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Nate Bargatze Sets Guinness World Record: Comedy Tour Tickets Sold
Nate Bargatze and his “Big Dumb Eyes” just set a Guinness World Record.
The Tennessee-born comedian has officially sold the most tickets for a stand-up comedy tour, surpassing the previously record held by Jeff Dunham.
Bargatze will be presented with the Guinness World Record onstage at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Saturday. Ahead of the show, his “Big Dumb Eyes” world tour had sold approximately 2,016,254 tickets, passing Dunham’s “Spark of Insanity” tour, which sold 1,981,720 tickets. The final ticket number on Bargatze’s Guinness World Records certificate will be confirmed later this weekend.
Bargatze accomplished the feat at an impressive pace. To achieve the previous record, Dunham sold 1,981,720 tickets across 386 venues between Sept. 13, 2007, and Aug. 21, 2010 (35 months and 8 days). Bargatze’s “Big Dumb Eyes” tour, which began on April 6, 2025, crossed the 2 million mark after just 16 months and 10 days — and across only 128 venues. (There were also no puppets on the Bargatze tour.)
Along the way, Bargatze broke 84 venue records, according to his reps, which included becoming the only comedian to sell out three consecutive performances at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in a single calendar year — a feat matched only by Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks.
Bargatze, whose clean, deadpan comedy has made him famous among all age groups, was crowned by Pollstar as the highest-grossing stand-up comic, with $77.5 million reported in 2025 alone. Earlier this year, he crossed over onto the silver screen with his movie “The Breadwinner,” and he is currently planning to build a $350 million theme park in his home state of Tennessee called Nateland.
Bargatze is repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners, UTA, Ginsburg Daniels Kallis and 2PM Sharp.
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ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen dies at 93

(Photo by Rich Arden / ESPN Images)
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the landscape of sports media, passed away today, August 18, 2026, at the age of 93 from the effects of Parkinson’s Disease.
“Bill was a remarkable man – a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. “Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn’t for Bill’s passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s – key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day.”
Pitaro added: “One of my greatest thrills since joining ESPN was getting to know Bill on a personal level. I will always cherish the memory of catching the ceremonial first pitch that he threw at Fenway Park in Boston in celebration of our 40th anniversary. His legacy will always be a part of ESPN.”

(Photo by Joe Faraoni / ESPN Images)
Rasmussen was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Lois, in 2011 and is survived by two sons – Scott Rasmussen and his wife Laura and Glenn Rasmussen – his daughter Lynn Van Hollebeke and her husband Louie, seven grandchildren, Andy, P.J., Wil, MaryAnn, Donna, Jessica and Sarah, one great grandson, Otto, and one great granddaughter, Adelaide. In addition to his wife, Bill was predeceased by his brothers Robert and Donald Rasmussen, sister Vivien and grandson Justin Van Hollebeke.
The Birth of ESPN
In 1978, Rasmussen, a former sports broadcaster and public relations executive, and his son Scott started investigating the just-emerging technology of satellite delivery of television. On a Friday afternoon in August 1978, Rasmussen and Scott were stuck in traffic on Connecticut’s Interstate 84 while travelling to the New Jersey shore. They were discussing possible programming for their newly acquired satellite transponder from RCA. On a lark, Rasmussen blurted out the idea to create a network devoted only to sports. Sports fans both, father and son instantly thought they had a great idea.

In time, their idea grew from a service showing Connecticut sports to state residents to a 24-hour national sports network. Bolstered by financial backing from the Getty Oil Co., a contract for programming with the NCAA and an advertising agreement with Anheuser-Busch – then the largest sponsorship deal in cable history – the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (changed to ESPN, Inc. in 1984) launched in 1.4 million homes at 7 p.m. ET on September 7, 1979. A short introduction was followed by the opening show, SportsCenter hosted by Lee Leonard and George Grande.
From Day One to today, more than four decades later, SportsCenter – the program that has aired the most episodes in television history – has been the backbone of the network and its signature show, redefining the genre of sports news on television.
Impact at ESPN
As ESPN’s founder and first president, Rasmussen shaped the early successes of the company and laid the foundation for its strong future. His passion for sports and love of innovation through both technology and creative programming remain ESPN hallmarks. In July 1979, Rasmussen was named ESPN Chairman, succeeded as President by Chet Simmons, formerly President of NBC Sports. In addition to SportsCenter, under Rasmussen’s leadership the network introduced around the clock sports programming and groundbreaking coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in the spring of 1980, which drew national attention for the fledgling outfit.
“Bill was our George Washington and a good friend,” said veteran anchor Chris Berman, who joined ESPN three weeks after the original network launch in 1979. “He was such a grateful person and every sports fan can be grateful for Bill. He wasn’t a glass half-full guy; his glass was always overflowing with optimism. He greeted everyone with a smile and we can all smile knowing Bill’s legacy.”
In 1994, Rasmussen made Sports Illustrated’s “Forty for the Ages,” a listing of sports figures who significantly altered and elevated the world of sports in the second half of the 20th century. Also that year, USA Today called him “The Father of Sports Television.”

