It’s a smart move by ESPN to send a message to long-time viewers that it’s still committed to building-block personalities such as Vitale, who joined ESPN after its founding in 1979. MORE: Updated list of ESPN personalities laid off In recent months, ESPN laid off 100 anchors and reporters, including familiar faces such as Trent Dilfer, Danny Kanell, Britt McHenry, Jayson Stark, Ed Werder, Jay Crawford and Jaymee Sire. It also eased Chris Berman, the longtime face of its NFL coverage, into an emeritus-type role, promoting Samantha Ponder to his role as host of “Sunday NFL Countdown....

The network announced Friday that the popular sports personality will no longer appear on the network. The announcement came two days after he made disparaging comments about Dominicans in baseball. MORE: How ESPN personalities fared after they left | Cowherd’s comments show harmful stereotypes about Dominicans still exist ESPN released the following statement Friday. “Colin Cowherd’s comments over the past two days do not reflect the values of ESPN or our employees....

From the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and David Bakhtiari courtside at a Milwaukee Bucks playoff game, to the Lions’ Matthew Stafford at a bar and the Bears’ Mitchell Trubisky and Kyle Long staying hydrated at a Chicago White Sox game, let’s just say some players’ performances in quickly consuming beverages were more impressive than others. On Wednesday, former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky and ESPN reporter Adam Schefter decided to have their own version of a chug-off during “NFL Live....

Rupert was chosen 12th overall by the Las Vegas Aces. With the draft being a virtual event for the second year in a row because of COVID-19, Rowe conducted the post-selection interview in an ESPN studio while Rupert was on camera remotely. MORE: Why Paige Bueckers was ineligible for ‘21 WNBA Draft Rowe began the interview with “Bonsoir,” or “Good evening,” and asked Rupert in French whether she spoke English....

There are several potential contenders that could serve as quality landing spots for Beckham. But which ones are the best of the bunch? Former NFL receiver Randy Moss likes two more than others: the Patriots and the Raiders. Moss explained his thought process on ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown”. He thinks the Patriots are appealing because they have a strong locker room led by an established, veteran coaching staff. “You talked about this is [Beckham’s] last chance....

Kaepernick said Tuesday he has received multiple death threats for his protest . MORE: Kaepernick debate pulls in Jerry Rice, Marshawn Lynch The fact the 49ers quarterback is not intimidated shows Kaepernick is “willing to die” for his cause of social change, Smith said on Wednesday morning’s “First Take.” Smith was referring to Kaepernick’s Tuesday presser where he calmly discussed the death threats over recent weeks. Yes, he will continue to take a knee during NFL games, said Kaepernick....

After laying off 550 employees over the past 26 months, ESPN rallied the troops with an all-hands-on-deck meeting at its Bristol corporate headquarters Wednesday. One of the big questions was whether ESPN brass would crack down on on-air talent talking politics on social media. The answer appears to be yes — whether ESPN’s opinionated employees like it or not. “ESPN is a journalistic organization — not a political organization. We should do nothing to undermine that position,” said Kevin Merida, ESPN senior vice president and editor-in-chief of The Undefeated, according to the account of the meeting written by ESPN PR staffers for ESPN FrontRow....

Who is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum? Sheikh Mohammed is the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai. His horses have been raced in 11 Kentucky Derby races but failed to win in each attempt. For this year’s Kentucky Derby, Sheikh Mohammed’s Essential Quality is listed as a 2-1 favorite to win the race. The purse for this year’s Kentucky Derby is $3 million, and if Essential Quality, who is undefeated, is able to win the race, Sheikh Mohammed will take home $1....

En su lugar, quieren que las personas mantengan un estilo de vida saludable sin sacrificar su cultura. Algunos nutricionistas y dietistas se han empezado a expresar sobre por qué una falta de representación puede ser dañina para los latinos y otras personas de color que buscan ayuda para formar una mejor relación con la comida. “Al entrar en el espacio académico de la nutrición aprendiendo sobre las ‘comidas saludables’ rápidamente vi un borrado de las comidas que crecí comiendo y una sobre aceptación de comidas que se consideran ‘saludables,’” Zariel Grullón, RDN, CDN, una dietista registrada en el área de la ciudad de Nueva York que educa a las personas de color sobre la nutrición por medio de su blog, No More Chichos, le cuenta a Verywell....

