Let’s be clear: here at The Football Beat (TFB), we love Craig Carton. We think he’s hilarious.
Obviously, the folks at Fox Sports do, too, because when the post-Skip Bayless morning lineup starts on Fox Sports 1 (FS1) next week, Carton is still a focal point.
But instead of being on a show bearing his own name, Carton is one of a few on a panel show called Breakfast Ball, with Mark Schlereth and Danny Parkins. Its regular time slot will be 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Eastern, and the idea of another panel show – we’re not necessarily sold on, although we also love Parkins and Schlereth.
Schlereth guides the show, in and out of breaks, and introduces the topics, all of which Carton did on his own show. Fine, we can live with that – Schlereth was a frequent guest on the old Mike & Mike show on ESPN, he’s appeared on shows forever, and we’ve often heard whispered he’d get his own one day. He’s sharing it, but good for Mark.
Ball has already been on FS1 for a trial run last week in the afternoon, and now it’ll get its regular morning slot, so we jump into the deep end of the pool.
Here’s hoping it’s a smash and the sports audience who loves the debate shows will herd (no pun intended) to one more.
