With UFC Tonight moving to Fox Sports 1 in August when the new network launches, expect analyst Chael Sonnen to be a huge part of the show going forward. Sonnen recently challenged MMA legend Wanderlei Silva for a fight in the future (likely on the FS1 debut show in August), and honestly, the fight makes sense for both men.

Silva didn't respond to Sonnen's 24 hour challenge last week, and Sonnen considered the matter dead...until UFC Tonight last night, when Ariel Helwani read comments from Silva. The initial comments were the usual non-committal remarks you hear leading into an unconfirmed fight, but then Silva ramped up his attacks on Sonnen.

It's been a big week of announcements at ESPN. They announced -- among other things -- at their upfront in New York Tuesday that a soccer studio show would be added to the daily ESPN2 lineup. And word emerged via the Wall Street Journal on Monday that the Worldwide Leader will soon be expanding its collaboration with Twitter to include tweets with sports videos embedded. 

Continue Reading

We've reached that time of year when networks reach out to important advertisers at their "upfront" presentations.  For ESPN, this means a glamorous event in New York where some of the network's most important personalities schmooze with athletes and sell advertisers (and the media gathered) on why the network is still the greatest thing not just since sliced bread, but the advent of loaves of bread as well.  You'll never see a more positive, more sustained PR push than a network upfront.

More importantly for us, upfronts are also venues where networks will unveil new programming, technological, and innovative ideas and may even break some news amidst the pomp and circumstance.  We're here to break down the interesting revelations from ESPN's Upfront yesterday for you... without the Cheez-It people shamelessly fawning over Kirk Herbstreit.

(In case you're wondering, yes that is something that actually happened yesterday.)

April 29, 2013. It's a day that will live forever in the LGBT community. That's when Jason Collins came out publicly in Sports Illustrated. It's also the same day that ESPN NBA insider Chris Broussard went on Outside the Lines to say that he was against homosexuality and called it a life in "open rebellion to God."

Two weeks after that declaration, ESPN President John Skipper said at ESPN's Upfront in New York City that it was a mistake for Broussard to give his personal feelings when he should have been reporting the story. In a brief Q&A with reporters at the ESPN Upfronts in New York on Tuesday, Skipper said:

As the host of Outside the Lines, Bob Ley is the face of ESPN's strongest journalistic and investigative efforts.  He's also the face of goofy screengrabs, but that only adds to his appeal.  Yesterday morning on his highly entertaining Twitter feed, Ley shared a note from a viewer wondering if Joe Paterno was in fact faking his own death in a grand Happy Valley conspiracy.

All Times Eastern

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

Cycling
Giro d'Italia
Stage 11: Cave del Predil to Erto -- beIN Sport, 9:30 a.m.

Tour of California
Stage 4: Santa Clarita to Santa Barbara -- NBC Sports Network, 5 p.m.

Golf
On the Range: Byron Nelson Championship -- Golf Channel, 8 p.m.

If there's one thing I can't resist posting, it's Manny being Manny videos.  Perhaps my favorite highlight in the history of sports is Manny Ramirez and his DIVING LEFT FIELD CUT OFF of former Red Sox teammate Johnny Damon.  Without a doubt it is the single funniest thing I've ever seen happen on a baseball diamond, and that includes Randy Johnson killing a bird.  Let's reminisce, shall we!

Thankfully, with Ramirez in Taiwan, the Manny being Manny highlights have not stopped making their way across the Pacific.  Just watch this "slide" into second base as Ramirez comes up juuuuuuuuust a bit short.

Of course, I don't speak Taiwan, but I assume the announcers aren't laughing at Manny Ramirez.  They're laughing with him.

[Fox Sports]

Hockey fans are programmed to pound the glass. Why do they do that? Maybe it's to produce as much noise as possible or maybe it's to try to distract the opponent while supporting your team. No one really knows. If you frown on it, you've probably never done it. The lone issue is that broadcasts usually pick up the noise, resulting in an annoying sound that lasts throughout the game.

At least it's not as bad as what happened to the CSNNE studio after Boston's epic Game 7 victory. With their studio set up right outside the TD Garden, Boston fans poured out in front of the stadium and out in front of the studio. As Tony Amonte and Michael Felger offered their thoughts on the game, fans came up to the studio's windows and rattled them much as they would to the glass inside the Garden. 

A big win mixed with a big crowd and big windows is a recipe for hilarity. Cut these fans a break. They're just doing what comes naturally.

(H/T The Nosebleeds)

ESPN held their Upfront in New York today, selling advertisers on the network and announcing new programming and initiatives in a glitzy display full of pomp and circumstance.  We'll have a full recap of all the developments and announcements tomorrow, but perhaps the most interesting news from the upfront was the revelation of a new studio show on ESPN2 entirely dedicated to world soccer.

ESPN will be bringing their ESPNFC online brand to television with a 30 minute highlights and news show running Sunday-Thursday on ESPN2 and launching August 11th.  A timeslot was not officially revealed, but hopefully it will be given a decent spot in ESPN's mid-afternoon lineup alongside the NFL Lives and College Football Lives of the world.  Here's more highlights about ESPNFC's move to TV from the ESPN release...