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Softball Battles UW

History UW-Whitewater 5, Carthage 4UW-Whitewater 2, Carthage 0 WHITEWATER — The Carthage College softball team returned to action Sunday afternoon in Whitewater, Wis. The Firebirds faced the Whitewater Warhawks for a mid-season non-conference matchup. The Firebirds fell to the Warhawks in both games. Game One Game one started with the first two innings scoreless for […]

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Softball Battles UW


History

UW-Whitewater 5, Carthage 4
UW-Whitewater 2, Carthage 0

WHITEWATER The Carthage College softball team returned to action Sunday afternoon in Whitewater, Wis. The Firebirds faced the Whitewater Warhawks for a mid-season non-conference matchup. The Firebirds fell to the Warhawks in both games.

How it Happened
Game One

  • Game one started with the first two innings scoreless for both sides (0-0).
  • In the top of the third, the Warhawks held the Firebirds to one hit (0-0).
  • The Warhawks got on the board first scoring one run in the bottom of the third (1-0).
  • The Firebirds tied it up in the top of the fourth. Kristina Chronos singled up the middle. Addison Simonson laid down a bunt to advance Chronos to second. Gwen Hendrick singled through the left side to advance Chronos to third. Olivia Hristov singled to left center to score Chronos (1-1).
  • The Warhawks scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead back (4-1).
  •  In the top of the fifth, the Warhawks held the Firebirds to one hit (4-1).
  • The Warhawks scored one run with one hit to increase their lead in the bottom of the fifth (5-1).
  • With two outs Hendrick started it off with a walk in the top of the sixth. Hristov singled up the middle to advance Hendrick to second. Tallulah Finegold came up next singling to right field and scoring Hendrick (5-2). Hristov crossed the plate after Hana Adler reached first on an error (5-3). Rylee Boyd singled down the left field line, scoring Finegold (5-4).
  • In the bottom of the sixth, the Warhawks left no one on base (5-4).
  • The Warhawks held the Firebirds to no runs in the top of the seventh, taking the win (5-4). 

Game Two

  • Clare Rettler singled a bunt for one hit for the Firebirds in the top of the first (0-0).
  • The Warhawks got on the board to take the lead in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs (2-0).
  • Both sides in the second inning had one hit (2-0).
  • In the top of the third, the Firebirds left one base (2-0).
  • The Warhawks left two on base with two hits in the bottom of the third (2-0). 
  • Inning four saw no hits or runners left on base for both sides (2-0).
  • A quick inning for the Firebirds in the top of the fifth, left no one on base for the Firebirds (2-0).
  • The Warhawks collected one hit and left one on base in the bottom of the fifth (2-0).
  • In the sixth inning, both sides had one hit and left one runner on base (2-0).
  • The Warhawks held off the Firebirds in the top of the seventh to take game two 2-0. 

High Flyers

  • In game one, Hristov led the Firebirds at the plate with two hits and one run. 
  • In game two, Rettler led the Firebirds with two hits. 
  • The Firebirds collected 12 hits.

Up Next
The Firebirds return to action at home taking on the Carroll Pioneers on Wednesday, April April 16 at 3 p.m. For more information, visit our athletics.carthage.edu.

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Auggies’ Stepan, Fagerlind named CSC Academic All-Americans

Story Links MINNEAPOLIS — Augsburg University women’s hockey defender Nora Stepan (JR, Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) and women’s hockey/women’s golf student-athlete Elizabeth Fagerlind (SR, Kasson, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville HS) were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Women’s At-Large Team, it was announced on Tuesday. Stepan is a biochemistry major with a 3.99 […]

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MINNEAPOLIS — Augsburg University women’s hockey defender Nora Stepan (JR, Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) and women’s hockey/women’s golf student-athlete Elizabeth Fagerlind (SR, Kasson, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville HS) were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Women’s At-Large Team, it was announced on Tuesday. Stepan is a biochemistry major with a 3.99 grade-point average, while Fagerlind is an accounting/finance major with a 4.00 GPA.

 

Across all sports, Augsburg student-athletes have now been honored 57 times with College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-America honors since 1981, including 45 honors since 2000 and at least one every year since 2011. Stepan and Fagerlind are the third and fourth Auggie women’s hockey players to ever receive CSC Academic All-America honors, joining Payton Allen, who was a first-team selection in 2023, and Erika Allen, who was a second-team selection in 2016. Fagerlind is also the first Auggie women’s golfer ever to be named a CSC Academic All-American. Both Stepan and Fagerlind were named to the CSC Academic All-District squad in June.

 

In the women’s at-large category, a total of 45 NCAA Division III student-athletes were selected in three 15-member teams. Fifteen of the 45 student-athletes selected, including Fagerlind, had perfect 4.00 undergraduate GPAs, with 16 more, including Stepan, holding undergraduate GPAs of 3.90 or higher.

Nora StepanStepan was named as a CCM Hockey/American Hockey Coaches Association Division III All-America West Region first-team honoree and D3HockeyNews.com All-America West Region second-team honoree. She was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year this season, while earning All-MIAC honors for the third straight year. She was also named as one of 13 finalists for the AHCA’s 2025 Laura Hurd Award, given annually to the best NCAA Division III women’s hockey player in the country. Stepan led the Auggies this season with 16 goals and 29 points, while second on the team with 13 assists, with a team-high plus-26 plus-minus rating. Her 16 goals were third-most among MIAC players, while her 29 points were tied for third-most and her 12 assists are tied for 11th. Stepan’s 16 goals were the most among all NCAA Division III defenders nationally, with her points total tied for third-most. Stepan was part of an Auggie defense that allowed just 44 goals this season, the fewest among all MIAC teams and tied for 15th-fewest among all NCAA Division III teams.

The MIAC Rookie of the Year in the 2022-23 season, Stepan has played in 82 games in her collegiate career, with 32 goals (t-12th in school history) and 35 assists (t-12th) for 67 career points (12th), a plus-62 plus-minus rating (2nd), nine power-play goals and nine game-winning goals. Stepan earned Academic All-MIAC honors for the second time and will earn AHCA/Krampade All-American Scholar honors for the third time this year.

Elizabeth FagerlindFagerlind earned the MIAC’s Elite 22 Award in women’s hockey for the second straight year in 2024-25, given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA among competing teams in MIAC playoffs in team sports. She was also named as the NCAA Division III Elite 90 honoree in women’s hockey, as the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at the NCAA championships final site. A defender in hockey, Fagerlind recorded a goal with four assists for five points in 2024-25, with a plus-three plus-minus rating. In a school-record-tying 107 career games, Fagerlind scored seven goals with 22 assists for 29 points, with three power-play goals, two game-winning goals and a plus-19 career plus-minus rating.

 

In golf, Fagerlind finished the 2024-25 season with a career-best 84.0 stroke average and .636 (273-156) win-loss percentage, the fourth-best single-season scoring average in school history. Competing in 55.5 rounds in her career, she finished with an 84.61 career stroke average, the second-best career average in program history. She earned Academic All-MIAC honors three times in both golf and hockey, and will earn AHCA/Krampade All-American Scholar honors three times. She was named a Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar in 2021.

In the CSC Academic All-America program, top student-athletes are originally nominated for inclusion on Academic All-District teams by college and university sports information directors. Student-athletes must have a grade-point average above 3.50 (4.0 scale) and have outstanding athletic credentials. The Women’s At-Large category includes student-athletes from 12 NCAA sports — beach volleyball, bowling, crew/rowing, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing and water polo. Sports information directors in each division vote to select Academic All-America honorees and the Academic All-America of the Year in each category.

 

The Division III Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure, to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the Division III Academic All-America teams program.


