1. Stephen A. Smith’s contract with ESPN is set to expire this year, but it doesn’t sound like he’s going anywhere.

During an appearance on Wednesday’s Howard Stern Show (along with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo), the SiriusXM host asked Smith if he will re-sign with ESPN.

“I believe so,” answered Smith.

The First Take host then went on to cite his relationship with ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro as a big reason for wanting to remain with the company.

“I was just with the president the other day, Jimmy Pitaro, who’s a great man and has always been good to me,” said Smith. “I think that when you are going through negotiations and stuff like that, the greatest thing that you can say is when you have a boss that keeps their word. Jimmy Pitaro, right upstairs to Bob Iger, when they say something to me and tell me something, they have followed through. Especially in the case of Jimmy Pitaro, there are things that I have been able to do, allowed to do, talking politics, and doing a lot of things. He came to me and gave me his word years ago and followed through. So, when you have a boss like that, you learn to have a lot of love and respect for people in positions of power who can exercise their power for the negative and they don’t do it, they do it for the positive. In this case, he does that for me.”

Variety reported in early December that Smith was closing in on a new deal with ESPN that would allow him to branch out from sports. During the interview with Stern, Smith again reiterated that he wants to expand his reach in the media world.

It seems like Smith will have the opportunity to do that while still remaining at the helm of First Take.

2. NBC officially announced Wednesday that Mike Tirico will be its lead NBA play-by-play voice when the network begins its partnership with the league in the 2025–26 season.

Tirico actually spoke about getting back to calling NBA games during an appearance on SI Media With Jimmy Traina in late December.

“I’m excited to get back into it. It’s been a while,” said Tirico. “I did from ’03 to ’16, so I did 14 seasons of the NBA and had a lot of fun. I’m looking forward getting back courtside and doing those games.”

3. Kudos to Bills fans who have donated more than $60,000 to a charity backed by Mark Andrews after Andrews had the surreal drop against Buffalo in Sunday’s playoff game. The message on the Go Fund Me page says:

“As many of you know Ravens TE wasn’t able to catch the game tying 2 point conversion and upset Ravens fans. On top of that the TE has been receiving death threats and nasty comments after his performance last night. We want Bills Mafia to donate to Mark’s charity for Juvenile diabetes. Let’s reach a goal of at least 5k. Please repost this! LINK TO DONATE WILL BE IN OUR BIO @thebuffalobrief on IG”

4. Good for Jay Glazer here. A lot of people think reporters work for Twitter instead of the company that actually gives them a paycheck. There’s no issue at all with how he handled his Kevin O’Connell report.

5. I’m sorry, but I find it absolutely hilarious and ridiculous that ESPN constantly promotes ESPN Bet, has a daily gambling show and features the lines on its scroll 24/7, yet they want to also run a campaign about betting responsibly highlighted by cringe videos like this.

6. The latest Sports Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features a conversation with The Athletic’s sports media reporter, Richard Deitsch.

Topics covered include why the NFL’s playoff ratings have been down; NFL broadcasters; what Deion Sanders coaching the Dallas Cowboys would mean for networks; Tom Brady’s alleged “conflict of interest” as a part Raiders owner calling a Lions game while trying to hire Detroit’s offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson; a disappointing college football playoff rating; Notre Dame’s national appeal; the usefulness of NFL rules analysts in the booth; WWE’s new partnership with Netflix and more.

Following Deitsch, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s subjects include NFL betting, the NFL divisional playoff games, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo meeting Timothée Chalamet on the red carpet for A Complete Unknown, a new Jerry Springer documentary, Sal getting in trouble at home and much more. Plus, there is a surprise appearance from Russo.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 76th birthday to singer Steven Perry. The San Francisco Giants fan gave us this memorable moment during the 2014 NLCS.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Stephen A. Smith Says He Believes He Will Remain at ESPN.