Rumors have been flying the last several weeks that Urban Meyer would replace Luke Fickell as the head coach at Ohio State University. Well, it looks like the rumors are true. ESPN confirmed this morning that Urban Meyer is the new head coach at OSU.

ESPN is still citing “sources” about the Meyer / OSU news, and neither Meyer or Ohio State have confirmed the announcement. But ESPN is already talking like its a done deal.

ESPN writes: “Former Florida coach Urban Meyer has taken the head coaching job at Ohio State.”

Meyer, who won two national championships with the Florida Gators in 6-years, has a career record of 104-23. Meyer, who took a year off of coaching to spend more time with his family, has been working with ESPN as an analyst. But now the former Gator he’ll head back to coaching with OSU in 2012.

Sources told WKMG-TV that Meyer was expected to sign a $40 million, seven-year contract with Ohio State University.

Ohio State just finished a lackluster season with its first loss to Michigan in 7-years. Ohio State finished 6-6, 3-5 in the Big Ten.

Jim Tressel resigned from OSU in May during an NCAA investigation. Fickell was named Tressel’s temporary replacement as the school looked for top talent to point its football team in the right direction.

Urban Meyer and Ohio State University haven’t confirmed the deal yet, but it looks like its a done deal.

Do you think Urban Meyer will be able to bring a national championship to OSU?

Urban Meyer Heading to Ohio State: Report is a post from: The Inquisitr

The battle between Hank Williams Jr. and ESPN has just begun. ESPN permanently dropped Hank’s “Are you Ready for Some Football” song from Monday Night Football after the country singer made a few controversial remarks on Fox and Friends. But Bocephus isn’t going down without a fight. Williams just wrote a new song bashing the two networks and asking fans to stop watching both channels.

Here are some lyrics from the new Hank Williams Jr. song:

“So Fox ‘n Friends wanna put me down / Ask for my opinion, Twist it all around.”

When Hank Williams Jr. appeared on Fox and Friends he referred to Obama as Hitler, called Joe Biden and President Obama the “Three Stooges,” and said that Obama was the enemy. Which of course, can be interpreted many different ways….

USA Today reports that the new Williams Jr. song also says that America is “going down the drain” on its way to becoming “The United Socialist States of America.”

He ends the song with a somewhat threatening line, saying ”Well two can play that gotcha game you’ll see.”

The new song is expected to be on iTunes later today or tomorrow. Here’s a preview of the new song…. I think.

Williams doesn’t offer any solutions to the country’s problems, but he does seem to think that he should be the guy to fix them. Williams Jr. just started selling Hank Jr. for president T-Shirts.

What do you think of the Bocephus scandal? Do you agree with ESPN’s decision to drop Hank Williams Jr.?

Hank Williams Jr. Writes Song Bashing Fox, ESPN is a post from: The Inquisitr

Recently Hank Williams Jr. has been in the news because of a statement he made that compared President Obama to Hitler and that got him into hot water with ESPN. The comments were made during his appearance on Fox News Channel’s morning show Fox & Friends and quickly spread through the web along.

For years Williams Jr. has been associated with ESPN and Monday Night Football with his song “All My Rowdy Friends” became the opening theme song for the Monday night NFL game. Immediately following Williams Jr’s statement ESPN pulled the song from the last Monday’s NFL game and issued a statement distancing the company from Hank Williams Jr; but there was no mention of it being a permanent situation.

That stance has apparently changed as ESPN issued a statement today saying that they have decided to part ways with Williams Jr permanently. In a statement released by Williams Jr he tried to spin the situation to make it his decision to pull the song claiming his First Amendment rights where stepped on.

ESPN has decided that rather than replace the opening song with another musical intro they will instead be going with a narrated opening by Detroit Lions Hall of Famer Barry Sanders. The open will highlight the stadium atmosphere and then cut to preview segments with booth commentators.

via Hollywood Reporter.

Hank Williams Jr. permanently cut from Monday Night Football by ESPN is a post from: The Inquisitr

ESPN the Magazine: Body Issue hits newsstands this Friday but the sports network released a few preview photos of the upcoming issue today. Pro snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler and Olympic gymnast Alicia Sacramone are just two of 22 athletes to get naked for the third annual Body Issue.

Here is one of Bleiler’s photos from the Body Issue.