Augsburg’s All-Time CSC (Formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans:

Nora Stepan, women’s hockey (women’s at-large), 2025 (second team)

Elizabeth Fagerlind, women’s hockey/women’s golf (women’s at-large), 2025 (third team)

Charlie Stuhl, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2024 (first team)

Tyler Kim, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2024 (second team)

Payton Allen, women’s hockey (women’s at-large), 2023 (first team)

Tyler Shilson, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2023 (first team, Academic All-America of the Year)

Charlie Stuhl, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2023 (first team)

Tyler Shilson, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2022 (second team)

Daniil Gerasimov, men’s ice hockey (men’s at-large), 2021 (third team)

David Flynn, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2020 (first team)

Victor Gliva, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2020 (first team)

Brett Buckingham, men’s golf (men’s at-large), 2020 (second team)

Booker Coplin, men’s basketball, 2020 (first team)

Ashley St. Aubin, women’s soccer, 2019 (second team)

Booker Coplin, men’s basketball, 2019 (second team)

Christopher Lemke, football, 2018 (first team)

Ashley St. Aubin, women’s soccer, 2018 (second team)

Nate Flynn, men’s ice hockey (men’s at-large), 2018 (first team)

Victor Gliva, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2018 (first team)

Sam Bennyhoff, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2018 (second team)

Christopher Lemke, football, 2017 (first team)

Nate Flynn, men’s ice hockey (men’s at-large), 2017 (second team)

Mary Cornelius, women’s track and field/cross country, 2016 (third team)

Erika Allen, women’s ice hockey (women’s at-large), 2016 (second team)

Zach Swingen, football, 2015 (first team)

Chris DeVet, football, 2014 (first team)

Zach Swingen, football, 2014 (second team)

Lauren Rice, women’s track and field/cross country, 2014 (first team)

Elianna Bier, women’s swimming and diving (women’s at-large), 2014 (second team)

Chad Thompson, football, 2013 (second team)

Chris DeVet, football, 2013 (second team)

Bri Dorale, softball, 2013 (first team)

Chad Thompson, football, 2012 (first team)

Tony Valek, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2012 (first team)

Tony Valek, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2011 (first team)

Alex Hildebrandt, men’s soccer, 2009 (second team)

Alex Hildebrandt, men’s soccer, 2008 (third team)

Nick Manders, men’s soccer, 2007 (second team)

Andrew Neumann, football, 2006 (second team)

Ryan Valek, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2006 (first team)

Riley Conway, men’s track and field/cross country, 2005 (second team)

Mark Matzek, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2005 (first team)

Ryan Valek, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2005 (third team)

Darren Ginther, baseball, 2005 (first team)

Brent Peroutka, football, 2001 (second team)

Josh Cagle, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2000 (first team)

Brian Jones, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2000 (second team)

Josh Cagle, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 1999 (second team)

Jim Peterson, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 1999 (second team)

Scott Hvistendahl, football, 1998 (second team)

Ted Schultz, football, 1997 (first team)

Scott Hvistendahl, football, 1997 (second team)

Dan Lewandowski, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 1997 (second team)

Andrea Haight, softball, 1991 (second team)

Karen Sterner, track and field (women’s at-large), 1987 (second team)

Karen Sterner, track and field (women’s at-large), 1986 (first team)

Paul Elliot, football, 1981 (only one team selected)





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News: Big East-ESPN deal, contract extensions, PBR

ESPN and the BIG EAST have struck their first media rights agreement since the current version of the conference launched in 2013. Plus: contract news on Dan Orlovsky and James Brown; a new deal for the PBR. ESPN, BIG EAST, restart relationship with streaming deal ESPN and the BIG EAST on Tuesday announced a six-year […]

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ESPN and the BIG EAST have struck their first media rights agreement since the current version of the conference launched in 2013. Plus: contract news on Dan Orlovsky and James Brown; a new deal for the PBR.

