Molly Qerim declares ‘it’s going to be a long day’ with Stephen A. Smith ‘in rare form’ to kick off First Take

FIRST Take star Stephen A. Smith joined Molly Qerim in the studio for the sports show on Monday morning – and he had no shortage of energy in his opening monologue.

Smith and NFL Hall-of-Famer Shannon Sharpe both returned last week after enjoying a lengthy summer vacation.

ESPN/First Take

ESPN/First Take

The lead analyst on First Take opened the show alongside Sharpe who joined the show virtually Monday.

“You gotta think about what life is on Monday morning, First Take’s in the house, the number one sports show in all of television,” Smith said to start the program.

“Shay Shay, I don’t even know where the h**l he is, he is traveling all over the place accumulating miles and stuff.

“I got Mollywood, she in the house blessing us with her presence.

“We got the NFL to talk about, we got college football to talk about we got a whole bunch of stuff to talk about.”

Smith then praised himself for looking too good and said the camera just gravitates to him.

Qerim got annoyed and could be heard screaming in the background, “Start the show.”

In the first segment, Smith and Qerim were joined by Sharpe and Dan Orlovsky.

Qerim joked that she needed some prayers sent her way as she was by herself with Smith for the show.

“Gentlemen I am going to need you to send prayers because Stephen A. is on one this morning,” Qerim said.

“Let me just tell you he’s in rare form and it’s going to be a long day and I’m here by myself this morning.”

The first topic discussed during the show was which quarterback needed to defeat Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes the most.

Sharpe believed Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson needed to defeat Mahomes.

“If he [Lamar] can get a signature playoff win over Patrick Mahomes, I think that’s going to put him in the top ten,” Sharpe said.

Molly Qerim's life in the spotlight

Molly Qerim has risen through the ranks to become one of the biggest stars at ESPN.

The popular sports host began her media career in 2006 with ESPN and spent four years with the network.

She then covered college basketball and football for CBS Sports Network in New York.

Qerim balanced that with hosting duties for NFL Network in Los Angeles – fronting NFLAM and NFL Fantasy Live.

The host returned to ESPN in 2015 and immediately took the role of First Take anchor.

And Qerim has been an ever-present, popular host of the daily sports debate show ever since.

Smith disagreed and said that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen needed to defeat Mahomes the most.

“Considering the flagrant greatness of Josh Allen, the stud that he is except for when he’s going up against Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs,” Smith said.

“That is a problem.”

Another topic discussed during Monday’s show included Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott’s contract situation.

Smith does not think Prescott deserves a contract extension after winning just two postseason games in eight years.

“Dak Prescott hasn’t proven he earned over the $60 million he inevitably is going to get,” Smith said.

“When it counts most, Dak Prescott has been a virtual no-show.”