Morning Hot Reads: The Skipper, Too

The WASHINGTON POST's Rick Maese notes ESPN President John Skipper is "one of the most powerful individuals in television," but no one who knows Skipper "would be surprised." His background is "in publishing, his undergraduate degree in English literature, and in graduate school he studied 18th-century satire." Skipper is a 60-year-old "protagonist in a winding narrative that suddenly has an unpredictable ending." As the media landscape shifts, Skipper "must steer ESPN through what may be the most challenging period the mighty sports network has seen since it was launched 37 years ago." 

YAHOO SPORTS' Greg Wyshynski examines the search by the Las Vegas expansion NHL team for a name, noting monikers such as Silver Knights, Golden Knights and Desert Knights were "registered by the team last week." The name Sand Knights also "was registered" by one of Owner Bill Foley's companies last week. 

Also: 

• Olympic athletes "struggle with what to do" after the Games' conclusion. 
• Baseball's minor league players "pursue their dreams below the poverty line." 
• The U.S. is "waiting for a men's tennis star who hasn't appeared."
• Paul Chaloner has become the "voice of esports."
• Six high school football teams are taking the journey of a lifetime to Ireland. 
• How the Red Sox got "caught in MLB's Latin America crackdown."
• Every four years, the Olympics, election and NCAA "collide."