Skip Bayless’ ‘Undisputed’ has had a dry spell because the departure of NFL Corridor of Famer and present ESPN ‘First Take’ analyst Shannon Sharpe. Bayless’ new crew, made up of former NFL stars, rappers and a extremely revered media character, has did not captivate the nation in the identical method Skip & Shannon did for thus a few years. However now that we have seen Skip’s imaginative and prescient for the ‘New Undisputed,’ it is time for FOX Sports activities and FS1 to develop a pair and produce Bayless again in.
To be sincere, it would not work anymore. However truthfully, this present has grow to be much less annoying than watching ESPN pull the strings of their puppet main the competitors on that different present Bayless as soon as starred in. Stephen A. Smith and particularly his merry band of misfits appears to have the correct formulation since Sharpe jumped on board final fall.
Final week, Bayless’ present hit a brand new low since returning to the air for the beginning of the NFL season. The present averaged simply 50,000 viewers final Tuesday (Feb. 27), which was even decrease than ESPN’s “Get Up” replay on ESPN 2 the identical day. If The rankings proceed to drop decrease and decrease, FS1 simply sits again and watches. All to please their so-called ‘golden goose’, Bayless.
Now that we’re completed with the NFL season and have a while to catch our breath earlier than the NBA playoffs, FS1 must take a severe have a look at the community. Their two every day reveals that begin the stay programming portion of the day (Monday by means of Friday) are applications that just about nobody cares about. “The Craig Carton Present” which culminated in “Undisputed” was a catastrophe. Carton’s present on FS1 has all the time felt prefer it was on an island unto itself, with no actual connection to the opposite reveals in FS1’s every day lineup.
When Sharpe was nonetheless on ‘Undisputed’, even through the rift in direction of the top, it was nonetheless a strong present that followers beloved to tune in and speak about on-line, even when most hated Bayless. Sharpe was the one redeeming character in that partnership and that’s evident in how far Bayless has fallen in current months. Not even a full 12 months into the Sharpe/Bayless cut up, an undisputed (pun supposed) clear winner has been topped.
Essentially the most hated man in sports activities media
The proof is within the pudding, as they are saying, and Bayless’s expired way back. From the start, there have been experiences beginning final summer season that executives at FOX Sports activities had been sad with Bayless’ resolution to go for a rotating ensemble forged changing Shay Shay. All he did was copy Smith’s current ‘First Take’ format and name it a day.
Bayless was the #1 man for years and actually helped kick off this complete debate style of sports activities discuss reveals. However the finish is coming for us all and it is time for FOX to cease sidestepping the difficulty and making wholesale modifications to the early morning block of programming. They will not let Bayless management such a first-rate viewing spot with little to no return.
As a character, Bayless is hated by most individuals you discuss to, and that features even those that have had the “pleasure” of working with him. However it goes method past hating the on-air character: Individuals don’t love the person, Skip Bayless. This deep dislike for Bayless is not actually new, however after his feedback after Damar Hamlin collapsed on the sector in January final 12 months, that despatched most of them over the sting.
Sharpe could not even defend Bayless after that and even skipped the present that Monday morning. Add to that the blatant disrespect Bayless has proven to athletes through the years, together with former co-host Sharpe, and it is clear why nobody desires to be round him or like him. Some time in the past there was discuss of a brand new collaboration between Bayless and Smith, which finally got here to nothing. Which may not be a foul concept, as a result of it feels just like the additional we get from the previous “First Take,” the extra it looks like Smith and Bayless really deserve one another.