ESPN's Cari Champion, the former host of "First Take," said the show "needs to evolve." On Long Island, Neil Best notes Champion "left the show" last month and will debut on "SportsCenter" this Thursday as an anchor alongside Jay Crawford. Champion: "I really enjoyed the show in terms of what we were able to build over the past two-and-a-half, three years. But I'm very aware of the position. It was the middle seat, the moderator to get the questions laid out. It's a great platform. It was a wonderfully watched show, but the ceiling was really low. I had the skill set to do more." She said of the next "First Take" host, "The position could evolve. I hope whoever is the next host gets an opportunity to do more than just what I was able to do because I feel the show needs to evolve. Eventually you have to have somebody in the middle who can participate and can go back and forth, if need be." Best noted Champion will host "SportsCenter" at 9:00 and 11:00am ET for now, but in February she will "be one of the hosts" of a new 7:00am edition (NEWSDAY, 7/25).
GOOD NIGHT & GOOD LUCK: ESPN's Keith Olbermann hosted his final show Friday, and his first surprise guest was Basketball HOFer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who presented Olbermann with a signed Lakers jersey and basketball. The two discussed Abdul-Jabbar's upcoming HBO documentary "Minority of One." Olbermann's second guest was actor Hank Azaria, with whom Olbermann discussed "The Simpsons" and the Mets. Olbermann's final guest was radio host Tony Bruno, who brought a box of tissues. The show concluded with a seven-minute video montage of past clips, followed by Olbermann quickly thanking a long list of production and technical staff ("Olbermann," ESPN2, 7/24).
ANOTHER FAREWELL: Friday also was the final appearance on SNY’s “Loud Mouths” for co-host Adam Schein, who is moving to CBS Sports Network full time. Schein noted he has been at SNY “since day one” and said the “secret is fun, and that’s what I had every single day” co-hosting the show with Chris Carlin. Schein: “I’m excited for what’s next, but words can’t express how much I’m going to miss working with this guy.” Carlin said, “For seven-and-a-half years, you have brought the passion, the energy and the creativity that drove this show” (“Loud Mouths,” SNY, 7/24).
FIRST RULE OF FIGHT CLUB: In Las Vegas, Steve Carp profiled "Premier Boxing Champions" corner reporter B.J. Flores, who on Saturday put his "microphone aside" to fight Beibut Shumenov for the WBA interim cruiserweight title. Flores "sees himself as a fighter first and a broadcaster second." Flores said that he "tries to be fair when he criticizes his fellow competitors." Flores: "You don't want to offend anyone, but at the same time, you have to be true to your audience. You don't want to cheat the fans" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/25).
NOTES: In Seattle, Geoff Baker reports CBS Radio two weeks ago "had the plug pulled" on KFNQ-AM's "The Steve Sandmeyer Show," the Seattle station's "only locally-produced sports show." Sandmeyer said, "I was under the impression that eventually they would expand their local lineup and that the station would be more of a destination on the dial." Baker notes CBS Radio "cut more than 200 positions nationwide" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/27)....St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz "announced that he is leaving the newspaper after 26 years," with his last column appearing Aug. 9. Miklasz "is joining" ESPN 101 St. Louis to "host a three-hour, weekday radio talk show" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/26).
