soccer

WWE’s SummerSlam grossed more than $1 million this past Sunday, thanks to a sold out crowd of 17,404 fans at Staples Center in Los Angeles, according to the sports entertainment company.

That amount marks the highest grossing SummerSlam pay-per-view held at Staples Center, which has been the home of the WWE event since 2009.

Celebrities in attendance included actor Kellan Lutz, Michael Clark Duncan, Morris Chestnut, Jenny McCarthy, Los Angeles Lakers’ Ron Artest, Dancing With The Stars‘ Cheryl Burke, Karina Smirnoff and Lacey Schwimmer.

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Apparently ESPN is not hiring or retaining every NFL player or coach who made a name for themselves in the last two decades, as former First Take contributors Warrick Dunn and Derrick Brooks will not be working for the World Wide Leader, spokesman Josh Krulewitz tells Michael McCarthy of USA Today.

It’s not clear if the two NFL TV analysts are leaving on their own, or were asked to hand in their playbooks, as ESPN conducts its annual preseason training camp for analysts.

Dunn and Brooks were teammates on the Buccaneers and are considered two of the most upstanding football people for their off-the-field contributions. ESPN recently hired Jerry Rice, Bill Parcells, Eric Mangini, Damien Woody and Hugh Douglas as NFL analysts.

Tony Bruno has been suspended for one week by DirecTV following a inflammatory tweet Friday night about San Francisco Giants reliever Ramon Ramirez, according to Rich Lieberman.

Bruno’s show, along with The Dan Patrick Show, is owned by DirecTV.

Ben Maller tweeted Monday night that he would be filling in for Bruno.

NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner signed a new multi-year extension that will have the former MVP working exclusively for the network.

Warner will work on NFL GameDay Morning, NFL Total Access, and Thursday Night Football.

“I’ve had a great time making the transition from playing to talking about the game and there is no better place to talk football than NFL Network,” said Warner. “I look forward to contributing my thoughts from a quarterback’s perspective on the Sunday morning and Thursday Night Football pregame shows as well as on NFL Total Access. NFL Network has given me the opportunity to be on their marquee shows and I can’t wait for the 2011 season to begin.” Read more

The days of Charles Barkley and Tiger Woods hanging out appear to be over for good.

“It’s been very frustrating to watch everything that has transpired,” Barkley said Wednesday on ESPN New York 1050′s The Mike Lupica Show, “and getting rid of Steve Williams was probably the last straw for me.”

The TNT announcer hasn’t heard from Woods since the November 2009 incident that turned the golfer’s world upside down.

“You think you’re friends with a guy,” Barkley added. “You talk to him once a week for 15 years. You’re like, this dude is my friend, we do things, we have fun together. I haven’t talked to him in two years and I’m wondering what the hell is going on.” Read more

A rumor floating around the Twitterverse in the past few days alleged that New York Jets coach Rex Ryan had asked comedian Adam Sandler to call prize free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and sell him on the merits of playing for the Jets. Turns out the rumor, which began with Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network, was not true. But what if it were? And what if we had the opportunity to actually listen to what Sandler would say to Asomughi by means of a sales pitch? Enter Dan Patrick, who had Sandler on his radio show.

Jets fans will be heartbroken to hear this clip, because Sandler no doubt would have closed the deal. Provided Asomugha is a sucker for gibberish.

(H/T to Sportsgrid)

Classy move by the Seattle Seahawks organization to take out a full-page ad in the Seattle Times to say goodbye to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who signed with the Tennessee Titans last week.

[H/T The Big Lead]

In case you haven’t read Ed Hinton‘s tribute to his late wife, Pamela Snow Hinton, stop what you’re doing and read it now.

Snow died last month from cancer at the age of 59. She worked with the likes of Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt and Benny Parsons and was considered a “female pioneer” in motor racing public relations.

Ed and Snow spent the past 28 years together as husband and wife.

For anyone who has ever been in love before, Ed’s tribute is worth the 10 minutes out of your day to read.

You know college football is right around the corner when ESPN announces their broadcast teams for the 2011 season.

Below are the pairings for the upcoming college football season:

ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN 3D and ESPN Regional Television Game Pairings Read more

The women’s World Cup final on ESPN between the United States and Japan garnered an 8.6 overnight rating, surpassing the men’s first-round World Cup matchup between the United States and England, which drew a 7.3 on ABC. The top five markets for ESPN’s Sunday afternoon broadcast of the final in Germany were Baltimore (12.3), San Diego (11.8), West Palm Beach (11.7), Washington D.C., and Norfolk, Virginia.

The 1999 women’s World Cup final, won by the United States, drew a 13.3 overnight rating, but that game was played in the United States, no doubt contributing to higher numbers.