Jim O'Donnell: Addison Rae carries her social influencing all the way through UFC 264
ADDISON RAE IS ALL ABOUT what's happening now in the outer hangs of contemporary American pop culture.
She's 20 years old with an extended-stay Ulta Beauty sort of Carmen Electra telegenicness.
She told Jimmy Fallon that she has more than 70M followers on TikTok.
She reportedly grossed close to $5M last year with a primary occupation best described as "social influencer."
And Saturday night, amid all the froth and frenzy that was UFC 264, young Ms. Rae sent out a tweet that outraged some, outrageously amused others.
As a prelude to her role as a "reporter" prior to the Conor McGregor-Dustin Poirier main event, Rae blipped: "I studied broadcast journalism in college for 3 whole months to prepare for this moment."
It's a great line - self-mocking and thoroughly "of the evening."
But don't tell that to the scores of unhappy Tweetists who rushed to shame her for dare suggesting that "more serious" sports journalists wasted a whole lot of time and money in learning their craft.
No less than Paige Spiranac rushed to Rae's defense.
Spiranac - as any social media addict this side of the Kardashians can tell you - is the former pro golfer who could both star in a remake of Bo Derek's "10" and score a 10 on any hole she tees off on.
"Don't discredit all her hard work," Spiranac tweeted. "UFC is smart to hire someone with millions of followers.
UFC and ESPN+ were smart enough to gross a whole lotta money off Saturday night's pay-per-view barbarism.
Poirier got the best of McGregor in their "trilogy" match. He scored a TKO when the aging Irishman broke a shin late in the first round and had to be carried off.
And Rae capped her evening with an electronic salve for the braying mass:
"nvm (never mind) y'all got me fired."
Maybe she'll pout all the way to her next Tok o' gold.
NOW IT'S STEPHEN A. SMITH who has put ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro squarely in the corporate sniperscopes.
On Monday, the babbling bobblehead took heaven-sent Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani to task for using interpreters during media sessions rather than "learn to speak English."
The cartoonish Smith quickly apologized.
But one week after Pitaro completed bungling the Rachel Nichols-Maria Taylor matter, he has failed to take assertive corrective action regarding Smith.
Some say Smith should be fired. Other more restrained observers suggest that a multiweek suspension without pay would light the path to remedy.
But with Disney CEO Bob Iger well along toward full retirement, Pitaro no longer has an imposing safety net in the hallways of the parent company.
He has become Exhibit A regarding the "relentless, in-house cultural disorder" at ESPN.
And with change in the air and chaos behind the microphones, that's not good.
THE LATEST ROUND OF MONTHLY Nielsen Audios was rough news indeed for both decaying grounds of Chicago sports talk.
Despite an uptick by the Cubs prior to their 11-game losing streak, WSCR-AM (670) lost close to 10 percent of its audience and dipped to No. 17 in the 30-station listing.
WMVP-AM (1000) remained even deeper down below. The audio dead-rock had more than 10 percent of its listenership disappear and was tied for No. 25.
Nonetheless, AM 1000 boss Craig Karmazin continues to work the used sales lots. His Good Karma Brands reportedly is close to taking over management of fading ESPN t-radio outlets in both New York City and Los Angeles.
STREET-BEATIN': The Open roars into the frame beginning Thursday with all the thunder of the Royal Navy protecting Sandwich Bay. The Golf Channel and NBC (Saturday-Sunday) split coverage. Caveat bettor: The last two winners at Royal St. George's have been 100-1 or higher - Darren Clarke (2011) and the Mid-American Conference's very own Ben Curtis (2003). ...
With the cap space of Duncan Keith now available, are the Blackhawks eyeballing "Vegas Vezina" Marc-André Fleury for a quick hit? (Elliott Harris says he's an oldie but a goody.) ...
Besides coaching an Olympics-bound band of semi-interested NBAers, Gregg Popovich is also off to a testy start with more professional media. That "Rose of San Antone'" snarkiness always carries more charm when he's winning. ...
When the Illinois Gaming Board addressed new Casino Owners License items on Wednesday, Tim Carey and extended family at Hawthorne Race Course were in line with no fewer than 62 members. (The Careys and the McCaskey-Halas clan could go shillelagh-to-shillelagh over ownership dilution by generation.) ...
Strange how far behind WTTW-Channel 11's "Chicago Tonight" is lagging on the Arlington Park sale story. With or without the pedestrian Phil Ponce, are production poseurs passively protecting the interests of funding patrons and friends of patrons? ...
And ESPYs host Anthony Mackie - on poor-shooting Ben Simmons of the Sixers: "Not everyone knows this, but he's been building orphanages completely out of his playoff bricks."
• Jim O'Donnell's Sports & Media column appears Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com.