ESPN’s new morning show Get Up has struggled to gain a foothold in the ratings. Michael McCarthy of The Sporting News reported earlier this month that the show will see some changes if ratings don’t improve before the football season begins.
One of those changes according to Bobby Burack of The Big Lead will be rotating guest hosts. The report says that Mike Greenberg, Michelle Beadle and Jalen Rose are safe for now, but a fourth co-host will be added to the lineup each day. Two names that have been mentioned are Adam Schefter and Paul Finebaum.
The Big Lead reports that every guest host will likely have a football connection, at least during the fall. Like Finebaum and Schefter, Burack says other guest hosts under consideration will likely have a history as a regular guest of Greenberg’s on Mike & Mike.
The Big Lead has not been able to confirm other targets, but it would make sense that Booger McFarland, Damien Woody, and Ryan Clark are in the mix, as all have spent time in the fourth chair on Get Up in its early months and come from NFL backgrounds.
ESPN did not comment on the story, so there is currently no date we can say to expect the changes to take place.
In what has been considered a formality for some time, Fox today officially unveiled Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews, and Tom Rinaldi as their number one NFL broadcast team Monday. Burkhardt and Olsen were elevated to Fox’s top booth after the departure of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to ESPN’s Monday Night Football earlier this year.
There were some reports that Drew Brees could have been a possibility to join the network, but those discussions fell apart.
The network’s other teams include several familiar faces to football fans:
#2 team: Joe Davis, Daryl “Moose” Johnston, Pam Oliver #3 team: Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth, Kristina Pink #4 team: Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Shannon Spake #5 team: Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Laura Okmin #6 team: Chris Myers, Robert Smith, Jen Hale
Olsen’s jump to the number one team with Burkhardt is a formality until the retirement of Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl winner will ascend to Fox’s number one booth upon his retirement, whenever that may be.
Former Pittsburgh Steeler, and current ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark and recent Radio Hall of Fame inductee Chris “Mad Dog” Russo squared off on Monday’s edition of First Take, with a heated exchange taking place between the two.
After a discussion about Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas meandered into a discussion about whether Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp would be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame if he never played another game, Clark said about Hall of Fame voters “they must be voting like you (Russo) vote for the Heisman, where you just vote on whoever the hell you want based off the fact that they play quarterback”.
Russo quickly took exception to the perceived slight.
“Ryan, hold on now,” Russo said, in a louder manner than normal. “You said something, now I’m going to comment. I’ve been voting for the Heisman since before you were born.”
“Mad Dog, stop screaming at me now, bro. For the last time, you’re gonna stop screaming at me,” Clark interrupted.
“You said something that wasn’t right,” Russo said.
“Lower your voice,” the former Steeler interrupted again.
“I’ve been voting for the Heisman since before you were born,” Mad Dog reiterated, with a lower volume. “30 years.”
“I don’t care about that,” Clark rebutted.
“You’re saying I’m voting for the Heisman and saying I don’t deserve a vote. I’ve been voting for 30 years!”, Russo began to raise his voice again.
“I never said you don’t deserve a vote,” Clark replied before clarifying he disagrees with Russo’s sentiment about the college football award being only awarded to quarterbacks.
It’s not the first time Russo has clashed with First Take contributors. A discussion with J.J. Reddick went viral earlier this year after Reddick told Russo previous NBA players played with “plumbers and firefighters”.
When people talk about 11-year MLB veteran Todd Frazier, some of the things that are usually mentioned on broadcasts usually is that he is from Toms River, New Jersey and that he played in the Little League World Series in 1998 (won the championship). Now, Frazier will have a bigger connection to the annual event in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
As first reported by Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Frazier will be in the TV booth (remotely) for ESPN for this year’s Little League World Series. He made his broadcast debut on Monday morning during one of the New England region semifinals between Maine and Massachusetts.
Frazier told Nightengale that he wants to use this event to begin his second career in the broadcasting industry.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, especially for the Little League World Series since I’ve been a part of it. I know it and understand it really well. Kind of kickstart my second career here.”
It will be a memorable summer for Fraizer at the LLWS because he will be inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence.
The Little League World Series begins on Wednesday, August 17 and ends on Sunday, August 28. It will be broadcasted on ESPN and ABC.
Ricky Keeler is a reporter for BSM with a primary focus on sports media podcasts and national personalities. He is also an active podcaster with an interest in pursuing a career in sports media. You can find him on Twitter @Rickinator555 or reach him by email at RickJKeeler@gmail.com.
