Steak Shapiro told his audience that he has been in the media business for a long time. What he saw on First Take on Wednesday was “one of the all-time TV moments that I have ever seen.”

That moment was Chris Russo’s admission that he will eat a THC gummy, drink a cocktail in the middle of the day and bet $10,000 on Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes to beat Oregon on Saturday.

“I’m going to tell you, jaws dropped, folks high-fived me and you’re just like, ‘did that just happen?’” He said Thursday morning on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta.

He joked that promoting get drunk, betting thousands of dollars and taking drugs should be proof to critics that “ESPN ain’t that woke.”

Drew Butler, Shapiro’s co-host for the Thursday edition of The Steakhouse, said that what caught most people’s attention was the facial expressions and reactions of NFL analyst Marcus Spears. 

He added that he was shocked to see something like that on ESPN, who just went through some very public layoffs which have drawn real criticism.

“They take a lot of heat for having to be righteous, politically correct, kind of milquetoast at times,” Shapiro agreed. “Listen, I don’t know that they’re related.”

He added that it would be different if Russo had said that he was going to roll a joint a get high. He said the afternoon that was described though is something that isn’t just unobjectionable to many, it is probably very appealing to a lot of people.

“Any women listening now may envision your husband just like this and any dude listening right now? Again, there’s plenty of guys that’ll wake up and run a marathon, right? Or just go hike for 4 hours. And that’s great, too,” he said. “But then there are other guys that want this out of their Saturday.”

“There’s certain entertainment in listening to a man who simply has nothing to lose,” Butler concluded.

This is the first year in a long time that Notre Dame fans have had to share NBC with other college football teams. The network is carrying Big Ten games every Saturday night. The two worlds collide this week when Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge call the Fighting Irish’s visit to Ohio State.

“Do Notre Dame fans understand that this is not going to be a homer broadcast this week and that Tom Hammond, Dick Enberg, Dan Hicks, Don Criqui, they’re not walking through that door?” Anthony Lima asked Eagle Thursday morning on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland.

Eagle said it is a question that could best be answered by Notre Dame fans, but he is a professional. Last week, he and Blackledge called Purdue vs. Syracuse, which is Eagle’s alma mater.

“I will be, as I said last week, when I got to call my alma mater, I will be Neutral Noah, and that is the case throughout the year, no matter who we’re doing,” he said.

He added that he isn’t really sure what it is Notre Dame fans expect from the broadcast on Saturday night. The Big Ten is now just as much a part of NBC’s sports portfolio as Fighting Irish football. He added that his only agenda is capturing the excitement of two top-ten teams facing off in an historic venue.

“I would quote the wonderful and amazingly talented Biggie Smalls that ‘if you don’t know, now you know,” Eagle said. “It’s going to be a neutral game. It’s going to be a neutral call. I mean, this is big time Saturday night.”

Mike Stone will leave 97.1 The Ticket after the Super Bowl. The station already knows what is going to happen with its morning show. Jim Costa will take over, joining Jon Jansen and Heather Park.

“This is a dream come true for me. My whole career, I’ve chased the chance to build a show on 97.1 The Ticket,” Costa said in a press release. “I grew up listening to this station and rooting for these teams. To start the conversation in Detroit every morning is special. Jon Jansen and I are a good contrast; we play off each other well, and I’m excited for the show we will create along with Heather and the entire morning show crew.”

The new show will be called Costa & Jansen. It will make its debut in February.

Costa has primarily hosted on the weekends and been very busy as a fill-in host since joining The Ticket in early 2021. Prior to that, he served as program director and afternoon host on ESPN 96.1 in Grand Rapids.

“I’m thrilled that Jim Costa will be the next co-host of the 97.1 The Ticket morning show,” said Debbie Kenyon, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Detroit. “Jim has spent the last few years building a great relationship with his listeners. We look forward to the talents of Jim Costa and Jon Jansen entertaining and informing the Detroit sports audience and can’t wait to see how the show evolves in 2024.”