Paxton filed a widely criticized lawsuit with the Supreme Court in December, in which he sued the battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin over what he claimed were “unconstitutional irregularities” in their election processes. The Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit, which came as Trump and his allies repeatedly promoted baseless allegations that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” or “stolen.” The organization Lawyers Defending American Democracy, which asserts it is not partisan, filed the lawsuit in connection with 16 prominent Texas attorneys....

Lead auditor Leo Brincat spoke with reporters after auditors submitted a report on Frontex’s work in helping EU countries secure external European borders. “Frontex is presently not discharging their duty effectively, and we found that this is even more worrying at a time when Frontex is being given added responsibility,” Brincat said. The warnings come after the EU’s decision to give Frontex additional support. Frontex, which had a staff of 45 in 2005, has about 10,000 officers and an annual budget of approximately 900 million euros ($1....

Sergey Lagodinsky, a member of the European Parliament for the German Greens party, is urging the world to “take seriously an antidemocratic, worse-than-Putin alternative.” “It will be important—and challenging—to present a viable democratic alternative to a much worse alternative when things will be changing,” Lagodinsky told Foreign Policy on Monday. “You need faces—strong leaders and politicians who offer themselves as alternatives.” Despite there being a number of vocal Putin dissidents, few have been able to amass a following like opposition leader Alexei Navalny....

Airlines and environmental advocates are calling on the European Union to tweak its rules on airport slots in an effort to cut down on the practice that has raised concerns about pollution. Slots for landing and departure at the biggest airports are coveted, and airlines must guarantee a high percentage of flights still make it into the skies in order to keep their slots. So as airlines see a pandemic-driven decrease in the number of people booking flights, many are opting to send out near-empty planes in order to keep their slots....

Saul Niguez, Hector Bellerin, Renato Sanches and Gianluigi Donnarumma are among those who will feature at the latest tournament, with eligibility rules dictating that players who were 21 or under at the start of the qualification cycle (dated as January 1, 2015) are able to play. The likes of France and the Netherlands missed out on a place at the finals but the field remains strong, with all three groups featuring at least one genuine contender for the trophy....

Although Selangor announced the signings of Indonesian stars Evan Dimas Darmono and Ilham Udin Armaiyn early this month, the pair are yet to join the Red Giants’ pre-season preparations. The two Indonesia internationals much-awaited move to Malaysia have reportedly been held back by the Indonesian FA (PSSI), after its president Edy Rahmayadi expressed a dim view of them playing abroad. The two are expected to join Indonesia U23’s extended centralised camp for the 2018 Asian Games, which is hosted by Indonesia, and PSSI is reportedly concerned that the Malaysian club will not release the pair, as the football competition of the Asian Games is not an official FIFA tournament....

The Edmonton winger suffered a scary injury on Tuesday night that left his wrist bleeding heavily. Kane was fighting for the puck with Tampa Bay’s Philippe Myers, who pushed Kane and caused him to fall. As Kane was lying on the ice, Pat Maroon skated in and inadvertently caught him on the left wrist with the blade of his skate. Kane immediately got up and headed for the bench while yelling out for help....

Is the presence of Daly at the head of what is arguably the country’s most politically powerful conservative Christian group more evidence of a shift by evangelicals toward the center? Or is this alleged shift simply cosmetic? Events of the past few weeks offer contradictory evidence. On the one hand, you have Dobson, creating a furor with a New York Times op-ed warning Republicans to deliver a presidential candidate with the right values—or else....

The 3-15 start came as a surprise to some, but certainly not everyone. On one hand, they brought in a president and coach with a winning track record in Stan Van Gundy. Still, it’s been rough so far, and Van Gundy is unhappy. MORE: Van Gundy calls Pistons ‘messed up’ | Love reaffirms pledge to Cavs | All-Star uniform “We’re really messed up right now, I mean we’re really messed up as a team,” Van Gundy said....

Silva had been heavily linked with Everton before Allardyce was hired in November, having enjoyed a fine start to the season at Watford. The Hornets signed Silva at the beginning of the campaign after he impressed at Hull City, despite their relegation at the end of the 2016-17 season. But they cited Everton’s initial approach as a major catalyst for Silva’s sacking in January, following a run of one win in 11 Premier League matches....

Cullen, who is better known as ‘Speedo Mick’ due to his various stunts for charity, is looking to raise £10,000 for the Charlie’s Chance Foundation, who help young children afford to travel to receive necessary treatments. Bizarre Cristiano Ronaldo bust unveiled Charlie has received an anonymous donation which allows her to travel to the US, but Speedo Mick has decided to continue his fundraising campaign to help other sick children....