From its humble beginnings in Bristol, Conn. – about 80 employees at launch in one, unfinished building on less than an acre (bought sight unseen) – ESPN has grown to comprise more than 5,900 employees around the world, eight U.S. television networks plus the sports programming on ABC, the leading sports app and direct-to-consumer service for sports, ESPN Audio, leading social and digital platforms, and more, including endeavors on virtually every continent.
Before ESPN
Born October 15, 1932, in Chicago and raised in nearby Columbus Manor, Ill., Rasmussen was an avid athlete as a youth, earning an invitation to a minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. He chose, however, to attend DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics. After graduation in 1954, he served in the United States Air Force and later earned an MBA from Rutgers University.
After a successful entrepreneurial venture in the advertising business, Rasmussen’s career in the media began at WTTT radio in Amherst, Mass., in 1962. In 1965, he moved to WWLP-TV, Springfield, Mass., where he spent eight years as sports director and two years as news director. During these years, he handled numerous football, basketball, baseball and hockey play-by-play assignments on both radio and television. In 1974, he joined the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association as communications director, serving until the conclusion of the 1977-78 season.
After ESPN
Rasmussen left an active role at ESPN in October 1980. He then served as a consultant to sports rights holders and media companies. He also remained active with his own start-up ventures in sports, often involving media.
After publicly disclosing his Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis in 2019, Rasmussen became an ambassador for Parkinson’s patients through both the American Parkinson Disease Association and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Rasmussen was active in numerous charity events, including nine years with the acclaimed Winged Foot Scholarship Program, and five years with a Senior PGA TOUR event, and was a frequent participant in celebrity charity golf events throughout the country.

