In a move that was inevitable, ESPN’s Michael Smith is leaving SportsCenter. In other news, Fox Sports has an eye on NBC’s Mike Tirico, and ESPN’s Louis Riddick wants a role on Monday Night Football.
Other Shoe Drops
As SI noted, Smith has several years remaining on his current contract. He has been with ESPN since 2004 and has hosted a daily show — whether SportsCenter, His & Hers or Numbers Never Live — consistently since 2011.
After a successful run on the conversation-and-opinion driven His & Hers, Smith and Hill were promoted to SportsCenter last year. The His & Hers style never fully translated to SportsCenter, with ESPN steadily stripping away the non-traditional elements until the show was indistinguishable from the other editions. In addition to the ill fit, the show became a political target after Hill shared her opinions about the U.S. president last fall. ESPN ostentatiously distanced itself from Hill, who left the show in February. [SI.com 3.8]
Report: Fox Wants Tirico
Tirico, NBC’s lead NFL studio host, called the network’s full Thursday Night Football schedule last season. [NYP 3.7]
Chronicles of Riddick
Riddick served as a sideline analyst on this year’s NFL Pro Bowl, a role that he says “only scratched the surface of what I think I am capable of doing with that kind of platform.” [SI.com 3.8]
