It's sad and disappointing that we had to spend so much time discussing the juvenile, unfunny and incredibly disrespectful skit an Atlanta radio station made in mockery of Steve Gleason to start this week. And while it's somewhat of a consolation that the hosts have gracefully apologized and accepted full responsibility for their stupidity and that Gleason has issued a statement forgiving the three men for their cruel actions, the only way this debacle can serve something good to the sports media world is by remaining in our memory. 

All Times Eastern

College Baseball
College World Series, Omaha, NE
Elimination Game
North Carolina vs. North Carolina State -- ESPN, 8 p.m.

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

College Football
College Football Live -- ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.

Golf
European PGA Tour
BMW International Open, Munich, Germany
First Round -- Golf Channel, 9 a.m.

PGA Tour
Travelers Championship, Cromwell, CT
First Round -- Golf Channel, 3 p.m.

19th Hole -- Golf Channel, midnight

The Blackhawks beat the Bruins 6-5 on an overtime winner from Brent Seabrook in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final to tie the series at 2-2.  It was one of the great Stanley Cup Final games in memory and the dramatic sudden death finish was just the capstone to an instant classic.

If you were watching the game in Austin, Texas on KXAN, there was just one slight problem.

You missed Seabrook's winning goal thanks to a botch of equally epic proportions.  The network cut away from the action to run a promo spot for its morning show, followed by a commercial and only returned to see the Blackhawks celebrating.  Eep.

And just to add insult to injury...

@awfulannouncing what is even better is that their teaser new story for tonights newscast is about how hockey is catching on in Texas!

— Kerry (@Kerry_Pro) June 20, 2013

@awfulannouncing right now the tv station just apologized and then asked everyone to stay tuned to see "how it ended". REALLY?!?!

— Kerry (@Kerry_Pro) June 20, 2013

Can't wait for the story on tomorrow's morning news about the angry feedback from viewers who missed the end of the hockey game because of one local station's screwup.

UPDATE: KXAN posted this link to their Facebook page minutes before missing the Seabrook game winner.  There are no words...

UPDATE II: And here's the KXAN apology via andrewfelts...

Massive h/t to ckelley for the video

Many National Hockey League cities have a tradition when it comes to the national anthems. Fans in Chicago cheer throughout the Star-Spangled Banner. Red Wings' fans in Detroit throw octopi on the ice. The Bruins? Well, they have Rene Rancourt.

Rancourt's anthem renditions are as stirring as any singer in the league, but it's his signature post-anthem fist pumps that punctuate his performances. On Wednesday night before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final in Boston, Rancourt pulled off a triple fist pump, with a little extra mustard at the end.

Here's the animated GIF:

During these playoffs alone, he's done a double pump (before Game 5 of the Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs Eastern Conference Quarterfinal) and two and a half pumps (ahead of Game 1 between the Bruins and New York Rangers in the Conference Semifinal). 

In fact, the triple fist pump was a '12-'13 playoff record for the long-time Bruins' singer, who had to be thinking it could be the final game of the season on TD Garden ice with the series headed to Chicago for Game 5 and the Bruins looking to take a 3-1 series lead in Game 4.

Will he go for a quadruple pump before the Cup is handed out? We can only hope.

Major League Soccer has had slow, sustained growth over the past decade.  Expansion into rabid soccer markets in the northwest and an influx of veteran stars into big markets has fully established the league as a stable quantity in the American pro sports landscape.  While that can be seen as a victory for a league that launched less than 20 years ago, MLS is still looking to break through on television.  The league's national ratings are poor and show little sign of making a leap forward.

To try and develop a wider fanbase across the country, MLS is launching a new original content group called MLS+ that will hope to give fans more access than any other league in the country through a new weekly magazine show and documentary style storytelling.  From Grant Wahl at Sports Illustrated...

Our double entendre quote of the year comes from Baltimore Orioles play by play man Gary Thorne when speaking of the upcoming Orioles-Blue Jays series this weekend.  The pitching rotation put forward by Toronto is simply the greatest thing in the history of sports...

@awfulannouncing Gary Thorne: "Orioles off to Toronto where they will face Dickey, Wang and Johnson"

— Mike Spohn (@Philsfan1963) June 19, 2013

And to do Thorne one better, O's radio announcer Joe Angel...

@awfulannouncing Joe Angel on the radio broadcast: "O's will face Dickey, Wang & Johnson. Shouldn't be too hard to get up for that series."

— Sam Angell (@samangell2007) June 19, 2013

Gregg Popovich is known for being less than forthcoming with the media, especially during sideline interviews.  However, after a crushing loss with a fifth NBA title escaping his grasp in a Game 6 OT defeat, Pop was in no mood to sit through his postgame press conference.  While thankfully avoiding the John Tortorella zone, Pop was able to work in a bit of dry, biting sarcasm in his answers to some obscure, random questions after Game 6.  If you're going to ask Gregg Popovich questions, best to avoid tired cliches about being tired and "coming with intensity."  Here's the full transcript via ASAP Sports...

It's probably not a coincidence that the NFL team that gives the most chances to troublemaking players is also more than happy to take part in quasi-controversial HBO reality series Hard Knocks. The Cincinnati Bengals signed on to be featured on this summer's edition of the show, which often reveals at least a few locker-room warts on an annual basis. 

But it's the second time in half a decade Cincinnati has volunteered to take part. The Dallas Cowboys are the only other NFL team that has participated in the process more than once. Does one of the league's least popular teams just want to make headlines or do the Bengals think there's something more to be gained here?

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Serena Williams made some insensitive comments about the Steubenville rape case, which she is now claiming was a misquote.

Most of the article was your typical athlete profile with some vapid quotes thrown in, such as:

"Can you believe I've never been asked to host Saturday Night Live?" she says. "And I'm funny. Ask my friends."

But it was her quotes about the Steubenville rape case that caused immediate controversy with many latching onto her saying, "I'm not blaming the girl, but" and sharing her opinion on the situation.  Here's the quote from Rolling Stone:

After several blowouts, Game 6 of this year's NBA Finals finally delivered a classic.  And not just any classic, many who follow the NBA were calling this game one of the best in NBA history.  The Heat defeated the Spurs in overtime to force a Game 7 thanks to in no particular order: LeBron James ditching his headband and finding super powers, Mike Miller's missing shoe, the refs, Ray Allen, Chris Bosh's defense, Gregg Popovich sitting Tim Duncan, missed Spurs FTs, the release of bad karma from front-running Heat fans leaving early.

With what could best be described as middling ratings for Game 1-5, the epic Game 6 saw ratings go way up and scored a 14.7 overnight rating, the second best Game 6 for ABC.  Here's more from ESPN...