STEPHEN A. Smith is being taken on a bizarre date night – by First Take co-star Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo.
Mad Dog revealed that he was accompanying Smith to an IMAX theater for a special screening of the Olympics Opening Ceremony.
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ESPN analysts appeared side by side on Wednesday’s edition of First Take.
During Russo’s weekly What Are You Mad About segment, the SiriusXM radio host revealed his plan.
“I’m taking Stephen A. out on a date,” he yelled, to his colleague Kimberley Martin’s catcalls.
“Friday afternoon. I’m taking you to an IMAX theater.
“I spent 40 dollars to watch the stupid Olympic parade in Paris.”
Smith started laughing when Mad Dog directed his ire at NBC.
“Did you see what NBC is doing?!” he shouted, adding “Give me my wallet.”
Russo sought his money before turning on Stephen A.
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“Give me 20 dollars,” he shouted, throwing the money into the air as Smith handed it over.
“You pay 20 dollars and you get some boats floating on the River Seine,” he said.
“Are you kidding me? This is not an Olympic sporting event.”
Russo declared that he needed to spend money “on popcorn” and believed that the theater “would be empty.”
“Stevie, we’re going to have a nice dinner after the date,” he added, eliciting laughter from the panel.
“Watching @FirstTake Mad Dog keeps me going, please give him more days!” said a fan on X.
“Mad Dog redeemed himself with his rant about the IMAX Olympics presentation. It made me weak,” said another.
First look at the numbers
First Take has grown from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim over the past year.
ESPN’s weekday debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 — making it the most-watched year in the show’s history.
Its December average of 611,000 represented a 24% annual increase compared to 2022.
The show has also recorded more than 250 million views on YouTube.
First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports’ Undisputed.
“Mad Dog!!! You are GREAT at television!! @FirstTake is must-see TV when you’re on!!!” commented a third.
Russo recently signed a new contract with ESPN after impressing in his weekly appearances on First Take.
The veteran analyst joins the show every Wednesday and is known for his powerful speeches.
Meanwhile, Stephen A. was absent from Thursday’s show as the broadcast was relegated to ESPN 2.
The 56-year-old returned for the summer holidays with host Molly Qerim holding down the fort.
The first broadcast airs every weekday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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