Sports
How ESPN's Scott Van Pelt and 'Bad Beats' keep 'SportsCenter' fresh in a YouTube world
As a younger generation of sports fans increasingly turned to YouTube and other online sources for game highlights, ESPN’s “SportsCenter” appeared to be on borrowed time in 2015.
It’s why the Walt Disney Co. unit turned to Scott Van Pelt to put a new spin on the late-night edition of its flagship program. The veteran ESPN radio host and golf reporter provided a dry wit and a conversational vibe that in short order soon attracted more younger viewers than the traditional desk and sofa shows on the broadcast networks.
The competitive landscape has only become more challenging as pay-TV cord-cutting and streaming take their toll on legacy media. But Van Pelt, who entered his 10th season this month, is still thriving as ESPN has turned his “SportsCenter” into a post-game show for its biggest events, including “Monday Night Football.”
Van Pelt often gets tune-in the old fashioned way, with massive audience lead-ins from the live events that have become even more vital to ESPN as the network competes with streamers and prepares for a post-cable world where it will be available as a direct-to-consumer offering.
Van Pelt’s “SportsCenter” averaged 6.3 million viewers on April 5 when it followed the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four game between University of Connecticut and Iowa, the most-viewed episode in the show’s history according to Nielsen data. The program scored 3.4 million viewers when it aired after the College Football Playoff championship game on Jan. 8. It hit 2.2 million viewers or more three times following NFL games last season.
The stars show up as a result. Van Pelt did his show from the U.S. Open Tennis Championship in Queens, N.Y., this year for the first time. After one of his wins, Novak Djokovic showed at the “SportsCenter” desk, grinning like a super-fan.
The show also remains appointment viewing for its signature segment, “Bad Beats,” a “Scared Straight” for gamblers where Van Pelt and sidekick Stanford Steve Coughlin riff on clips showing supposedly sure bets that go awry.
At 58, he is the father of three young children, which keeps him connected to the new ways of video consumption that are a galaxy away from his analog upbringing.
“I was the remote,” Van Pelt told The Times during a recent conversation at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn. “‘Hey Buzz, turn it to channel 4 ‘ — in the days of the big-ass Zenith that weighed seven tons.”
While ESPN looks to evolve, Van Pelt is along for the ride but isn’t about to change his act.
You still show up on television like you’re a guest in someone’s home. A suit, a tie, a pocket square. When you look at the popularity of Pat McAfee’s ESPN show, which looks like they’re a in rec room but attracts major guests, do you feel any pressure to do your show differently to attract a younger demographic?
I think guests recognize that these are immensely popular places to go. I think Pat and his crew create a comfortable space for conversation. It’s different than anywhere else by design. My grandpa wore pocket squares. This is my ode to him. If I’m doing a television show, this is how I will present myself because that’s just how I always have. I’m in my late 50s. If I start showing up in a tank top or a hoodie and whatever else, it would be like that Steve Buscemi meme where he says, “Hey, fellow kids.”
I believe we’ve successfully created a very comfortable place for the host, for the audience and I believe for the coaches and players that join us. They know what our show is. They understand it’s morphed largely into a post-game show for the biggest events we have and what I think what we find is that you’re getting people to stick around in those big-event moments and because they understand what they’re going to get.
ESPN host Scott Van Pelt speaks with Novak Djokovic at the 2024 U.S. Open.
(ESPN)
Athletes are taking control of their content. They are doing their own podcasts and TikTok videos. Does that pose any kind of challenge to you when they come on your show and you’re trying to get good stuff out of them in interviews?
I have had the benefit of having done this so long. We had Caitlin Clark on this year. I’ve never met Caitlin Clark. But she was very gracious, and as we were waiting to come on, she’s telling me, “I’ve watched you forever. It’s so cool to be on.” And you realize that, “Jesus, I’m the old guy.” I’ve done this her whole life. You might be talking to someone for the first time, but they’re not meeting a stranger.