ESPN, BIG EAST, restart relationship with streaming deal

ESPN and the BIG EAST on Tuesday announced a six-year digital rights deal in which at least 300 events per year will air on the ESPN+ streaming service. The deal, the first between ESPN and the BIG EAST since the current iteration of the conference began in 2013, includes a minimum of 25 men’s (non-conference) basketball games, 75 women’s basketball games and 200 Olympic sporting events.

BIG EAST games previously streamed on FloSports.

The ESPN agreement is in addition to the new rights deals the conference signed with NBC Sports, TNT Sports and incumbent Fox Sports.


ESPN, Orlovsky, reportedly agree to deal; CBS host Brown in extension talks

ESPN and NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky have agreed to terms on a new contract, though the agreement is not yet final, according to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports. Orlovsky, who has been with ESPN since 2018, will continue in his current roles.

McCarthy also reported Monday that CBS and NFL Today host James Brown have begun discussions on a contract extension. Brown, who at 74 is the eldest of the major sports studio show hosts, reportedly “has no plans to retire.” He has hosted one of the major NFL pregame shows continuously since leaving CBS for FOX in 1994, including “NFL Today” since beginning his second CBS stint in 2006.


PBR reaches Fox Nation deal

Professional Bull Riders has reached a deal with the Fox streaming service Fox Nation to carry Friday night events in its Camping World Team Series, it was announced Tuesday. Under the deal, “PBR Friday Night Live” will air on the streamer for ten weeks through the first night of the championship series October 24.

The rights previously belonged to Merit Street Media — the Phil McGraw venture that filed for bankruptcy last week — but PBR terminated that deal in November alleging breach of contract for failure to pay rights fees.

The PBR deal marks the first live sports content on the Fox Nation service.



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Why did hockey superstar prospect Gavin McKenna pick Penn State? Here’s what he told ESPN

Penn State hockey officially landed prized prospect Gavin McKenna on Tuesday when he made his college choice live on ESPN’s ‘SportsCenter.’ The third-youngest skater to ever win the CHL Player of the Year award (only Penguins’ legend Sydney Crosby and Toronto Maple Leafs star John Tavares have him beat on that list) is coming to […]

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Penn State hockey officially landed prized prospect Gavin McKenna on Tuesday when he made his college choice live on ESPN’s ‘SportsCenter.’ The third-youngest skater to ever win the CHL Player of the Year award (only Penguins’ legend Sydney Crosby and Toronto Maple Leafs star John Tavares have him beat on that list) is coming to play college hockey thanks to a new rule that allows CHL players to do so for the first time during the 2025-2026 season. Michigan State was reportedly one of his other finalists. What led the Lions to win out in the end?

“It was a super tough decision,” McKeena told ESPN. Obviously, there’s a lot of great options out there. But I think me and my family and everyone kind of part of my circle, we all decided on the best spot for me next year will be Penn State University. I think Penn State is a great spot for me. I got to kind of get a taste of what it’s like there, and got to bring along my dad, and we both thought it was a great spot for me.

McKenna is expected to play just one season in State College. The Canadian joins head coach Guy Gadowsky’s team at a time when the Lions are listed as the early favorite to win next year’s Frozen Four, according to odds posted by DraftKings this week. That’s in large part due to landing McKenna. Still, the Lions also have this year’s No. 14 overall NHL Draft pick, freshman defenseman Jackson Smith. They also have the No. 49 overall selection in this year’s pro selection process, sophomore forward Charlie Cerrato, among others.

More: See more Penn State hockey coverage from Blue-White Illustrated here

“I think the main goal is obviously to win a championship,” McKenna said. “I think you kind of saw what Penn State did this year, making it to the Frozen Four. They’ve come a long ways. And I think next year, when I go there, obviously, that’s the goal, is to win a championship.”

Considered a generational talent, McKenna is projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and is widely regarded as the top up-and-coming talent in the sport.

“I think it honestly, just makes the jump easier,” McKenna said of going to college instead of playing one more year in juniors. “You know, going against older, heavier, stronger guys, I think it really prepares you. And I think even in the locker room, you know, hanging around older guys and being around more mature guys, I think that’ll help me a lot in my first season.

