A fun game to play with this bar fight of a First Take segment is to pause it at any point during its seven-minute runtime and giggle to yourself at the marvelous facial expressions of hosts Stephen A. Smith, Will Cain, and Max Kellerman. The three dudes are never not incredulous, aghast, or enraged, spewing fire andâŚ
I suppose the logical apotheosis of the media tour that LaVar Ball, patron saint of loud sports dads, has embarked upon over the past month is an appearance on ESPNâs preeminent shouting match, First Take. This morning, Ball joined the program to discuss his series of outlandish public proclamationsâthat his son LonzoâŚ
Amid huge ratings declines, ESPN execs have decided to move First Take from ESPN2 to ESPN beginning in 2017, reports John Ourand. It will still occupy its 10:00 a.m.â12:00 p.m. ET time slot, meaning the 10:00 a.m. SportsCenter hosted by Hannah Storm and the 11:00 a.m. SportsCenter hosted by David Lloyd and CariâŚ
ESPNâs flagship shoutfest, First Take, has long and rightly been reviled for degrading everyone and everything it touches. Until co-host Skip Bayless departed earlier this year, that didnât seem to matter at all to its loyal core audience, which happily tuned in each day no matter how repulsive or just plain stupidâŚ
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ESPN has officially announced that Max Kellerman will be Skip Baylessâs replacement on First Take, confirming weeks of reports that he was the leading contender for the job of sitting stone-faced while Stephen A. Smith yells. Kellerman will give up his radio show and duties on SportsNation to take the position.
Stephen A. Smith has weighed in on Ayesha Curryâs thoughts on the NBA being rigged. The First Take goon called her classless and said she shouldnât bring attention to herself.
Todayâs episode of First Take began with Skip Bayless addressing the news that heâll be leaving ESPN after the NBA Finals. Bayless, Molly Qerim, and Stephen A. Smith took a couple of minutes to reminisce about all the stupid opinions generated by the two.
Stephen A. Smith, ESPNâs professional unintelligible empanada truck, tried to drop exclusive information about Kevin Durantâs free agency last week. Durant scoffed, saying that he, his family, and his friends donât talk to Smith. Smith had a rebuttal to that rebuttal, touting his supposed insider sources and endingâŚ
Time for your weekly edition of the Deadspin Funbag. Got something on your mind? Email the Funbag. Today, weâre covering syrup, strip clubs, shitting with kids, and more.
ESPNâs Stephen A. Smith responded to criticism of his public support for Floyd Mayweather and his recent role as a Mayweather hype man on todayâs First Take, claiming everyone bears responsibility for the serial woman-beaterâs success and ability to become wealthy through boxing because âthey could never be who theyâŚ
Awful Announcing reports (via SportsGrid) on a disturbing First Take segment from earlier this month that escaped our notice, where Stephen A. Smith doubles down on his baseless defense of Floyd Mayweather, and belittles the female host of First Take, Cari Champion, in the process.
Listen. First Take is a trashy, cynical show that exists so that Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, two of the widest talking sphincters in sports punditry, can take turns spouting fake and bad shit to the masses. Most of the time, it's so disingenuous that it's depressing, but sometimes, one of these two fellas comesâŚ
Yesterday, the National Organization for Women released a statement calling for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's resignation. "The NFL has lost its way. It doesn't have a Ray Rice problem; it has a violence against women problem," the statement read.
Shannon Sharpe was a guest co-host on this morning's episode of First Take and he had some weird things to say about Josh Gordon's year-long suspension from the NFL.
The statement from ESPN, which very specifically does not mention the word "suspension":
This morning's Very Special Edition of First Take began with a scripted and seemingly pre-recorded apology from panelist Stephen A. Smith regarding the very dumb things he said about domestic violence last week. It was ... unconvincing.
Earlier today, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith went on television and suggested that women should make sure not to provoke men into beating them. This was not well-received, so he took to Twitter and basically repeated what he'd initially said. This went poorly. So, he tried to issue something resembling an apologyâin justâŚ
This is exactly what First Take was designed to do. That's not hyperbole. First Take's reason for existence is to reduce every subject, from the incredibly complex to the totally uncontroversial, down to a binary issue that can be debated. Is Tim Tebow a good quarterback? Is LeBron clutch? Should Ray Rice have knockedâŚ
This morning, First Take panelist Stephen A. Smith said some very dumb things about domestic violence. He has now taken to his Twitter account to respond to the criticism that his comments sparked, essentially reiterating his original stance.