Bleiler said: “It’s a huge honor to be grouped in with some of the most amazing and skilled athletes in the world. Celebrating Men, women. Every different kind of body, every different kind of sport and showing that everything is beautiful in a very athletic way. I want to be strong and I want to be badass and I think we accomplished that.”

ESPN the Magazine: Body Issue, will be released on Friday with four different covers. Bleiler will be on the cover of one magazine, while the other three covers will be occupied by U.S. soccer goalie Hope Solo; the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin; and the New York Mets’ Jose Reyes.

But Bleacher Report points to gymnast Alicia Sacramone as the show stealing athlete of the Body Issue. Here’s one of Sacramone’s pictures.

ESPN the Magazine: Body Issue will feature photos of 22 athletes. From WNBA stars to tennis players to professional surfers and bowlers, ESPN has selected a diverse group of athletes that all have one thing in common. Fantastic bodies.

ESPN also released a few videos today of the athletes talking about their experience doing a nude photo shoot. Here’s a preview of the Body Issue. (You can see more photos here.)

What do you think of Gretchen Bleiler and Alicia Sacramone’s photos? Who should ESPN get for next year’s Body Issue?

Gretchen Bleiler, Alicia Sacramone, and 20 More Athletes Strip Down for ESPN’s ‘Body Issue’ [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hank Williams Jr. offered an apology on Tuesday for comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler, a move that caused ESPN to pull his Monday Night Football opening song.

On his official Facebook page Williams Jr. says politics and sports “got the best or worst of me.”

In his apology Williams wrote:

“The thought of the leaders of both parties jukin and high fiven on a golf course, while so many families are struggling to get by simply made me boil over and make a dumb statement,” adding, “I am very sorry if it offended anyone.”

Hank Williams Jr. and his “All My Rowdy Friends” song have opened Monday Night Football on Monday for two decades.

After pulling the opening song spot ESPN said in a statement:

“While Hank Williams, Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to Monday Night Football. We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight’s telecast.”

On Monday night Williams had also released a statement through his publicist that read:

“Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme — but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me — how ludicrous that pairing was. They’re polar opposites and it made no sense. They don’t see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the president.”

I personally don’t believe Hank Williams Jr. respects the office of the President based off his comments, at least not when his own guy isn’t serving as President, what do you think?

Hank Williams Jr. Apologizes For Obama Comment, ESPN Future Still In Limbo is a post from: The Inquisitr

For nearly 20 years Hank Williams Jr. has helped open up Monday night football in the NFL by singing the word’s “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Monday Night” and now ESPN has pulled their support for the singer after he called President Obama “Hitler.”

During his appearance on Fox New’s “Fox and Friends”  on Monday morning Williams Jr. compared President Obama’s golf outing with Speaker of the House John Boehner to “Hitler playing golf with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.”

When asked by host Brian Kilmeade to explain his comment Williams said:

They’re the enemy … Obama! And Biden! Are you kidding? The Three Stooges.”

In case you’re keeping count Obama + Biden = 2 people, not three, apparently Hank can’t count.

In a statement about pulling Hank Williams Jr. from their Monday night football lineup ESPN released the following statement:

While Hank Williams Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize he is closely linked to our company through the opening to “Monday Night Football.” We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result have decided to pull the open from tonight’s telecast.

ESPN has not revealed how long they will leave the spots off the air or if the move in permanent.

While I don’t agree with every President we’ve elected into office I have to admit I feel as if Hank Williams Jr. was acting extremely un-American in his Hitler comparison when he should be at least acknowledging the fact that President Obama at this moment in time is still his President.

What do you think about Hank’s comment? Did ESPN make the right decision in pulling his Monday night football spot?

ESPN Pulls Hank Williams Jr. Spots After He Calls Obama “Hitler” is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dewey Bozella of Fishkill, NY has only been free for two of the last 28 years, but he’ll be receiving a major sports honor tonight on ESPN’s ESPY Awards.

A judge overturned Bozella’s murder conviction in October of 2009, but the justice was slow in coming for the upstate man after he was convicted of robbing and killing a 92-year-old Poughkeepsie woman. He even turned down a plea deal in 1990 that would have allowed him to go free because Bozella refused to plead guilty to a crime he didn’t commit.

