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Molly Qerim debuts new First Take segment and tells star sitting in for Stephen A. Smith ‘I’ve high expectations of you’
The new segment covered football, basketball
MOLLY Qerim introduced a new segment to First Take on Wednesday and had high hopes for her guests.
The ESPN host put analysts on the spot for a new quick-fire part of the show.
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Qerim stood at a podium and watched over Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and Kimberley A. Martin.
The duo took center stage in the absence of Stephen A. Smith - who continued his vacation.
Host Molly welcomed viewers back from a commercial break to a speed segment.
She explained that Russo and Martin had 90 seconds on the clock to fight it out over a number of topics.
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And before kicking things off, she reinforced the message to Russo that he "had to be quick."
Qerim then turned to Martin to tell her, "I have high expectations."
Russo and Martin began by debating whether the Baltimore Ravens were the biggest threat to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC.
The Ravens reached the AFC Championship Game last season and will be Kansas City's opposition on opening night, Thursday September 5.
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Martin claimed the Cincinnati Bengals are the biggest threat because of Joe Burrow.
And Russo went one further by saying the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills were both ahead of the Ravens as well.
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And that was because of Aaron Rodgers and Josh Allen being their quarterbacks.
"There's not a clear definitive winner," Qerim said before Martin left the set.
She was replaced by Courtney Cronin for a basketball segment.
Cronin and Russo were asked whether Jalen Brunson could be the No. 1 option on a championship team after his new New York Knicks deal.
Cronin was adamant he could be, and referenced some smaller point guards who have done in the past.
First Take viewing figures
First Take went from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim last year.
The weekday ESPN debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 - making it the most-watched year in program history.
Its December average of 611,000 was a 24% year-on-year increase compared to 2022.
The show also reported more than 250 million views on YouTube.
First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports' Undisputed.
"Small guards don't win," Russo claimed, before added "the answer to that is no."
Qerim once again said, "I don't have a definitive winner" which angered Russo.
The First Take host defensively claimed "Nobody has blown me away" as her reason for sitting on the fence.
Russo was then joined by Mike Tannenbaum to debate whether Jets quarterback Rodgers, 40, could be an MVP candidate.
Tannenbaum was adamant that Rodgers' age would be a problem, which Russo disagreed with.
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The section was cut short after that as First Take was forced to head over to ESPN2 again.
The show has been on the secondary channel a number of times of late with live sports on ESPN in it's usual 10am-12pm slot.