appear on the program. The fact that they were able to pivot to Alex Caruso probably shows just that. And given Davis’ thoughts on the matter, it might be a long time before he is given an invite again.

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Bill Simmons’ popular Sunday night live podcast will become exclusive to Netflix in January.

According to Caitlin Huston in The Hollywood Reporter, the Sunday night edition of The Bill Simmons Podcast that typically recaps the day’s NFL slate or, after football season, serves as a platform for NBA discussion, will now stream exclusively on Netflix beginning January 11.

It was reported in October that over a dozen podcasts from Simmons’ company The Ringer will make the transition to Netflix for video purposes starting in 2026. However, it was unclear what the fate of live shows like the Sunday episodes of The Bill Simmons Podcast would be.

Per Huston, episodes will stream live at 11:30 p.m. ET. After the show concludes, the video versions will be available on both Netflix and Spotify (which owns The Ringer), while the audio version will be available on all podcast platforms.

Bill Simmons will continue to be joined by “Cousin” Sal Iacono for NFL-centric episodes, while Zach Lowe will fill the seat once occupied by Ryen Russillo during NBA season. Russillo, of course, recently departed The Ringer for Barstool Sports.

With Simmons’ eponymous show going live on Netflix, it opens the door for some of The Ringer’s other titles to stream live on the platform.

For Netflix, the move signals the streamer’s growing interest in adding live programming. The streamer has been proactive in adding other video podcasts, including three of Barstool’s popular shows, and more than a dozen titles from iHeart in the hopes of getting users to spend more time on the platform. It is a clear play to close the gap with YouTube, which has traditionally owned the audience for live podcasts.

No doubt, The Bill Simmons Show will likely reach fewer people behind the Netflix paywall than it did when streaming live on YouTube. But it’s a calculated risk for an established brand like The Ringer, whose fans will likely follow shows to whichever platform they air on.

The post Netflix to stream ‘The Bill Simmons Podcast’ live beginning in January appeared first on Awful Announcing.

The NFL returned to Netflix for their annual Christmas Day showcase. And while much of America might still be getting used to football games on the streamer, Ian Eagle found the perfect way to bring the two together with an incredible nod to Stranger Things.

The Netflix young adult sci-fi phenomenon based in the 1980s is now in its final season, with the last episodes taking place over the holiday season being released in batches. It ends a journey that began all the way back in 2016 and has taken almost a decade to come to a conclusion over its five seasons.

Given the sizable gaps in between seasons, one of the things that has emerged as a meme this fall is just how much the stars of Stranger Things have aged since the show began nine years ago.

So as he welcomed viewers to the NFL on Netflix, Ian Eagle had the perfect introduction inspired by those memes as he was joined by Nate Burleson and J.J. Watt in the broadcast booth.

“The kids from @Stranger_Things got really old.” @JJWatt | @nateburleson #KCvsPIT on @Netflix pic.twitter.com/jJzyfw2foa

— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2024

“Ian Eagle, J.J. Watt, Nate Burleson, I don’t know if someone is tuning into Netflix right now and thinking, ‘the kids from Stranger Things got really old,” the venerable play-by-play man said.

He does have a point, though. Millie Bobby Brown, who stars as Eleven, is now 21 years old, married, and has a child. We got eight Harry Potter movies over a similar timeframe as a frame of reference, and at least that covered seven years at Hogwarts.

Now we’re left to wonder what Stranger Things kid Ian Eagle would have been. Mike? Dustin? Will Byers? And if that’s the case… who could Noah Eagle possibly be? Maybe that’s what the Upside Down is for, after all.

The post Ian Eagle had the perfect Stranger Things joke for the NFL on Netflix appeared first on Awful Announcing.

NFL kickers have gotten insanely accurate in recent years, especially on long field goal attempts. But unfortunately for this cameraman at the Cowboys-Commanders game, it wasn’t true this time.

Kickers are making and attempting more longer field goals than ever before in the NFL. And one of the best at them is Brandon Aubrey of the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys kicker is 35-40 on the season with a 64 yard field goal on his resume as well.

