End Of An Era At ESPN

Bob Ley has been with the network since it launched in 1979.

TV Deal For XFL

No rights fees will be paid, though.

They're hoping not to fall into the same financial holes that finished off the AAF.

Beano Cook, ESPN's Longtime Cardinal Of College Football, R. I. P.

Beano Cook, the longtime ESPN folksy college football analyst, passed away in his sleep in Pittsburgh at the age of 81, the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Cook's alma mater, announed on Thursday.

Beano was the sports information director at Pitt from 1956 to 1966 and had held a variety of jobs before joining the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.

Beano had worked at ESPN since 1986.

Happy 30th Birthday, ESPN!

On this date, 30 years ago, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly referred to as ESPN, went on the air. That's host Lee Leonard, running down the scheduled programming for that night, then introducing George Grande, who was getting set to anchor the inaugural edition of SportsCenter.