It’s been a big week here at Sports Gossip HQ. We had a betting scandal in Major League Baseball, coaches and GMs are getting fired left and right, and some athletes have given us relationship updates. Others have answered none of our questions (looking at you, Aaron Rodgers). 

Ken Rosenthal on betting and his favorite sports gossip ever

It was our pleasure to welcome the legendary Ken Rosenthal to the show this week. Ken is a senior baseball writer for The Athletic and a reporter and insider for FOX Sports’ MLB coverage. He’s known for his bowties on broadcasts — don’t worry, he told us their origin story.

Ken hopped on to help us unpack the latest betting scandal rocking the sports world. Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted on a host of charges tied to allegedly rigging pitches. 

We had a lot of questions, such as: How do you prove players manipulated pitches? What has the ripple effect been in the baseball world? Is there fear that this is more widespread? Could this be connected to the other gambling investigations? 

And much more. But you’ll have to listen to the episode to learn Ken’s answers. 

As a bonus, Ken told us a fabled — but, he made clear — untrue story that made the rounds more than 30 years ago, involving an alleged love triangle involving Cal Ripken Jr. and Kevin Costner. 

Doesn’t get better than that, folks!

A lot of Brians — and a prominent Nico — were fired

It’s never fun when someone loses their job, but fans in Dallas had a field day when Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison was finally let go. Fans have been chanting “Fire Nico” since he traded the team’s star, Luka Dončić, last year, and ownership eventually listened. Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont wrote a letter to fans. 

Here at “The Sports Gossip Show,” we don’t love an owner’s letter to fans after a team messes up. Dumont’s note made it seem like he bore little responsibility for the mess Dallas found itself in last year (and still has a hangover from). As an owner, you don’t get to beg for forgiveness or put the blame on a guy you recently fired. 

You just have to start delivering wins. It’s that simple!

In a wild turn of events, the LSU Tigers are claiming they didn’t formally fire former head coach Brian Kelly, even though there’s a lot of evidence to suggest they did (because they did). The second Brian who got fired this week was Brian Daboll, former head coach of the New York Giants. 

Our TSGS discussion also involves a debate about nepo babies and a story about Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara and a corgi. We swear it makes sense. 

Relationship updates

WNBA star Angel Reese posted a photo dump on Instagram recently where she stated she has a boyfriend, but she doesn’t say explicitly who that is. However, rumors have been swirling that she’s seeing Orlando Magic player Wendell Carter Jr., and there were several photos of Reese wearing Magic gear. 

A soft launch, dare we say? 

In other news, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have been out and about in New York City while the Kansas City Chiefs are on a bye week. And singer Madison Beer was spotted at SoFi Stadium cheering on her boyfriend, Justin Herbert, as he quarterbacked the Los Angeles Chargers to a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Speaking of the Steelers, we have some questions about Aaron Rodgers’ wife. He said months ago that he’s married to a woman named Brittani — with an “i”, he specified — whom no one seems to know. Steelers WAGs were quoted this week (in The Daily Mail, so take it with a grain of salt), saying that she’s a “phantom,” and that they’d love to get to know her but she’s never around. 

If anyone out there has a tip on this mystery woman … please send us an email at info@sportsgossipshow.com or send us a DM on Instagram (and give us a follow while you’re at it!). 

Madeline Hill and Charlotte Wilder have partnered with The Athletic and are taking their game to the next level. You can find “The Sports Gossip Show” every Tuesday and Thursday on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.