ESPN First Take
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| ESPN First Take | |
|---|---|
| Format | Sports |
| Starring | Jay Crawford Dana Jacobson Sage Steele Skip Bayless Michael Kim |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Production | |
| Running time | 2 hours |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ESPN2 (2007-) ESPN2HD (2007-present) |
| Original airing | May 7, 2007-present |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Mike and Mike in the Morning |
| Followed by | ESPN First Take (repeat) |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
ESPN First Take, is a morning sports talk program on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD that replaced Cold Pizza on May 7, 2007. Two back-to-back two-hour episodes are aired each weekday from Monday through Friday, with the live episode airing from 10 a.m. ET until noon, followed by a repeat.
The show is hosted by former SportsCenter personality Dana Jacobson and Jay Crawford, both of whom came over from Cold Pizza. Skip Bayless and a rotating guest analyst are featured during the "1st and 10" segments with hosts Crawford and Jacobson. Sage Steele (or Michael Kim) provides SportsCenter updates every twenty minutes for both First Take and Mike and Mike in the Morning.
The show moved from New York City to ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. The show is broadcast in High Definition in ESPN's Digital Center. Like its predecessor, Cold Pizza, it is sponsored by DirecTV.
Contents |
[edit] Differences from Cold Pizza
- Control of the show has shifted from the ESPN Original Entertainment division to ESPN's news division.
- The "Here's the Latest" news segments have been replaced by the SportsCenter updates.
- The "Bottom Line" ticker appears continuously on the screen, even during national commercial breaks. This starts on the preceding show, Mike and Mike in the Morning, and continues through the re-airing of this program.
- A new commentary feature, "My Take," debuted on the Friday of the first week, May 11. The commentator was Peter Bonventre of Entertainment Weekly magazine, the former contributor of "Sports Must List."
[edit] First Take set
When ESPN First Take moved to Bristol, Connecticut on 2007-05-07, the program moved into ESPN's Digital Center in high-definition that was established in 2004. This is the same studio that Mike and Mike in the Morning moved into and the same studio that Sunday NFL Countdown and NFL Live is filmed in. However, First Take never appears on the football desk that Mike and Mike uses; instead they use the opposite (Baseball Tonight) side of the studio (with the talent facing toward the demonstration field as opposed to the Baseball Tonight desk which, when in place faces the opposite way). This modified studio area includes a standup position for SportsCenter updates. The NFL debate set is used for 1st & 10 segments, an interview set on the field and a stand up location inside ESPN's highlight screening room are also used. The demonstration field and Barco indoor LED display are used more extensively on this show than any other show originating from the studio.
[edit] Personalities
- Skip Bayless: (Contributor, 2007-05-07 - present) 1st and 10 segments
- Jay Crawford: (Co-host, 2007-05-07 - present) First Take
- Rece Davis: (Fill-in co-host, 2007 - present) First Take
- Dana Jacobson: (Co-host, 2007-05-07 - present) First Take
- Michael Kim: (Anchor, June 2007 - present) SportsCenter updates (secondary)
- Sage Steele: (Anchor, 2007-05-07 - present) SportsCenter updates; also acts as fill-in co-host
[edit] Guest hosts
In addition to Steele, these people have served as guest hosts of this program:
[edit] Guest SportsCenter Update Anchors
Kim is'nt the only one who filled in for Steele, these people also have served as substitute SC Update Anchors (includes 2 people who are current main co-hosts are highlighted in bold) on the show & Mike and Mike in the Morning so far while Steele is etiher guest hosting or takes a day off:
- Fred Hickman
- Michelle Bonner
- Ryan Burr
- Dana Jacobson
- Will Selva
- Dari Nowkhah
- Jay Crawford
- Steve Bunin
- Erik Kuselias
- Bonnie Bernstein
[edit] Segments
- 1st and 10: This is a segment that appears four times throughout the program as four downs, in which they discuss ten different topics. Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson rotate as hosts with Skip Bayless and a guest analyst. This segment also appears as a separate program at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPNHD.
- Couch Potato: This segment, sponsored by DirecTV, is hosted by Jacobson who interviews Howie Schwab, ESPN's resident trivia guru, about the weekend's sports television viewing as he rates the weekend's overall event lineup on a scale of 10 bags of chips.
- Cover Two: This is when they are joined by two NFL columnists from all over the country to discuss different news and notes.
- Diagnosis NFL: This seasonal segment analyzes the effect of player injuries on NFL teams. Guests on this segment are Bob Glauber of Newsday and Michael Kaplan, who is the director of the Central Connecticut Sports Medicine Center. (Kaplan replaced New York-based Jonathan Glashow when this show moved and changed its name.)
- Full Court Press: This is when they are joined by a NBA columnist from all over the country to discuss different news and notes.
- MLB Doubleheader: This is when they are joined by two MLB columnists from all over the country to discuss different news and notes.
- Morning Headlines: This is a segment where Sage Steele runs down the biggest headlines in newspapers around the country.
- Quick Takes: This segment is a spin-off of the former Cold Pizza segment Morning Slice. In this segment, the hosts discuss an odd or of the wall story in the world of sports.
- SportsCenter Update: Every twenty minutes during both Mike and Mike in the Morning and ESPN First Take, Sage Steele (or Michael Kim) runs down the top news and highlights from the previous night in sports.
- SportsNation Question of the Day: This is a multiple-choice question for which fans get to vote at ESPN.com. The hosts give the result of the vote at the end of the show.
- The Top Story: This is at the beginning of the show when they go indepth about a developing story and discuss it with insiders on the situation.
- The Great Throwdini: This appears every Friday, when The Great Throwdini picks three NFL games against the point spread by throwing knives blind folded at the team logos.
- Your Take: This live online chat session began on the November 7, 2007 program; it appears every Wednesday. Amy Nelson is the moderator.
