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TNT Sports' boss said they didn't need the NBA — we're about to find out

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TNT Sports' boss said they didn't need the NBA — we're about to find out

One of the core aspects of basketball is trash talk. It has seemingly been part of the game since Dr. Naismith taped up his first peach basket in 1891 at Springfield College: If you talk the talk, you have to back it up.

That is why Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s diss track from 2022 is underpinning the sudden jump ball between Zaslav’s TNT Sports and NBC for the last NBA TV rights deal that is still up for grabs. Two years ago, Zaslav dunked on NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s league.

“We don’t have to have the NBA,” said Zaslav, who is reportedly paid like an NBA star at nearly $50 million a year, during an RBC investor conference.

Zaslav’s words zinged the ears of Silver and NBA executives. It has left Zaslav and TNT Sports fighting for their NBA lives with a Faustian choice.

Zaslav can either show fiscal restraint and lose the NBA to NBC, puncturing TNT Sports in the process, or he can pay the reported $2.5 billion per season asking price for a lesser package than he currently owns, proving that he does need the NBA.

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Any deal for TNT or NBC is expected to include a conference final every other year, as opposed to TNT’s current setup of every season. Either network is anticipated to hold onto the yearly All-Star Game broadcast.

At this point, it seems apparent that ESPN’s chairman Jimmy Pitaro, and Amazon Prime Video’s top sports executive Jay Marine, and their bosses — who are already at the negotiation’s medal stand waiting for the third winner — have done a better job than Zaslav and his top lieutenants.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by The Athletic, ESPN will pay $2.6 billion each season for the NBA Finals and conference finals, while Amazon Prime Video will receive a conference final every other year and is expected to be in the $1.8 billion-per-year range.

Meanwhile, NBC is sitting there, aggressively going after Zaslav’s deal. It is a multi-faceted corporate move by Comcast-owned NBC that would reunite the league with its Michael Jordan-era partner and “Roundball Rock” theme song and comes with an already set one-two play-by-play punch of Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle.


David Zaslav in November. (Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images for The New York Times)

While cable may be dwindling, Comcast is still in the business. If Zaslav and TNT Sports no longer air NBA games, Comcast could conceivably attempt to drop the price of its roughly $3 per month fee on subscribers. It could add up to millions in savings for Comcast.

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Meanwhile, NBC is offering to put games on its broadcast network, where they could fit snugly after “Sunday Night Football” ends in early January. NBC also wants the NBA to prop up its subscription streamer, Peacock. And, although not the incumbent, the NBA may prefer NBC as its teammate for this package.

While TNT Sports has broadcast the NBA for nearly four decades, it includes countless employees with long-term NBA ties and boasts Charles Barkley and the iconic “Inside the NBA” studio show, NBCUniversal chairman Mark Lazarus is the media executive with the long-term relationship with the league.

From 1999 to 2003, Lazarus headed TNT Sports. During that time, the network hired Barkley, arguably the greatest sports studio analyst of all time.

Lazarus also developed strong relationships with Silver and NBA chief rights negotiator Bill Koenig.

At Turner, Lazarus ascended to the head of Turner Entertainment, overseeing all of their programming from TNT to TBS. By 2008, though, he was fired.

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He went on to resurrect his career with NBC, where he now sits atop NBCUniversal Media Group.

“Both NBC and me, personally, have long histories with the NBA from my Turner years,” Lazarus said at the IMG Summit last September. “It’s a wonderful product in the States and globally. It’s a really valuable product, it’s culturally relevant in ways maybe some other sports aren’t — it speaks to multiple generations.

“So we’re intrigued by that, but we’re not an incumbent, and the process will come and go as it does.”

The process is ongoing, and it is hard to see how Zaslav wins. If he pays top dollar to keep a lesser package, he will dishonor his words about not needing the NBA, even if he has since tried to walk them back somewhat, professing his love for the league. If he loses the NBA, what becomes of TNT Sports, even if it still has MLB, the NCAA Tournament, NHL and NASCAR?

TNT’s NBA history is stellar, and many of the people who built it remain with the network, waiting by their phones to find out what the future holds. They are at the ground level grinding, while Zaslav is at the games.

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During New York Knicks first-round playoff games, TNT showed Zaslav sitting courtside when it did its celebrity roll call. Those things don’t happen by accident; especially, and notably, on the late-April night the network’s exclusive negotiations rights window was closing.

TNT’s coverage is iconic because of all the memorable moments with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Barkley. But the words that may define it, if this is the end of an era, could belong to Zaslav, who, at last resort, may also prove those words were hollow if he tries to prevent NBC from completing the steal.