In the fourth quarter of their Netflix Christmas Day game against the Washington Commanders in the nation’s capital, Aubrey lined up a lengthy attempt from 58 yards away with the Cowboys holding on to a 27-20 lead.’

Unfortunately for Aubrey, the kick was badly blocked out to the right of his intended target… so much so that it doinked off the head of an unsuspecting Netflix cameraman behind the endzone far away from the uprights.

Wide right and it’s still a one-possession game in Washington

DALvsWAS on @Netflix pic.twitter.com/RoivYDDPeY

— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2025

Given Aubrey’s distance and accuracy, he probably thought he was safe even from almost 60 yards away. Hopefully he was able to continue the broadcast uninterrupted as we can’t think it would be a pleasant experience to be doinked in the head with a football.

But thankfully, it did not make the same sound as some of the amplified and celebrated doinks from when field goals now hit the uprights. And thankfully for Brandon Aubrey and the Cowboys, the rare missed field goal did not come back to haunt them on Christmas Day as they went on to defeat the Commanders by a 30-23 final score.

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F0r decades, Christmas Day was a holiday that belonged solely to the NBA. But in their quest for world domination, the NFL has impeded onto what once was sacred turf. And as ESPN kicked off their Christmas Day NBA quintuple-header, Charles Barkley had some holiday greetings to send to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The NFL had only played the occasional Christmas Day game when it fell around the usual schedule of game action. That changed in 2024 when the NFL decided to play games on Wednesday, completely upending their weekly calendar to force games onto the holiday. Now, the NFL is firmly committed to playing on Christmas whenever it falls during the week, and launching direct competition with the NBA.

On the other hand, the tradition of NBA games on Christmas Day goes back to almost the league’s founding in 1947. It’s something that is a part of the league’s culture and identity and not something that is just another cash grab from the NFL trying to slice off games to auction to the highest bidder.

And as ESPN began their Christmas Day coverage, Charles Barkley made it known that he wasn’t appreciative of how “greedy” the NFL has been.

pic.twitter.com/MnhofAzFAE

— welovesports40 (@welovesports40) December 26, 2025

“There’s nobody else playing. The NFL got greedy and started adding Christmas games. We used to have this day to ourselves, but you know Roger Goodell and them pigs at the NFL always want to hog every day of the week now,” Barkley said.

“I saw those guys on ESPN yesterday talk about it and they’re right. Christmas is an NBA day. That is it,” he added.

While Kenny Smith tried to offer a counterpoint to Barkley and play devil’s advocate, he wasn’t having any of it.

“Roger Goodell trying to hog every day of the week. They’re on Saturday now. On Friday too… stay in your lane, Roger,” Barkley declared.

While the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1964 precludes the NFL from playing on Friday throughout most of the fall to preserve the sanctity of high school games, the league has started playing Week 1 Friday games in Brazil and this year featured a Black Friday doubleheader on the day after Thanksgiving, impeding on what once was space reserved for college football. And we all know about the expansion to Thursday Night Football that began years ago and now streams weekly on Amazon.

The NFL has made no secret of their desire to play any day, any time, any place they darn well feel like. NFL games now regularly happen on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays throughout most of the season. And in December, Saturdays become a popular destination as well as holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Black Friday showcase.

Yes, it’s the NFL’s right to do so as the most popular sports and entertainment property in America to pick their spots on the calendar because they know that networks and streamers will crawl through broken glass to televise a game even if it was at 4 AM on a Wednesday morning. We know they will win the ratings battle comfortably against the NBA.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right thing to do for the overall health and wellbeing of sports, as Charles Barkley indicated. And this year at least, the NBA had a far better slate of games than the NFL with most of the teams featured in the football tripleheader playing backups and out of playoff contention. But that won’t stop millions from watching football, and it won’t stop the NFL continuing to push forward and take whatever territory they want next.

The post Charles Barkley calls out NFL ‘pigs’ for hostile Christmas Day takeover appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Netflix once again took centerstage covering the NFL with their Christmas Day doubleheader. And while there was a lot to like about how the streamer presented NFL games, their zoom interviews with franchise legends from the teams involved was a miss.

