Episode 201 – College football is changing (but not at the top of the polls), and the Bishop Sycamore fiasco

Bill Bender of the Sporting News is back on The Nail to talk about the new college football season, Texas and Oklahoma eying a jump to the SEC, and the implications of an alliance between the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC. Plus: Will anybody challenge Ohio State in the Big Ten? (Probably not.) Can anyone other than the perennial playoff programs finally break through and get a berth this year? (Also not likely!)

Later, the guys discuss how the Bishop Sycamore story quickly went from an amusing tale of an unqualified prep team scheming its way into a game on ESPN to something much, much worse.


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Episode 187 – Inside the disputes keeping Cavs and Browns games off our TVs

As of Monday afternoon, subscribers of YouTube TV, Hulu and Sling in Northeast Ohio were blocked out from watching Cavs games on Fox Sports Ohio. Local DIRECTV and AT&T Uverse subscribers are keeping their fingers crossed that they don’t have to watch the Browns’ Sunday Night Football game on a Spanish network because they are currently blocked from receiving WKYC.

With disputes between cable providers and network operators on the rise, Awful Announcing owner and editor Ben Koo joins The Nail to explain why losing access to big games is becoming a more frequent problem and how soon we can expect deals in these latest fights to be reached. Plus: Sinclair betting big on a reimagined regional sports network model, how much teams and leagues get involved in negotiations between cable companies and networks to ensure their games are available as widely as possible, and other sports broadcasting trends to watch in 2021.

On Awful Announcing: Sports fans are hostages in carriage disputes and we often pay the ransom

On WFNY: Waiting all day for Sunday night no more: Browns flexed to SNF


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Episode 174 – Jordan and the Bulls’ “Last Dance,” NFL Draft trainwreck potential

On Sunday night, ESPN premiered its long-awaited documentary on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, “The Last Dance,” airing the first two episodes in the 10-part series. The guys rejoice at having new sports content to watch for the first time in forever and share memories of the ’90s Bulls, including being in the building for Jordan’s last game in Cleveland as a player for Chicago. (Watch Bulls at Cavs on April 9, 1998)

Plus: The disaster potential for the virtual NFL Draft on Thursday night, and sports following the lead of WWE’s “Boneyard Match” at WrestleMania and having fun with how big events are pulled off in the shelter-in-place era.


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Episode 170 – Romo’s millions, YouTube TV vs. Sinclair, and more sports media headlines

The YouTube TV vs. Sinclair battle that threatened to take Cavs and Indians games off TV in some Northeast Ohio houses has been resolved—for now. Was this fight a preview of what subscribers to other TV providers should expect soon? Tony Romo just got an ungodly sum of money to keep calling NFL games for CBS, sending ESPN back to the drawing board as it tries to reinvent Monday Night Football. Will the answer finally include Peyton Manning and a trade with NBC for legendary play-by-play man Al Michaels?

And finally, why have the NBA’s broadcast partners struggled to find their next generation of commentators? Frequent Nail guest Mark Meszoros is back on the show to discuss those sports media topics and more.


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Photo from Associated Press | Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin

Episode 165 – ESPN vs. Fox Sports is college football’s hottest rivalry this year

College football’s biggest rivalry this season isn’t between any of the sport’s most familiar, storied programs. It’s ESPN, home of the College Football Playoff and proprietor of the long-running “GameDay” kickoff show, vs. Fox Sports, the irreverent upstart riding a wave of SEC fatigue and a suddenly hot pregame show of its own. Awful Announcing editor-in-chief Ben Koo, who recently wrote an in-depth analysis of the TV turf war, joins The Nail to discuss how Fox Sports has leveraged the perception of ESPN favoring the SEC, a strategy to put on its biggest games at noon, Ohio State’s dominant year, and a dash of Urban Meyer to make inroads against ESPN’s once-seemingly impenetrable stranglehold on college football coverage. ... Plus: The wacky late-night TV fun that is #Pac12AfterDark and the future of the College Football Playoff format.


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Episode 065 – March Madness, Cavs caught in crosshairs of NBA rest resentment

The guys are back to talk about all the big matchups from the opening weekend of March Madness, including Villanova vs. Wisconsin, Duke vs. South Carolina, and AT&T Uverse vs. Raycom Media. (Come back, CBS!) … Plus, the NBA's problem of resting stars and how ESPN, the network that invented “Embrace Debate,” blew a chance to have a discussion of actual back-and-forth substance about it during Cavs-Clippers on Saturday night.


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Episode 032 – NBA Finals roundtable with Mark Meszoros and Mark Koestner

An NBA Finals rematch of the century deserves an all-out preview podcast to match. With another epic showdown between the Cavs and Warriors set to tip off on Thursday night, the guys welcome Mark Meszoros and Mark Koestner aboard for a wide-ranging Finals roundtable discussion. It’s a whole new world for the Cavs since the last time these teams met in January. How will the Cavs cover for the defensive deficiencies of Kevin Love, and to a lesser degree, Kyrie Irving? What difference will Coach Ty Lue and sharpshooting power forward Channing Frye make? Will LeBron continue to start games as a facilitator or will he look to take over from the jump? And finally, will the dastardly Draymond Green’s antics finally draw a suspension from the league? (Hint: Probably not.)


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Episode 030 – Cavs keep giving Cleveland reasons to ‘Believe’

The Cavs are showing no signs of slowing down on this postseason run, relentlessly attacking the rim en route to a blowout of the Raptors in Game 1 of the East finals. Is there any chance this series can become interesting? (Spoiler: Probably not.) … Plus: The guys were both leery of what a documentary about Cleveland’s history of sports heartbreak would look like under the auspices of ESPN. Did the “Believeland” 30 for 30 documentary do our city justice? Sort of, but there were some definite sticking points.


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Episode 008 – Bucks to the Fiesta, Cavs near full strength

In a rare Sunday night episode, the guys look back on last weekend’s announcement that Ohio State is headed to the Fiesta Bowl to play Notre Dame. Plus, with Iman Shumpert back and Kyrie Irving returning soon, the Cavs are just about whole. What will be their keys to getting the most out of the rest of the regular season?


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