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First Take Moving to NYC’s Seaport District

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First Take will join its ESPN daytime brethren in the network’s New York City studio’s in the Seaport District. Hosts Stephen A. Smith, Max Kellerman, and Molly Qerim will move to the Big Apple on September 3rd. The show’s production crew will stay in Bristol.

Two shows that ESPN debuted in 2018, Get Up with Mike Greenberg, Michelle Beadle, and Qerim’s new husband Jalen Rose and High Noon with Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre, are already based in the New York studios. Having First Take join them makes sense for a few reasons.

First, it makes Stephen A. Smith’s schedule a little more manageable. Next is the aforementioned marriage of Molly Qerim to the co-host of a show already originating from New York. Finally, there is the fact that First Take is the most established and best performing brand in ESPN’s daytime lineup. That last fact probably is what made it possible for ESPN to even take the first two into consideration.

The move to New York comes with a new look for First Take. ESPN did not clarify if that meant a new set or new graphics package. The company did promise in a press release that more details on the September 3rd move would be coming soon.

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Cory Provus: Moving From Minnesota Twins Radio to TV ‘Ultimate Challenge’ of Career

“I’m just excited for the opportunity, I really am, to be able to challenge myself in a way I haven’t before.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Cory Provus

The Minnesota Twins have found their new TV play-by-play announcer. They didn’t have to look far to tap Cory Provus for the role.

Provus has been the Twins radio play-by-play voice for 12 years. Following the exit of longtime announcer Dick Bremer, Cory will become the guide for Twins fans on television.

“It’s an exciting day, a humbling day, an emotional day on many fronts,” Provus told TwinCities.com. “I’m just excited for the opportunity, I really am, to be able to challenge myself in a way I haven’t before.”

A radio guy the vast majority of his career, Provus begins the transition into television. Though it requires making a few adjustments, the thought of reaching additional fans now that local blackout restrictions are being lifted was a big selling point to Provus.

“I’ve always thought of myself as being ambitious and challenging myself, and this, to me, is the ultimate challenge by far,” he said. “And the idea of joining this group in this way now, I think I would regret at least not trying.”

Provus will hand over the reins on the radio side to Kris Atteberry. Kris has been with the team since 2007 as the team’s radio color commentator. Now he finally earns his chance to be on the call.

“Let’s be honest: I’ve been calling big-league games for 17 years, not as the lead guy,” Atteberry said. “There is a difference. I’ve called a billion games in my life. But to be the lead guy, that’s what everybody wants. That’s what I’ve wanted to be since I was a 6-year-old kid.”

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Marquee Sports Network GM Mike McCarthy Stepping Down

McCarthy joined Marquee Sports Network upon its launch after previously leading MSG Networks.

Jordan Bondurant

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Marquee logo

Marquee Sports Network will soon need a new general manager. Longtime GM Mike McCarthy announced over the weekend he is stepping down.

McCarthy helped oversee the launch of the Chicago Cubs-owned regional sports network in 2019, but Chicago Sun-Times media columnist Jeff Agrest shared on X on Friday that McCarthy needed time to focus on his health.

McCarthy was tapped to work on Marquee given his track record at MSG. He rose from coordinating producer in 1982 to the network president in 2000, overseeing the merging of MSG Network and SportsChannel New York.

Between 2005 and 2019, McCarthy enjoyed stints with the St. Louis Blues as the team’s vice chairman and CEO and with the Milwaukee Bucks as chief operating officer. The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

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Sports Media Reacts to Final SEC on CBS Broadcast

The network began airing SEC broadcasts in 1996.

Jordan Bondurant

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SEC on CBS logo

Saturday marked the final SEC broadcast for CBS, as Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson called Alabama’s upset victory over Georgia for the conference championship.

CBS is moving on to become a media partner for the Big Ten for the next decade, but not before Nessler and Danielson could offer their final thoughts on Saturday’s broadcast.

“It’s been quite a ride for us, our entire crew, Gary and I,” Nessler said. “The people that have come before us, all the places we get to see and the people we get to meet and the coaches we get to be around. Some roads have to end somewhere and our road comes to an end tonight with the SEC.”

Danielson credited CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus for developing the concept of a national college football game of the week for a conference and having the vision to make sure the best people were in place. He also complimented McManus for developing the now iconic theme song. The longtime analyst was appreciative of the opportunity to succeed Todd Blackledge, and shared that though CBS’s run deserved to be celebrated and recognized, all he did was his job.

“What we really did is nothing new, and I’m going to steal another line from another network. But I think it’s going to have a pass here,” Danielson said. “What we did was follow the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

“Whether you were in your favorite bar having a beer or in your easy chair at home or watching us on your streaming devices, whatever, we want to thank you, the fans, the viewers, everybody that’s been with us every Saturday at 3:30 for the SEC on CBS,” Nessler concluded.

Several across sports media had their own reactions to the network’s final broadcast, which included using former play-by-play voice Verne Lundquist in the opening element.

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