During his long incarceration, Bozella became a champion prison boxer at Sing Sing. And tonight, Bozella is slated to join former recipients like Nelson Mandela, Pat Tillman and Muhammed Ali in receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at ESPN’s ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.

Bozella, who coaches at-risk youth, told a Poughkeepsie paper he was “honored and humbled” to be chosen and said:

“I’m just overwhelmed to be compared to the people who came before me and won this award… Getting this award has inspired me. I’ve been blessed and given a gift… When you’re given a gift, you have to give back, to help people who are in need, and there’s too many kids running the streets in Newburgh.”

The ESPY Awards will air live tonight on ESPN at 9PM Eastern.

EPSY Award For Man Who Spent 26 Years in Jail After Wrongful Conviction is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lebron James made his feelings clear earlier this afternoon in a post Miami Heat practice conference. When asked about comments by former Jordan teammate, Scottie Pippen, the King (Lebron) stated,

“I’m gracious, humbled by Scottie’s comments, especially with him being a teammate of his and seeing Michael on a day-to-day basis, but as far as me, I don’t know. I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m better than Jordan. I’m not better than Jordan.”

The specific comments he was referring to were made by Pippen during a recent ESPN interview on the Mike and Mike In the Morning Radio Show. He was quoted as saying,

“Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to play the game,” Pippen said Friday on “Mike & Mike In The Morning” on ESPN Radio. “But I may go as far as to say LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game because he is so potent offensively that not only can he score at will but he keeps everybody involved.”

After the quote by Pippen went viral, he immediately hopped on Twitter to defend and clarify himself:

“For all of you that don’t know, I played the game you keep watching and cheering.”

“Don’t get me wrong, MJ was and is the greatest. But LeBron could by all means get to his level someday.”

“Every NBA generation has a new set of stars and LeBron is there as the best all around player in the game.”

Other NBA analysts have also chimed in on the situation. Former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy said:

“There is no doubt that LeBron is the best player in the game today. However, he is on a team that has incredible talent. … Michael played on great teams but he never came close to the level of talent around him.”

I’m definitely a Jordan fan myself, but I have to agree with Scottie on this one that LBJ can and will get to and surpass MJ at some point in his career. What say you?

Lebron James: “I’m Not Better Than Michael Jordan” is a post from: The Inquisitr

The United Football League has had a pretty good off season. After a PR disaster at the end of their second season, this league is getting all of its ducks in a row and getting ready to make a big splash in 2011. That splash could be a lot bigger if the NFL labor mess drags on into the fall, but the upstart league is getting ready to announce a new TV deal. Following the hiring on Jerry Glanville and Marty Schottenheimer, and a very successful player draft that utilized social media to bring in fans, this league is now set to announce its new TV deal.

They are planning to offer at least some of their games in 3D and that rules out a lot of the little cable network. Versus, Spike TV, and the like are not what this league needs anyway and cannot broadcast in 3D. The big player out there that can is ESPN, and that would be a huge win for this league. Finally they would get their product in front of a large number of eyes, and I believe once people start watching they will get hooked on this league like the minority of us that have already found it.

Versus and HD Net got their games on the air in the first two years, but they did not deliver a broad enough audience. Having games on ESPN, like the USFL had in the early 1980′s, would be a huge step forward for this league. Of course ESPN has previously treaded very carefully when doing things that might anger the folks at the NFL. I am of course talking about the cancellation of the show Playmakers, so a different partner may be in play here.

Related Links:

• The Business of the UFL
• Joshua Lobdell.com

The UFL is set to announce a new TV deal is a post from: The Inquisitr

Ready to get the most out of the NBA Finals? ESPN 3D today announced that the Finals will be broadcast in full 3D.

The finals are added to the networks already airing and slated regular season and playoff games.

It’s good news for the network which has been broadcasting games 24 hours per day for the last several days (DirectTV subscribers don’t have 24 hour access yet).

As expected the current slate of games includes a whole bunch of reruns, which is great for users looking to demo the network, but hardly makes for pressing must have programming at all hours.

If there’s anything that might be interesting to watch it would be a high intensity basketball or football game. What do you think about the ESPN 3D channel?

ESPN 3D Adds NBA Finals To Broadcast Schedule is a post from: The Inquisitr

Not what you were expecting with your sports coverage? Perhaps not, but it certainly offers at least some comedy value.

