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Broadcasting History, Louisville's Scandal And CC Sabathia

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Another college basketball recruiting fiasco has surfaced, this time implicating Louisville's program. And some on social media went nuts on Tuesday when Jessica Mendoza became the first female analyst to broadcast a postseason game.

This week on “3 Stories You Should Know,” Patrick Hruby of Vice Sports and the Washington Post's Cindy Boren join Bill Littlefield to take on these topics, along with CC Sabathia's sudden admission to a rehab center.

1. Jessica Mendoza Makes History

Tuesday night's American League Wild Card game saw the Houston Astros take down the New York Yankees to advance to the American League Division Series. It also saw baseball history in the making: Former All-American softball player and Olympian Jessica Mendoza became the first woman to broadcast a major-league postseason game. While a barrier was broken, Cindy Boren was alarmed by some of the responses on social media.

CB: Yes, a woman was broadcasting the game for ESPN, and the world did not end. People were sort of freaking out about it over social media, and I'm not really sure why. Jessica Mendoza has been broadcasting baseball games ever since Curt Schilling was suspended earlier this summer, and she's been doing a fine job. You know, she was a great softball player, an Olympian, and she brings a great deal of knowledge to baseball. What she doesn't bring to baseball is the "jockocracy," the voice of a former player. But, you know, she's very, very good at it, and people, including one radio guy in Atlanta, were just going nuts.

2. Louisville's Alleged Escort Service

In her new book, "Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen," self-proclaimed madam Katina Powell claims that a former University of Louisville basketball staffer paid more than $10,000 over a four-year period for escorts for players and recruits. While Patrick Hruby believes this development deserves investigation by the NCAA, he also thinks it's a result of the NCAA's extreme policing of amateurism.

BH: This is obviously a very sleazy thing, and it's the kind of thing we've heard rumors and stories about before. And it's definitely the kind of thing that the NCAA should be investigating. They should be policing this. But, I also think, arguably, it's the kind of thing that comes out of what the NCAA spends all of its time and money normally investigating and normally policing, which is amateurism. You know, when Apple and Google, they want to hire a software engineer, and they're fighting over that engineer, they can just make higher bids. They don't have to go find the escort queen.

3. CC Sabathia Seeks Help For Alcohol Problem

On the cusp of the MLB playoffs, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia decided to check himself into an alcohol rehabilitation center. Bill Littlefield applauds Sabathia for summoning the courage to seek help.

BL: Apparently, what he said, what he decided, was he wanted to become the person that he could be proud of, and he made a commitment that was more important than the commitment to put on a Yankees uniform that day. I think we take our games and our teams far too seriously most of the time, and it was terrific to see Sabathia act on the realization — which may have been a very sudden, momentary realization — that trying to save himself was more important than going out to play baseball. I think it was the most important thing he could do on that day.

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This segment aired on October 10, 2015.

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