1 00:00:01,147 --> 00:00:04,734 [Steele] So I was 11 years old when I announced at the dinner table 2 00:00:04,817 --> 00:00:08,446 to my parents and my brothers that I wanted to be a TV sportscaster. 3 00:00:08,738 --> 00:00:10,948 It was kind of comical. It was a cute little dream. 4 00:00:11,032 --> 00:00:13,659 But it was so real for me because 5 00:00:13,743 --> 00:00:15,745 I grew up in a very sports-oriented family. 6 00:00:16,996 --> 00:00:20,791 I also was just in awe of how sports brought people together. 7 00:00:20,875 --> 00:00:24,462 Race, gender, politics, none of that matters. 8 00:00:24,545 --> 00:00:27,965 We're all on the same team screaming for the same players, 9 00:00:28,049 --> 00:00:30,259 and cheering and celebrating, or crying when they lose. 10 00:00:30,342 --> 00:00:32,470 I wanna be around that. I wanna be part of it. 11 00:00:32,970 --> 00:00:33,971 Hi, I'm Sage Steele, 12 00:00:34,055 --> 00:00:37,224 co-host of the 6:00 p.m. SportsCenter here at ESPN. 13 00:00:59,372 --> 00:01:00,956 When I walk in this building, 14 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,335 I have to take a deep breath because I really don't know what's coming at us. 15 00:01:06,087 --> 00:01:09,256 I go to hair and makeup at about 2:00 or 2:30. 16 00:01:12,593 --> 00:01:15,721 These women in here, they're not just artists. 17 00:01:15,805 --> 00:01:18,724 They're psychiatrists. [chuckles] 18 00:01:18,808 --> 00:01:20,309 Most importantly, they're friends. 19 00:01:21,519 --> 00:01:24,146 -You see yourself aging by the day. -[hair stylist chuckles] 20 00:01:24,230 --> 00:01:26,774 I'm like, "This is dep-- I did not have that yesterday. 21 00:01:26,857 --> 00:01:28,734 Where did that come from?" And she's like, "I'll cover it." 22 00:01:29,026 --> 00:01:30,403 Thank goodness. But it's really-- 23 00:01:30,486 --> 00:01:31,946 Job security for us. [laughs] 24 00:01:32,029 --> 00:01:35,241 She wants me to get wrinkles and gray hairs 25 00:01:35,324 --> 00:01:37,410 so then she's like, "Oh no, Sage needs me." 26 00:01:37,493 --> 00:01:39,161 -She needs me. -I do. I do though. 27 00:01:40,204 --> 00:01:42,456 And then it's time to go write the show. 28 00:01:42,957 --> 00:01:46,961 And I'm a little behind so I'm gonna have to... think quickly. 29 00:01:47,670 --> 00:01:49,255 Watch tape quickly and pray. 30 00:01:49,338 --> 00:01:50,172 [chuckles] 31 00:01:50,256 --> 00:01:51,757 This is our director, Brian Albon, 32 00:01:51,841 --> 00:01:53,509 -who makes us look pretty. -How are you? 33 00:01:54,009 --> 00:01:56,512 -And, literally, puts up with me. -It's not hard. 34 00:01:56,929 --> 00:01:59,348 She's one of the professionals that we-- 35 00:01:59,432 --> 00:02:02,309 everyone loves to work with so it makes my job that much easier. 36 00:02:02,393 --> 00:02:03,310 [both chuckle] 37 00:02:03,394 --> 00:02:04,812 -Sorry. That'll be $50. -Yeah, right. 38 00:02:04,895 --> 00:02:06,063 Yeah, exactly. Check's in the mail. 39 00:02:08,024 --> 00:02:09,692 -[Rose] Hello. -David Rose is our producer. 40 00:02:09,775 --> 00:02:11,193 Look, he's so thrilled to work with me. 41 00:02:11,277 --> 00:02:13,779 And my co-host, Kevin Negandhi, [chuckling] who's-- 42 00:02:13,863 --> 00:02:15,614 -Scarfing down lunch -Shoving food down our throats 43 00:02:15,698 --> 00:02:17,199 -at 3:00 p.m., so... -as usual too, yes. So... 44 00:02:17,742 --> 00:02:20,286 The biggest thing is this portion of the show. 45 00:02:20,911 --> 00:02:23,164 Right now I have you doing Todd Archer 46 00:02:23,247 --> 00:02:24,957 in the bottom of the eights on the Cowboys. 