Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Russillo and Kanell

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Genre
  
Sports talk

Country
  
United States

TV adaptations
  
ESPNews

Running time
  
3 hours

Home station
  
ESPN Radio

Starring
  
Ryen Russillo (2009–present) Danny Kanell (2015–present) Scott Van Pelt (2007–2015) Mike Tirico (2007–09) Michele Tafoya (2007–08) Kirk Herbstreit (2007–08)

Russillo and Kanell is a syndicated sports talk radio show hosted by Ryen Russillo and Danny Kanell. The show is heard on ESPN Radio from 1 pm to 4 pm, with all three hours also simulcasted on ESPNews.

Contents

The previous version of the show was launched as The Scott Van Pelt Show on July 6, 2009, replacing Tirico & Van Pelt, which was co-hosted by Scott Van Pelt and Mike Tirico. That show began on September 20, 2007 as The Mike Tirico Show, with Van Pelt, Michele Tafoya and Kirk Herbstreit as rotating co-hosts. The Mike Tirico Show aired from 1 pm to 3 pm under that title for a total of 160 shows until April 30, 2008.

On May 1, 2008 the show was officially renamed Tirico & Van Pelt. Van Pelt also began hosting the first version of The Scott Van Pelt Show, which aired from 3 pm to 4 pm, immediately following T&VP. Van Pelt's solo hour ended in March 2009 as T&VP moved down to 2 pm to 4 pm. Tirico left the series in June 2009 to focus on his work with ESPN television, and Ryen Russillo became a co-host. On October 4, 2012, the show officially changed its title to SVP & Russillo.

In May 2015, Van Pelt announced that he was leaving the show to become the weeknight midnight anchor on SportsCenter starting in the late summer of 2015 (September 7).

The Mike Tirico Show era

Mike Tirico, as the titular head of the show, appeared in exactly 75% of the shows. On Mondays he was usually joined by Kirk Herbstreit, Wednesdays he was usually joined by Michele Tafoya, and Tuesdays and Fridays he and Scott Van Pelt were usually together. On Thursdays there was no typical co-host. Erik Kuselias served most frequently as guest host. A day-by-day breakdown of who hosted is as follows:

Note: There was one Monday, two Tuesdays, four Wednesdays, ten Thursdays, and three Fridays where there was only one host. Kevin Sheehan, Trevor Matich, and Scott Reiss hosted on a Friday. Trevor Matich, Scott Reiss, Doug Gottlieb, and Chris Fowler (twice) hosted on a Thursday. Scott Reiss hosted on a Wednesday. Chris Fowler (twice), Kevin Sheehan, Karl Ravech, and John Seibel hosted on a Tuesday. Sean Salisbury and John Siebel hosted on a Monday.

Although Tafoya and Herbstreit were no longer billed as co-hosts, Tafoya guest-hosted since the change, and both continued to appear as guests. Tafoya left ESPN Radio in 2009.

Timeslot history

The Mike Tirico Show and The Stephen A. Smith Show replaced a rotation of various hosts, under the umbrella title This is ESPN Radio, which had been airing since Dan Patrick announced on July 9, 2007 that he would leave The Dan Patrick Show on August 17 of that year. Patrick was held off-air following that announcement – and the subsequent announcement that he would move to a new syndicated radio show – save for three final episodes airing August 15 through 17.

On March 22, 2008, it was announced that Scott Van Pelt would become Tirico's permanent co-host, and host the 3–4 pm hour solo.

The Stephen A. Smith Show aired its final episode on April 11, 2008, with Smith focusing more on ESPN television at that time; SportsNation began an hour earlier for two weeks until Van Pelt began hosting the hour on May 1. The 3 pm hour is heard on far fewer affiliates than the 1–3 pm timeslot, as many local sports talk shows air at 3 pm in the Eastern Time Zone.

On New York City's ESPN-owned WEPN, Mike Tirico originally aired only for its first hour, followed by Smith's local show from 2–3 pm and his national show from 3–4 pm; following Smith's departure, Tirico & Van Pelt began airing in the country's largest market in its entirety, with Michael Kay adding another hour, taking over Smith's national hour. In January 2009, Kay's show expanded earlier again, to 2 pm, truncating T&VP back to one hour in the New York market.

As part of a programming overhaul, ESPN Radio moved Tirico & Van Pelt from its 1–3 pm Eastern slot to 2–4 pm Eastern on March 16, 2009, discontinuing Van Pelt's solo hour. The show currently does not air in New York, but does air in Los Angeles and for one hour in Chicago.

As of the 2008 NFL football season, Carl Brutananadilewski, a popular character on the Adult Swim animated television series Aqua Teen Hunger Force (currently titled Aqua Teen Hunger Force Forever), has made appearances on The Scott Van Pelt Show. In a segment on Friday afternoons, Carl picks one NFL game's winner every week known as "Carl's Stone Cold Lock of the Century ... of the Week". Meatwad has also introduced Van Pelt's weekly NCAA and NFL football picks. Pictures of Meatwad, Master Shake, and Frylock can be seen on the main desk of Van Pelt's radio show when it is shown on ESPN television networks. A custom Aqua Teen calendar can be seen as well, featuring pictures of Carl posing on the hood of muscle cars.

On television

All 3 hours of the show (1–4 pm Eastern) air each day on ESPNEWS.

References

Russillo and Kanell Wikipedia