Even Down 1, ESPN's Sage Steele Says Cubs in 6 Games

Thanks to trips to CVS, Target and the downtown Geiger’s store, Sage Steele was able to bundle up before hosting ESPN’s pregame coverage of the World Series on East Fourth Street last night. Exhausted by a travel day from hell, which included a six-hour car ride from Chicago, the anchor watched the Cleveland Indians shut out her Chicago Cubs from the comfort of her hotel room.

“I’m a wimp … my room is at 74 degrees,” laughs Steele. “I just came from Arizona, where it’s 98 degrees.”

Despite last night’s record-setting performance by Corey Kluber, Steele is standing by her on-air pick of the Cubs in six games even thought co-anchor Jay Crawford says otherwise. “The vibe about [the Cubs] is like no other,” she says. “They don’t care about a curse — there’s a quiet confidence about them. I don’t think there’s any panic in this team.”

Steele became a Cubs fan in the summer of 1993 when her boyfriend and future husband took her to Wrigley Field. “He loved the Cubs, therefore I loved the Cubs,” she says. “His family’s bonding experience was watching Cubs games on TV.”

Sharing the SportsCenter desk with lifelong Indians’ fan Jay Crawford this week has been a treat for Steele. The two worked together at a Tampa TV station in the late 1990s and their families are close. But that isn’t stopping them from making a rather unique bet on the Series. “When the Cubs win, Jay has to wear my extra small Cubs T-shirt on the air while eating hard-boiled eggs, which he hates. If the Indians win, I have to wear an Indians jersey on the air with a live snake around my neck.”

Steele says if the Indians weren’t playing the Cubs she would be rooting for the Tribe. “Baseball needs a series like this,” she says. “Terry Francona and Joe Maddon are two of the better human beings in the game. The result will be beautiful for one of these fan bases. I just hope it’s mine.”