47 00:02:25,458 --> 00:02:27,293 -What I've come up with-- -Four o'clock and this is 48 00:02:27,376 --> 00:02:30,212 a semi-typical day where we 49 00:02:30,713 --> 00:02:32,631 don't necessarily know what's gonna lead the show. 50 00:02:32,715 --> 00:02:34,091 Is there a Michele Steele script? 51 00:02:35,676 --> 00:02:37,428 Sage, check your e-mail in one second. 52 00:02:39,430 --> 00:02:40,347 Thank you. 53 00:02:40,431 --> 00:02:42,266 One thing I think people are surprised to hear 54 00:02:42,349 --> 00:02:45,352 is that we write all of our own stuff. All of our own scripts. 55 00:02:45,436 --> 00:02:48,105 There's help from a tremendous staff. 56 00:02:48,189 --> 00:02:52,777 We have a really deep staff, a deep bench here on SportsCenter. 57 00:02:52,860 --> 00:02:55,363 It truly does take a village, 58 00:02:55,446 --> 00:03:01,077 and every single second of our 6:00 p.m. SportsCenter is planned. 59 00:03:01,452 --> 00:03:04,372 Writing the scripts and tweaking things and then, "Uh-oh, this news just broke." 60 00:03:04,455 --> 00:03:05,581 "Well, let's blow the whole thing up." 61 00:03:05,664 --> 00:03:06,874 "Have we cleared the story? 62 00:03:07,375 --> 00:03:09,794 Who do we have to credit? Who broke the story? 63 00:03:10,211 --> 00:03:11,420 Which video are we gonna cut? 64 00:03:11,504 --> 00:03:13,047 Let's try and get this in from last night." 65 00:03:13,130 --> 00:03:14,465 Or, "I just saw this on Twitter." 66 00:03:14,965 --> 00:03:19,929 It is fluid, with capital letters and bold print [chuckles] 67 00:03:20,012 --> 00:03:22,264 um, all the way up until the end of the show. 68 00:03:23,474 --> 00:03:27,520 I've always said that this collaboration is very much like a football team. 69 00:03:28,020 --> 00:03:30,690 You know, the anchors are kinda like the quarterbacks. 70 00:03:30,773 --> 00:03:33,192 They, whether they had a great show or bad show, 71 00:03:33,275 --> 00:03:36,112 they're gonna get the most press or the most attention. 72 00:03:36,529 --> 00:03:39,490 But in reality, all of us have to work together. 73 00:03:40,324 --> 00:03:42,076 [Rose] Turn your attention to this. 74 00:03:42,159 --> 00:03:43,494 So obviously if that happens, 75 00:03:43,577 --> 00:03:45,871 that zooms up to the eights and probably leads the show. 76 00:03:45,955 --> 00:03:51,127 For the last half hour to 20, 25 minutes, there's always an edginess, 77 00:03:51,210 --> 00:03:54,088 a good level of creative tension, if you will, 78 00:03:54,171 --> 00:03:57,258 that hopefully translates into a good product on the air. 79 00:03:57,758 --> 00:04:01,554 We're a half hour before the show, so the pressure's as high as it could be. 80 00:04:01,637 --> 00:04:03,431 We work really hard and she works really hard. 81 00:04:03,514 --> 00:04:04,765 You just wanna make her look good, 82 00:04:04,849 --> 00:04:09,061 and it's a great relationship between researchers and the talent. 83 00:04:09,895 --> 00:04:10,896 Stand by. 84 00:04:12,023 --> 00:04:13,441 -[Negandhi] ...Even on one leg-- -[Albon] Fifteen. 85 00:04:13,524 --> 00:04:14,734 -[bell rings] -[Steele] But why move it? 86 00:04:14,817 --> 00:04:17,611 Go, Jim. Take music. Got that. Stand by, 22. 