“I think both options are great, but I just think that’s going to college. And, being in such a great conference, it’ll really challenge me and prepare me.”

Penn State will open its 2025-2026 season with two games in three days at Arizona State Oct. 3-5. The rest of the Lions’ schedule has not been announced yet.



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Big 12 making no official predictions, so no last-to-first narrative this year like Arizona State

Associated Press FRISCO, Texas (AP) — There are no official Big 12 predictions going into this season, so there will be no last-to-first narrative like what Arizona State had in its league debut. Going into its 30th football season, the Big 12 didn’t conduct a preseason media poll predicting the order of finish for the […]

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Associated Press

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — There are no official Big 12 predictions going into this season, so there will be no last-to-first narrative like what Arizona State had in its league debut.

Going into its 30th football season, the Big 12 didn’t conduct a preseason media poll predicting the order of finish for the 16-team conference. The results were way off last year.

“I try to ignore it as best I can,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said Tuesday at Big 12 media days. “It’s one of the reasons we as coaches did not do a coaches poll because I think the narrative has really hurt our league. I know it hurt Arizona State and I know it hurt BYU last year.”

Arizona State won the Big 12 championship game last season after being picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 standings. The Sun Devils were in a four-way tie for first place in the regular-season standings, beat Iowa State in the title game and were the only league team to make the College Football Playoff.

Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham said he couldn’t care less about any of the predictions last year, or what anybody might have guessed for this season. They do have back quarterback Sam Leavitt, who was picked as the league’s preseason offensive player of the year since media still voted on a preseason All-Big 12 team.

“I don’t really care where people put us. Vote us first, vote us last, vote us in the middle. If we’re so focused on other people’s expectations of us, then you’re going to limit yourself,” Dillingham said Tuesday. “Who knows? Are we supposed to win six games? Are we supposed to win nine games? Are we supposed to go undefeated? Are we supposed to win zero? … All I know is when we show up to work, we should be the very best version of ourselves. And if we compete in something, you better compete to win.”

BYU was picked to finish 13th in the Big 12, and was part of that four-way tie at the end of the regular season with 7-2 conference records. The Cougars finished 11-2 overall, including a 9-0 start in which they had an early win over ACC newcomer SMU, which made the 12-team playoff field even after losing its conference championship game.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said there’s no value to such preseason football polls, especially with the ever-changing landscape in the game these days. He felt Arizona State was disadvantaged because of being picked 16th long before even playing its first game.

“With the transfer portal and with roster management and what goes on as you build that roster, no one knows what they really have. They know what they have on paper, but it hasn’t played out,” Yormark said. “And that was the case with Arizona State last year. So I don’t know if it’s a trend or not but certainly it’s the right thing for the Big 12 and I’m glad we did it.”

The Big Ten Conference has long forgone doing preseason polls.

Arizona State went into the Big 12 title game last December at 15th in the CFP rankings, behind three SEC teams with three losses and Mountain West Conference champion Boise State. The Sun Devils were then 12th in the final CFP rankings, but got a first-round bye as one of the top four-ranked conference champions before the format changed for this season to more-direct seeding.

A series of tiebreakers had put Arizona State and Iowa State in the Big 12 title game, and eliminated BYU and Colorado from title contention.

Utah, which like Arizona State made its Big 12 debut last year, was the preseason favorite to win the league. The Utes won all three of their non-conference games, but went 2-7 otherwise to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 standings.

Oklahoma State was last after going 0-9 in conference play. The Cowboys had been picked third.

Global stages

The Big 12 season will open Aug. 23 with Kansas State playing Iowa State in Ireland. TCU will play its 2026 season opener there against North Carolina.

“I’ve been on the record to say that I want this conference to be a global conference,” said Yormark, who is going into his fourth year as Big 12 commissioner. “I think we can win globally big time. Playing in Ireland obviously is that first step.”

