Free Republic

Stephen A. Smith said Americans should support voter ID laws while criticizing both the progressive left and political leaders, including President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, during his broadcast of “Straight Shooter” on SiriusXM Wednesday. “Let me state for the record, you should have a damn ID,” Smith said. “I have no problem with the demand for an ID to vote. You need an ID for every damn thing else. “To the progressive left, shut the hell up.” The remarks come as the House of Representatives has already passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a Republican-backed...

Three former South Carolina women's basketball players have been competing in Israel, Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said on social media Saturday, and an effort is being made to get them home in the wake of the United States-Israel military strikes against Iran. Staley wrote that Tiffany Mitchell, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and Destiny Littleton were "in a war zone in Israel." "We are working a plan to get home," Staley wrote on X. "Let us pray for our loved ones to return home safely asap! Thank you in advance." A spokeswoman for South Carolina athletics told ESPN on Saturday night she...

For the first time in three decades, ESPN will no longer have the rights to Sunday Night Baseball this season. That's right. No more Jon Miller and Joe Morgan! Well, to be fair, they've been gone for a decade now, but still, you get the point. It was a staple in households across America for 30 years. It's now gone forever. Last year, NBC acquired the rights to SNB in a landmark deal that will shake up how – and where – we watch Major League Baseball this season. Good luck trying to figure that out, by the way. Regular...

Former ESPN personality Sarah Spain grumbled on her podcast recently that sitting near “demon” Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Winter Olympics in Italy made her feel “ill.” The “Good Game with Sarah Spain” host described her proximity to the top Trump administration officials – about 20 feet away, according to Spain – as one of the “low lights” of covering the US women’s hockey team as they demolished Czechia at the Milano Cortina games last week. “Twelve minutes into the first period, that area suddenly is awash with large men in suits with...

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein connected New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch with numerous women, according to scores of emails among the more than three million documents released by the Justice Department on Friday. Tisch's name pops up at least 440 times among the documents released so far. The emails, first reported by The Athletic, range from the mundane -- "Jeffery says Steve Tisch might come over around 7-7:30 tonight. Snacks for everyone!" -- to the profane. In one email, Epstein asks: "did you contact the great ass fake tit [name redacted]." Tisch, 76, is chairman, co-owner and vice president...

The Indianapolis Colts on Thursday acknowledged the existence of an FBI investigation into the death of former owner Jim Irsay and the potential involvement of a California doctor who reportedly prescribed him pain pills and ketamine. However, the team has not been contacted by FBI officials and no subpoenas have been issued, according to the club. Irsay died in May at 65 from what was described as cardiac arrest. According to a story in The Washington Post, which first reported the news of the FBI probe, the FBI is seeking records and information about Irsay's death, substance use and his...

Both winners advance to their respective conference championship games next Sunday.

Taurasi wanted the WNBA to show the girls the money.Diana Taurasi has been one of the WNBA’s most elite players for two decades. The problem was that she was never paid like one. That’s why the 2009 MVP hopes to see the best women’s basketball players receive the compensation they deserve when the next collective bargaining agreement takes effect. “I always thought about I should’ve get paid for being the best basketball player in the world, not for doing social media or doing commercials,” Taurasi told Front Office Sports back in August. “That was one of the things I...

YouTube TV customers watched ESPN go dark Thursday night as talks between the Google-owned platform and sports network broke down, leading the channel — along with other Disney-operated channels — to disappear from the platform. A deal between the two sides could not be reached, and by late Thursday night, the stations, which include ABC, FX, Disney Jr. and National Geographic, along with ESPN channels, went dark for more than 10 million YouTube TV customers, escalating the prolonged back-and-forth between the two sides. At the heart of the issues is pricing, according to Sports Business Journal, with both sides pointing...

BRISTOL, CT — ESPN will bring its 45 years of sports coverage to a close as it shifts to exclusively covering the WNBA. After originating the 24-hour sports news cycle and becoming a household staple behind its flagship show "Sportscenter", the network had steadily moved away from sports over the past decade to start covering the WNBA. With ESPN canceling its contract with Major League Baseball, the network has officially shut down its last relationship with a sports league. "We want to bring our audience something besides sports. We want to bring them the WNBA," announced ESPN President James Pitaro....

