ESPN's Marty Smith tonight begins his "own interview show" on ESPN2 at 7:00pm ET, with Panthers QB Cam Newton and Real Madrid F Cristiano Ronaldo among those featured, according to Richard Deitsch of SI.com. The monthly one-hour "SportsCenter Presents: Marty Smith’s America" also features Smith interviewing USC QB Sam Darnold and LRMR Management Founder Maverick Carter. As part of the show, Tim Tebow, a "longtime friend of Smith and an ESPN college football colleague, will be interviewed about his minor league experience and also comment on the features." What game-changed Smith's career was an "unexpected entry into ESPN’s college football coverage." Smith said that former ESPN Exec VP/Programming & Production and current Syracuse AD John Wildhack "told he and his agent, Matt Kramer of CAA, that Smith’s reporting passion in NASCAR would translate to college football." His new interview show is a "direct result of the immersion reporting that he and his longtime producer, Jonathan Whyley, have done on high profile college football programs." The official greenlight for "Marty Smith’s America" "only came a month ago." Smith said that management has "given him no ratings expectations and there is no set date for a second episode, though Smith and Whyley have plans to do a story on the return of UAB Football." Smith: "'Go do you' has basically been my marching orders" (SI.com, 8/1).
FOOTBALL IS COMING: ESPN announced Jac Collinsworth, son of NBC's Cris Collinsworth, is joining ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" as a features reporter. He will also contribute to "NFL Live." Collinsworth is repped by 16W Marketing's Steve Rosner. Meanwhile, ESPN announced several changes to its college football coverage. Maria Taylor will join Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit as a sideline reporter on ABC's "Saturday Night Football." Also, former Auburn and Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville will join Mike Patrick and Paul Carcaterra as an analyst. Dusty Dvoracek will team most weeks with Adam Amin and Molly McGrath on Friday-night telecasts. On Thursday nights, ESPN will rotate analysts to be paired in the booth with play-by-play man Dave Fleming, with Laura Rutledge as sideline reporter (THE DAILY).
