The Washington Post will send reporters to cover the upcoming Olympic Games, though not many, as the future of its sports department remains unclear. Plus: ESPN will simulcast Brooks Koepka\u2019s return to the PGA Tour in its first such telecast in 20 years; NFL executive Hans Schroeder praises the league\u2019s Monday night Wild Card window as it heads into free agency; and more.<\/p>\n
Washington Post to send skeleton crew to Olympics as future of sports department uncertain<\/p>\n
A week after informing staff that it would not send any reporters to cover next month\u2019s Winter Olympics in Italy, The Washington Post has reversed course and now plans to send four, according to multiple reports Monday. That is still a considerable reduction from the original plan; Benjamin Mullin and Erik Wemple of the The New York Times reported last week<\/a> that the Post had secured 14 credentials for the event, in line with the usual contingent of 10-20 reporters it sends to Olympic Games. (It sent 26 to cover the Summer Olympics in Paris two years ago.)<\/p>\n Per that Times report, the Post is believed to have already spent more than $80,000 on flights, housing and office space for the Olympics.<\/p>\n Given its status as one of the nation\u2019s venerable sports departments, counting among its alumni ESPN\u2019s Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon and the likes of Thomas Boswell, Christine Brennan, Kevin Blackistone, Mike Wise and many other familiar names, the decision to sit out the Olympics was highly controversial. It also came amidst reports that the Post is gearing up for layoffs that, per Dylan Byers of Puck<\/a>, could include the shuttering of the sports division. According to former Post columnist Paul Fahri Monday, the \u201cbiggest cuts<\/a>\u201d are expected to be to the foreign and sports departments.<\/p>\n The Post, which was purchased by Amazon\u2019s Jeff Bezos in 2013, has already engaged in multiple rounds of cost-cutting in recent years.<\/p>\n ESPN to simulcast Koepka\u2019s return in first PGA Tour window since 2006<\/p>\n The ESPN flagship network will simulcast the PGA Tour Live \u201cMain Feed\u201d coverage of the PGA Tour Torrey Pines tournament from Noon-3 PM ET Thursday and Friday, it was announced Monday \u2014 marking the first time since losing rights after the 2006 season that ESPN has carried live PGA Tour coverage on one of its linear cable networks. Coverage will also be available on Hulu and Disney+.<\/p>\n While ESPN cable networks carry coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship, those are not operated by the PGA Tour (the PGA Championship is operated by the PGA of America, a separate organization). Though the ESPN linear networks do not have rights to PGA Tour events, the ESPN+ streaming service has held rights to the streaming-exclusive PGA Tour Live feeds \u2014 including the main feed, featured groups and featured holes \u2014 since 2022.<\/p>\n The Torrey Pines tournament marks the return to PGA Tour golf of major champion Brooks Kopeka, who spent the past three years on the LIV Golf tour. The Main Feed will include \u201cuninterrupted coverage\u201d of Kopeka\u2019s group, according to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal<\/a>. Kopeka is expected to play alongside Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg.<\/p>\n News of the decision was announced on \u201cThe Pat McAfee Show,\u201d which will be bumped to ESPN2 by the simulcasts.<\/p>\n NFL\u2019s Schroeder praises Monday Wild Card window ahead of potential talks<\/p>\n