Jim Rome confirmed Friday that he is leaving ESPN after eight years as host of "Jim Rome Is Burning." He wrote on his Twitter feed, "I want to thank ESPN for the opportunity to host JRIB & all the support I received over the years. I'm looking forward to future endeavors" (TWITTER.com, 1/6). THE BIG LEAD's Jason McIntyre cited an ESPN source as saying that Rome "was presented with a multi-year offer to return to the network, but he did not accept it." Two other sources said that Rome and the "JRIB" show "will move over to the burgeoning CBS Sports Network." The sources indicated that Rome "will have an expanded role at the network beyond the show," though the specifics of that role were unclear (THEBIGLEAD.com, 1/6). Blog SPORTS BY BROOKS reported Rome's last appearance on ESPN will be Jan. 27. Sources said that as part of the CBS deal, Rome "has agreed to make regular appearances on CBS-owned Showtime." Rome "will be the centerpiece of an aggressive move by Showtime Sports into the increased production of original sports programming." Meanwhile, "Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable" will be "pushed back from its normal ESPN2 weekday 4p ET airtime to 4:30" to offset the loss of "JRIB." "Numbers Don't Lie" will move from 3:30pm to 4:00pm. ESPN will "likely eventually fill the 3:30p ET weekday slot on ESPN2 with another original programming production" (SPORTSBYBROOKS.com, 1/6).
