While making his return to SportsCenter after 22 years, sports personality Rich Eisen paid homage to former host Stuart Scott, who passed away in 2015.

During the broadcast, a montage of Eisen and Scott's moments showed. It then cut to Eisen in the present day, and he honored Scott.

“It has been a blast being here tonight, but listen, we all know there should be someone else right here in this chair next to me as he was for my seven years in the role he referred to as my ‘TV wife,' and that's my dear, late friend Stuart Scott, who's indeed looking over my shoulder tonight,” Eisen began.

“I frequently think of Stuart, and what he might think of the sports headlines of the day, like, say, Bill Belichick being the head football coach at his beloved school [North Carolina]. We used to host SportCenters after LeBron's [James] high school games, so what would Stuart think of James still playing at age 40 with 40,000 points?” he continued.

Eisen ended on an emotional note. “I miss Stuart so very much — he should be in that chair with me, with us tonight,” Eisen concluded.

Article Continues Below

Who was Rich Eisen's SportsCenter co-host Stuart Scott?

Scott was a sportscaster and one of ESPN's anchors for SportsCenter. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Scott was known for his iconic catchphrases during his time with ESPN.

He passed away on January 4, 2015, of appendiceal cancer. Scott was 49 years old at the time of his passing. He left a mark on the sports world, and his legacy remains relevant to this day.

Eisen was previously with ESPN from 1996-2003. He gained fame as a duo with Scott. Eisen would subsequently leave to join NFL Network in 2003, remaining there to this day.

Now, Eisen returns to ESPN in some capacity after the company bought NFL Media (including NFL Network). His recent return to SportsCenter marked his first time on the show in over two decades.