In no way do I see myself as like some Johnny Carson figure. I’m exactly the same on the air as I am talking to you right now. So I think what happens is, I’m pretty accessible to the person. I’m not trying to get anything out of you other than the answers to the questions I have. And because I’m asking you typically with your jersey still on and sweat still on your shoulders, I get that raw reaction to, “You just made it to another Final Four,” and then probed the things that matter in that space. If I can’t get good content, then that’s my fault.
When you started there was not a huge amount of sports gambling talk on TV. Now with apps — including ESPN Bet — we’ve all become degenerates.
We’re in the bookmaking business. Who would have dreamt?
You’re in the promotions for ESPN Bet. Do you use the app?
I don’t. I’ve never been an app-based gambler. I was the guy that had a guy.
Are you still using a bookie?
No, that would be illegal, wouldn’t it? I’d never doing anything illegal. God forbid. Who would do that?
Was it a tough sell to get that segment on at the time?
When I talked to (former ESPN programming executive) John Wildhack before our show started and I told him I’m going to do a segment called “Bad Beats,” he didn’t blink. I give him a ton of credit because it wasn’t legal in the way that it is now. I didn’t know that it would become the most popular thing that we do on our show.
“Bad Beats” is the thing people always bring up, and I’ll ask, “Do you gamble?” And oftentimes they’ll say, “No, I just love seeing like how these things could possibly go wrong.” It doesn’t seem like it could really happen like this. I tell them it happens every day.
And it’s funny.
There’s something about shared misery. We laugh to keep from crying. In my office in Washington, D.C., I have a bet slip for the all-timer of all-timers: Virginia and Abilene Christian. Abilene Christian was getting 38 1/2 points and they lost on the last play of the (college football) game. It was the most preposterous thing you’ve ever seen, and Stanford Steve says on the show, “Who bet on this game?” A man from Kentucky mailed me his bet slip. It’s the reminder some poor schmuck had Abilene Christian, and so we owe it to that man to properly document what happened and try our best to laugh in a way that’s comforting.
Sports
Pirates star pitcher makes unfortunate history after being taken out in middle of perfect game bid
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Jared Jones was flirting with Major League Baseball history on Wednesday night — he got it, but it was not what he originally envisioned.
The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher retired the first 18 batters he faced, but he was taken out in the middle of his perfect game bid after six innings.
Now, the Pirates certainly have their reasons — the 24-year-old Jones hasn’t thrown more than 81 pitches in eight starts since returning May 20 after missing all of last season while undergoing ulnar collateral ligament internal brace surgery on May 21, 2025. He was yanked with 77 pitches and likely would have needed more than 100 pitches to record the 25th perfect game in MLB history.
Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 8, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
However, Jones left the game after getting zero run support, so when the Atlanta Braves tacked on three runs late for a 3-0 victory, Jones instead found himself in the wrong chapter of the history books.
According to Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1920) to pitch at least six perfect innings and not record a win.
“It does suck. Something’s cool coming on, but I’m on what? My eighth start off of surgery? I completely understand it, and it is what it is,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) makes his way to the field to warm up before pitching against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
JUSTIN VERLANDER ANNOUNCES HE WILL RETIRE AFTER THIS SEASON: ‘I’VE REALIZED THAT TIME HAS COME’
Jones said he didn’t entertain attempting to complete the perfect game.
“Not with the pitch count,” he said. “Not really ever expecting to go nine right now, so that was never in my head.”
Joey Bart, traded to the Braves from the Pirates on June 18, followed a double by Mike Yastrzemski with a 422-foot, two-run homer to left-center field off a slider from Dennis Santana. Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth for good measure.
It was the second time in less than a week that a pitcher was taken out of the game with a perfect bid through six innings — the Miami Marlins took Eury Perez out after seven innings in which he had 92 pitches. Perez, too, is in the midst of returning from injury and has surprisingly found himself right in the postseason mix.
He was pulled for Lake Bachar to start the eighth, and the Marlins allowed eight runs to the Athletics in the final two innings, but held on to win 9-8.
