For Dan Graca, his career in broadcasting began in 2003 as an intern at 1050 ESPN Radio in New York.
“It seems like it was forever ago,” said Graca.
The frequency has changed from 1050AM to 98.7 FM, but 19 years later, Graca is the new weekday night host from 7 pm to 10 pm at ESPN New York.
Graca was hired part-time by 1050 in 2004 and things have certainly come full circle for him in his career being back where it all began.
“It means a lot,” said Graca. “What’s cool about it is having the opportunity to work again with people that you have a relationship with already. It’s not necessarily the case of ‘new kid in school and you have to make all new friends’. These are people who I’ve known for a long time and a lot of people that you began your career with.”
Graca began the new show on August 15th, filling the vacancy left by Chris Carlin when he became the co-host of the national ESPN Radio afternoon drive show with Chris Canty. He had been with Sirius XM’s Mad Dog Radio for the last 12 years and will continue to work in a part-time role for Sirius XM’s MLB Network Radio, but the opportunity to take over a prime piece of real estate in New York radio was too good to pass up.
“You always want to be someplace you’re wanted,” said Graca. “They let it be known that they wanted to bring me back home and after thinking about it, it seemed like it was a perfect fit.”
“I’m really grateful both for the people over at ESPN and the folks over at Sirius XM that they’re allowing me to do both because that was important to me. We had to compromise a little bit and say goodbye to the Mad Dog Radio part but the fact that they’re at least letting me do the baseball is important to me.”
While Graca is now full-time at ESPN New York, he has maintained a working relationship with them over the years as a fill-in host, hosting New York Knicks and New York Rangers pre-and post-game shows and for the last five years as the pre-and post-game host for the New York Jets.
Speaking of the Jets, the team that Graca grew up rooting for, had a busy off-season and the expectations are higher in 2022.
“It would be nice to certainly have a little bit more happy recaps,” said Graca who teams with former Jets linebacker Greg Buttle on the pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows.
“When you have an opportunity to work so closely with a team, you want them to do well for a variety of reasons. It just so happens I grew up as a fan so I want them to do well there but it’s also good for my business. It kind of works hand in hand.”
It’s been a little over a week since Graca began his new weeknight gig and on night one, he let his listeners know that the show was a place for them to hang out after a long day.
And the discussion doesn’t necessarily have to be all about the Xs and O’s of the sports world.
“We can talk sports, we can laugh about things and talk about things outside the sports world,” said Graca.
The show is very much a work in progress as Graca gears up for the pennant races as well as the pro and college football seasons. He’s using the remainder of the summer to tweak a few things and get the kinks out before the fall rolls around.
“I think getting your feet wet is a good way to put it because I still think there are things to tweak and I’m always thinking of things that we can incorporate into the show and we will,” said Graca. “You haven’t seen the final product yet but I think that will be figured out over the next couple of weeks.”
There’s a saying that “You Can’t Go Home Again” based on the novel written by Thomas Wolfe that was originally published in 1934. Bon Jovi shot that saying down with the 2005 song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home?”
It’s appropriate that both Jon Bon Jovi and Dan Graca are from New Jersey because Graca is proof that you can go home again.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
