Jones

Mark Jones has been an on-air staple on ESPN since the first Bush administration — as in George H.W. Bush, who served from 1989 to 1992.

So, yeah, it’s been a long time.

And now, Jones says, “it’s time to move on.”

Jones’ final ESPN broadcast will be Sunday, when he will serve as the play-by-play announcer for the Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics game on the final day of the NBA’s regular season. It could very well be the last time the phrase “hotter than fish grease” is uttered on the network.

“It’s been a memorable journey these decades with the ABC/ESPN family, but I have decided that it’s time to move on,” Jones wrote in a statement posted Friday on Instagram. “From the day Dennis Swanson hired me in 1990 and working with the best producer in the business, Kim Belton, until today I will forever be grateful for the many friends and colleagues along the way.”

Jones, 64, started at ESPN in 1990. As a play-by-play announcer, he is best known for calling NBA games but he has also covered college football, men’s and women’s college basketball, the WNBA and UFL. On June 2, 2022, Jones, Mark Jackson and Lisa Salters were the first all-Black crew to call an NBA Finals game on TV.

In addition, Jones has hosted the “NBA Today” studio show and been an anchor and reporter on “SportsCenter.”

“Mark has made an enduring impact at ESPN since 1990, serving as a signature voice primarily within our NBA and college football coverage and across nearly all of our platforms,” ESPN said in a statement. “We’re grateful for Mark’s countless contributions and we wish him continued success.”

Separate from his work at ESPN, Jones has also been the primary TV play-by-play announcer for the Sacramento Kings since 2020.

Jones hasn’t indicated what he’ll be doing next, but he ended his announcement with a big prediction for the future — and threw in his signature phrase for good measure.

“As I move on to my next chapter I believe my best work is yet to come,” he wrote. “I’ll be out there cookin’ hotter than fish grease!”

After defeat to Klein in July 2022, Jones and UFC mutually agreed to not sign a new deal.

Reflecting on what alternative path he could have chosen, Jones gave an honest appraisal.

“I remember sitting down in my coach’s office after the whole thing in London because I was in a mess,” he recalled.

“My one coach said to me, ‘Look I think you need to go somewhere else and work with someone else because I don’t think I can give you what you need’.

“I said to him in tears at the time, ‘Please just stick with me, as long as you boys are in my corner I’ll go through anything’.

“They’ve stuck by me since then, and I can’t thank the boys enough.

“As long as those boys are there for me I’ll give them as much as they give me and I couldn’t ask for anyone else to stand by me and help me reach the top.”

For Jones there really was no other possibility than to stick to chasing his UFC dreams.

“I had an acknowledgment on this camp when I was running through the mountains, and I chose this life.

“I know it’s a weird thing to say, but every day I wake up I choose this life.”

Jones admitted the easy thing would have been to go and get a job.

“I could literally at any time just think, no, I’m done, and get a different job that pays on a weekly basis,” he added.

“After I left London I didn’t get paid for two years, I racked up credit card debt, and family members and friends told me to quit.

“I had a family business I could have gone into, done more with school.

“But for me fighting is what’s in my blood and fighting is what I want to do.”

TIKTOK star Becki Jones has defended her amazing weight loss as trolls continue to accuse her of using fat loss jabs or getting surgery.

The influencer rose to fame on the video streaming platform back in 2020 and after a six month break last year, returned to TikTok sporting a much slimmer frame.

Becki told her 1.3 million followers during a TikTok Live last year that she “wasn’t ready” to share how she’d transformed her image but in her latest video, said she’d been through some of the hardest times in her life while losing weight.

In the video she posted a montage of moments from recent months that showed her swimming in a pool, going to concerts, showing off cute outfits and working out in her room.

In a voiceover she started by saying that she doesn’t understand why she has to explain every detail of her life to strangers.

“Yes, I do put myself on a public platform. Yes, I post my life. But why should I have to defend myself against people’s thoughts on my weight loss?” she began.

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“I’ve said I have not had surgery in any form or any medication to help aid weight loss.

“In 2023, I even considered gastric sleeve surgery myself but I changed my mind.”

Becki continued: “As you can imagine it is exhaust trying to prove something to people who don’t want to change their mind about you.

“I feel like I am an easy target for people to bully because that’s what broke me last year.”

The influencer said that while she did understand that some of her followers wanted to learn about her weight loss, others thought she owed them an explanation.

“I simply and politely don’t want to talk about it.

“I’ve been through some of the worst times of my life whilst losing weight and still some days are hard now and now I’m being a little closed off and only letting a few things out, but can we just stop and think about how things affect me?” Becki asked.

“Yes, I feel good in myself most days, but I have hard days just like every human does.

“I have my own fears and problems that I’m trying to overcome each day, which makes talking about weight loss Extremely difficult.”

She explained how a lot of her followers “speculated on things” happening in her life, “and one day I may talk more deeply about it all but it’s hard as a content creator to tell your story without being judged.”

Becki went on to thank her “loyal supporters” for their support and who “compliment my weight without wanting an explanation”.

She became famed on TikTok for her ‘what I eat in a day’ videos, which showed her enjoying foods such as McDonalds for breakfast, takeaways and treats.

Last year, a source told The Sun why Becki really left social media, and why she returned.

They explained: “Everyone knows Becki took six months offline because she felt the trolling had become too much.

“It was a real chance to reflect on her life and the main cause of issues – her weight. She’s also a secret smoker, so really did start to feel like her lifestyle wasn’t doing her any favours. 

“Once she started losing some weight, she felt a new wave of confidence and when she returned online and saw the reaction to the way she looked, it really spurred her on.”

They added: “It’s the same when she was larger and the more she ate, the more people watched her videos. At the end of the day, it’s all about engagement and making money. It’s addictive.”

Muchova broke 29-year-old Boulter’s serve twice in the first set and only needed one more in the second set to go 6-5 ahead before she wrapped up the victory.

Elsewhere, British number four Fran Jones also exited the tournament, retiring in the second set of her match with American Jessica Pegula through illness.

Jones, 25, had knocked out Venus Williams in the first round despite feeling under the weather but struggled against Pegula.

Pegula had won the first set 6-1 and despite a medical timeout Jones, who was seen coughing several times during the match, decided at 3-0 down in the second set she was not well enough to continue.

“I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to play Venus, but it’s a whole different ball game playing Jess,” Jones said.

“You need to be 10 out of 10 to compete against her and I’m probably a four out of 10 today. If I’m not able to give my everything out there, I don’t see the point when I’m already battling my general fitness as it is.”

TIKTOK star Becki Jones has finally responded to claims she has “not been honest” about her extreme weight loss.

The influencer rose to fame on the video streaming platform back in 2020 and is famed for her ‘what I eat in a day’ videos, which showed her enjoying foods such as McDonalds for breakfast, takeaways and treats.

However, in March last year she quit the platform without explanation before suddenly returning in September — with a significantly smaller frame.

While Becki has consistently insisted that she has not lost weight via jabs or surgery, fans have been left questioning the legitimacy of her claims.

And now, she has made a cryptic comment in response.

During a TikTok live stream by Becki this week, one user left a comment which read: “People would hate less if you were honest”.

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Becki replied: “I have been honest about everything that needs to be said.

“The only thing I haven’t told you about is what I’ve been through and what I’m currently battling with as well. It’s nothing that will benefit anybody knowing, so, yeah.”

Later on in the stream, she said: “I did not come back to TikTok in September to be like, ‘Guys! I’ve lost weight’.

“That was not my intention, it was not my goal. Like I’ve said, my page was never gonna be ‘Becki Jones for fitness’ or ‘Becki Jones for how to lose weight’.

“That’s never been my goal for my journey on TikTok or as a content creator.”

Becki added: “I’ve come back and to be fair, most of my weight I’ve lost has been since September.”

Fans in the comment section still weren’t convinced by her comments, as one wrote: “People just want honesty… period!”

“Just give people a straight answer, especially your loyal followers,” echoed another.

However, others defended that it was “nobody’s business” what Becki has done.

Last year, a source told The Sun why Becki really left social media, and why she returned.

They explained: “Everyone knows Becki took six months offline because she felt the trolling had become too much.

“It was a real chance to reflect on her life and the main cause of issues – her weight. She’s also a secret smoker, so really did start to feel like her lifestyle wasn’t doing her any favours. 

“Once she started losing some weight, she felt a new wave of confidence and when she returned online and saw the reaction to the way she looked, it really spurred her on.”

They added: “It’s the same when she was larger and the more she ate, the more people watched her videos. At the end of the day, it’s all about engagement and making money. It’s addictive.”