Netflix pulls out all the stops for their lone NFL games of the year on the Christmas holiday. They bring in big-name talent from other networks along with their own personalities and lots of celebrities. Everyone from Ian and Noah Eagle to Drew Brees to Kay Adams and Jamie Erdahl to Seth Rollins and Bert Kreischer were involved.

But in addition to the cast of thousands, Netflix also brought aboard players from each of the four teams participating in the doubleheader into the broadcast with zoom interviews during game action.

And that’s when it all became too much.

The streamer was criticized by fans for interrupting the game flow with the forced interviews. Not only was the quality and technology on the low end of the spectrum, but it actively took away from the viewing experience when all fans wanted to see was football.

The interviews featured Emmitt Smith, Clinton Portis, Barry Sanders, and Cris Carter. Maybe it was Netflix’s idea to dress up some games that weren’t that appealing on paper. Or perhaps it was a way to squeeze in a sponsored segment from Verizon. But as great as it was seeing all of those legendary figures from the NFL, in-game zoom interviews wasn’t the place to do it.

These former player Zoom interviews while game is being played are a terrible idea

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) December 25, 2025

Netflix needs to scrap the Zoom interviews during live play. They’re legends, but people tune in to watch the games, not hear what Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders have to say.

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) December 25, 2025

You’re trying too hard @netflix

Why would anybody want to listen to Emmitt Smith on a zoom call with broken audio while staring at more of his ceiling than him.. IF YOU WANT HIM, FLY HIM TO THE BOOTH.

Swing and a miss #NFL

— Isaac Moore (@AverageIke) December 25, 2025

Whoever green lit these in game Zoom interviews should be immediately removed from any future @netflix sports brainstorming sessions.

— Sean Pendergast (@SeanTPendergast) December 25, 2025

Having Emmitt Smith on a zoom call instead of commentating on the actual game is insufferable. Do better @netflix

— Jandro (@jandro_ko) December 25, 2025

Netflix is worth over $400 billion and they put Emmitt Smith on a damn Zoom call lol

— Jeremy (@JeromeyR0me) December 25, 2025

Get these zoom guests tf off the netflix broadcast

— Ron Stewart (@RonStewart_) December 25, 2025

Bro ik it’s Barry Sanders but not one person is trying to listen to a zoom meeting during football. Ban Netflix from NFL games

— Knower (@b_knower3) December 25, 2025

Not a huge fan of the Netflix productions today. I don’t mind games being on Netflix. But the productions feel amateur. Like bringing in former players on Zoom during the game. I want to watch the game, not hear interviews with people who have nothing to do with it anymore.

— Nick Stevens (@NickStevensHS) December 26, 2025

If Netflix really wanted to feature a franchise legend from the Cowboys, Commanders, Lions, and Vikings respectively, they could have just added them onto the pregame or halftime show. What’s a few more people on set when there were already dozens working the game anyways? Or, they could have put them in the exclusive Peaky Blinders suite!

But in 2025, the last thing football fans want to see on Christmas Day are forced in-game zoom interviews that look like something from a local preseason telecast. At least we know that Cris Carter has a cute dog, though.

The post Netflix NFL zoom interviews left a lot to be desired appeared first on Awful Announcing.

The Inside the NBA crew reported back to work at ESPN after a few weeks off for a Christmas Day marathon of games. And they got the day started with some typical hijinks thanks to Shaquille O’Neal.

The phrase “run through a wall” for someone is usually meant as a motivational tactic. But to get amped up for the five game Christmas Day slate that ran from noon all the way past midnight, Shaq seemed to take it quite literally.

During halftime of the first game between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, Shaq raced Kenny Smith to the wall for his regular halftime segment. And while we have seen take physical comedy to the extreme, especially during the Christmas season. Just a few years ago we saw Smith send The Big Aristotle barreling into a Christmas tree. But this time, the Hall of Fame center took it to the next level by actually running through the big board.

Shaq just ran through a wall pic.twitter.com/EwIDMV0C1s

— ESPN (@espn) December 25, 2025

But lest you think that Shaquille O’Neal committed millions of dollars worth of damage and ruined the Turner studios in Atlanta by wrecking the technologically advanced big board, it looked like it was all for show.

