Steve Gleason is a former NFL safety with the New Orleans Saints who has been diagnosed with ALS.  His battle with the illness has inspired countless individuals as he's made his fight very public in hopes of raising awareness and research dollars for ALS.  His foundation Team Gleason is dedicated to finding a cure for ALS. This morning Gleason wrote SI's Monday Morning Quarterback column in place of Peter King, doing so with his eyes.  Gleason can't eat, walk, or speak on his own.

Also this morning, Mayhem In The AM on 790 The Zone in Atlanta did a bit mocking Gleason and his illness.  Outrage has emerged from all over the country, even from Gleason's former teammate Scott Fujita.  The hosts of the program are Steven "Steak" Shapiro, Chris Dimino, and Nick Cellini.  Cellini has already apologized on Twitter for what happened.

As of this time, there is no record of the bit as audio hasn't been released by the station or posted anywhere (if you can access audio please e-mail us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).  However, the station has released a statement on the show's website saying the show's personnel have been suspended indefinitely:

"We deeply regret the comments made by Mahem In The AM this morning on 790 The Zone regarding former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason. 790 The Zone, Lincoln Financial Media, our sponsors and partners in no way endorse or support the unfortunate and offensive commentary concerning Mr. Gleason this morning. The members of the show involved with this incident have been suspended indefinitely pending further management review of their actions."  

Just another example of sports talk radio obliterating the lines of common decency and class.  Seriously, what is it with sports talk radio that it produces these stories more often than other mediums?  More on the story as it develops.

UPDATE: Here's what we know about the bit that was played on air from a listener who e-mailed us:

Host Nick Cellini called in as Gleason and proceeded to talk back and forth then attempts several knock-knock jokes with the last asking to smother him.

Steak immediately asked the text line for 20 listeners if that was a good bit and if they need to have any more bits involving Gleason.

Nick has done bits before dealing with disabilities (one was even included in Mayhem promos).

With the station now owned by Lincoln Financial, this is going to be bad for the trio.

[790 The Zone]

Former Patriots and Chiefs executive Scott Pioli is following in the footsteps of Bill Polian and becoming a full time television analyst covering the NFL.  Pioli will be linking up with NBC and will appear on Football Night in America as well as NBCSN's Pro Football Talk.  Richard Deitsch first had the news in the weekly SI Media Column and here's more from the peacock's announcement:

Reports over the weekend indicate the Boston Celtics may be willing to more or less "trade" head coach Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett to the Los Angeles Clippers in a blockbuster deal.  As of this moment, the deal between Boston and LA is far from a certainty.

The championship window for the Celtics has closed and with 3 years left on his contract, Doc Rivers is trying to force his way out, plain and simple.  Only a handful of coaches in professional sports could try and maneuver a power play like this without getting creamed by fans and the media.  Doc Rivers is one of them.  Because he's so well liked by the media and has won a title in Boston, he can force his way out under contract and try to land in a better situation.

But if the trade doesn't work out with Los Angeles, it's looking less and less likely Rivers will coach another game in Boston.  It would be just a tad awkward seeing as how he's trying to find a way to not coach the Celtics next season.

Another outlet for Doc could be the broadcast booth, where he worked for NBC at last year's Olympics and most notably for ESPN/ABC in 2004, when he announced the Finals with Al Michaels.  A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England reports Rivers may return to announcing and take a break from coaching:

Ohio State fans do not like Desmond Howard. The former wide receiver won the Heisman in 1991 and struck this famous pose during THE GAME the same year after returning a punt for a touchdown.

So, those Buckeye fans hold a grudge, and while I like Howard, I can unfortunately relate to holding a grudge for an inappropriate period of time (coughcoughTerryPorterNOTPASSINTERFERENCEcoughcough).

On Saturday, Twitter user The0SU posted this picture of Howard unknowingly being the "I" in the O-H-I-O pose that Buckeye fans are so fond of:

As someone who has been photobombed by an OSU fan, all I can say is you just have to go with it. If photobombing him makes OSU fans feel better and enacts some measure of revenge, well they could do a lot worse. At least OSU fans probably like Howard these days more than Mark May.

[College Spun]

Last year, a parody YouTube video of bad British commentary for an NBA All Star video game went viral in the American sports blogosphere.  Thankfully, British comedian Anthony Richardson is back with another crack at an American sport and this time it's baseball rounders.  And to be quite honest, mock British commentary as if it's a cricket match gone horribly wrong is the only way to watch Yankees-Red Sox these days.  Some of the highlights:

"Mork and Mindy that's going for 6!  No!  Caught by the chap in the pajamas with the glove that makes everything easier."

