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ESPN First Take
Format	Sports
Starring	Jay Crawford Dana Jacobson Sage Steele Skip Bayless Michael Kim
Country of origin	USA
Production
Running time	2 hours
Broadcast
Original channel	ESPN2 (2007-) ESPN2HD (2007-present)
Original airing	May 7, 2007-present
Chronology
Preceded by	Mike and Mike in the Morning
Followed by	ESPN First Take (repeat)
External links
Official website

ESPN First Take is a morning sports talk program on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. The show was formerly known as Cold Pizza. The official switch was made on May 7, 2007. Two back-to-back two-hour episodes air each weekday from Monday through Friday, with the live episode airing from 10 a.m. ET until noon, followed by a repeat.

The show is hosted by former SportsCenter personality Dana Jacobson and Jay Crawford, both of whom came over from Cold Pizza. Skip Bayless and a rotating guest analyst are featured during the "1st and 10" segments with hosts Crawford and Jacobson. Sage Steele (or Michael Kim) provides sports updates every twenty minutes for both First Take and Mike and Mike in the Morning. (These were labeled SportsCenter updates until September 29, 2008, when they were renamed "First Take Updates.")

The show moved from New York City to ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. The show is broadcast in high definition in ESPN's Digital Center. The show is heavily slanted towards football, especially the NFL.

Differences from Cold Pizza

• Control of the show has shifted from the ESPN Original Entertainment division to ESPN's news division.
• The "Here's the Latest" news segments have been replaced by the SportsCenter updates.
• The "Bottom Line" ticker appears continuously on the screen, even during national commercial breaks. This starts on the preceding show, Mike and Mike in the Morning, and continues through the re-airing of this program.
• A new commentary feature, "My Take," debuted on the Friday of the first week, May 11. The commentator was Peter Bonventre of Entertainment Weekly magazine, the former contributor of "Sports Must List."

First Take set

When ESPN First Take moved to Bristol, Connecticut on 2007-05-07, the program moved into ESPN's Digital Center in high-definition that was established in 2004. This is the same studio that Mike and Mike in the Morning moved into and the same studio that Sunday NFL Countdown and NFL Live is filmed in. However, First Take never appears on the football desk that Mike and Mike uses; instead they use the opposite (Baseball Tonight) side of the studio (with the talent facing toward the demonstration field as opposed to the Baseball Tonight desk which, when in place faces the opposite way). This modified studio area includes a standup position for SportsCenter updates. The NFL debate set is used for 1st & 10 segments, an interview set on the field and a stand up location inside ESPN's highlight screening room are also used. The demonstration field and Barco indoor LED display are used more extensively on this show than any other show originating from the studio.

Personalities

• Skip Bayless: (Contributor, 2007-05-07–present) 1st and 10 segments
• Jay Crawford: (Co-host, 2007-05-07–present) First Take
• Dana Jacobson: (Co-host, 2007-05-07–present) First Take
• Michael Kim: (Anchor, June 2007–present) updates; acts as fill-in co-host

Former Personalities

• Sage Steele: (Anchor, 2007-05-07- August 2008) left to do Sportscenter live.

Guest hosts

In addition to Steele & Kim, these people have served as guest hosts of this program:

• Tom Rinaldi
• Michelle Bonner
• Jeremy Schaap
• Chris McKendry
• Rece Davis
• Matt Winer
• Josh Elliott
• Julie Foudy
• Jesse Palmer
• Mike Hill
• Wendi Nix
• Bonnie Bernstein
• Cindy Brunson
• Jeannine Edwards
• Reischea Canidate
• Kevin Negandhi
• David Lloyd

Guest update anchors

These people have served as substitute update anchors (includes two people who are current main co-hosts are highlighted in bold) on the show & Mike and Mike in the Morning:

• Michelle Bonner
• Ryan Burr
• Dana Jacobson
• Will Selva
• Dari Nowkhah
• Jay Crawford
• Steve Bunin
• Erik Kuselias
• Bonnie Bernstein
• Kevin Negandhi
• Rachel Nichols
• Jonathan Coachman
• Reischea Canidate
• Bram Weinstein
• Kevin Connors
• Mike Hill
• Michele LaFountain
• Cindy Brunson
• David Lloyd
• Mike Yam

Segments

Current

• 1st and 10: This is a segment that appears four times throughout the program as four downs, in which they discuss ten different topics. Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson rotate as hosts with Skip Bayless and a guest analyst. This segment also appears as a separate program at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD.
• Coach's Call: Every Tuesday during the NFL season, former NFL coach (and current Westwood One analyst) Jim Fassel analyzes certain decisions made by the league's head coaches during the previous week's games.
• Couch Potato: This segment, sponsored by DirecTV, is hosted by Jacobson who interviews Howie Schwab, ESPN's resident trivia guru, about the weekend's sports television viewing as he rates the weekend's overall event lineup on a scale of 10 bags of chips.
• Cover Two: This is when they are joined by two NFL columnists from all over the country to discuss different news and notes. This segment is also called cover Three when there are three columnists.
• Diagnosis NFL: This seasonal segment analyzes the effect of player injuries on NFL teams. Guests on this segment are Bob Glauber of Newsday and Michael Kaplan, who is the director of the Central Connecticut Sports Medicine Center. (Kaplan replaced New York-based Jonathan Glashow when this show moved and changed its name.)
• First Take Update: Every twenty minutes during both Mike and Mike in the Morning and ESPN First Take, Michael Kim (or Reshea Candidate) runs down the top news and highlights from the previous night in sports. Renamed from SportsCenter Update on September 29, 2008.
• Francis the Cat: The feline, which is owned by an ESPN employee, is given a choice of two bowls with food inside. Whichever one he eats represents his prediction for the next Monday Night Football game to be shown on ESPN. He made his debut during the college football bowl games in 2007–08.
• Full Court Press: This is when they are joined by a NBA columnist from all over the country to discuss different news and notes.
• MLB Doubleheader: This is when they are joined by two MLB columnists from all over the country to discuss different news and notes.
• Morning Headlines: This is a segment where Michael Kim runs down the biggest headlines in newspapers around the country.
• Quick Takes: This segment is a spin-off of the former Cold Pizza segment Morning Slice. In this segment, the hosts discuss an odd or of the wall story in the world of sports.
• SportsNation Question of the Day: This is a multiple-choice question for which fans get to vote at ESPN.com. The hosts give the result of the vote at the end of the show.
• The Top Story: This is at the beginning of the show when they go indepth about a developing story and discuss it with insiders on the situation.
• Your Take: This live online chat session began on the November 7, 2007 program; it appears every Wednesday. Amy Nelson is the moderator.
• Law Offices of Brooks and Brown or Two Big Guys on a Little Couch or Lomas and Derrick NFL Oracles: A new segment with rotating mediator features mainstays Lomas Brown and Derrick Brooks. The two word-smiths debate topics surrounding the NFL. Consequently missing from this law-practice/meeting of the minds is legal-aide Ray Buchanan who talked his way out of the proceedings last season.

Former

• The Great Throwdini: This appears every Friday, when The Great Throwdini picks three NFL games against the point spread by throwing knives blind folded at the team logos. This segment was not renewed for the 2008 season, possibly due to Throwdini having a sharp drop in his winning percentage in 2007 compared to 2006.

See also

• 1st and 10 (ESPN TV series)
• Cold Pizza

External links

• Official Website
• ESPN First Take at the Internet Movie Database