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UPDATE - Breitbart News exclusively learned on Thursday afternoon that ESPN will air the original ad on Saturday from Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center with the words "Jesus" and "God." ESPN issued this statement to Breitbart News on Thursday: “We have again reviewed the ads submitted for the SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center and have concluded that we will accept the original requested commercial. It will run in Saturday’s VCU at Northern Iowa basketball game on ESPNU. This decision is consistent with our practice of individual review of all ads under our commercial advocacy standards.”

Mike Shanahan was reportedly ready to quit because of Daniel Snyder’s favoritism of Robert Griffin III The Washington Redskins are an absolute mess right now, with every day bringing a leaked story of discontent to top the previous one. Here's a pretty wild one: Coach Mike Shanahan reportedly had cleaned out his office before last season's wild-card game against Seattle because he was ready to quit as soon as the season ended. Why was Shanahan ready to go? Because of owner Daniel Snyder's coddling of quarterback Robert Griffin III. That report comes from ESPN.com. A team spokesman in the story...

So I am sitting a local sports pub/bar, you know the ones with all sorts of games and sports shows on big screens everywhere.... all of a sudden, I look up and see Barack Hussein Obama speaking LIVE from D.C. "What is going on?!" I asked my companion.... Sure enough, it is an extended statement from the worst occupant of the Oval Office in 100+ years, and it goes on and on and on....then the Sports Center talking heads continue to ramble about the death of Nelson Mandela. On a sports network. About sports news.

There are many reasons that enter into making our Jerk of the Week decisions. Hypocrisy, dishonesty, and elitism are a few of the characteristics that adorn our nominees. Our usual target is progressive liberals, who slaver like mad dogs over the prospect of limiting the freedoms of Americans and controlling every aspect of our lives. However, several of the biggest reasons to land on our Jerk list are an anti-American attitude and disrespecting our military. We don't believe in blind worship of our military but understand that the vast majority of those in uniform sacrifice a great deal for our...

If you ask journalism Professor Kevin Blackistone what he thinks about the special and controversial Northwestern University football jerseys adorned with an American flag, he’ll tell you the country should nix the playing of a “war anthem” before sporting events and that the NFL has bought into the “mythology” of a fallen soldier that once played for the Arizona Cardinals ...

Peter Gammons ‏@pgammo 19m How great is this week when the two teams down 3-2 are pitching Kershaw Scherzer, Ryu, Verlander? Not even Ted Cruz can mess these moments Geeze Peter...can't leave politics out of baseball? Gotta just get a dig in there for your Disney overlords? I loathe what ESPN has become. Just one giant PC factory and love fest for Obama and his cult.

That's called a 'slowroll' for all you whippersnappers out there.

After morning briefings on the crisis in Syria, President Obama played 27 holes at Andrews Air Force base, according to the White House. Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon, hosts of ESPN’s "Pardon the Interruption,” and aide Marvin Nicholson joined the six-hour golf game.

Max Papis told ESPN.com that he suffered a dislocated jaw following Sunday's Camping World Truck Series race in Bowmanville, Ontario, when another driver's girlfriend slapped him on the left side of the face in a post-race rage. Papis did not know the name of the female who struck him, but said she was driver Mike Skeen's girlfriend.

When ESPN launched in 1979, nobody thought much of it. While there was finally a station for sports-starved fans to counter network television (cable was a dream back then), watching Australian Rules Football wasn’t exactly must-see TV. Eventually ESPN grew into a daily destination. “SportsCenter” couldn’t be missed, especially when Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann were on their game. College basketball flourished with telecasts from coast to coast. When the NFL and MLB jumped on board, the station really took off. Over time, many ESPN on-air personalities seem more interested in becoming celebrities than real journalists (can you say Stephen...

