ESPN's Marty Smith has "signed a new multiyear contract" with the net, according to Mark Berman of the ROANOKE TIMES. Smith will "continue to serve as a reporter for ESPN’s 'SportsCenter' and 'College GameDay,' covering college football and other sports," and he will "keep hosting his monthly ESPN2 interview show, 'Marty Smith’s America,'" which will return in February. Smith will also "continue to co-host his Saturday morning ESPN Radio show 'Marty and McGee.'" Smith said, “I’m very blessed that the ... executive staff believed in me and offered me a new deal. It took about eight seconds to sign it." Berman notes Smith has worked for ESPN since November '06 and had "signed his previous extension" in the fall of '14; that deal ran through '17. Smith puts a "unique spin on stories." Smith said he wants to "continue to be able to tell stories that resonate." Smith, a Virginia native, said, “That Southern accent thing, not only was it not a detriment to me, it ultimately became a benefit because it separated me from the pack” (ROANOKE TIMES, 1/4).
