Throughout the week on ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim will welcome a lineup featuring SportsCenter anchors who will provide their unique perspectives to the program. The top-rated morning program, which has attained 23 consecutive months of year-over-year growth in a stretch featuring five of the show’s top 10 months within the timeframe, will implement various ESPN SportsCenter personalities in its debates serving as analysts ahead of the new football season.
“I’m excited to welcome the tremendous talent from SportsCenter this week,” Smith said in a statement. “First Take is a melting pot of ideas and personalities, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to combine two of ESPN’s flagship brands together.”
The lineup of SportsCenter anchors begins on Tuesday with Matt Barrie and Shae Cornette joining First Take to discuss a variety of topics from around the world of professional sports. Cornette has appeared on First Take several times in the past both as an analyst and a fill-in host, and she recently signed a contract extension with ESPN as well. Elle Duncan will join the program on Wednesday in addition to weekly contributor Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, who also hosts for SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio and MLB Network.
The Thursday edition of the show will feature SportsCenter anchors Randy Scott, Gary Striewski, Nicole Briscoe and Michael Eaves. Striewski recently signed a contract extension with ESPN through which he will continue to host SportsCenter with Scott. Qerim will host the Wednesday and Thursday episodes of First Take, while Christine Williamson hosts this Tuesday. All episodes will emanate from the ESPN Seaport District Studios in New York City from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST on ESPN.
“We’re all looking forward to not only bringing the fun we have on SportsCenter to a new audience,” Scott said in a statement. “We’re also excited to see for ourselves that Stephen A., Molly, and Mad Dog are, in fact, real people and not just brilliant sports media legends created in a lab somewhere.”
Later this week, First Take will present a live edition of the program at Fanatics Fest NYC from the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center featuring Stephen A. Smith, Molly Qerim, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo and Ryan Clark. Special guests scheduled to appear on the show include Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero and actor and comedian Druski. Smith will participate in two theater panels during the convention with former NFL quarterbacks and multi-time Super Bowl champions Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
