No one seemed to enjoy the new Stephen A’s World more than Michael Wilbon: ‘The lasagna is killing it!’

ESPN launched its alternate NBA cast hosted by Stephen A. Smith Wednesday night, and Michael Wilbon appeared to be a big fan.

After hosting NBA Countdown, Smith quickly traded his suit for a sweatshirt and strolled down the hallway to the new set of Stephen A’s World, where the First Take host would attempt to show viewers what it’s like to watch a basketball game with him at home. The set was decorated with a nice area rug, a cozy couch, and some of Smith’s favorite foods prepared by his sister Carmen, who also joined the show.

Lasagna, veggie sticks, salad, wings, breadsticks, chocolate chip cookies and lemonade graced the menu as Smith invited his NBA Countdown costars Michael Wilbon and Jalen Rose to help indulge.

Apparently, Wilbon took Smith up on the offer, with one viewer noticing how much the PTI star seemed to enjoy the food. “Wilbon been grubbing nonstop on Stephen A’s World,” someone tweeted, prompting ESPN to drop a highlight reel of Wilbon eating.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1585440637746397184

“Hey! We said it was gonna be like us watching a game,” Wilbon said. “What do we do? Come on now! And the lasagna is killing it! Thanks, Carmen.”

No defense needed. Certainly not from viewers who were probably sitting at home grubbing on their own. And credit Wilbon for eating wings with his hands rather than a fork and knife, like NBA Countdown host Mike Greenberg.

I just hope Carmen makes a better lasagna than her brother. Years ago, Stephen A. appeared on ABC’s now defunct daytime talk show The Chew to make his famous “Meaty Cheesy Lasagna.” While I usually follow the “don’t knock it ‘til you try it” rule when it comes to food, Smith features sliced American cheese as a main ingredient in his lasagna, which I just can’t get on board with.

Stephen A’s World, which is co-executive produced by Smith’s SAS Productions and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, continues the recent ESPN trend of featuring alternate broadcasts. And Wilbon’s grubbing continued the trend of eating on those alternate casts, as previously seen by Peyton Manning devouring chicken during the ManningCast last year.

[ESPN]