Latest news with #sportsmedia
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
‘I'm pumped for you' – Fans love Paige Spiranac's shock new career move into ‘big, high-powered executive job'
PAIGE SPIRANAC has announced a dramatic new career change into the "next big thing in golf". The influencer and former LPGA star is teaming up with the Par 3 tournament Grass League. 5 5 5 Paige boasts millions of online fans after embracing social media to promote her golf journey. The 32-year-old turned pro for a year after playing at the University of Arizona and San Diego State. But her LPGA career failed to take off, with Spiranac swapping the fairway for the online world. She has built up a loyal following thanks to a hearty mix of golf tips and sultry selfies from the course. Now Paige has teamed up with viral tournament Grass League, which made its debut last year. She said in a video on X: "I am joining the front office at Grass League. "Grass League is a high-stakes Par 3 league. "I will be focusing on brand development, fan engagement, content strategy, seeking out new talent, and acquiring sponsorships. "This is really exciting for me and I feel its the next stage and development of my career." The Grass League features both amateur and professional players in team-based formats. Slow-motion Paige Spiranac video leaves fans speechless as she takes shot in revealing outfit Franchises representing different regions from both the USA and Canada play on lighted Par 3 golf courses. A press release from the Grass League added: "A trailblazer in both professional golf and modern sports media, Spiranac will work closely with league leadership to shape the long-term vision and growth strategy for The Grass League. "Her role will encompass brand development, storytelling, creative, business development and overall content and audience strategy, positioning the league to scale its reach across digital, broadcast, and live experiences." One fan responded to the news: "I'm so pumped for you." While another said: "Congratulation Paige, you are really smart woman and you deserve this. Go get them girl." Spiranac currently boasts 4 million followers on Instagram alone. She credits her success to being "on the grind" and refused to get down after her pro career fizzled out. Speaking to podcast Playing A Round in 2023, she said: "I had everything to be a world class golfer. "But I just couldn't put it together and I didn't know why. It was driving me actually insane. "Instead of sitting down and feeling sorry for myself, I picked myself back up and threw myself into my media work [when my golf career ended]. "My background of just grinding, hard work has really helped me in my media career, because I work so incredibly hard — and the difference is here, the harder I work, the more successful I've become. "I think that's why it's been a more fulfilling journey for me than professional golf - the outcome is positive." 5
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hear from Howell's Luke Downing after winning KLAA golf championship
Does the PGA Championship need a new identity? The Live From crew analyzes the identity of the PGA Championship, declaring that the prestigious major "annually has the best field in all of golf" and discussing how the host club can impact the feel of the tournament. 4:06 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Texas Tech golf coach Greg Sands recaps team's low round of the day at NCAA championships
Does the PGA Championship need a new identity? The Live From crew analyzes the identity of the PGA Championship, declaring that the prestigious major "annually has the best field in all of golf" and discussing how the host club can impact the feel of the tournament. 4:06 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Around the Horn' was too perfect to survive a broken, messed up world
It's difficult to accept that it's going to be gone. After 23 years and almost 5,000 episodes, Around the Horn, ESPN's daily studio debate show will be no more, signing off for the final time on Friday evening after being cancelled by the network. The show's 'Final Face Time' on Wednesday was a testament to everything the show has meant to not only its panelists, but all of us. Advertisement Around the Horn was more than just talking heads screaming hot takes at each other. It was more than a show you'd put on to unwind after a rough day, or casually glance while at the gym. It was groundbreaking programming that turned the regional into the national, pulling sports writers from around the country away from their desks and giving them a spotlight. It helped define blending entertainment with statistics, a place charismatic analytics nerds could shine — all while channeling our inner debate team to imagine what we'd say on that set when posed with some of sport's biggest questions. It also made careers. The above clip highlighted a beautiful message from Harry Lyles, a man I was lucky enough to call a coworker and friend for years here at SB Nation before he took an opportunity at ESPN. We all knew Harry was destined for greatness. His sports knowledge was matched only by his effortless charisma — he just needed a vehicle for the world to see it. Around the Horn was that place. It served as that place for dozens and dozens of writers. Not only did Around the Horn launch careers, but it broke down barriers. From