Explosive sports media moments Edit via Liam McGuire.
ListsOriginalsBy Matt Yoder on

It’s a polarizing time in our world.

Impassioned arguments are found everywhere, especially in the sports media. And with bigger personalities and more brash than ever, this can only lead to more explosive moments.

As we look back on the year that was in sports media in 2024, it’s only fitting that we run down some of the most combustible moments from the last 12 months. They include rants for the ages, intracompany feuds, and even entire cities being put on notice.

If you’re looking for laughs, you can check out our list of the Top 10 sports media bloopers here. But for this list, you may want to make sure your seatbelts are fastened, and tray tables are in the upright position.

10) Rebecca Lobo vs The City of Albany

This year’s women’s basketball tournament was the most watched in memory. And millions tuned in to the highly anticipated rematch between Iowa and LSU in the regional final in Albany, New York. But the biggest rivalry out of that game wasn’t Angel Reese vs Caitlin Clark; it was ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo vs the city of Albany. The former Huskies star sideswiped Albany with a joke during the game broadcast that had the entire city up in arms. But given some of the criticism of the host site, Albany had bigger problems to worry about.

9) Earthquake!

You can’t have a list of “explosive” moments without a literal earthquake hitting a live sports talk show. Incredibly, it happened not just once but twice to the FS1 studios in Los Angeles, First it came in February during an episode of Speak. Then, the studio shook again during The Facility in September. Thankfully, nobody was hurt in either case, although James Jones’ ability to roll straight through an earthquake while analyzing Derek Carr was surreal.

8) Kim Mulkey threatens to sue the Washington Post

The much-ballyhooed Washington Post profile of Kim Mulkey was not the Watergate sports media epic expected by the time it was finally published. The feature from Kent Baab looked at Mulkey’s success on the court and polarizing history off the court, but there weren’t any smoking guns in sight. In retrospect, Mulkey’s press conference rant threatening a lawsuit against the Post during the middle of the NCAA Tournament gave it an impossible bar to live up to and was the climax of the whole episode.

7) Penn State fans do not like noon start times

Noon kickoffs became a huge talking point this season as Fox Sports flexed their scheduling might by putting several high-profile games in the Big Ten in their Big Noon Kickoff timeslot. One of those games was the top-five showdown between Ohio State and Penn State in Happy Valley. The early kickoff took away the traditional whiteout environment, and the Buckeyes did eventually win. Nittany Lions fans made their feelings known by starting a profane chant at Big Noon during College GameDay.

ESPN’s show separated itself from Fox this year after Big Noon closed the gap in ratings, quality, and vibes.

6) Jay Bilas may just be against NCAA Tournament expansion!

With rumors and reports running wild about possible NCAA Tournament expansion earlier this year, Jay Bilas did what he does best on College GameDay – tear the NCAA apart. Bilas called the idea to expand the best sporting event in the world to 96 teams “profoundly stupid.” The NCAA is ready to compromise with Bilas by only expanding to potentially 76 teams.

5) Michael Kay isn’t taking this SNY ad lying down

Yankees announcer Michael Kay blew a gasket when SNY ran an ad on his radio show claiming that the Mets had the best broadcast booth in baseball and not the Yankees. The ad (and the rant) were hilariously seized on by the Mets broadcast booth, but unfortunately, we did not have any Anchorman-style parking lot showdowns where Paul O’Neill took out Keith Hernandez with a trident.

4) Jerry Jones threatens to fire Dallas radio hosts

It was yet another disappointing season for the Dallas Cowboys as they’ve already been eliminated from playoff contention in early December. And Jerry Jones’ roster management has fallen under more scrutiny now than ever before. But he wasn’t in the mood to answer any probing questions in his weekly Dallas radio interview. In fact, he threatened to fire the hosts in a billionaire power trip that would make Montgomery Burns proud.

3) Monica McNutt shuts down Stephen A. Smith

First Take has taken on a much more relaxed vibe in recent years ever since ESPN scrapped the “Embrace Debate” model and went to a Stephen A. Smith variety show flair with a group of several contributors. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t explosive moments on the show anymore. One of those came this summer during one of the many insane media cycles around Caitlin Clark’s rookie season in the WNBA. McNutt challenged Smith on where he’s been covering the WNBA all these years and stopped him dead in his tracks.

2) Pat McAfee smells a rat

Norby Williamson was one of the most powerful executives at ESPN across multiple decades. Until Pat McAfee came along.

At the very beginning of the year, McAfee went on one of his typically unfiltered rants that turned into some not-so-friendly fire. McAfee accused Williamson of being a “rat” by leaking negative ratings about the show. It was an astonishing piece of ESPN drama that finally came to a head when Williamson was shockingly relieved of his duties.

Pat McAfee may be in Indianapolis, but his power in Bristol may be unlimited.

1) Stephen A. Smith eviscerates Jason Whitlock

The most explosive moment of the year, the decade, the century, and the millennium in sports media can only be awarded to one segment – Stephen A. Smith’s 40-minute rant targeting Jason Whitlock on his podcast. The monologue featured Smith airing personal stories from behind the scenes, tearing down Whitlock’s time in the sports media industry, and so much more. And again, this went on for 40 MINUTES STRAIGHT. It was so bonkers that Smith admitted he called his pastor and asked for forgiveness before launching into the rant for the ages. And for good reason.

About Matt Yoder

View all posts by Matt Yoder