1. Molly Qerim’s exit as host of First Take was shocking and abrupt.

It all started on Monday night when Sports Business Journal reported that Qerim would be leaving the show and ESPN at the end of the year.

A little later, Qerim posted a statement on Instagram that started with, “Now that the news came out earlier than intended and not in the way that I hoped…”

You don’t have to be Freud to figure out Qerim was extremely unhappy with the Sports Business Journal leak.

Sure enough, when the show aired the following morning, Stephen A. Smith announced that Qerim had resigned as host.

Obviously, something big changed between the time Sports Business Journal published its story Monday night and 10 a.m. Tuesday, when First Take went on the air. Sports Business Journal does not get anything wrong. It’s not TMZ or some aggregator social media account. If SBJ said that Qerim was supposed to remain with the show until the end of the year, you can be sure she was supposed to stay with the show until the end of the year.

Qerim had been with First Take for 10 years. That’s a massive run in sports television. Yet, she didn’t get an on-air farewell. No fanfare. No final show. She was there Monday. Gone on Tuesday.

While everyone is couching her exit as some big mystery, it’s fairly simple to figure out what happened. Qerim didn’t want the news of her departure to leak this early. It did. Once she saw that, she decided she wasn’t going to stick around three more months for more leaks and stories with anonymous quotes written about her, so she said, I’m out NOW.

It’s a sad ending for viewers who have watched Qerim for 10 years.

2. For 23 NBA Monday night games that will air exclusively on Peacock, NBC will have its game analysts work from each team’s benches as opposed to sitting next to the play-by-play caller.

According to NBC, the analysts will be “listening in on huddles and timeouts, and delivering information straight from the bench. Each analyst will also be immersed with their team leading up to the game, spending time at shootarounds, and speaking with players and coaches during pregame locker room availability.”

The feature, called, “On the Bench” will debut for the Cavaliers-Pistons game on Oct. 27. Noah Eagle will handle play-by-play, Robbie Hummel will be with the Pistons while Austin Rivers will be with the Cavaliers as they call the action.

3. Netflix announced its broadcast booths for the Christmas Day games:

Ian Eagle, Nate Burleson and Matt Ryan will call Cowboys at Commanders at 1 p.m. ET.

Noah Eagle and Drew Brees will handle duties for the Lions at Vikings game at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The Broncos visit the Chiefs at 8:15 p.m. ET, with that game airing on Amazon Prime.

4. Awesome play by the Mariners. Awesome call by the play-by-play guy.

5.  This is obviously true, but it’s still kind of amazing to hear a player say this out loud.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with CBS’s lead NFL play-by-play caller Jim Nantz.

Nantz talks about his game assignments for the next few weeks and CBS’s schedule for the 2025 NFL season. In addition, he shares his expectations that CBS’s Thanksgiving matchup between the Chiefs and Cowboys will shatter the record for the most-viewed regular-season game of all time.

Nantz also discusses his 40th anniversary at CBS, how he got his start at the network and the roles that Brent Musburger and Mike Francesa played in the beginning of his career.

With CBS/Paramount acquiring the rights to UFC, could we see Nantz play a role in its coverage? Plus, Nantz opines on the trend of younger people being less interested in play-by-play jobs.

Following Nantz, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we talk about a HORRIFIC bad betting beat for Sal, my problem during the Ravens-Bills game, issues with ESPN’s new app, Sunday Ticket on YouTube, Ryan Clark calling out Peter Schrager, Howard Stern coverage, Sal’s solo weekend and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 64th birthday to legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette. I’ve posted this video many times before and I will post this again. His summation of the “Montreal Screwjob” is one of the best videos ever posted on YouTube.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Molly Qerim’s Abrupt Exit From ‘First Take’ Isn’t All That Mysterious.

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