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Next week will mark the halfway point in the NFL season, and apparently, also the return of Dianna Russini to sports media after she stepped down from her role with The Athletic in the wake of the scandal involving her and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel that dominated the offseason.
“Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards,” The Athletic’s Mike Semel, who conducted an internal investigation, said of the controversy. “Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed.”
According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, a “source with knowledge of the situation” has made it known that Russini has made it clear to people around the league that she’ll make her return “next week”
The news comes after Russini reportedly hired infamous publicist Melissa Nathan, a veteran of multiple infamous Hollywood imbroglios, but one who isn’t without her own controversy, as she is facing perjury allegations due to her involvement in the incredibly messy situation between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Many prominent figures across sports media also anticipated that Russini’s return to sports media was imminent. In August, Mike Silver sang her praises and predicted her return.
“Really good friend of mine,” he said of Russini. “Worked with her at The Athletic for too short of a time, unfortunately. Really, really proud of the journalism we did together and honestly just really bummed that we don’t get to continue it because we worked really well together.
Tony Romo Officially Out At CBS Sports Plus a Big Ten vs SEC Media Deep Dive
Tony Romo and CBS Sports parted ways Friday, leaving the polarizing NFL analyst free to seek out his next job. Plus, the Portland Trail Blazers stepped in it again by firing their 29-year-old new TV announcer over old tweets from when he was in high school. Then a deep dive into the Big Ten vs the SEC in viewership, popularity, and television product quality as College Football Playoff expansion comes back into focus. Awful Announcing boss Ben Koo joins. It's The Play-By-Play LIVE! 1:26 Romo out, what's next?13:38 Blazers' blunder25:43 SEC vs Big TenListen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-play-by-play/id1763654809 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HaEA8ssc7LpPoJ8pKT1hk Awful Announcing on X: https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing Awful Announcing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awfulannouncing Awful Announcing on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awful\_announcing/ Awful Announcing on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@awful\_announcing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
J.J. Watt will be the lead NFL analyst for CBS Sports, signing a new long-term deal after replacing Tony Romo. Was it a smart move, will it last, and what does it mean for the rest of the NFL announcer musical chairs? Plus, there is more drama around The Ringer after its recent embrace of Substack newsletters and strange comments about the direction of Bill Simmons' company. It's The Play-By-Play LIVE! Awful Announcing on X: https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing Awful Announcing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awfulannouncing Awful Announcing on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awful\_announcing/ Awful Announcing on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@awful\_announcing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
ESPN and Fox Sports both have lobbied for the Protect College Sports Act alongside Cody Campbell's Save College Sports organization much more than previously known, even as Nick Saban and Ted Cruz lobby for the bill on ESPN airwaves. We dive into an exclusive report from Awful Announcing on the networks' efforts. Plus, a look at Terry Bradshaw's future after a handful of recent comments from the Fox star about looming retirement. It's The Play-By-Play LIVE! 1:19 Bradshaw's future14:02 Deep dive on ESPN's conflict of interest with the PCSAAwful Announcing on X: https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing Awful Announcing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awfulannouncing Awful Announcing on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awful\_announcing/ Awful Announcing on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@awful\_announcing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The rift between Troy Aikman and Joe Buck is realer than we ever knew, and dates back to the early days of their time at ESPN. We break down a new report at The Athletic about the longtime NFL broadcast partners and where it went wrong. Plus, Brandon Contes shares his insights from some of his recent interviews with the biggest stars in sports podcasting including Bomani Jones, Emmanuel Acho and Mike Ryan Ruiz. It's The Play-By-Play LIVE! 0:00 Intro 1:15 New Aikman vs Buck report 18:10 Ernie Johnson's replacement 21:54 Who is the most powerful person in sports podcasting? 24:55 Brandon weighs in on Sports Media Influence Olympics 27:20 Reaction to Mike Ryan interview 32:00 Reaction to Emmanuel Acho interview 41:03 Reaction to Bomani Jones interview Awful Announcing on X: https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing Awful Announcing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awfulannouncing Awful Announcing on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awful\_announcing/ Awful Announcing on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@awful\_announcing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“I don’t think people understand the level of elite that she was performing at in terms of keeping in touch with the really important people around the league. And I don’t mean just agents and transactional, like players, coaches, owners, all of it, talking, having real conversations with them every day and really knowing what was going on and competing at a very high level.
“I do miss having her a lot. Very bummed that it all imploded. She became a very high-profile person. I’m not a super judgy person. I would never comment on tabloid crap.”
Silver then praised her family, and predicted that when she returned, it’d be in a role other than an NFL insider.
“And I do think she’s going to be back, probably not as an insider, at least in the short term. But I think she’ll be back in this realm, probably talking about football and other things pretty soon,” he said.
It would seem we’ll know immenently just what capacity she’ll be back in.
Sophie Cunningham
Sophie Cunningham