“Richard Sherman Is Sitting Just On My Right”: Skip Bayless Forgets His 6-year Partner Shannon Sharpe Within 6 Days Beside New Co-Host

The sports media world is buzzing over the new lineups for ESPN’s First Take and FS1’s Undisputed. FS1 has proudly introduced Richard Sherman as the show’s new co-host alongside Skip Bayless, replacing Shannon Sharpe. The move came when ESPN welcomed the free agent Sharpe to engage in spirited debates alongside Stephen A. Smith. Sherman will gear up to engage in debates with Bayless for a whopping 100 shows per year, primarily during the football season. On the other hand, Shannon Sharpe will occupy the hot seat with Smith for two days every week.

Fans are eagerly anticipating the unfolding of various narratives. However, Skip Bayless recently took center stage to address a potential controversy firsthand. It involved narratives that can spark from his feud with his new co-host, Richard Sherman, from a decade ago.

Skip Bayless talks highly of Sherman, overlooking partnership with Sharpe

“In my 24 years of life, I’m better at life than you.” Those were Sherman’s remarks against Bayless in 2013. Bayless and Stephen A. Smith were co-hosts of First Take at the time. Ten years later, Richard Sherman is Bayless’ new co-worker.

With their new partnership set to become a regular occurrence, Skip Bayless took the stage to ensure their infamous clashes wouldn’t overshadow their show. He characterized their past conflicts as a ‘wrong time, wrong place’ situation and emphasized his growing fondness for Richard Sherman. He said, “I really like Richard Sherman, I really do. I am getting to know him more and more.” Bayless also admired Sherman’s life journey and impressive accomplishments, dubbing him an “overachiever.”

Furthermore, Bayless couldn’t contain his excitement about co-hosting with Sherman, placing his new colleague above his former co-worker, Shannon Sharpe, whom he worked with for six years.

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Bayless enthusiastically remarked, “It is surreal that Richard Sherman is sitting just to my right every morning.”

Revamped Undisputed‘s debut ratings fall short of First Take

After Shannon Sharpe left, Skip Bayless’ show Undisputed Live took a two-month break before returning with a new cast: Keyshawn Johnson, Michael Irvin, and Richard Sherman. However, the changes are not helping the show’s ratings much so far.

Undisputed Live had 131,000 viewers on its first day back, while ESPN’s First Take had 448,000 viewers. The gap widened in the following days as Undisputed Live got 120,000 viewers on Tuesday compared to First Take‘s 474,000, dropping to 78,000 viewers on Wednesday versus 423,000 for First Take. Interestingly, the first three days of Bayless’ revamped show had fewer viewers than Sharpe’s final episodes in June, which averaged 154,000 viewers.

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However, it is important to note that making firm conclusions in just a few days is complicated and unreliable. Bayless is expected to get a boost in viewership as soon as the NFL season begins. Furthermore, Bayless displayed a strong presence on social media throughout the week, with his show consistently trending on Twitter.