Stephen A. in, Bernstein out at 1050

Stephen A. Smith, a rising star at ESPN back in the mid-2000s, is back with the Worldwide Leader as a local radio host in New York and Los Angeles and as a contributor to ESPN.com.

Well, this should be interesting. But wait: SAS is scheduled for the 7 to 9 p.m. slot on 1050 ESPN, which during the football season was occupied by Bonnie Bernstein after her departure from Michael Kay's show.

(Today is MK's 50th birthday, BTW. Welcome to the club, sir.)

I asked ESPN about Ms. Bernstein's status and got this response from a spokesman:

"Bonnie will no longer contribute to 1050 ESPN. Her last appearance was at the conclusion of the AFC championship.

"We made a programming decision to go in another direction with the Stephen A. Smith show. We wish her well."

Bernstein is in North Texas this week doing Super Bowl-related work, but that work will not include reporting for 1050.

She does remain under contract to ESPN at this time.

UPDATE: Here is a comment from Bonnie via email:

"I love being back at ESPN and I'm really proud of the NFL show Greg Buttle and I built this season. I’m still under contract and exploring other opportunities beyond radio."