With Stephen A. Smith out for the holidays, First Take is liable to go any number of directions each morning. On Tuesday, it included NFL analyst Jeff Saturday doing his best Stephen A. Smith impression in a rendition of “Jeff’s A-List.”
After donning Smith’s classic cowboy hat and snapping a photo sitting at Smith’s desk, Saturday rolled over to the touch screen to walk through his top five NFL teams with a showy twang and his best Smith dialect.
Saturday certainly brought the energy over a pulsing pop beat as well as the hot takes. Those included putting the Cleveland Browns in the top five, with that team led by journeyman quarterback Joe Flacco.
“Stephen A., that’s how you do an A-List,” a somewhat out-of-breath Saturday said in conclusion.
Jeff Saturday did his best Stephen A Smith impression on First Take this morning for "Jeff's A-List" pic.twitter.com/85iXxFlwXE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 26, 2023
Later in the morning, Smith responded on X, blaming the whole segment on Shannon Sharpe, who is guest hosting the show while Smith is away.
“This is absolutely hysterical,” Smith wrote. “Ya got me Jeff! Ya got me.”
https://twitter.com/stephenasmith/status/1739687592235516358
As Smith has taken more control over First Take, he has increasingly driven the show toward entertainment and silliness. While that makes for a lighter, more positive show, it also limits the number of people who can keep up with him.
It’s a perfect environment for Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, but not so much for the departed Max Kellerman. But when it comes to Saturday, a jolly giant and ESPN veteran, it’s a match made in heaven.
Tell Saturday to dress up and go rip off some NFL info for two minutes and he will happily oblige.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.