As Ernie Johnson pointed out, there was a mattress behind the wall for Shaq to land comfortably on after the stunt. That’s probably for the best as they had to work four more games after the early noon contest. But between the hole in the wall and the lights flickering out in the studio, this was a quality production that started off the day of basketball action with quite the bang.

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All Times Eastern

College Football
GameAbove Sports Bowl
MAC vs. Big Ten, Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Announcers: Matt Schumacker/Dustin Fox//Dawn Davenport
Central Michigan vs. Northwestern — ESPN, 1 p.m.

Rate Bowl
Mountain West vs. Big Ten, Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Announcers: Bob Wischusen/Louis Riddick//Kris Budden
New Mexico vs. Minnesota — ESPN, 4:30 p.m.

First Responder Bowl
Conference USA vs. American Athletic Conference, Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
Announcers: Anish Shroff/Andre Ware//Paul Carcaterra
Florida International vs. Texas-San Antonio — ESPN, 8 p.m.

The Bobby Carpenter Show — SportsGrid, 4 p.m.

EFL Championship
Matchday 23
Birmingham City vs. Derby County — CBS Sports Golazo Network, 7:30 a.m.
Stoke City vs. Preston North End — CBS Sports Network, 10 a.m.
Wrexham vs. Sheffield United — CBS Sports Golazo Network, 12:30 p.m.

CBS Sports Golazo Matchday — CBS Sports Golazo Network, 9:30 a.m.
The Golazo! Show — CBS Sports Golazo Network, 01 a.m.
CBS Sports Golazo Matchday — CBS Sports Golazo Network,noon
CBS Sports Golazo Matchday — CBS Sports Golazo Network, 2:30 p.m.

English Premier League
Matchweek 18 — Boxing Day
Announcers: Jon Champion/Lee Dixon
Manchester United vs. Newcastle United — USA Network, 2:55 p.m.

Announcers: Ahmed Fareed/Tim Howard/Robbie Mustoe
Premier League Live — USA Network, 2 p.m.
Goal Zone — Peacock

The Men in Blazers Show with guest John Oliver — Peacock, 5:30 p.m.

Hockey
Men’s
2026 IIHF World Juniors Championship
Group A, Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, MN
Sweden vs. Slovakia — TSN1/TSN3/NHL Network, 1 p.m.

Announcers — NHL Network: E.J. Hradek/Tony Granato//Jon Morosi
Germany vs. United States — TSN1/TSN3/NHL Network, 6 p.m.

Group B, 3M Arena at  Mariucci, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Denver vs. Finland — TSN1/TSN4/NHL Network, 3:30 p.m.
Czechia vs. Canada — TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5/NHL Network, 8:30 p.m.

IIHF World Junior Preview Show — TSN1/TSN3, noon
2026 IIHF World Junior Pregame — TSN4/TSN5, 8 p.m.

NBA
NBA on Amazon Prime
Announcers: Ian Eagle/Stan Van Gundy//Cassidy Hubbarth
Philadelphia 76ers at Chicago Bulls — Amazon Prime Video/NBC Sports Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

Announcers: Michael Grady/Jim Jackson//Allie Clifton
Los Angeles Clippers at Portland Trail Blazers — Amazon Prime Video, 10 p.m.

Announcers: Taylor Rooks/Rudy Gay/Dwyane Wade/John Wall
NBA on Amazon Prime Pregame — Amazon Prime Video, 7 p.m.
NBA Nightcap — Amazon Prime Video, 12:30 a.m. (Saturday)

Boston at Indiana — NBC Sports Boston/FanDuel Sports Network Indiana, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Orlando — FanDuel Sports Network Southeast/FanDuel Sports Network Florida, 7 p.m.
Miami at Atlanta — FanDuel Sports Network Sun/FanDuel Sports Network Southeast, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Washington — Sportsnet/Sportsnet One/Monumental Sports Network, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Memphis — FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin/FanDuel Sports Network Southeast, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at New Orleans — KPHE/KTVK/Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network, 8 p.m.
Detroit at Utah — FanDuel Sports Network Detroit/KJZZ, 9:30 p.m.