Jared Jones (17) of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during a MLB game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 27, 2026, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Pirates are 4.0 games out of the final wild card spot, which is held by the Marlins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON — The Dodgers are scheduled to visit the White House on July 23 to celebrate their latest World Series title.
“President Trump is excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to The Times.
The date falls on a scheduled off day in the middle of a nine-game East Coast road trip for the Dodgers. The team will play three games in Philadelphia against the Phillies July 20-22 before ending the trip with a three-game series against the New York Mets July 24 to 26.
The visit continues a tradition from the Dodgers’ two previous World Series championships. They were hosted by President Biden in 2021 and President Trump in April 2025.
After the Dodgers claimed their second consecutive World Series title with a dramatic Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, a visit to the White House was planned, but it wasn’t until Thursday that a date was officially booked and confirmed.
Questions swirled around whether players would decline the visit this year after it did not happen during a scheduled visit to Washington in April.
Kiké Hernández said in 2018 he was unsure he would have gone had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Mookie Betts said he was undecided and needed to talk it over with his family when last year’s visit was announced. After winning his first World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term.
Both players, along with every returning member of the 2024 team who was with the team during its road trip, participated in the visit. The only notable absence was first baseman Freddie Freeman, who remained in Los Angeles to nurse an ankle injury.
Manager Dave Roberts, who indicated in comments to The Times in 2019 he might not go to the White House if Trump was president, also participated in last year’s ceremony.
Asked at the Dodgers’ fan festival in January about the possibility of returning to the White House, Roberts told The Times’ Bill Shaikin: “For me, I stand by: I’m a baseball manager. That’s my job.”
“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country,” Roberts said. “For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. … For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”
Clayton Kershaw, who retired after last season but was on Team USA for this year’s World Baseball Classic, told The Times in the spring that he was aware Dodgers fans are split over whether the team should visit the White House again this year, but he said he is looking forward to it.
“I went when President Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”
Times deputy sports editor Ed Guzman contributed to this report.
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All eyes were on Caitlin Clark on Wednesday night as she made her anticipated return from injury in a road matchup in Los Angeles.
But instead of a triumphant comeback, the Fever spent the entire night chasing the Sparks as Clark’s rough return fueled a 106-92 rout.
The superstar never found a groove, looking completely out of sync in her return from a back injury.
STEPHANIE WHITE GIVES CAITLIN CLARK STATUS UPDATE AHEAD OF FEVER-SPARKS, BUT HER NEXT MOVE RAISES QUESTIONS
Caitlin Clark huddles with teammates as the Indiana Fever battle the Sparks. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
Much of that disjointed performance falls squarely on head coach Stephanie White, who kept Clark on a ridiculously tight leash by limiting her to just 16 minutes. The stop-and-go approach could have sabotaged any chance for the phenom to establish a rhythm.
Clark finished with just 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Her minus-16 plus-minus told the story.
The Los Angeles Sparks were severely shorthanded, taking the floor without stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink.
MERCURY’S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKING CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER STAR’S INJURY
Yet while a depleted Sparks roster played to win, Indiana spent the night over-managing its biggest asset.
With Clark on a minutes restriction and Aliyah Boston out of the lineup, Kelsey Mitchell was forced to shoulder the entire offensive burden.
Mitchell did her part, pouring in 29 points while shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Caitlin Clark orchestrates the Fever offense as Indiana battles the Los Angeles Sparks in primetime action. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
But one hot hand couldn’t stop an efficient LA squad.
The Sparks shot 45% from three-point range, going 9-of-20 from deep to cruise to the 106-92 victory.
White’s next move is to sit Clark against the Mercury on Thursday while Boston returns.
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After Wednesday’s loss to a shorthanded Sparks team, it’s fair to question whether Indiana’s cautious approach is working. The Fever dropped to 12-9.
Caitlin Clark and Dearica Hamby face off as Fever and Sparks battle at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images) ((Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images))
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
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