ESPN's "NBA Countdown" this season has "opted for a three-person studio team of Sage Steele, Doug Collins and Jalen Rose" after former co-host Bill Simmons decided to leave the show, according to Barry Jackson of the MIAMI HERALD. The "upshot is Collins will have a lot more time to speak," as Simmons "too often last season ... dominated the conversation" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 10/22). Rose in a Q&A with SI.com's Richard Deitsch said of being the longest-tenured staffer on the show, "It's the ability to work with multiple people, continuing to hone my craft and being knowledgeable about what is happening. I'm fortunate that I get to work with Avery [Johnson] and Doris [Burke] and Doug and Sage, and still work with Bill at Grantland. ... Media is just like sports. There are a lot of changes with talent, people go to different networks, people sometimes don't make the cut, people sometimes don't have the chemistry." Rose said the "overall fan and public perception" of "NBA Countdown" is that it should compete with TNT's "Inside The NBA." But he added, "The reality of it is they are very different shows. You are talking about a pregame show that is a precursor to an event, a path to a destination. It has to be a vehicle for breaking news and a lead-in to an actual game. A lot of times our pregame show is on ABC, which is Disney, which comes on at noon on Sunday and therefore you have moms, grandmothers and grandkids watching the show. Inside the NBA is late-night television, sometimes airing at 1:00 a.m." Meanwhile, Rose said of his relationship last year with Collins and Simmons, "I personally felt the dynamic was just fine. The 'Countdown' dynamic was good for me personally because I have known Sage since Indiana when she was a reporter" (SI.com, 10/23).