Zaslav talked trash, but Silver has the ball, and the commissioner may decide who he wants to take the final shot.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Could TNT and the NBA really be done? What to make of Amazon’s new TV deal

(Top photo of the “Inside the NBA” crew in Denver for the 2023-24 season tipoff game: Jamie Schwaberow / NBAE via Getty Images)

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MLB analyst thinks Mets left Jorge López 'out to dry' after glove-throwing ejection: 'Boggled my mind'

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MLB analyst thinks Mets left Jorge López 'out to dry' after glove-throwing ejection: 'Boggled my mind'

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Jorge López’s wild ejection on Wednesday afternoon in Queens, and subsequent comments where he was believed to call his New York Mets the “worst team in probably the whole f—ing MLB,” ultimately led the organization to designate him for assignment. 

In short, he was released after his ejection, which included throwing his glove into the stands and having words with the Mets. 

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López has since tried to clear up his comments to the media in the Mets’ clubhouse after the game, saying on his Instagram Stories that he was talking about himself being the worst teammate. 

Jorge López, #52 of the New York Mets, in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on May 16, 2024 in Philadelphia. (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

“Who ever hear me I said teammate and what I said on the situation I been the worst teammate,” López wrote, “thanks media for make it worse.”

The bizarre chain of events led to many giving their opinion on the matter, and that included former MLB catcher and current Pittsburgh Pirates analyst Michael McKenry, who ripped the Mets for how they handled the entire situation. 

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“That really boggled my mind because the way they handled that as an organization was very poor,” McKenry said on OutKick’s “Hot Mic” Thursday. “What I mean is you have a guy [where] Spanish is his second language, and you have no interpreter there. So, you kinda leave him out to dry in the sense of like, he’s going to go with what he knows.

RADIO HOST OFFERS APOLOGY TO METS PITCHER AFTER LEARNING OF SON’S CHRONIC ILLNESS

“The most I learned about Spanish was not the good stuff. So, he’s going to go in a direction that he knows and feels comfortable with. And he’s in an emotional state.”

The 31-year-old López is Puerto Rican, and it is usually custom for Spanish-speaking players to have an interpreter with them to make sure the right things are being said to the media when being questioned. 

Now, López is no stranger to this, as he made his big league debut in 2015, and he is with his sixth MLB team. While interpreters are available for players to use during questioning, some players choose to give their answers in English. 

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It is unknown if the Mets gave López the option to use an interpreter, or if he turned one down before the interview. 

McKenry continued by saying, while López’s words may have been taken the wrong way, it does not excuse his actions, which his manager Carlos Mendoza called “unacceptable” after the game.

Jorge Lopez pitching

Jorge Lopez, #52 of the New York Mets, in action against the Detroit Tigers during game one of a double header at Citi Field on April 4, 2024 in New York City. (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

“If you know anything about his story, he has some issues off the field. He has a kid that’s going through a lot,” McKenry explained, referring to López’s son awaiting an organ transplant. “So, he’s dealing with more than most people have to. That does not make an excuse to throw your glove into the stands and call out an organization you’re with – he did get DFA’d today. 

“So, I think the reality of it is, someone needs to put their arm around this kid, love on him and say, ‘This is not OK.’ And not just throw it to the wind. I feel like that’s what the Mets have been doing over and over again – just throwing guys to the wind.”

The Mets have long been an organization associated with wild happenings on and off the field, so much so that the fan base expects them to happen each year. 

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However, the aura surrounding the team a couple of seasons ago, when Steve Cohen purchased the team, was completely different. High expectations entered Citi Field when Cohen opened his checkbook and brought in players like Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and others to compete for a World Series championship. 

New York would win 101 games in 2022, though they would lose to the San Diego Padres at home in the best-of-three wild card round. Still, things were looking up for the Mets. 

That was until last season, when they went a surprising 75-87. As a result, Scherzer and Verlander were both traded before the MLB deadline, and the Mets virtually punted on the season despite owning the highest payroll in the league. 

As McKenry pointed out, they still have that payroll above the rest of the competition, yet the results are 11 games under .500 at 22-33. 

Jorge López pitches

Jorge López, #52 of the New York Mets, in action against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on May 29, 2024 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)

“I think they put the cart before the horse,” McKenry said of the Mets. “I think someone that loved the organization and thought they knew best thought they could buy a championship with some older players. It didn’t work out and I think he had to double down, he had to trade off those assets, and lose his high end on all of this.”

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Things are not going well for the Mets, and López’s situation is just the latest example of the dysfunction happening in Flushing. 

