ESPN's Jessica Mendoza said that her job with the net is her "first professional priority," while serving as Mets Baseball Operations Advisor is "secondary." In Boston, Chad Finn notes Mendoza actually "turned down a more prominent role with the Mets" last year. She said Mets Exec VP & GM Brodie Van Wagenen "reached out to me last August or September and was like, 'Look, this is a big move for me, it's something that I'm really considering, and I'm putting you in my presentation.'" Mendoza added that rather than "giving up the idea of hiring her," Van Wagenen "amended the offer to make it more suitable for her lifestyle demands" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/22).
FACE OFF? An MLB spokesperson this week said that a decision has "not yet been made about sending any games this year to Facebook or any other streaming service," as the league did last season. In St. Louis, Dan Caesar notes MLB "riled some of its fans last season by pulling one weekday afternoon game a week from local television and putting that package on Facebook." The audience for the first Cardinals game on Facebook "peaked at 78,000 viewers." At the time, FS Midwest was "averaging about 150,000 viewers in the immediate St. Louis area alone" for its Cardinals game telecasts (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/22).
PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN: In Philadelphia, Ed Barkowitz noted Showtime will be "kicking off a four-part series examining sports betting," starting Sunday at 8:00pm ET. The first show "looks at three people who make their living off sports betting." The series "oscillates back and forth between Vegas and Atlantic City and is centered on the recently completed NFL season." Showtime "doesn't glorify sports betting, but instead offers a glimpse into its peculiar world" (PHILLY.com, 3/20).
MOVING ON: Johnny Holliday "won't be anchoring the Nationals' pre- and postgame shows on MASN for the first time" since '06 this season, but has "joined the NBC Washington sports team as a contributor and made his debut this week" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/22)....Former NFL coach Dave Wannstedt "won't be a part of Fox' new college football pregame show next season." Wannstedt, who had been part of Fox’ college football coverage since '14, will "continue his role on 'Fox NFL Kickoff'” (CHICAGO.SUNTIMES.com, 3/21).
