BAYLESS IS LEAVING ESPN AS NETWORK WORKS TO CUT COSTS
bristol, conn.» Commentator Skip Bayless is leaving ESPN when his contract is up at the end of August.
The network announced the move Tuesday, a day after news broke that “Monday Night Football” play-byplay voice Mike Tirico is leaving ESPN for NBC.
Bayless could reunite at Fox with former ESPN executive Jamie Horowitz. Bayless is the latest prominent personality to leave in the past year as the network has looked to cut costs.
Bayless joined ESPN full time in 2004 as a column writer for ESPN.com and a TV commentator alongside The Denver Post’s Woody Paige in a segment called “1st and 10,” which aired on ESPN2.
Bayless raised his profile trading inflammatory opinions with Stephen A. Smith on the daily studio show “First Take.”
His last appearance at “First Take” will be the day after the end of the NBA Finals.
Kerr is NBA’s coach of the year
B oakland, calif.» Steve Kerr is the NBA’s coach of the year after leading to the Golden State Warriors to the best regular-season record in league history.
Kerr got 64 first-place votes from a panel of 130 media members who regularly cover the league. Portland’s Terry Stotts was second in relatively close voting. San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich was third.
Kerr missed the Warriors’ first 43 games this season while recovering from back surgeries, with the team being operated in his absence by assistant coach Luke Walton. Voters took notice of Walton’s work as well; he finished tied for eighth in the balloting.
Golden State finished 73-9 this season, breaking the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ record of 72-10 for the best record in league history. Kerr played for that Chicago team.
NHL’s Game 7 draws big ratings.
Monday’s Game 7 between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues was NBC Sports Network’s mostwatched first-round NHL playoff game in the station’s history.
The broadcast averaged 1.35 million viewers and peaked at 2 million.
Digitally, the game finished with 11.6 million minutes streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra, which ranked fourth all-time among NHL games.
The Blues beat the Blackhawks 3-2.
Manziel indicted by grand jury
B dallas» Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel was indicted by a grand jury on a misdemeanor charge stemming from a domestic violence complaint by his ex-girlfriend.
The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and Texas A&M star was accused by ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley of hitting her and threatening to kill her.
The indictment accuses Manziel of striking Crowley and “forcing (her) into a vehicle and against a vehicle dashboard.”
Manziel faces misdemeanor assault related to family violence, which carries up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Footnotes.
Jon Messick, who has been Colorado State’s tennis coach since 1985, will coach his final matches this week at the CSU-hosted Mountain West championships before he heads for retirement. Messick led the men’s team from 1985-96 and has coached the women’s team since 1989. … Jase Herl joined the CSU men’s basketball team as an assistant coach, and longtime assistant coach Steve Barnes was promoted to associate head coach. In addition, Willie Glover made a jump from director of player development to assistant coach. … Alex Earl and Jill Mahoney joined the CU women’s basketball coaching staff, according to head coach JR Payne. Earl will be director of player development and Mahoney the director of operations.