These are headlines you never want to see in any industry.  Today, out of nowhere, ESPN laid off hundreds of employees.  The troublesome signs first appeared on the Twitter page of bestselling author and ESPN authority Jim Miller.

ESPN workforce hasn't faced reductions in its numbers for at least several years. That may no longer be the case. Fasten seat belts.

— James Andrew Miller (@ESPNBook) May 21, 2013

The details are grisly.  Miller also pegged the number of layoffs between 300 and 400 employees.  Deadspin's John Koblin was told a similar number by sources.  Eventually, ESPN would confirm the news in a public statement on the matter that "tried" to put a "positive" spin on the news:

This graphic appeared on an ESPN college baseball broadcast Monday for the upcoming ACC Tournament and there are just a few issues at hand in matching correct logos with teams.  In fairness, at least Tennessee and Clemson have the same color, so that's a positive, and the "T" could stand for Tigers!  Elsewhere, I'm not sure how the Florida Gators logo got in there or why NC State gets The "U" logo.  Oh well, a .250 average isn't so bad.

H/T juiceman2589

Earlier this month, ESPN and the SEC announced the formation of the SEC Network whch will launch next year. It was thought that an ESPN-run ACC Network was not far behind, but now we learn that it may not be coming to fruition any time soon.

The NFL is reportedly looking into moving the 2014 Draft due to a conflict with Radio City Music Hall. The reported date would be May 15th according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, a solid three weeks later than this year's Draft. Everything else on the NFL schedule would reportedly stay the same, including the Combine. Adam Schefter reports for 2015 and 2016, the NFL Combine would move to mid-March with the Draft taking place again in May.

Now, what does this mean from the viewer's perspective? There are a few ramifications that would come about when the NFL Draft is moved back three weeks that you would certainly notice on ESPN and other major networks.

When the Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners 10-8 in ten innings yesterday (despite what Root Sports may tell you) on a three-run homer by Yan Gomes in the tenth, the reactions from the Mariners TV crew, Indians TV crew, and Indians radio crew were very, very different.

First, we'll lead with the Mariners TV call by Rick Rizzs, Dave Sims, and Mike Blowers. Note the sense of absolute depression in Rizzs' voice calling the homer and realizing that the Mariners have suffered a walkoff loss for the third time this series.

We all saw this coming, but I don't think we realized it would be this bad: the Grizzlies-Spurs Western Conference Finals opener on Sunday drew a putrid 3.9 overnight rating, the lowest for a Conference Finals Game 1 since 2007, when both the Pistons-Cavaliers (3.5, TNT) and Jazz-Spurs (3.8, ABC) did worse than this series.

All Times Eastern

College Baseball
SEC Tournament, Hoover, AL
Quarterfinals
Kentucky vs. Mississippi -- Fox Sports Net, 10:30 a.m.
Alabama vs. Auburn -- Fox Sports Net, 2 p.m.
Florida vs. Texas A&M -- CSS, 4:30 p.m.
Mississippi State vs. Missouri -- CSS, 8 p.m.

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

College Volleyball
AVCA Sand Championship -- CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.

It was a pretty rough day in Cleveland for the Mariners, as Seattle blew leads in both the ninth and ten innings. The Mariners ended up losing 10-8 after a three-run walkoff homer by Indians catcher Yan Gomes in the bottom of the tenth. Apparently, nobody told the fine folks at Root Sports Northwest, as they scrubbed Gomes' homer from the record and proclaimed the Mariners 8-7 winners after the game (despite listing the correct winning and losing starting pitchers).

Considering the Mariners just bought a controlling interest in Root Northwest, maybe they're already using the network to rewrite history. Next up: the Mariners never traded Adam Jones to the Orioles in a package for Erik Bedard.

[Eye on Baseball]

Screamin' Stephen A. Smith filled in for one of the Mikes on Mike & Mike today as part of six consecutive hours on ESPN2 this morning. Whoever thought of that idea in Bristol needs to have a severe reality check. At one point, the topic shifted to random fans buying gifts for RGIII and his fiancee off their wedding registry. Some people have not taken kindly to this, and Mike Greenberg basically told him to ignore the negativity, because it is inevitable no matter what the topic.

When you're a high profile athlete, no matter what you do, you will have people writing and saying negative things. This makes sense, and Greenberg was right to tell RGIII to just ignore it. It should be a non-story.

Then, Smith swoops in and makes a bunch of nonsensical statements, including:

Eastern Conference Finals

Miami Heat vs. Indiana Pacers

TNT - Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Reggie Miller & Craig Sager (Reporter)

ESPN Radio - Kevin Calabro, Hubie Brown

Game 1 Wednesday, May 22 @ Miami (TNT 8:30PM)
Game 2 Friday, May 24 @ Miami (TNT 8:30PM)
Game 3 Sunday, May 26 @ Indiana (TNT 8:30PM)
Game 4 Tuesday, May 28 @ Indiana (TNT 8:30PM)
Game 5* Thursday, May 30 @ Miami (TNT 8:30PM)
Game 6* Saturday, June 1 @ Indiana (TNT 8:30PM)
Game 7* Monday, June 3 @ Miami (TNT 8:30PM) 

Western Conference Finals

Memphis Grizzlies vs. San Antonio Spurs ESPN/ABC - Mike Breen, Hubie Brown (G1), Jeff Van Gundy (G2 through G7) & Doris Burke (Reporter)

ESPN Radio - Dave Pasch, Chris Mullin

Game 1 Sunday, May 19 @ San Antonio (ABC 3:30PM)
Game 2 Tuesday, May 21 @ San Antonio (ESPN 9PM)
Game 3 Saturday, May 25 @ Memphis (ESPN 9PM)
Game 4 Monday, May 27 @ Memphis (ESPN 9PM)
Game 5* Wednesday, May 29 @ San Antonio (ESPN 9PM)
Game 6* Friday, May 31 @ Memphis (ESPN 9PM)
Game 7* Sunday, June 2 @ San Antonio (ESPN 9PM)

*If necessary

H/T Sammy!