"Crikey-o-blimey, it's Joseph Gordon Levitt!"

"And there's a plastic bag on the pitch, wow!"

One thing's for sure, I'm never going to be able to watch another Yankees game without thinking of Ichiro as Joseph Gordon Levitt.  Also, David Ortiz is no Chris Gayle, that's for sure.

Follow comedian Anthony Richardson on Twitter @amhrichardson

Bob Costas is a fantastic sports journalist, but geez Bob, lighten up a little bit!  Costas was on hosting duties for NBC's coverage of the US Open this weekend which meant little more than cut-ins with important thoughts and a couple highlights just to remind viewers that this was a big event because Bob Costas was there.

One of Costas' functions was to read a highlight for an afternoon game between the awful Cubs and terrible Mets - a game in which the Mets won 4-3 on a walkoff home run by Kirk Nieuwenhuis.  

The Mets were happy they won.  

Bob Costas was not happy that the Mets were happy:

All Times Eastern

College Baseball
College World Series, Omaha, NE
Loser's Bracket Game: Louisville vs. Oregon State -- ESPN2, 3 p.m.
Mississippi State vs. Indiana -- ESPN2, 8 p.m.

College World Series Postgame -- ESPNU, 11 p.m.

College Basketball
Inside College Basketball: Draft Special: Lottery Preview -- CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m.
Inside College Basketball: Draft Special: In the Paint -- CBS Sports Network, 9 p.m.

College Football
College Football Live -- ESPNU, 3:30 p.m.

FIFA Confederations Cup
Group B, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Tahiti vs. Nigeria -- ESPN, 2:45 p.m./Univision Deportes, 2:50 p.m.

The folks at Next Media Animation have a certain way of crystalizing American sports stories the way nobody on this side of the Pacific is able to do.  Their latest target is the controversy gaining steam surrounding the Redskins changing their name.  It's always had that uncomfortable remnant of generational racism, but the NFL continues to stand by the name against a growing groundswell of public opinion to move in a new direction.  The Taiwanese animation perspective provides as good as an explanation as any I've seen as to why a change is in good order.

George Marshall is spinning in his grave over being captured by Taiwanese animation.  And that's probably a good thing.

[NMATV]

FOX Sports Detroit's Tigers Live post-game show was a little more lively than usual on Friday night, thanks to host Shannon Hogan and this Freudian slip.

Hogan, who was hosting Tigers Live alongside former Major Leaguer Craig Monroe, made the slip while recapping the Kansas City Royals' 7-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Alex Gordon was indeed hit by a b---err, pitch, before Billy Butler's RBI single drove him in for the game's first run. It wasn't the only problem Hogan had on the night. Earlier in the evening, she tweeted about her mic falling off on air.

That's a tough night for Hogan, who has been with FOX Sports Detroit since 2010. But cheer up, Shannon. After all, this whole "hit by bitch" thing has happened before:

[Video courtesy our own Brady Green]

Description: We're back for a rare weekend podcast and have the privilege of interviewing one of our favorite guests - the voice of the NBA Finals, Mike Breen. This year's championship series is the 8th Finals for ESPN's lead NBA announcer. AA chatted with Mike Saturday afternoon during an off day of the series before a pivotal Game 5 with the series tied at 2-2. Topics include...

-The flop of the Finals so far.
-Broadcast partner Jeff Van Gundy's future and what Breen is willing to do to keep him in the booth.
-How the broadcast team approaches interviews with Gregg Popovich.
-How his approach to announcing the Finals has changed over the years.
-Covering LeBron James and Tim Duncan and how both have evolved in the last decade.
-Dwyane Wade's Game 4 performance and legacy.
-Manu Ginobili needing to provide an emotional lift for the Spurs.
-What this series needs to truly become a classic.

All that and more on this special NBA Finals edition of the AA Podcast.

In case you've missed any of our podcasts, check out all of our interviews on iTunes or our AA Podcast RSS Page.  

Recent Podcasts:

AA Podcast 50: Jim Miller on ESPN layoffs

AA Podcast 49: NBC's Will Buxton on Monaco & F1

AA Podcast 48: Ed Olczyk on the Stanley Cup Playoffs

AA Podcast 47: Tom Verducci on MLB

AA Podcast 46: Dan Levy on sports media