ESPN’s lead NBA sideline reporter Lisa Salters will be absent from Game 2 of the Finals Sunday night. Plus: ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jay Harris announces he has cancer; LA Times writer Bill Plaschke announces he has Parkinson’s; ESPN is moving three morning shows from its Seaport Studios.
Salters to miss Game 2 of Finals
Lead ESPN NBA sideline reporter Lisa Salters will miss Sunday’s NBA Finals Game 2 on ABC, according to a network press release. Jorge Sedano, who had been covering the Finals as a sideline reporter for ESPN Radio, will replace her. (Vanessa Richardson will fill in for Sedano on radio.)
In a statement, ESPN said Salters is out due to personal reasons. Her partner and ESPN colleague, Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White, also missed her team’s game Saturday night for personal reasons.
Salters also missed a couple of Monday Night Football games for ESPN/ABC last season.
SportsCenter anchor Harris announces cancer diagnosis
Longtime ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jay Harris announced last week that he is battling prostate cancer and will undergo surgery on Tuesday. Harris, who has been with ESPN since 2003, said on ESPN’s corporate blog that he hopes he can return to work “in a month or so, 100 percent healthy.”
Harris regularly anchors SportsCenter alongside Hannah Storm, who had a cancer scare of her own last year.
LA Times writer Plaschke announces he has Parkinson’s
Los Angeles Times writer Bill Plaschke, a regular contributor on the now-canceled “Around the Horn,” announced in a story published Sunday that he has Parkinson’s disease.
Plaschke wrote that he was diagnosed four years ago but had not previously disclosed his condition, even to his bosses. On social media, viewers of “Around the Horn” had expressed some concern about his condition during his recent appearances.
ESPN moving Seaport studio shows to new facility
ESPN said last week that it is moving its daily morning shows “Get Up,” “First Take” and “Unsportsmanlike” to a new facility at 7 Hudson Square in Manhattan, ending their run at the Seaport Studios at the edge of the borough. “Get Up” will be first to make the move effective Monday, followed by the two other series on June 23.
Though it was not said in the press release, it would seem to be obvious that ESPN is closing the Seaport Studio, as has long been reported. In addition to those three shows leaving, the network canceled “Around the Horn” — which originated from the same studio — last month.