The Starting Lineup — NBA TV, 10 a.m.
NBA Playback — NBA TV, noon
NBA Shot Clock: Best Games of the Night — NBA TV, 2 p.m.
The Warmup — NBA TV, 6 p.m.
Toronto Raptors Pre-Game — Sportsnet/Sportsnet One, 6:30 p.m.
The Association — NBA TV, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Chicago Bulls NBA In-Game Live Gameday — SportsGrid, 8 p.m.
Hardwood Classics: Larry Bird’s First Christmas — NBA TV, 10;30 p.m.
The Association: Post Up — NBA TV, 1 a.m. (Saturday)

NFL
Good Morning Football — NFL Network, 8 a.m.
Good Morning Football: Overtime — Check your local listings/The Roku Sports Channel, 10 a.m.
Fantasy Football Sports Today — SportsGrid, 3 p.m
NFL Live — ESPN2, 4 p.m.
Football America! — DraftKings Network, 6 p.m.
NFL Fantasy Live — NFL Network, 6 p.m.
Peyton’s Places: The Bills Mafia — ESPN2, 7 p.m.
Tbe Insiders — NFL Network, 7 p.m.
Peyton’s Places: Sneak Attack! — ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.
Peyton’s Places: The Harbaugh Files — ESPN2, 8 p.m.
Peyton’s Places: Lies, Damned Lies and Football Statistics — ESPN2, 8:30 p.m.
Peyton’s Places: Football’s Holy Grail — ESPN2, 9 p.m.
Ross Tucker Football Podcast — DraftKings Network, 9:30 p.m.
Peyton’s Places: Who Makes the Call — ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.
Peyton’s Places: Taxi Squad — ESPN2, 10 p.m.
Peyton’s Places — ESPN2, 10:30 p.m.
Peyton’s Places — ESPN2, 11 p.m.

NHL
Missin Curfew — DraftKings Network, 8 p.m.

Serie A
Matchday 17
Parma Calcio 1913 vs. ACF Fiorentina — CBS Sports Golazo Network, 6:30 a.m. (Saturday)

Soccer
Real Madrid Pass — Fubo Sports Network, 8 a.m.
Scoreline — CBS Sports Golazo Network, 5 p.m.
ESPN FC — ESPN+, 5 p.m.
Línea de cuatro — TUDN, 8 p.m.
Scoreline — CBS Sports Golazo Network, 10 p.m.
Línea ce cuatro — TUDN, 11 p.m.

Sports News & Talk
SportsCenter — ESPN, 7 a.m.
The Early Line Live — SportsGrid, 7 a.m.
Nothing Personal with David Samson — DraftKings Network, 8 a.m.
Get Up — ESPN, 8 a.m.
SportsCenter — ESPN2, 8 a.m.
TMZ Sports — FS1, 8:30 a.m.
SportsCenter — ESPN2, 9 a.m.
BetMGM The Daily Tip — Stadium, 9 a.m.
Morning Buzz — CBS Sports HQ, 9 a.m.
Bet Sweats — Stadium, 9 a.m.
Coach and Company — Stadium, 10 a.m.
Gameday Pregame Live — CBS Sports HQ, 11 a.m.
The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz — DraftKings Network, 11 a.m.
Up & Adams — FanDuel TV, 11 a.m.
The Craig Carton Show — SportsGrid, 11 a.m.
BYU Sports Nation — BYUtv, noon
Midday Rundown — CBS Sports HQ, noon
SportsCenter — ESPN, noon
The Rich Eisen Show — ESPN Unlimited/Disney+, noon
The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz — NBCSN/Peacock, noon
NewsWire Live — SportsGrid, noon
Gameday Scoreboard — CBS Sports HQ, 1 p.m.
Gameday Reset — CBS Sports HQ, 2 p.m.
SportsCenter — ESPN2, 2 p.m.
Trending Now — CBS Sports HQ, 3 p.m.
2025 Best of SC Featured — ESPN2, 3 p.m.
Golic & Golic — FanDuel Sports Network, 3;30 p.m.
Gametime Decisions Live — SportsGrid, 6 p.m.
Primetime Pregame Live — CBS Sports HQ, 6 p.m.
SportsCenter — ESPN2, 6 p.m.
Gameday Scoreboard and Highlights — CBS Sports HQ, 7 p.m.
SEC Now — SEC Network, 7 p.m.
South Beach Sessions — DraftKings Network, 7 p.m.
The B1G Show — Big Ten Network, 8 p.m.
Ross Tucker Even Money — DraftKings Network, 9 p.m.
Contacto deportivo — TUDN, 9 p.m.
South Beach Sessions — DraftKings Network, 10 p.m.
Scoreboard Final — CBS Sports HQ, 11 p.m.
SportsCenter at Night — ESPN, 11:30 p.m.
Maria Full of Strength — ESPN2, 11:30 p.m.
El pelotazo — Telemundo, midnight
Las Vegas Football Contest Show — SportsGrid, midnight
Contacto deportivo — Univision/TUDN, midnight
SportsCenter at Night — ESPN, 12:30 a.m. (Saturday)
SportsCenter at Night — ESPN, 1:30 a.m. (Saturday)
Best of Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz — DraftKings Network, 2 a.m. (Saturday)
SportsCenter at Night — ESPN, 2:30 a.m. (Saturday)
TMZ Sports — FS1, 3:30 a.m. (Saturday)
TMZ Sports Weekend — FS1, 4 a.m. (Saturday)
Mystery Crate — DraftKings Network, 4 a.m. (Saturday)
Scoreboard Final — CBS Sports HQ, 6 a.m. (Saturday)

