Geeked out.
If you ask Elle Duncan how she feels about her NFL Draft assignment this week, she’ll likely respond with those two words. Sure, she already has her dream job at ESPN, but this week presents an opportunity that could be likened to a bucket list sports media assignment. She gets to co-host Get Up on Thursday and Friday and then co-host live NFL Draft coverage on ESPN Radio.
The best part about it? Duncan gets to anchor and co-host with Kevin Negandhi, who’s not only her partner on the 6 p.m. SportsCenter, but also one of her best friends.
“Kevin and I were approached about a geeked out opportunity to host the NFL Draft on the radio, which is so significant,” said Duncan. “Not many people know I did radio for eight years, so it was just a really cool opportunity to do radio with Kevin. We’ve done tons of TV shows together but we’ve only done a couple of radio shows together. It’s really cool and unique to do what we do on television and sort of put it in a radio environment with a great group of people around us.”
Negandhi views this opportunity to discuss and give live updates to the greatest reality show on TV. When you consider all the excitement, twists, turns and great stories that come from the NFL Draft, it’s hard to disagree.
Alongside Duncan and Negandhi will be NFL Front Office Insider Mike Tannenbaum, ESPN Radio’s Bart Scott and reporter Ian Fitzsimmons.
“We’re going to see it basically play out in front of us and Elle and I get a chance to react to it,” said Negandhi. “One of the things Elle and I love to do in the 6:00 pm SportsCenter show is react. We got into the business because we’re passionate fans and when we can, go back and forth providing information and knowledge. We can have our opinion but then we’re backed up with smart people like Mike Tannenbaum, Bart Scott and Ian Fitzsimmons. We’re not like the game managers, but at the same time, we want to make sure everyone jumps in and everything flows well.”
Duncan did radio in Atlanta from age 20 to age 32. She was at 790 The Zone in Atlanta, before transitioning to hip hop at V103, which has previously been voted as the No. 1 Urban Station in the Country. Duncan also did pre, post and halftime shows on the Atlanta Falcons Radio Network.
Negandhi did basketball play-by-play at his college radio station. He was also a sports producer at 610 WIP in Philadelphia, rounetly fielding angry calls from Eagles fans in the late 90’s. During his stint at ESPN, he filled in for Scott Van Pelt with Ryan Russillo.
So it’s not like the decision makers in Bristol are just throwing two SportsCenter anchors on the radio, giving them a former GM, a former player and a reporter and wishing them good luck, both Negandhi and Duncan know how to conduct a sports radio show.
But that’s not the biggest reason why they’ll be a success on Thursday and Friday night. The main reason why it’ll be compelling radio is the same reason that makes any great show – chemistry.
Negandhi and Duncan respect each other. More importantly, they really like each other and know how to feed off one another. Those factors make me strongly believe they’ll provide unbelievable commentary and entertainment during the NFL Draft.
“Oh yeah, especially when we don’t have a script and have no idea what’s going to happen next,” Negandhi said. ”She’s going through heartbreak with her Broncos and I’m going through heartbreak with my Eagles. So as that continues as a storyline entering the conversation in the Top 10, I can rely on Elle when it comes to anything with the Broncos and even her background with the Falcons, because she’s from there and knows the history. I think that’s the great thing about trusting each other, when we pepper each other, we all know the end goal, which is, what’s best for the audience? I think radio is the best of all those worlds coming together for something that’s a live event.”
If the duo were on the live set of SportsCenter, you could go off-cuff a little and complain about your team, but for the most part, it would be kept extremely short due to the structure of a television show. However on radio, Negandhi’s frustrations with the Eagles and Duncan’s frustrations with the Broncos will be on full display.
“Is that a nice way of saying, are you going to show your ass, now?” laughed Duncan. “Yes if we draft another tight end I’m going to lose it. Honestly, in my opinion as someone who’s done both, I think it’s a lot easier to have natural chemistry with someone on radio, because it’s much more conducive to having just a conversation with friends. Everyone that’s involved with this broadcast is just going to sit around and talk about football. You can do cues to each other on radio that you can’t get away with on television. The chemistry we have on television is going to be exponentially greater in a situation like radio, because it’s set up that way.”
It’s really easy to root for these two, because they’re both such likeable people. When you throw in the fact they genuinely care about each other’s success, you can see why so many people in Bristol are rooting for them on both Get Up and ESPN Radio this week. Regardless of what happens, ESPN knows what they have on the 6 p.m. SportsCenter show with Duncan and Negandhi. What they have is a team that could represent a generational TV show for many years to come.
But what exactly is happening to make it work so well?
“Because we’re good friends and we trust each other,” said Negandhi. “We know each other’s space and there’s no ego. The show is always the priority. I think we carry each other with the same respect, that I want to do well and I want you to do well. When you have that type of relationship and you can trust each other, you can take chances and risks because you know your partner has your back.”
“What I enjoy about Kevin is, first, he has my back,” said Duncan. “That’s the most important thing. You have to have each other’s back. I am only interested in what’s best for the show and we’re all like-minded in that we all have the common goal of putting on the best television. I really like Kevin as a person. He’s a great, family man and we’re both in very similar situations in that we’ve reached our dream job. We’ve worked hard to get here, we love what we do but it doesn’t define us as people. I love that we’re both in similar places in our life.”
You can catch Duncan and Negandhi, April 29th and 30th on Get Up, from 8-10 a.m. EST and ESPN Radio during all the action of the NFL Draft.
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
