Longtime FS1 personality Skip Bayless announced he is leaving the network and daytime sports talk may never be the same. For better or for worse.
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But according to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Bayless may not have offered a goodbye on the popular Undisputed show because Bayless may not be leaving on his own. He may have been "pushed out," as McCarthy wrote.
"McCarthy's sources also speculated that Bayless felt FS1 executives could have done more to help when the talk show host was feuding with former 'Undisputed' co-host Shannon Sharpe," wrote Steve DelVecchio of Larry Brown Sports. "Ratings had slipped for 'Undisputed,' but it is still surprising to hear that FS1 may have pushed Bayless out."
And no, don't expect Bayless to return to ESPN. That ship seemingly has sailed.
With his departure, FS1 is also likely to undergo some massive changes.
"According to my sources, FS1 executives believe First Things First star Nick Wright is the future of the network," McCarthy wrote. "But do they really want to take the 39-year-old Wright and on-air partners Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes away from their current 3-5 p.m. ET time slot and make them compete head-to-head with rival ESPN's powerhouse First Take?
"Bayless, the godfather of sports debate, was chewed up by his former on-air partners, Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe, from 10 a.m. to noon in their head-to-head battle. If I'm Wright, I'm not sticking my ascending program in front of that buzzsaw. It's probably more likely, say my sources, that FS1 takes the promising duo of Emmanuel Acho and Joy Taylor from Speak at 5 p.m. and builds a new morning show around them. They also like Keyshawn Johnson and Richard Sherman, two of Bayless's rotating partners on Undisputed, and could cast them on other shows."