(via NextRound)

“I Shaved My Balls For This?” T-Shirt Makes Its ESPN Debut is a post from: The Inquisitr

ESPN producer Leah Siegel, who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer after the birth of her third child in 2008, died in a hospice early today.

Husband Eric Loehr updated her Caring Bridge blog today to inform readers that Siegel had passed away at around 4:30am. Loehr said in part:

Many of you have stressed your ongoing support, even after Leah’s passing, for me and the family.  This is humbly appreciated.  The kids were told about Leah’s passing, and they took it pretty well.  As they grow and understand more, they will learn about the amount of love you have all shined on Leah, and they will know how special she was.

A fellow ESPN employee commented to the Dallas Morning News about Siegel’s death:

“Leah loved Eric and her kids and her work,” said ESPN reporter Ed Werder. “In the end, I agree with a colleague who told me today that she would rather we remember the good times rather than wallowing in sadness and dwell on our inability to fathom the damned unfairness of this sad ordeal.”

Loehr said that two services are currently being planned for his wife, but that dates and times are not yet available. He indicated that the first service would be “traditional,” and the second would be a celebration of Siegel’s “legacy.”

ESPN producer Leah Siegel dies of breast cancer at 43 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Perhaps you’re looking to watch some of the World Cup online, and to that we say, “speak English or go back to Kenya!”

Okay- with the whole global neighborhood thing fostered by the internet, American interest in the rest of the world’s favorite sporting event has elevated slightly in recent years. And while it’s not splashed all over your tee-vee set like World Series games, yank soccer fans can still catch games, highlights and World Cup chatter lots of places on the internet.

ESPN3 seems to be the go to place for World Cup streaming in the states, with coverage beginning today at 2pm for the Uruguay vs. France match. Spanish language station Univision is streaming some games as well, and you can even hit up the BBC’s site for some footie highlights and game-streaming. If you’re stuck at a desk all day and want info tidbits as they happen, you can check out Twitter’s World Cup portal.

There are probably a few resources we haven’t uncovered, so tell us in the comments- where are you getting your World Cup fix this year?

Where to watch the World Cup online is a post from: The Inquisitr

Poor Lebron James.

The 24 minute news cycle claimed a gossip victim today with misleading headlines about Lebron testing positive for steroids. While that part is technically true, it wasn’t NBA star Lebron James that tested positive for the performance enhancing drugs- it was Cleveland Indians minor leaguer Steven Lebron:

Lebron, a member of the Indians Dominican Summer League team, was signed in January. His contract was voided at no cost to the Indians.

Three other minor leaguers tested positive: Mets pitcher Melvin Colon and Yankees catcher Josue Rodriguez and pitcher Israel Tolentino. They were suspended for 50 games.

The performance enhancing drug in question was Boldenone metabolite, a horse steroid commonly used by bodybuilders to edge out the competition. The substance is banned by the MLB. The other Lebron’s was voided with no cost to the Cleveland Indians.

Lebron James did not test positive for steroids is a post from: The Inquisitr

Did you miss the statement Tiger Woods made earlier regarding his highly publicized infidelities?

This is Tiger’s press conference from earlier today. (February 19th.) You can read the full text of Tiger’s statement here.

Video: Tiger Woods press conference is a post from: The Inquisitr

In its bid to gain TOTAL DOMINATION of your living room, Microsoft is currently holding talks with the Walt Disney Company to stream ESPN programming through Xbox Live. That’s sports, to people who don’t know what ESPN is.

According to The New York Times, Microsoft is planning to charge a subscription fee to feed live ESPN streams down the Xbox Live pipes, out of your TV, and into your gawking face. The Times also mentions that Microsoft might team up with ESPN to “create some interactive games,” whatever the hell that means.

In the UK, Xbox 360 owners can already subscribe to the Sky Player (indeed, I’ve signed up, and have been left pleasantly surprised by the Sky package), but such a service doesn’t yet exist on any of the consoles in North America.

Think you’d use this on your Xbox, 360 owners?

[NYTimes, via Joystiq]

ESPN streaming coming to Xbox 360? is a post from: The Inquisitr

ESPN’s Bob Griese has been suspended from duties after he suggested on air that NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya was “out having a Taco.”

