Sage Steele is no longer the face of NBA's studio coverage, as Michelle Beadle now owns that role alongside Jalen Rose, Chauncey Billups and others. With that as the backdrop, Steele is under contract with the worldwide leader for the foreseeable future and, well, she needs something to do.
To that end, Michael McCarthy of the Sporting News brings word that Steele could be joining Mike Greenberg in something of an unlikely partnership for the morning.
Steele could join Mike Greenberg on his new solo morning show that will air on ESPN, said sources.
The new "Greeny & Friends"-type show will be shot in New York. If ESPN is willing to break up the 17-year partnership between Greenberg and Golic, you better believe the Worldwide Leader in Sports is going to throw massive marketing support behind Greenberg's new program.
That isn't the only possibility, though, as McCarthy also floats that Steele could be assigned opposite Greenberg on ESPN2 in the same (or similar) time slot.
Steele also could slide into a morning "SportsCenter" anchor slot on whatever programming replaces the current "Mike & Mike in the Morning" on ESPN2. "Mike & Mike" will likely morph into a radio-only show with Trey Wingo teaming up with Golic in place of Greenberg.
Steele did not make a lot of friends by going at Mike Evans about national anthem protests and she also became an internet punching bag for some controversial comments regarding the travel ban. Still, she is a talented broadcaster and it appears that ESPN has big plans for her in the future. It just remains to be seen as to what exactly those plans are.