ESPN Laying Off 10% of Workforce

ESPN is reportedly laying off 400 employees–or roughly 10% of its workforce–on Tuesday.

According to a report that originated on TheBigLead.com and the Gawker-owned sports rumor site Deadspin – and picked up by other outlets like Variety and Business Insider – ESPN will lay off up to 400 employees today. These are the first major lay-offs at the Connecticut based sports network since 2009, and the move caught employees at the high profile and highly profitable network totally off-guard.

In a statement, ESPN said:

We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs. While difficult, we are confident that it will make us more competitive, innovative and productive.

ESPN is part of the Disney empire, and reports are that Disney has directed ESPN to improve its profit margins, a directive that has been sent to other Disney divisions as well. ESPN has been investing a large amount of money buying up rights fees recently, including football and basketball deals with major conferences. And according to Deadspin, those fees have put the drag on the margins. They quote one of the laid off workers who was following Deadspin’s coverage, as follows:

Read more here.

The Amazing Moment When a 9-Year-Old Girl Threw Out the First Baseball Pitch…and the Catcher Was Her Dad Home From Afghanistan

Nine-year-old Alayna Adams got a big surprise when she was told she would be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Thursday’s Tampa Bay Rays game. She had no idea the even bigger shock she was in for.

It started when her dad, Lt. Col. Will Adams, appeared on the video screen to say hello and that he would be home soon. Alayna didn’t know how true that was; she threw the ball right down the center and watched it bounce. The man in the Ray’s uniform and catcher’s gear reached up to snag it — then pulled his mask off, revealing himself as her father.

Alayna ran to her dad, home from Afghanistan after a one-year deployment, and the two embraced before the roaring crowd.

“I thought it was a dream,” she told a TV interviewer a few innings later.

Read and see more here.

CNN.com Reporter Confronts RG III over Redskins Name: ‘Racist or Not?’

CNN.com reporter Moni Basu took an opportunity last week to confront and challenge Robert Griffin III, the Washington Redskins quarterback who had tweeted about “the tyranny of political correctness,” with a set of race-related questions.

“Is the R-word is as offensive as the N-Word?,” Basu first tweeted to Griffin.

Read more here.

EXPLOSIONS at Boston Marathon Finish Line – VIDEO OF BOMB BLAST – Bloody Sidewalks – Casualties & Deaths

Two NASCAR Drivers Advised Not to Do Interviews in Media Center to Avoid Appearing With NRA Logo

ESPN said that sources confirmed to the outlet that two drivers have been advised by their PR people not to conduct interviews in the Texas Motor Speedway media center in order to avoid the NRA logo from appearing behind them.

The move is just the latest in media hysteria that has resulted from the NRA sponsoring Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the NRA 500.

Earlier in the week Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy (D) urged Fox not to air the race in an attempt to demonize the NRA, which has been critical of some of the gun control measures that have cropped up in the wake of the Newtown massacre.

“This celebration of guns is inappropriate in the immediate wake of the Newtown massacre,” Murphy said in a statement. “But most importantly, broadcasting this race, which will highlight the NRA and its radical agenda during this time, sends a harmful signal to the families affected by gun violence, as well as the millions of Americans who support sensible gun control measures and enjoy your sports programming.”

Read more here.

Kevin Ware: “I Look Down… And My Bone Is Sticking Six Inches Out of My Leg”

Bummer. Obama Booed at NCAA Elite 8 Game

Steubenville Rape Trial

Two members of the high school football team that is the pride of Steubenville were found guilty Sunday of raping a drunken 16-year-old girl in a case that bitterly divided the Rust Belt city and led to accusations of a cover-up to protect the community’s athletes.

Steubenville High School students Trent Mays and Ma’Lik Richmond were sentenced to at least a year in juvenile jail, capping a case that came to light via a barrage of morning-after text messages, social media posts and online photos and video. Mays was sentenced to an additional year in jail on a charge of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, to be served after his rape sentence is completed.

The two teens broke down in tears after the verdict was read and later apologized to the victim and to the community. Both were emotional as they spoke, and Richmond struggled at times to talk through his sobs.

Mays, 17, and Richmond, 16, were charged with digitally penetrating the West Virginia girl, first in the back seat of a moving car after an alcohol-fueled party on Aug. 11, and then in the basement of a house. They were ordered to avoid contact with the victim until they’re 21.

Read more here.

The NFL Has Lost Its Mind

The NFL has proposed a rule change that would prevent ball-carriers from initiating contact with the crown of the helmet. It’s an attempt to make the game safer – but the league’s all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith, thinks the NFL should have its own head examined.

“If I’m a running back and I’m running into a linebacker, you’re telling me I have to keep my head up so he can take my chin off?” Smith said Thursday in an exclusive interview with Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan. “You’ve absolutely lost your mind.”

The NFL’s rules-making competition committee will propose this change to NFL owners at league meetings next week. At least 24 votes from 32 owners are required for passage.

“As a running back, it’s almost impossible (to not lower your head),” the Dallas Cowboys legend said. “The first thing you do is get behind your shoulder pads. That means you’re leaning forward and the first part of contact that’s going to take place is your head, regardless.

“I disagree with the rule altogether. It doesn’t make any sense for that position. It sounds like it’s been made up by people who have never played the game of football.”

It is the league’s view that the crown of the helmet is dangerous for both the defender (who isn’t allowed to use the technique against ball-carriers) and the player with the ball. The competition committee is clearly seeking extra protection for defenders.

“That’s part of the game,” Smith said of “the violent part of the game … I don’t know how you’re going to be able to enforce that rule without really jeopardizing the integrity of the game itself.”

Read more here.

MLB Denies Chavez Moment of Silence As He Rots In Hell

Major League Baseball and the Miami Marlins denied the Venezuelan national team’s request for a moment of silence for Hugo Chavez before Tuesday’s exhibition game in Florida against the Miami Marlins. There was also no moment of silence during Wednesday’s exhibition game against the New York Mets.

After the Venezuelan dictator died on Tuesday, the national team, while preparing for the World Baseball Classic opener on Thursday, “requested a moment of silence and that the country’s flag be placed at half staff before Tuesday’s game in honor of their late president.”

It was revealed on Wednesday that Major League Baseball and Miami Marlins officials denied the request, claiming there “there wasn’t enough time to honor the request.”

On such matters, Major League Baseball traditionally consults with the U.S. State Department before making the final call.

Rot in hell Chavez!