Football isn’t the league’s only sport going international for a league in which Yormark said 11% of the student-athletes are from outside the United States.

“Just from a recruitment standpoint, it makes sense to carry that flag outside of the domestic marketplace,” he said.

Baylor’s women’s basketball team will open the upcoming season in Paris. Yormark said there is a good chance of a baseball game in Mexico City next spring, and that there are conversations about events in other international markets, like Germany.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football





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On the Air: Brian Anderson’s unlikely rise and future at TNT Sports

Welcome back to “On the Air,” in which Sports Media Watch Podcast co-host Armand Broady will offer in-depth breakdowns of broadcasters’ on-air performance and career journeys, plus chronicle broader trends in the industry. What do former SportsCenter anchor John Anderson and Hall-of-Fame pitcher CC Sabathia have to do with Brian Anderson becoming the voice of […]

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Welcome back to “On the Air,” in which Sports Media Watch Podcast co-host Armand Broady will offer in-depth breakdowns of broadcasters’ on-air performance and career journeys, plus chronicle broader trends in the industry.


What do former SportsCenter anchor John Anderson and Hall-of-Fame pitcher CC Sabathia have to do with Brian Anderson becoming the voice of TNT Sports? As Brian tells it, quite a bit.

It was 2008 and Sabathia’s Milwaukee Brewers were on their way to clinching the franchise’s first playoff berth since 1982. Brian was the team’s TV play-by-play voice while John, a Wisconsin native, kept a watchful eye on the Brewers while doing SportsCenter highlights.

“All of a sudden, Brewers games are on SportsCenter every night and this SportsCenter anchor starts rolling in the sound of me calling these moments,” Brian recalled last year on “The Inside Wisconsin Show,” which John (no relation) co-hosts. “My phone blows up. I said was John Anderson anchoring? Yes. I was like there you go.”

The Brewers’ Wild Card run led to Brian getting a call from TNT Sports executives. In October of that year, he called the Brewers-Phillies National League Division Series for TBS. He has been with the company ever since, covering some of the most significant events in recent sports history.

Anderson was at the TBS microphone in 2010 when Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay threw a no-hitter in game 1 of the NLDS vs. the Reds. He was there in 2018 when then-Red Sox infielder Brock Holt became the first player in MLB history to hit for the cycle in a postseason game. Atlanta Braves fans still remember Anderson’s spirited calls of their 2021 NLCS triumph over the Dodgers.

Anderson was courtside when Warriors G Steph Curry broke the NBA record for career three-point field goals in 2021. He was also on the call in 2023 when LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

Just last month, Anderson was present for another consequential event, when Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner in a five-set classic to win his second straight Roland-Garros Men’s Final.

Brian Anderson has become to TNT Sports what Mike Tirico is to NBC. He is the network’s trusted lead voice, present at seemingly every major occurrence.


On the surface, Anderson’s rise to the top seems at least somewhat unlikely. He isn’t the son of a broadcast legend like Kenny Albert or Joe Buck. His voice doesn’t thunder like that of a Kevin Harlan or Sean McDonough. He is not a sentimental storyteller like Jim Nantz and he doesn’t exude charisma the way Ian Eagle does.

Anderson’s most winsome trait is his “everyman” temperament. Despite the occasional error — like his missed call of a buzzer-beating shot in the 2019 Purdue-Virginia Elite Eight game — Anderson is well-liked because of his authenticity. One gets the sense that he genuinely enjoys every event he covers and feels privileged to be there.

That unique quality has lifted Anderson to the heights of the industry. And at just 54 years old, his future is promising. Despite losing the NBA, he will continue calling the biggest MLB games for TNT Sports, as well as college basketball regular season and tournament action, plus championship tennis.

Some good fortune may have gotten him his big break, but Anderson’s versatility, passion and enthusiasm figure to keep him on the upper tier of sports broadcasting for many years to come.