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Southern California Regional baseball and softball results, playoff pairings

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Southern California Regional baseball and softball results, playoff pairings

Southern California Regionals

BASEBALL

Thursday’s Results

Semifinals

Division I

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Orange Lutheran 3, Santa Margarita 0

La Mirada 10, Huntington Beach 8

Division II

Liberty 4, Poway 3

Moorpark 6, Ayala 3

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Division III

St. John Bosco 5, Birmingham 0

Bakersfield Christian 3, Point Loma 1

Division IV

University City 3, Chino Hills 2

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Oxnard Pacifica 6, Valhalla 4

Division V

Chavez 4, Shafter 2

Azusa 6, Mount Miguel 5

Saturday’s Schedule

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(All games at 4 p.m. unless noted)

Finals

Division I

#7 La Mirada vs. #1 Orange Lutheran at Hart Park

Division II

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#3 Moorpark at #1 Liberty

Division III

#2 Bakersfield Christian at #1 St. John Bosco

Division IV

#5 University City at #3 Oxnard Pacifica

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Division V

#8 Chavez vs. #2 Azusa at Azusa Pacific University

SOFTBALL

Thursday’s Results

Semifinals

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Division I

Great Oak at Murrieta Mesa, Friday at 4 p.m.

Del Norte 4, Valley View 3

Division II

Chula Vista Mater Dei 12, Riverside King

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Etiwanda 1, Granada Hills 0

Division III

Otay Ranch 10, Bakersfield Christian 1

Imperial 8, Steele Canyon 4

Division IV

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Garfield 4, Woodlake 1

Oceanside 10, Eastside 0

Division V

Chatsworth 10, Bell 0

Coastal Academy 3, Hesperia Christian 1

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Saturday’s Schedule

(All games at 4 p.m. unless noted)

Finals

Division I

#3 Del Norte vs. #5 Great Oak or #1 Murrieta Mesa

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Division II

#3 Etiwanda at #1 Chula Vista Mater Dei

Division III

#3 Imperial at #1 Otay Ranch

Division IV

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#2 Oceanside at #1 Garfield, 1:45 p.m.

Division V

#3 Coastal Academy at #1 Chatsworth

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F1 star Lewis Hamilton admits he was apprehensive ahead of 'Hot Ones' appearance: 'How can I get out of this?'

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F1 star Lewis Hamilton admits he was apprehensive ahead of 'Hot Ones' appearance: 'How can I get out of this?'

Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton broke a sweat during his highly anticipated appearance on “Hot Ones,” a popular internet series where celebrities are interviewed while eating wings that get increasingly hot.

Hamilton contemplated skipping his “Hot Ones” appearance altogether, citing his uneasiness over the spice challenge. The Formula One driver even considered backing out of his commitment as he was making his way to the studio. 

“Even on the way here I was honestly like, “How can I get out of this?’” Hamilton admitted.

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit March 19, 2023, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  (Dan Istitene/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

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But Hamilton also noted his busy schedule also played a role leading up to the appearance.

“A part of it was scheduling [conflicts], but most of it was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do it,’” he said.

ANNOUNCER’S CALL AS CHARLES LECLERC WINS MONACO GRAND PRIX TUGS AT HEARTSTRINGS: ‘LOOK WHAT HE’S DONE’

The British driver seemed relatively unfazed by the first few wings, but he was noticeably surprised by the spiciness of the fifth wing.

“Holy s—, it’s hard to talk,” Hamilton said.

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Lewis Hamilton in November 2022

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes reacts at a press conference during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 17, 2022.  (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

The sixth wing was coated in the “Da Bomb Beyond Insanity” sauce, which the driver seemed to struggle with.

But Hamilton eventually made it through the interview, and, toward the end, he seemed willing to take another swing at the sauce.

“It hurts when I breathe. … Do we go in again? We should just send it,” he said.

Lewis Hamilton gets ready

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes ahead of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit Nov. 26, 2023, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

At one point during the sit-down, Hamilton did touch on the harrowing experience he had while surfing with 11-time World Surfing League champion Kelly Slater.

“It was 20-foot waves, and Kelly was like, ‘There’s no way you’re coming out there,’” Hamilton said.

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“As I started to try to paddle in, I got sucked into the kill zone. I turn around and see this set of four waves coming. [I thought], ‘It’s over. It’s all over.’”

Hamilton said his surfboard was ripped from under him, and he nearly drowned.

“I could hear this wave crash above me,” he recalled. “My board got ripped off and snapped in half. I came back up gasping for air, but the next one was coming. So, I went back down. … I nearly ran out of air. I nearly drowned.”

In February, Hamilton revealed his intention to switch from Mercedes-AMG Petronas to Scuderia Ferrari at the conclusion of the 2024 season. All seven of Hamilton’s championships have come with Mercedes.

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