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ESPN’s Surprise Plan to Replace Chris Berman

Mar 2, 2017  •  Post A Comment

ESPN’s replacement for Chris Berman may not be a conventional choice. Berman, an ESPN institution who announced in January that he was cutting way back on his ESPN duties, may be replaced by three people — two of them women.

The New York Post reports that Suzy Kolber, Samantha Ponder and Trey Wingo are waiting in the wings to step into Berman’s formidable shoes. Berman — widely known as Boomer — has been with ESPN since 1979, holding down high-profile roles including anchoring “Monday Night Countdown” and “Sunday NFL Countdown.”

“The Worldwide Leader is considering a trio of sportscasters to divvy up the jobs of the outgoing mammoth presence on the network, according to Jim Miller, who wrote the book on ESPN,” The Post reports.

“Suzy Kolber, a longtime talent on NFL shows, is expected to take over Berman’s Monday night work, on ‘Countdown’ and ‘Monday Night Football,'” the report notes. “Trey Wingo, a longtime talent on NFL shows, is likely to be Berman’s NFL draft successor. The wild card emerging is Samantha Ponder, a college football reporter and anchor who could assume Berman’s ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ morning role.”

The report adds: “Ponder, the wife of free-agent NFL quarterback Christian Ponder, has been with ESPN since 2011, mostly appearing on ‘College GameDay’ and as a sideline reporter during game broadcasts.”

Samantha Ponder (ESPN)

2 Comments

  1. I’ll take Samantha Ponder. I won’t miss Berman.

  2. For those of us that have been watching ESPN since it launched in 1979, Chris Berman has been the face of the network. Just like Bob Costas, and all the rest of us old-timers, it is time to move on and give the next generation their chance. But Sundays will not be the same without Boomer setting up the rivalries for the games….

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