
BREAKING NEWS Shock as New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr announces NFL retirement
New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr has stunned NFL fans by opting for retirement rather than an arduous return from shoulder injury.
Carr released a statement on his decision after discussing with his wife, Heather.
'Upon reflection of prayer, and in discussion with Heather, I've decided to retire from the National Football League,' said Carr. 'For more than 11 years, we have been incredibly blessed, and we are forever grateful and humbled by this experience.
'It's difficult to find the right words to express our thanks to all the teammates, coaches, management, ownership, team officials and especially the fans who made this journey so special. Your unwavering support has meant the world to us.'
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The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
TNT's Kenny Albert wraps up a memorable 9-month stretch with the Stanley Cup Final
Getting to call a Stanley Cup Final for the third time on national television would qualify as the top moment of the year for most announcers. For TNT 's Kenny Albert, it is another accomplishment in a year that has been filled with many, especially over the past nine months. Wednesday's Game 1 between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will be Albert's 1,483rd call in hockey, football or baseball for a national network. He moved past his father, the legendary Marv Albert, into fourth place among North American announcers during last Wednesday's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final between Florida and Carolina. 'To be listed along with some of the all-time greats who I watched growing up and then got to know a lot of them personally, it's a proud moment when you see that you're included in that group,' Albert said. 'My schedule definitely is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle between the various sports and networks, but very fortunate to work for and with so many great people.' Albert surpassed the 500 games mark in both the NFL and NHL within a six-month period. He became the first NFL play-by-play announcer to reach 500 games on one network last October when the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Cleveland Browns in a game televised by Fox. He has been with Fox Sports since its beginning in 1994. He surpassed 500 national NHL games on Dec. 18 when the Philadelphia Flyers faced the Detroit Red Wings on TNT. Albert has been TNT's top hockey announcer since it got the rights in 2021. All told, Albert has done 534 NHL, 512 NFL, 421 baseball and 15 NBA games on a national broadcast or cable network. That is on top of his other duties as New York Rangers radio voice and backup for New York Knicks television games on MSG Network. Albert's versatility to do a plethora of different sports was something he picked up from his father. Even though Marv Albert's signature sport was the NBA, he also did the NFL and NHL along with hosting the baseball pregame show during the late 1980s on NBC. 'I've always loved the variety,' Kenny Albert said. For all of the aforementioned accomplishments, though, the highlight of Albert's year so far was calling Alex Ovechkin's 895th NHL goal on April 6 to break Wayne Gretzky's career record. Albert's call during the second period, when the Washington Capitals star set the record against the New York Islanders, relayed excitement while also mentioning the goal number and then going silent so that the crowd and scenes from the crowd could take over. 'In a championship situation or big moment, I don't usually write something out, but I do throw some words around in my mind just to be ready,' Albert said. "I was thinking something with his nickname, the Great Eight, the great Gretzky. When he tied the record, Joe Beninati (the Capitals TV announcer) used something similar to that, so I wanted to shift over to something else and not use some of the same words he did. 'When it happened, it just came out naturally. I mentioned No. 895 and then I just got out of the way. It was very important after the call to just lay out and let the production folks do their thing. Let the pictures and sound tell the story.' According to TV database research compiled by Un/Necessary Sports Research, the late Bob Cole, who called the games for CBC's 'Hockey Night in Canada' for 50 years, leads the way at 1,722 (all hockey) games; followed by Dick Stockton, who did basketball, baseball and football for CBS and Fox, with 1,544; and Canadian play-by-play announcer Chris Cuthbert with 1,539. Cuthbert, the current lead voice for 'Hockey Night in Canada' will surpass Stockton if the Stanley Cup Final goes six games. Kevin Harlan is sixth at 1,477 and should surpass Marv Albert (1,481) for fifth during Week 5 of the upcoming NFL season. This will be the 11th Stanley Cup Final for Albert, including eight on radio, but the first where he has called a rematch from the previous year. This is the first final rematch since the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 and the second over the past 40 years. 'It has a chance to be one of the all-time great championship series," Albert said. "These same teams played a scintillating seven-game series last June. Star power on both sides. Edmonton attempting to win Canada's first Cup since 1993. Florida looking to repeat. Can Connor McDavid match Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby and win his first Stanley Cup against the team that beat his club in the Cup Final the year before? I can't wait.' ___


Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Top ESPN basketball analyst Doris Burke 'at risk of losing her job'
