HBO’s Jon Frankel profiled ESPN's Adam Schefter on the season premiere of "Real Sports," calling him the "ultimate insider in the NFL." In a world where "knowledge is power, no one in the game has more" than Schefter. Schefter said, "There are few things in life more satisfying than getting a big story. It’s like a drug, you become addicted to it. When I get a text about something that’s going on, my heart starts pounding -- pounding! -- like I can feel adrenaline through my body and when you post it the number of retweets and likes becomes like a slot machine, the numbers just start going crazy.” He said his day starts and "never stops.” Schefter: “ESPN has access to me at all times. ESPN owns me and is not shy about exercising its ownership” (“Real Sports,” HBO, 1/29).
FROM GREEN-SIDE TO GRIDIRON: In San Diego, Tod Leonard noted CBS golf reporter Amanda Balionis during Super Bowl LIII will serve as the network’s "first chief social media contributor for the game." Balionis' interest in golf "led to an opportunity" in '11 at the PGA Tour, where she was "hired in the digital department." Callaway in '16 "offered Balionis a position in Carlsbad to build up its in-house media productions." However, Balionis "wasn’t at Callaway long before Turner Sports came calling." She made her debut for them during coverage of the '16 PGA Championship, when she "caught the eye of CBS." CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus said Balionis "has a lot of credibility with golfers, and they respond well to her" (SANDIEGOUNIONTRIBUNE.com, 1/29).
BACK IN ACTION: In N.Y., Kevin Kenney noted NFL Network reporter Kim Jones went public yesterday with the "first details of just how close she came to losing her life back in November" when she "suffered an 'aortic dissection'" while covering a Redskins practice. Jones said she was told by one cardiologist that 80% of people suffering from aortic dissection "don’t make it to the hospital.” Jones "spent two weeks" in the hospital and was released on Nov. 28 (NYPOST.com, 1/29).
