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Appreciating SVP & Russillo

Jason Barrett

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Scott Van Pelt often asks “How good’s your good?” when discussing athletes and teams. If you apply this trademark question to SVP & Russillo (1-4 p.m. ET), his ESPN Radio show hasn’t just been good – it’s been great.

For the past six years, Van Pelt and co-host Ryen Russillo have created a smart and entertaining show that reflects the kind of conversations you’d have about sports with close friends. Van Pelt and Russillo have brought strong opinions, humor, wit and always an appreciation for the games that are played and the athletes who play them. There’s been plenty of good-natured ribbing among the show staff too – and even some tales of bad beats along the way.

SVP & Russillo’s final show airs Friday before Van Pelt moves onto his new host role on the midnight ET SportsCenter and Russillo kicks off The Russillo Show in the same time slot Monday, June 22. Before the duo signs off Friday, here’s “10 Great Things about ESPN Radio’s SVP & Russillo“:

1) Rejoin music: The show’s catalog is legendary – Beastie Boys, The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, Del the Funky Homosapien and more. Playlists are published on Slacker Radio.

2) Pulse of the Nation: Long before Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s “Locker Room Guy” video onJimmy Kimmel Live!, Van Pelt and Russillo channeled wicked Boston accents for Pulse of the Nation set to the Dropkick Murphys.

3) Show staff: From Van Pelt and Russillo to producer Stanford Steve (Coughlin) and board operator Outsider Mike (Constantinou), the show has always featured a close-knit and likeable group.

4) Who’s the Jerk?: An offshoot of Who’s the Nerd?, a segment Russillo devised on a road trip to College Station, Texas, last fall, Who’s the Jerk? was a no-holds-barred airing of grievances between Van Pelt, Russillo, Stanford Steve and former show producer Ray Necci (who now produces Mike & Mike) that shed light on each of their personalities and brought big laughs.

5) One Big Thing: Van Pelt’s signature daily commentary discussed the biggest story of the day, an off-the-radar topic, or even something more personal (i.e., when he announced the end of the radio show). No matter the subject, it’s often the hosts at their thoughtful and introspective best.

6) Chris Long: The St. Louis Rams defensive end has joined the show Fridays this offseason. Whether he’s sharing stories from his NFL Draft experience or talking about plans to attend music festivals, Long is always entertaining.

7) Winners: A staple on Football Fridays, Van Pelt, Russillo and Stanford Steve share their weekend college and NFL game picks (purely for entertainment purposes). The segment concludes with “Carl’s Stone Cold Lock of the Century of the Week” pick from Cartoon Network Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

8) Tim Kurkjian’s laugh: ESPN MLB analyst Tim Kurkjian makes a weekly appearance in-season. After talking baseball, Van Pelt always tried to make his fellow Marylander laugh using a Baltimore accent.

9) The “Third Hour”: During the final (3 p.m.) hour – when there’s no TV simulcast on ESPNEWS, the show can get a little loose, but that often produces some of the best segments. Listeners ask questions during What? and there’s also story time when Van Pelt and Russillo talk about their friends, parenting, weekend plans and anything else on their minds.

10) “The Duke” Raps: Dan “The Duke” Davis is an ESPN Radio original who joined the network in 1992. While his official job was to anchor update segments through the years, the radio legend has a cult following for lending his voice to rap lyrics for SVP & Russillo.

Credit to ESPN Front Row who originally published this article

Sports Radio News

Charles Barkley: ‘I Want to Be on TV Less’

“His contract with Warner Bros. Discovery runs through 2024-25.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Charles Barkley

It’s possible you could see Charles Barkley appearing occasionally on CNN.

Reports from The Wall Street Journal and Variety this week indicate the cable news network is close to finishing a deal that would have Gayle King on the network. Rumors have said that the network would like to have Barkley join her, but Barkley says nothing is decided on his end.

In an appearance on Bickley & Marotta on Arizona Sports on Tuesday, the Suns legend and NBA on TNT analyst said he and King are friends so this wouldn’t be a situation where the duo would be coming in green.

“I’ve gotten to know her well through the years through my relationship with Oprah (Winfrey) and she’s just cool,” Barkley said. “I said, ‘I would consider doing a show with Gayle, one day a week starting in the fall.'”

But Barkley, 60, reiterated what he’s made known for a while now: he doesn’t plan on sticking around in the TV business for too much longer. His contract with Warner Bros. Discovery runs through 2024-25. So this CNN opportunity could be pretty limited in scope, which is what Charles desired.

“It’ll only be one day a week if I decide to do it,” Barkley said. “I said, ‘No, I don’t want to be on TV more. I want to be on TV less.'”

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Sports Radio News

John Kincade: Thursday Night Football Flex Vote About ‘Licking Jeff Bezos’s Boots’

“For these billionaires to be licking his boots? Embarrassing. They can’t do this. It’s obnoxious.”

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John Kincade

A report claims that at the NFL owners meetings, a proposal to give the league the ability to implement flex scheduling for Thursday Night Football was proposed. 97.5 The Fanatic’s John Kincade was flabbergasted at the idea.

The proposal would allow the NFL to move scheduled games in the final weeks of the season from Sunday to Thursday. The league would also have to change the rule that teams could only play one Thursday Night Football game per season to accommodate the change.

During The John Kincade Show Tuesday, the host claimed that even considering the idea was simply a matter of the owners kowtowing to Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, whose company — Prime Video — broadcasts the package.

“They’re licking Jeff Bezos’s boots,” Kincade said. “I can only imagine buddies running trips and fans go ‘Ok, I’m going to the Eagles game on Sunday. I’m flying in Friday, spend two nights in a hotel, and fly out Monday’. Oh no you’re not, the game’s been moved to Thursday night. This is freaking ridiculous, and shining Bezos’s shoes is freaking embarrassing. For these billionaires to be licking his boots? Embarrassing. They can’t do this. It’s obnoxious.”

Kincade continued by marvelling at the idea even being floated to the public.

“To me, it’s just such a dumb idea. But sometimes those things happen in sports.”

The 97.5 The Fanatic host is not the only sports media member who has shared their displeasure with the proposal this week. Monday Morning Quarterback’s Peter King aired similar sentiments, saying “We can all agree this seems insane.”

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Sports Radio News

Mike Francesa: BetRivers Podcast Is Enough For Me Right Now

“I’ve had a couple offers in the last couple of months. I’ve turned them all down. Anybody that’s asked me for steady work or to do something Monday through Friday I’ve said no.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Mike Francesa

If you were hoping to catch Mike Francesa hosting a daily TV or radio show in the future, that ship has likely sailed.

Asked by a listener on his Mike Francesa Podcast if he would go back to doing a show on television similar to his Mike’d Up program on NBC New York, Francesa said it’s not in his future.

“I would doubt it,” he said on his Monday episode. “At this point, I’m not as visible. So it wouldn’t make as much sense as having me now as it would then. And frankly, I’m doing what I do now, and I love doing it.”

Francesa reunited with his former WFAN co-host Chris “Mad Dog” Russo on ESPN’s First Take back in January, but Mike said the podcast he’s doing for the BetRivers Network checks all the boxes of what he’s looking for work-wise at the moment.

“It’s actually enough,” he said. “I’ve had a couple offers in the last couple of months. I’ve turned them all down. Anybody that’s asked me for steady work or to do something Monday through Friday I’ve said no.”

“It would have to be something very unusual for me to do on a regular basis,” he added.

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