SportsCenter anchors Kevin Connors and Jay Crawford will be staying with ESPN, a source informs Awful Announcing. While the contracts with the pair have not been finalized, a second source confirmed that negotiations are approaching the finish line. Both Connors and Crawford are represented by Playbook, Inc.
Connors has been with ESPN for seven years, mainly anchoring SportsCenter while also hosting NBA studio shows and doing play by play for college basketball.
Crawford has been with ESPN for 12 years (which shows you just how fast time goes), and initially started off as a host on Cold Pizza, First Take’s predecessor. He stayed on First Take following the transition, and has been one of the anchors of the mid-day SportsCenter for the last three years.
While neither of these names will really create shockwaves throughout the sports media landscape, they’re both solid anchors in the Bristol rotation. And look at some of the other names that ESPN has re-signed in recent weeks – Suzy Kolber, Trey Wingo, Ryen Russillo. All are good at what they do, and none create massive waves like the departed Colin Cowherd, Keith Olbermann, and Bill Simmons. It almost seems as if they’re building a solid foundation and worrying less about bombastic personalities.
ESPN declined comment on this story.
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