Greg Gumbel He would miss the NCAA men’s basketball tournament this year due to health issues within his family. Plus: Deadspin has been sold again; former ESPN analyst Paul Pierce is supposed to join FS1’s struggling “Undisputed.”
Gumbel will miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since returning to CBS
CBS sports broadcaster Greg Gumbel will not participate in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament this year due to health issues in his family, Richard Deitsch of Athleticism reported Monday. Gumbel has served as the primary tournament host since returning from NBC to CBS in 1998.
Ernie Johnsonwho has shared the lead host role with Gumbel since Turner Sports acquired the rights to the tournament in 2011, is expected to fill most of the vacancy.
Gumbel has taken on a reduced role at CBS over the past year, having given up his play-by-play position in the NFL after the 2022 season.
Deadspin resold, employees laid off
The website Deadspin has been sold and its employees laid off, owner G/O Media announced in a memo obtained by Axios Monday. The new owner, a European company called Lineup Publishing, will be the site’s fourth in eight years since Gawker Media filed for bankruptcy in 2016.
Deadspin had been owned by G/O Media (formerly Great Hill Partners) since 2019. Clashes between the then-new owner and the site’s editorial staff, many of which remained from the Gawker era, led to a wave of resignations shortly after. The site was relaunched – with a much more discreet profile – in 2020.
Pierce Joins FS1’s ‘Undisputed’ Trainwreck
Former ESPN NBA analyst Paul Pierce expected to become a regular contributor to the low-rated FS1 talk show “Undisputed,” THE New York Post reported Monday. Pierce was a lead NBA studio analyst for ESPN until his brutal dismissal in 2021.
Pierce joins a handful of other recent ESPN employees on the Go without berry-featured morning show, including Keyshawn Johnson And Rachel Nichols. “Undisputed” viewership has dropped since the departure of Shannon Sharpe last year, with the show a floor of 50,000 viewers on February 27.