Plus: ESPN should invest in Mike Monaco

At just 32 years old, Mike Monaco is already one of ESPN’s most valuable play-by-play announcers. There is no sport he can’t call. Since joining the network in 2019, he has worked MLB, NHL, volleyball, lacrosse, football, softball, the Little League World Series and College World Series.

His most memorable call came in 2022, when Ole Miss took down Oklahoma to win the CWS: “From last four in to last team standing, Ole Miss has won the College World Series!”

Now, he is currently a part of ESPN’s coverage of Wimbledon.

In recent years, ESPN has missed on opportunities to hold on to young play-by-play announcers. At one time, Adam Amin, Jason Benetti and Joe Davis, — three of the industry’s best — worked for ESPN. All three have since left for Fox, and their respective profiles have only grown. Amin, 38, is the network’s #2 MLB announcer; Benetti, 41, is their #2 college football announcer; the Emmy-winning Davis, 37, is the voice of the World Series.

Talent as versatile as Monaco does not come around often. ESPN should learn from prior mistakes and keep him around. He is good enough now to supplant Karl Ravech as the voice of the CWS.



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What Penn State is really buying with Gavin McKenna

Gavin McKenna, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, will play his draft eligible season at Penn State. It’s pretty notable, and the biggest exclamation point yet on the changing state of junior hockey after the NCAA ruling back in November that made CHL players now eligible. According to multiple reports, including […]

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Gavin McKenna, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, will play his draft eligible season at Penn State.

It’s pretty notable, and the biggest exclamation point yet on the changing state of junior hockey after the NCAA ruling back in November that made CHL players now eligible.

According to multiple reports, including my pal over at Elite Prospects, Cam Robinson, it came down to Penn State or Michigan State, and in the end an NIL package believed to be worth around $700,000 for the season was too much to pass up for McKenna.

It’s a tough break for the Medicine Hat Tigers and the WHL, losing a player that dominated the league as a 16 and 17-year-old, won a WHL title, and would have been a favorite to reach the Memorial Cup, again.

Now when McKenna is drafted first overall next June, instead of his official introduction being “from Medicine Hat….” it’ll be read as “from Penn State.”

Maybe it’s the author and writer in me, maybe I’m out to lunch on this, but I’ve spent a lot of time this past week thinking about the power of that statement, and how that’s really what Penn State is buying with $700,000 of NIL money.

Think about past No. 1 picks and the flashbacks to their draft year, think about how you probably think about Rimouski Océanic more than you ever thought you would because you know Sidney Crosby played and was drafted from there.

Sure, Penn State wants to win a national championship and they are a much better team now after landing McKenna, but national championships aren’t necessarily what drive recruiting and reputation or a program.

If that were the case, Michigan would be struggling to land top recruits after last winning one in 1998.

Western Michigan and Minnesota State can win national championships, but only college hockey’s true power brokers can house (and afford) a No. 1 pick, like Michigan or Boston University have in recent years.

That’s what Penn State is shelling out for McKenna, the perception and imagery that gets you to the front of the sports consciousness. Buying McKenna’s services is buying a spot in hockey history, “from Penn State…” in the draft introduction, the highlights in Penn State’s jersey, it’s an ad buy that in the end will be worth way more than $700,000.

And it pays off in various ways. It sends a message to other recruits, bypassing the typical time required to prove your school is a “path to the pros,” and it also redefines fandom with McKenna as a connector.

Penn State has one of the nation’s largest alumni bases, I’ve been told that by any Penn State alumnus who is happy to brag about their school, and now that base will care about hockey — having a No. 1 pick a “generational player” will do that.

For the hockey program, which only exists because rich alumni have bolstered it to this stage, there’s not at least an inkling of other investment opportunities coming in, a seed has been planted on how Penn State can replace the rest of the Big 10 as the hockey powerhouse.

That’s what Penn State is buying, that’s the upfront investment, and honestly with the right roll of the dice they might be getting it at a discount.



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