Sage Steele today announced a multi-year extension with ESPN. Sage Steele will take on a new role in Bristol, hosting the Friday and Sunday editions of NBA Countdown – ESPN’s and ABC’s NBA pre-game show. She’ll complement former Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers Coach Doug Collins and returning analysts Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons.
Prepared/rehearsed statement from Sage Steele:
“I’m thrilled to continue my career at ESPN and to embark on this exciting, new challenge. I love the NBA, and like millions of other fans, I’m looking forward to the season tipoff and to guiding some great discussion from our expert analysts.”
Sage Steele will continue to appear on SportsCenter and contribute to coverage of the NBA Finals. For the previous two years, she has hosted on-site SportsCenter coverage at the NBA Finals and this year she hosted ESPN’s coverage of NBA Summer League 2013.
Sage Steele has worked on a range of assignments since joining ESPN in 2007. In addition to SportsCenter and NBA, she has hosted the Scripps National Spelling Bee every year since 2010.
Sage Steele has an interesting backstory, she grew up a military brat, living in various locales; beginning her life in the Panama Canal Zone. She also has major Midwest roots, spending part of her childhood in Carmel, Indiana. She also an Indiana Hoosiers alum.
Her first television sports reporting job was at WSBT-TV the CBS affiliate in South Bend, Indiana, as a news producer and reporter from 1995 to 1997.
Sage Steele then worked at CBS affiliate WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1997-1998 as the weekend morning sports anchor and weekday reporter. Her reporting duties included the Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Pacers, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 auto races, local college and high school sports.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a regular analyst on news talk radio stations across the world; with weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS