Dan Orlovsky and Chris Russo make fun of Stephen A. over outdated photo

When Stephen A. Smith isn’t there, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Dan Orlovsky come out to play.

First take is clearly Smith’s show, make no mistake about that. But when he’s on vacation, he does get the occasional ribbing on his own show. Some of it is justified, and sometimes it just comes naturally, and that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday’s edition of ESPN’s flagship debate show.

Smith tweeted that he should “sit up in the damn chair and get his energy up,” and when his tweet went live on air, ESPN selected a photo of Smith that Orlovsky and Russo considered unflattering.

Christine Williamson sat in the anchor chair and prepared a tee shot for Orlovsky, who couldn’t help but smile when he saw an old photo of Smith.

Orlovsky and Russo couldn’t resist making a few jokes about him, especially about his appearance before his recent weight loss efforts.

“I just want to get a current picture of Stephen A. In the picture, it looks like Stephen A. weighed 25 pounds before he decided to get fit,” Orlovksy said. “We still had some chubby cheeks, the neck is a little wider. The hairline is obviously still an issue, but maybe we can get a current picture.”

“A little clunky,” Russo added.

Dan Orlovsky asks ESPN to get a current picture of Stephen A. Smith: “We still had a few chubby cheeks, the neck is a little wider.”

“A little clunky.” – Chris Russo. pic.twitter.com/n0qHMDgvua

— Awful Announcement (@awfulannouncing) July 16, 2024

“I don’t think that’s something to say,” Williamson said, laughing.

That’s part of Mad Dog’s charm: He has no filter. And after Smith started giving him marching orders and criticizing him for not living up to standards, you had to imagine Russo would come back with a dig. Smith caught wind of the commentary and had fun with Orlovsky’s and Russo’s comments.

Haaaaaaa!!!! Tell them @danorlovsky7. Tell them. That picture is definitely more than 30 pounds old. There aren’t many guys walking around at 56 who can feel better than he did at 36. Take notes😀. And @MadDogUnleashedcalls me “fat” on @First Take is a reason for termination😀! Love…

– Stephen A. Smith (@stephenasmith) July 16, 2024

Maybe ESPN will find a recent photo when Smith returns from his long-awaited vacation.

(Terrible announcement)