ESPN's top NBA broadcast booth could be reshuffled after just one season, according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. Hall-of-Fame analyst Doris Burke is not guaranteed to be back with ESPN's top trio of announcers, while Richard Jefferson has drawn some interest from Amazon Prime as the streaming giant gains domestic NBA media rights next season. Daily Mail has reached out to ESPN spokespeople for comment. Another change atop the ESPN depth chart would result in the third different grouping in as many seasons. Until 2024, the cable giant had featured the popular trio of play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, ex-coach Jeff Van Gundy and former player and coach Mark Jackson. But while Marchand reports that ESPN didn't order Van Gundy and Jackson's firings, he does say it was 'well known' the league was upset about the former's frequent criticism. ESPN replaced the two with Doc Rivers and JJ Redick, who went on to take coaching positions with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively. Enter Jefferson, a popular former player, and Burke, who had been on ESPN's No. 2 pairing with long-time play-by-play announcer Mark Jones. The NBA's Nielsen ratings bounced back over the course of the 2024-25 season after a slow start, but really jumped in the postseason. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in April that television ratings from the opening weekend of the playoffs were the best the league has seen in about a quarter century. Speaking at the CAA World Congress of Sports presented by the Sports Business Journal on an array of topics, Silver seemed particularly pleased with the ratings from the first eight games -- four on Saturday, four more on Sunday. 'Highest-rated opening weekend in 25 years ... so the numbers are fantastic,' Silver told the CAA World Congress of Sports presented by the Sports Business Journal. The league said the eight games over the weekend averaged 4.4 million viewers, the highest average in 25 years and a 17-percent increase over the opening weekend of last season's playoffs. Now the league is hoping to have similar success in the NBA Finals, where the country's 25th- and 47th-ranked media markets will take stage when the Indiana Pacers square off with the Oklahoma City Thunder. People are watching; they just may not be watching on television. The social media tracking site Videocites says NBA content is getting consumed at a 64 percent higher clip than last season — 32 billion views and counting so far in these playoffs. Gilgeous-Alexander is the most viewed player, Haliburton is No. 3 and playoff clips of those two have about 1.5 billion views between them to this point. That's billion, with a B. And speaking of that, there are 76 billion reasons the NBA won't be bothered by whatever the ratings are over the next couple of weeks. The new media rights deals — an 11-year, $76 billion pact between the NBA and broadcast partners Disney (ABC/ESPN), Peacock (NBC) and Amazon (Prime Video) that kicks in at the start of next season — show that clearly somebody is watching NBA games or consuming NBA content. T he days of straight relying on Nielsen ratings seem to be long gone, with more and more people ditching cable for streaming and more and more young fans just watching everything on their phones and often in condensed versions.


Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Shock report reveals how Bill Belichick's closest UNC ally feels about his Jordon Hudson relationship
One of Bill Belichick 's closest allies is reportedly 'deeply concerned' about Jordon Hudson's involvement in the UNC football program. Hudson, Belichick's 24-year-old girlfriend who has firmly embedded herself in his professional life, was reportedly banned from UNC's football facilities - as Pablo Torre claimed last month. UNC refuted Torre's report, though said Hudson would 'continue to manage all activities related to Coach Belichick's personal brand' outside of the school. And while Torre has already said that the legendary coach's family was 'digging into' Hudson, his UNC GM and longtime friend Michael Lombardi is also apparently worried about her presence. 'What if I told you that [Belichick's] inner circle of actual coaches on staff, including a certain Mike Lombardi, is deeply concerned about Jordon Hudson and her presence in the building?,' Torre said on the Bill Simmons Podcast. Lombardi, a longtime football executive and analyst, previously worked under Simmons at The Ringer, and Torre wondered aloud whether he may have spoken with him recently. Simmons, however, did not answer that question. While Belichick and Hudson's relationship became public last year, the scrutiny around it has reached a fever pitch since she was seen inserting herself into his CBS Sunday Morning Interview. Interviewer Tony Dokoupil described her as a 'constant presence' throughout the session, in which CBS cameras captured her vetoing a question about how she and Belichick met. An email publicized by The Assembly also provided insight into her influence in Belichick's professional life, as the coach had asked for her to be copied on all emails sent to him by UNC staffers. It also emerged via several reports that her desire to be involved in the iconic HBO 'Hard Knocks' series curtailed the cameras' involvement in Belichick's work at the school. All of that led Belichick's family to reportedly grow worried about the ex-Patriots coach's relationship with Hudson, as Torre reported the coach's loved ones were 'digging into' her amid fears she could tear down 'everything he's built,' citing an unnamed source. Belichick, won six Super Bowls in New England as head coach, signed a five-year, $50million contract with UNC. And Daily Mail exclusively reported in April that Hudson had quietly amassed a $9million real estate portfolio. Torre's appearance on Simmons' show came as the Ringer founder and Spotify executive ripped into the former's reporting of the Belichick and Hudson saga. 'I've never seen anybody dine on a stupider story for a week and a half while pretending you're a journalist,' he said on a recent episode of his 'The Rewatchables' podcast. 'What the f*** was that? Seriously.' The die-hard Patriots fan also said: 'Belichick's dating a girl. 'Oh, let me do nine shows about it,'' Simmons, a Boston native, said, mocking Torre. 'Settle the f–k down … You don't need to do a media tour about a f***ing podcast.' Torre responded on social media, challenging Simmons to have a conversation with him - which they ultimately did as they hashed things on on the latter's eponymous podcast. While UNC have maintained that Hudson is not banned from their facilities - a rebuttal to Torre's original reporting which he refuted again - there has been a change to the school's communications staff. The school recently hired former Bears PR Director Brandon Faber amid the negative press it was receiving, and he was seen accompanying Belichick as he left an interview with Good Morning America.