87 00:04:17,695 --> 00:04:18,612 We got 20 back. 88 00:04:18,696 --> 00:04:20,781 -Playing out in five... four... -Four reel. 89 00:04:20,865 --> 00:04:23,242 Three... two and live. Let's run through track. 90 00:04:23,659 --> 00:04:25,077 Great news in college hoops. 91 00:04:25,161 --> 00:04:28,581 Yeah, that coaching carousel continues with huge news into SportsCenter. 92 00:04:28,664 --> 00:04:31,917 One of the members of the Fab Five heading back to his alma mater. 93 00:04:32,001 --> 00:04:33,085 All right, let's go to the Steelers. 94 00:04:33,169 --> 00:04:36,505 Antonio Brown is now gone. He's in Oakland. JuJu Smith-Schuster, 95 00:04:36,589 --> 00:04:38,132 now the number one option in Pittsburgh, of course. 96 00:04:40,342 --> 00:04:41,844 My teenage daughter... 97 00:04:43,345 --> 00:04:44,847 has decided to change her plans. 98 00:04:45,264 --> 00:04:48,017 I like how she does this while I'm on air so I can't do anything about it. 99 00:04:48,517 --> 00:04:50,186 -[man] Three minutes. -So, just wait till I'm done. 100 00:04:50,269 --> 00:04:52,396 -[chuckles] -See, this is called multitasking. 101 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,149 You have to multitask in commercial breaks to keep your kids alive. 102 00:04:57,610 --> 00:04:58,778 That's it. Shot's working. 103 00:04:59,236 --> 00:05:00,905 I can watch this all day because he's right on. 104 00:05:00,988 --> 00:05:02,531 -[Rose] Yes, he is. -Just, you know, kinda loose, 105 00:05:02,615 --> 00:05:04,617 -looks like Gumby. Kinda. -[Rose] Yeah. 106 00:05:04,700 --> 00:05:07,119 [Steele] So much of sports is personality-driven. 107 00:05:07,203 --> 00:05:08,537 So there's a ton of ad-libbing. 108 00:05:09,038 --> 00:05:11,624 And I say things and do things 109 00:05:11,707 --> 00:05:15,169 and write things much differently than anyone else here. 110 00:05:15,252 --> 00:05:17,755 -That shorts? Awesome. -Perfect. 111 00:05:17,838 --> 00:05:19,840 30 for 30 is next. Okay, bye. 112 00:05:22,885 --> 00:05:25,262 -[man] Thank you. Appreciate it. -Awesome, guys. Thank you, thank you. 113 00:05:25,346 --> 00:05:26,263 Good job, thank you. 114 00:05:26,347 --> 00:05:28,891 Every day I'm like, "We just did that. 115 00:05:28,974 --> 00:05:31,602 And the whole world potentially just saw it. That's kinda cool." 116 00:05:32,103 --> 00:05:33,187 -[Steele] Thank you, guys. -See ya. 117 00:05:33,270 --> 00:05:34,605 -See ya. Night. -[man] Thank you, guys. 118 00:05:35,022 --> 00:05:38,359 [Steele] It's cliché, but I really do have to pinch myself sometimes 119 00:05:38,442 --> 00:05:43,030 because how did this shy, really shy, little girl 120 00:05:43,114 --> 00:05:44,365 who had this crazy dream 121 00:05:44,448 --> 00:05:47,576 that girls didn't really dream of back in the 1980's, frankly, 122 00:05:47,660 --> 00:05:48,744 how did I do that? 123 00:05:49,161 --> 00:05:50,746 How, how am I here today? 124 00:05:51,706 --> 00:05:55,543 I just wanted to go talk sports and learn what makes these athletes great. 125 00:05:55,835 --> 00:05:57,712 That's all I ever thought it would be. 126 00:05:57,795 --> 00:06:01,507 Had nothing to do with fame or money or anything or making a difference. 127 00:06:01,590 --> 00:06:03,050 It was about my little dream. 128 00:06:03,134 --> 00:06:05,886 So now, I gotta continue to bring it. 129 00:06:06,637 --> 00:06:08,889 Every single day. Because you never know what little girl 130 00:06:08,973 --> 00:06:11,392 or boy is watching and who wants to be me.