ABC Cut Away From Incredible UFL Ending to Instead Show 'NBA Countdown' Ahead of Game 7

Some things are bigger than basketball. All things are bigger than the UFL.

This was an awesome ending. / Screenshot via ESPN.

While some things are bigger than basketball, just about everything is bigger than the United Football League.

That's why, ahead of Sunday afternoon's Game 7 playoff contest between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets, ABC decided to cut away from the UFL's Arlington Renegades vs. D.C. Defenders game with less than two minutes to go—and instead decided to show the final 20 minutes of ESPN's NBA Countdown.

Here's a look at the cutaway:

With less than two minutes left in the Arlington Renegades-D.C. Defenders UFL clash Sunday, ESPN punted the broadcast from ABC to ESPN2 to make way for their NBA pregame show, 20 minutes ahead of tipoff. pic.twitter.com/ZJYQZbPEo5

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 18, 2025

To make matters worse—if you want to call it that—the end of the UFL game was actually pretty interesting. Instead of opting for a game-tying field goal down 33-30, the Renegades tried a fake spike and were intercepted by defensive back DeAndre Baker, sealing the win for the Defenders.

Check out the incredible play, which prompted an equally incredible call from Joe Tessatore, below:

That meant the ABC audience missed quite the ending, when a fake Arlington spike ahead of a game-tying FG attempt turned into a game-ending pick. That drew a "CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? WHAT A MISTAKE!" from Joe Tessitore on the call. And it sealed a playoff berth for the Defenders. pic.twitter.com/BKPMF9YFwr

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 18, 2025

If you were smart enough to switch over to ESPN2, you would have seen the ending. Otherwise, you were likely graced with Kendrick Perkins yapping about Nugs vs. Thunder.

Some things are bigger than basketball pregame shows.

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