(Photo by Nick Caito / ESPN Images)
Among his other honors and awards, Rasmussen was named to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2025, Rutgers University’s Wall of Fame in 2002, DePauw University’s Media Wall of Fame in 2012, and in 2001 received the prestigious Order of Achievement from Lambda Chi Alpha. In 1997, he was inducted into the Connecticut Sports Museum and Hall of Fame. Rasmussen was named to The Sports 100, honoring the 100 most important people in American Sports History.
In 2019, Rasmussen had the honor of throwing the ceremonial first pitch with ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro making the catch at a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball game at Fenway Park in celebration of ESPN’s 40-year anniversary.
Rasmussen was a popular guest on the speaking circuit relating his entrepreneurial adventures and was a frequent guest on business and sports radio talk shows to discuss his entrepreneurial career. Rasmussen also authored two books, “Sports Junkies Rejoice! The Birth of ESPN” and most recently “ESPN: One Giant Leap for Fankind,” published in 2023. Rasmussen collaborated with Tenero Productions for a documentary and book project “Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN” on his life and the launch of ESPN that was released in 2026.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to https://www.apdaparkinson.org.
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Dave Marsh, Bruce Springsteen biographer and music critic, dies at 76
Dave Marsh, a longtime music critic who wrote several influential books about Bruce Springsteen, including the early biography “Born to Run,” has died. He was 76.
Marsh died Friday in Connecticut, his friend Jeffrey St. Clair, a co-editor of the online magazine Counterpunch, told The Associated Press. St. Clair said Marsh had been suffering from a degenerative brain disease for several years. Jim Rotolo, the SiriusXM radio host, announced Marsh’s death on his social media accounts.
Springsteen paid tribute to Marsh in an Instagram post, writing that the loss had left the band “heartbroken.”
“My great friend Dave, with his straight out of Detroit attitude, was a true Rock ‘n’ Roll lifer. He was soulful, intelligent, heartfelt, opinionated, bruising and often fantastically argumentative,” Springsteen wrote. “He deeply believed in what I was trying to accomplish and his lifetime of support meant the world to me.”
Steven Van Zandt also wrote a remembrance on Instagram, writing “he was fearless, relentless, arrogant, everything you’d want in a RocknRoll troublemaker. And by the way, a tremendous writer.”
Marsh was an early champion of Springsteen, writing about him for Creem magazine and penning his first Rolling Stone cover story in 1978. In 1979 his biography “Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story” was released and became a best seller. He followed it in 1986 with “Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s.” Legend has it that he was the one responsible for getting Jon Landau, Springsteen’s longtime manager and record producer, to his first Springsteen concert.
Born in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1950, Marsh dropped out of Detroit’s Wayne State University in 1969 to write for the new rock magazine “Creem,” where Lester Bangs was among his friends and mentors. Springsteen wasn’t Marsh’s only subject, but he was always close by. In 1979, he married Barbara Carr, who would go on to be Springsteen’s co-manager alongside Landau for decades. The rocker even attended their wedding.
He and Carr also devoted much effort to The Kristen Ann Carr Fund, a charity that they started named after their daughter who died from sarcoma at age 21 in 1993. Later that year, Springsteen hosted a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, where they raised $1.5 million.
Marsh also wrote “The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made,” a biography of The Who, and a book about The Kingsmen hit “Louie Louie.” In recent years he was a frequent co-host and guest on the E Street Nation SiriusXM channel.
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National Writer Hillel Italie contributed from New York.
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Oprah distances herself from Dr Phil and Dr Oz over their politics
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Talk show legend Oprah Winfrey distanced herself from Dr. Phil McGraw and Dr. Mehmet Oz, two stars she helped turn into national media personalities who have since become associated with conservative politics.
Winfrey spoke to Emmy Magazine about her career and was asked how she felt about McGraw and Oz now.
“People criticize me for Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, because of their politics or their views,” she said, recalling that during a lengthy legal battle in the late ‘90s, “Dr. Phil, he was so practical, so down-to-earth, so real. And he would ride in the car with me every morning on the way to trial, where I’m literally sitting on trial for six weeks.”
McGraw and Oz have become political figures in recent years. Oz, endorsed by President Donald Trump, ran for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022 before being defeated by Sen. John Fetterman. While McGraw has not endorsed either party, he appeared at Trump’s Madison Square Garden campaign rally in October 2024, and accompanied ICE personnel during Chicago immigration raids alongside Trump border czar Tom Homan.
Oz was nominated by Trump and approved by the Senate to become Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2025 as the president returned to office.

Oprah Winfrey takes the stage on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 21, 2024. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
“I felt that he was so instrumental in helping me. I thought, ‘Oh, you could help a lot of people. You should come on my show,’” she added.
For Dr. Oz, she recalled, “He explained practical things like colon cancer and bowel movements. I thought he had the language for explaining medical things in a way that was helpful to me. I thought it would be helpful to many other people. And that is how they ended up on the show.”
“Everybody has their own path in life, and it has not one thing to do with me, and I don’t have one thing to do with them,” she concluded. “At the time, the reason and intention behind me giving them their breaks was I thought they had valuable information to share that had been meaningful to me.”
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ SHRUGS OFF PAST ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ COMMENTS, JOKING ‘WOKE 1 WAS CRAZY’

While Dr. Phil McGraw has declined to reveal who he voted for in 2024, he has become a prominent commentator associated with conservative politics.
The managing editor of Media Research Center’s NewsBusters, Curtis Houck, told Fox News Digital that Winfrey appears to have no qualms about engaging in politics herself.
“Oprah certainly doesn’t have a problem with being friends with progressives or anyone willing to take on Trump,” he said.
“Oprah wants us to feel bad for woke Prince Harry and Meghan or the woman in the Coldplay kiss cam. She herself is stuck on Woke 1,” Houck added, referring to the term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used in an attempt to shrug off far-left identity politics as a thing of the past.
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Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks ahead of U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the 128th Air Refueling Wing Hangar on July 8, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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“Oprah and her friend/CBS ‘Journalist’ Gayle King can continue promoting whatever causes they want or pal around with the Obamas, but they shouldn’t be seen as non-partisan by any stretch. While I’m sure they’re incredibly grateful to her, Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz should be allowed to have their own opinions and not be framed as the exclusive partisans,” he concluded.
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