Tennis
MGM Macau Tennis Masters
Day 1, Macao Forum, Macau, Communist China
Captain’s Challenge, Men’s Singles, Mixed Doubles — Tennis Channel, 1 a.m. (Saturday)

The post TV and streaming viewing picks for December 26, 2025: How to watch World Junior Hockey Championships appeared first on Awful Announcing.

The South Carolina Gamecocks are coming off a disappointing college football season, but next year already seems promising with the return of quarterback LaNorris Sellers and edge defender Dylan Stewart.

As for what went into keeping both players in Columbia, there have been reports of millions of dollars in NIL payments.

Head coach Shane Beamer went directly to social media to refute one such report on Wednesday.

SportsTalk Media Network, a long-running South Carolina sports talk show, reported on Tuesday that the deals Sellers and Stewart signed will total around $5 million.

“A source confirmed for us Tuesday night that the two deals signed by South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers and defensive end Dylan Stewart combined will cost in the neighborhood of $5 million from the school’s rev share total,” they posted on X.

That report made the rounds and eventually got back to Beamer, who quoted that post with a message of his own.

Sounds to me like you need some much better sources

This isn’t even remotely close to being true #AnythingForClicks #MerryChristmas https://t.co/ZTw4nKSLKr

— Shane Beamer (@CoachSBeamer) December 24, 2025

“Sounds to me like you need some much better sources,” he wrote. “This isn’t even remotely close to being true.”

Beamer also added two hashtags, #AnythingForClicks and #MerryChristmas.

The media company pushed back on Beamer as well, quoting his post with a response defending their reporting and challenging the head coach to disprove it.

First of all, we don’t do anything for clicks. Secondly, if that information is incorrect, prove me wrong. Be transparent. Tell the public how much. I think they’d like to know. And happy holidays to you. https://t.co/Sc8Rufuifj

— SportsTalk Media Network (@SCSportsNow) December 24, 2025

“First of all, we don’t do anything for clicks,” they wrote. “Secondly, if that information is incorrect, prove me wrong. Be transparent. Tell the public how much. I think they’d like to know. And happy holidays to you.”

Sellers amassed 5,915 total yards and 43 touchdowns as South Carolina’s starting quarterback this past season. Stewart, meanwhile, has six forced fumbles, 11 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss, and 56 total tackles in 24 games across two seasons. Whatever it took, Beamer and South Carolina are probably pretty happy to have both of them back next year.

The post Shane Beamer refutes LaNorris Sellers and Dylan Stewart NIL report: ‘Isn’t even remotely close to being true’ appeared first on Awful Announcing.

The post The CFP first round frustrates everyone because it’s completely unnecessary appeared first on Awful Announcing.