ESPN SEC Network host and analyst Paul Finebaum said he is “considering” leaving the Worldwide Leader to run for the US Senate on the republican ticket following the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In a recent interview with OutKick’s Clay Travis, the 70-year-old Finebaum explained that “one or two people in Washington had reached out” to gauge his interest in politics — and that Kirk’s murder fueled a desire for him to be involved. “It’s hard to describe, not being involved in politics, how that affected me and affected tens of millions of people all over this country....

Disney (DIS) has had a rough week. It faced a massive boycott from customers after briefly pulling the plug on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” a late-night talk show on ABC. The decision to suspend the show came after comedian Jimmy Kimmel made jokes relating to President Donald Trump’s reaction to the death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10. Disney’s decision to cut the show sparked a huge boycott from consumers, who threatened to cancel their Disney vacations and streaming services such as Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Many consumers claimed that canceling the show over Kimmel’s...

The Walt Disney Co. could be forced to choose between salvaging its late-night franchise and protecting a multibillion-dollar partnership with the NFL, according to a report. Well-embedded sources predicted to the news site Front Office Sports that the House of Mouse “may ultimately have to make a hard choice” that “may not be much of a choice at all” — which likely means jettisoning Jimmy Kimmel. The stakes are enormous. ESPN recently struck a blockbuster deal with the NFL, trading a 10% equity stake valued around $2 billion to $3 billion for the league’s NFL Network, RedZone and fantasy football...

Stephen A. Smith on Sunday dismissed news about former Vice President Kamala Harris’s upcoming book, saying, “Who cares what she has to say?” Harris’s book on her 2024 presidential campaign, “107 Days,” will be released on Tuesday. “Well, there’s nothing to elaborate about,” the ESPN commentator said on ABC’s “This Week.” “Who cares what she has to say at this particular moment in time? I hope the book is successful.” Harris, who became the Democratic nominee after former President Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July 2024, called her boss’s decision to run for reelection “reckless” in an...

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- New Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons has been dealing with an L4/L5 facet joint sprain in his back and he may receive an injection before Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions if needed to help him play, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday. Before trading Parsons last week, the Dallas Cowboys prescribed him a five-day course of prednisone, an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid to help him recover from back tightness. They also had him on a physical therapy program. Parsons practiced with the Packers on Monday for the first time and according to several players...

FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys have traded Pro Bowl edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, sources told ESPN. The Cowboys will receive defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks in return, sources told ESPN. Parsons agreed to four-year, $188 million deal with the Packers that includes $120 million fully guaranteed at signing and $136 million total guaranteed, making him the highest-paid non quarterback in NFL history.

Director Spike Lee's multi-part documentary series for ESPN Films about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who sparked a national debate when he protested racial injustice nearly a decade ago, will not be released, the filmmaker and ESPN said. "ESPN, Colin Kaepernick and Spike Lee have collectively decided to no longer proceed with this project as a result of certain creative differences," ESPN said in a statement to Reuters on Saturday.

ESPN is acquiring the NFL Network and other National Football League media assets, including the linear rights to the league's popular RedZone channel, in a deal that will see the NFL get a 10% equity stake in the all-sports network, it was announced Tuesday night. ESPN will also acquire the NFL's fantasy product and merge it into its existing platform, making ESPN Fantasy Football the official game of the NFL. In a separate deal, the NFL also agreed to license to ESPN other NFL content and intellectual property that will appear on the NFL Network and other assets. The NFL...

Stephen A. Smith has hit back at Michelle Obama. The former First Lady took a jab at Smith's employer, ESPN, name-dropping the longtime host and saying the network's shows were like watching reality television, namely "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." "It’s all a sociological study. They think that sports is better reality TV, I’m like, ‘It’s the same thing.' If I listen to ESPN for an hour, it’s like watching the ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta,’ you know?" Obama said on her brother Craig's "IMO" podcast. "It’s the same drama, and they’re yelling at each other, and they don’t get along,...

Jim Harbaugh’s Legacy Tainted by Mounting NCAA Violations. ‘How Many Level 1 Violations at 1 School Do You Need?’ NCAA President Charlie Baker said, according to an article from ESPN, “At the end of the day, no one believes at this point that Michigan didn't win the national title fair and square.”