The comment was made during ESPN’s broadcast of Minnesota-Ohio Saturday, when a graphic appeared on screen showing the the top five drivers in NASCAR’s points race. Chris Spielman asked where Juan Pablo Montoya was. Bob Griese then responded that “he was out having a taco.”

Griese apologized twice on air for the comment, but the damage was done and ESPN was forced to react. A spokesman for the network said that Griese “understands the comment was inappropriate,” but would be forced to spend a week off air.

The Bob Griese Taco comment video as follows:

Bob Griese Suspended For Taco Comment (Video) is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bob Griese is a NFL legend, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a College Football analyst for ESPN, and a guy that should know better. During the coverage of the Ohio State-Minnesota game on ESPN, the four letter network ran a promo for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville. The promo showed a graphic illustrating where the top five guys in Points were. After the promo aired, Chris Berman asked Griese where Juan Montoya was at, Griese replied, “He’s out having a taco.”

That is a pretty offensive comment, and shows Griese’s lack of knowledge concerning NASCAR. The point here is if you don’t know what you are talking about; keep your ignorant mouth shut. Some people cannot say something, and Griese should have known that this was one of the things he should not say. Of course before the game ended Griese came back on the air and apologized, but by then the damage had been done.

It doesn’t seem likely that any more punishment will be forth coming, but that leaves us to wonder what would have been the reaction if the target of Griese’s comment had been say African American. What would his punishment if he had said, about Tiger Woods, that he was off eating watermelon, or fried chicken?

I think all of us know what would have happened, and that would have Griese being fired immediately. So if that is true about one race of people, should it not be true of all? This is a question that is larger than sports. It is a question of one form of discrimination being ok, while another one is not.

Juan Montoya, “out having a taco?” is a post from: The Inquisitr

I am sure most of you have heard about ESPN launching it new regionally focused family of websites. ESPNchicago.com went live a few months ago and earlier this month ESPNboston.com has gone live. Now ProFootballTalk.com is reporting that ESPN has hired the Kraft Sports Group to sell local advertising for the Boston site. The problem with hat is the Kraft Sports Group is owned by the Robert Kraft who also happens to own the New England Patriots.

Apparently ESPN likes to be criticized because this is a really peculiar move. They have essentially hired one of the teams that the ESPNboston.com site will be charged to cover, to sell its ad space. So what happens if ESPNboston.com comes upon a story that doesn’t cast the Patriots in the best light? What would happen if another Cheating scandal hits this club? Will the site report on it as it should? Or will the ESPN masters wuss out on the story like they did on the Ben Rothlisberger story earlier this summer?

This whole set up smacks of manipulation, and a sports reporting service, such as ESPN, should not be in a business relationship with one of the teams they will be covering. It also makes us wonder will the Patriots get preferential treatment on the other ESPN media formats. If ESPN and the Patriots are in business together maybe the four letter network should be banned from covering the Patriots all together.

ESPN’s obvious conflict of interest is a post from: The Inquisitr

Many would have Arena Football fans believe that this is the end of the Arena football style game, however nothing could be farther from the truth. The AFL2 is yet another arena league run by the same masters of the AFL but with an updated business model. AFL 2 teams are placed in mid market cities that have no NFL representation, and have little other live sports choices. For example the City of Toledo, Ohio recently built a new arena to house a minor league hockey team, and an AFL 2 franchise. Since Toledo is an hour from Detroit, and two hours from Cleveland it is close enough to population centers to be a draw.

The AFL is now a defunct football league with a very rich history of over 20 seasons.  They survived so long by not competing directly with the NFL, and by offering a different kind of football product. The NFL even went as far as to allow it’s owners to purchase and market AFL teams within their own markets. The NFL has rules against majority owners owning other professional sports teams.

In the end though it was these things that killed off the league. The game was so different that many hard core NFL fans didn’t like it. When the NFL owners stepped in to own AFL teams that spent money as they did in the NFL and this led to a massive overspending on talent. On top of that this league had a hard time getting a team going in New York City, Detroit, and other big football markets. that made it an unattractive to TV executives and even with stints on NBC and ESPN the league couldn’t get his business model to produce profit.

AFL to cease operations file chapter 7 bankruptcy is a post from: The Inquisitr