ESPN has fired Numbers Never Lie host and former NFL star Hugh Douglas after he purportedly called his co-host Michael Smith a “house n*gger” and an “Uncle Tom” during a drunken confrontation earlier this month. During the National Association of Black Journalists Convention earlier this month in Orlando, Douglas allegedly shouted the slurs at his co-host. Deadspin was the first to report on the incident: Douglas was, again, very drunk. Lots of people were drinking, so this was less of a big deal, but then he started making some movements toward the stage at the club. … One person told

Hugh Douglas’ drunken tirade cost him his job at ESPN. A week after reports surfaced of Douglas acting belligerently and screaming racial slurs at colleague Michael Smith, the former Jets and Eagles linebacker tweeted that he was “leaving ESPN.” * * * Douglas then called Smith an “Uncle Tom’’ and a “house n----r and threatened to fight him several times, according to the Web site The Big Lead.

The latest fad among football sportswriters and commentators seems to involve crowing about head injuries and long-term health effects from playing football.BREAK All this teaches a lesson to the children: private, individual action is dangerous and should be avoided. Life must be lived within the guardrails, carefully planned and safeguarded by society. Even more distressing to the left is that sports started as a means of training for soldiers. That is why football is so appealing to America; it is a he-man sport, a vestige of the old America, where an association of free men stand together in battle. Yes,...

Espn host and former Jets defensive star Hugh Douglas hit a co-host below the belt in a drunken tirade at a Florida bar — calling him “Uncle Tom’’ and a “house n----r,’’ sources said. The hulking Douglas, 41, spit the slurs at “Numbers Never Lie’’ colleague Michael Smith after the boozed-up Douglas made a move to the deejay’s microphone at the House of Blues on Friday in Orlando, and Smith tried to stop Douglas from embarrassing himself, according to the Web site Deadspin.

Chief competitor Fox Sports 1 is not expected to launch until mid-August, but ESPN is already rapidly losing viewers. Ratings show that the 24/7 sports network saw a double-digit drop in Q2 and saw an 8% drop in day viewership and a 12% drop in prime time audience comparing July 2013 to July 2012. While the network did not feature the NBA Draft or College World Series this July as it had the previous year, many conservative viewers have turned off the network due to its embrace of liberal viewpoints and the impending return of left-wing pundit Keith Olbermann. The...

ESPN will reportedly announce next week that it has hired Nate Silver to contribute to Keith Olbermann's new late-night talk show. The numbers-crunching baseball geek gained national fame when he correctly projected the outcomes of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. The New York Times, which reported the news on Friday, hired Silver, who brought his FiveThirtyEight franchise with him, in 2009.

Keith Olbermann, late of current TV, late of MSNBC, late of CNN - well, you get the picture. Keith can't hold a job because he's got a big mouth and no sense. That combination fits perfectly on ESPN. Olbermann will make his return to television at the network where he first made a name for himself. Paired with Dan Patrick in the 1990's to anchor ESPN's signature broadcast, "Sportscenter," Olbermann's snarky cynicism about professional sports and athletes was a breath of fresh air from the usual fare of hero worship and highlight reels offered by local news outlets. Olbermann willl...

Able to play golf with pretty much anyone he wants, President Obama is spending his Saturday on a military course with ESPN’s Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser, co-hosts of “Pardon the Interruption.” (snip) On Friday, Wilbon, Kornheiser, and Tony Reali–host of ESPN’s “Around the Horn” and PTI’s longtime on-air fact-checker — ate lunch at the White House and visited with Obama in the Oval Office.

The NFL might have seen its last bit of Tebowing. A new report claims that some of those closest to Tim Tebow have suggested that the unemployed quarterback’s NFL career is likely done. ESPN’s David Fleming reports that members of Tebow’s own camp privately told him that his days in the league are “probably over.”

A tipster told Deadspin that ESPN is planning to lay off more than 400 employees today. A source at ESPN confirmed to Deadspin that layoffs were planned, and while 400 seemed high, the number of layoffs will be "in the hundreds." As Deadspin also points out, ESPN may need to cut costs because they have recently gotten rights to several live events (like the US Open Finals) which are very expensive. ESPN gave us the following statement: We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs. While difficult, we are confident that it...