On Friday Josh Elliott said goodbye to his hosting duties for the live block of morning SportsCenter from 9AM-12PM.  There were many skeptics when ESPN first placed Hannah Storm with the former SI writer to host what would become the core of ESPN’s daytime programming.  I for one was nervous about what to expect without Stan Verrett and Neil Everett showing the same highlights throughout the morning, over, and over, and over, and over again.  After all, Elliott was a newcomer to ESPN who had barely made an impact as a bit player on Around the Horn and a myriad of other appearances on the network.  

But, over the last few years, Elliott has shown his worth with his performance as an anchor on ESPN’s flagship show.  In a world of bombastic personalties at ESPN who so often try to be larger than life, Elliott hit the mark with his mix of self-awareness, perspective, and humor.  So, it was no surprise to hear the news that Elliott would move up to the big leagues to be a part of ABC’s Good Morning America.  His ESPN swan song was complete with a heartfelt sendoff from partner Hannah Storm and his own emotional thank yous to those who made it possible.

You might expect us to make fun of Mr. Elliott for his tearful goodbye (part of me expected canned awards show music to play him off at the end).  But no, we sincerely commend Josh for showing the heartfelt appreciation he had for those who helped him make the most of his opportunity at ESPN.  In fact, Josh has long been a friend of AA dating back to the first incarnation of the site,  being kind enough to do a live chat with Brian Powell back in 2008 at the dawn of the live morning SportsCenter.  So, we wish the best to Josh in his future endeavors at GMA.  

Heck, we’ll even extend Josh a standing invite to come back to AA again so that he can chat with AA Version 2.0!  What with the mundane, monotonous world of the network morning shows, we know Josh will want to keep in touch with the sports blogosphere that he has consistently shown appreciation and respect for in his time at the worldwide leader.  At least, Josh, we can promise you it won’t be as excruciatingly awkward as your last interview with a prominent sports blog.

[H/T SportsGrid]