its inception it allowed for the utter brilliance of Jackie MacMullan to shine beyond her reach in Boston to a nationwide audience. At a time where not nearly enough women were represented in sports broadcasting, MacMullan broke rhetorical ankles on a nightly basis, tying opposing debaters in knots with her knowledge. The show allowed MacMullan to show a generation of women that not only did they deserve to be on that stage, but they could absolutely dominate. The list of staggering Around the Horn alumni is second to none. From OGs like Woody Paige, Tim Cowlishaw , and Bill Plaschke, to the new generation of Pablo S. Torre, Michael Smith, Sarah Spain, and Mina Kimes. All absolutely brilliant writers, analysts, and ball-knowers — all of whom could have been easily overlooked if not for the show. Advertisement Then there was Tony Reali, one of the hardest working men in the business, who innately understood the timing of keeping the show moving and remaining entertaining — while also adjudicating the debates, ensuring they were always fun. There was true artistry behind orchestrating that, and he was the master conductor. We truly did not deserve the embarrassment of riches Around the Horn gave us in the form of knowledge. It was the only place in the infancy of the internet that a sportswriter from Indiana could articulate the brilliance of the Pacers, which you'd then regurgitate at the office water cooler to seem like a genius. It made all of us smarter. It's also why it couldn't survive, not today, not in 2025. It's tough not to see the cancelling of Around the Horn as a canary in a coal mine. Indicative of horrors to come. Resources being further routed from intelligent, considered debate — and into the industry's carnival barkers who value being loud with their hot takes over being nuanced or considered. A rubber stamp that instead of getting intelligent sports analysis from people who have honed their craft for years, why not give air time to an ex-player with no media experience? After all, it's cheaper to just trade on their name. I'll remember Around the Horn for inspiring a sports-mad 23-year-old who was stuck in a dead-end cubicle job to not just passively watch the show as an end of day escape, but to get onto forums, and eventually the comment section of an SB Nation blog to debate out the things I cared about in sports. Around the Horn meant so much to so many of us, and I can't believe it's gone. So thank you to every guest, every panelist, to the producers, and everyone behind the scenes. You gave us something wonderful — and we're sad to see it end like this.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
He can handle anything the Oklahoma City Thunder throw at him. He's sideline reporter Nick Gallo
There is someone who the Oklahoma City Thunder simply cannot stop. They simultaneously send multiple players — sometimes about half the roster, it seems — to try to derail him. They surround him. They talk over him. They put hats on him. They put jackets on him. They cover him with towels. Nothing works. He is Nick Gallo. He is the Thunder sideline reporter. And after Thunder victories, Gallo's on-court interviews with the player of the game have become must-see TV, simply because nobody knows what the team will do in an effort to playfully torture him next. 'I feel like I owe it to them to deliver the best of myself so they can have their moment," Gallo said. 'That's really kind of the place that I try to operate from. And I guess I've just gotten the reps now at stuff coming at me.' Let's be very clear here: The Thunder mean no harm. It's clear they adore Gallo, look at him as part of the team, and love that they can't get him to break. They've come out with T-shirts bearing his name and likeness. They've made him bark like a dog before they'll let him sign off. They come up behind him when he's talking and dust off his shoulders. They stacked so many towels on his head, neck and shoulders during one interview that NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous- Alexander finally had to intervene. 'Y'all gotta chill,' Gilgeous-Alexander said to his teammates, on air, mid-interview. 'I'm sorry, Nick.' There's no need to apologize. Gallo doesn't mind any of this. Just about every televised game — in just about every sport — has the 'walk-off' interview, where a sideline reporter will talk to a star player or the player of the game for a couple of minutes to get their instant, on-air feedback. (Networks almost always work with the team to request a certain player, and the team then gets them to the reporter quickly after the game.) When Chet Holmgren got to the Thunder, he didn't mind doing the walk-off interview when requested but insisted on having another teammate with him. And now, it's become just part of the Thunder DNA. When a guy talks, his teammates will be right there to support him and be part of the show. Gallo didn't set out to be a viral sensation. It just sort of happened. 'A lot of times in media, we talk about reporters trying to gain the trust of the players and often that feels like a one-way transaction," Gallo said. "But I really trust them to an incredible degree, and I hope that shows through. These guys are extremely trustworthy. And the fact that they've gone out of their way to include me in this is an incredible honor. I don't take that for granted at all.' ___ AP NBA:
