Skip Bayless' new show on FS1 will debut Sept. 6 at 10:00am ET, "going head-to-head" with his former ESPN2 show, "First Take," according to Marisa Guthrie of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. There is no name yet for the show, and Bayless declined to "offer specifics about the new show or his co-host," though Pro Football HOFer Shannon Sharpe "has been rumored." Bayless said the move to FS1, for which he is earning a reported $5.5M annually, will "allow him to remove the 'handcuffs' he's been compelled to wear at ESPN." He said, "Too many people in charge at ESPN, for my taste, were a little too fearful. It's a Disney network. There are just certain boundaries that you can't even tiptoe along. Not that we won't have boundaries at Fox, because we will. (But) they will trust me to go a little deeper. I can be completely honest on everything." Guthrie noted a "big reason" Bayless left ESPN for FS1 is to work with Fox Sports National Networks President Jamie Horowitz, the former producer of "First Take" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 8/1).
TWEET LONGER: THE BIG LEAD's Ryan Glasspiegel noted SI.com's Richard Deitsch and FS1's Nick Wright "went at it" on Twitter following the Bayless announcement. Deitsch, who has "long been a not-fan of Bayless' work," greeted the announcement "with snark." After a "fourth tweet" from Deitsch on the subject, Wright "took the bait." Deitsch's tweets included, "As always, congrats to Jamie Horowitz for getting his name in the second graph of a press release. ... No doubt FS1 bosses watching to see who which staffers tweet out welcome love for Bayless. Gotta do it. That's how the game works." Wright: "I'm tweeting out my article about it, with a political tease/pipe dream, 5x while plugging our revamped website. Sound good? ... You know I generally like your stuff, but you also know this: You to Skip *is* Skip to LeBron. And that hasn't changed" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 8/1).
NOT SKIPPING A BEAT: In Tampa, Tom Jones wrote it is "pleasantly surprising how much better ESPN2's 'First Take' just got" with Max Kellerman replacing Bayless. Instead of being an "uncomfortable-to-watch debate between Bayless and Stephen A. Smith, 'First Take' -- at least through one week -- appears to be more of an intelligent conversation between Smith and Kellerman." Kellerman joining the show "has made Smith more likeable" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/1).
