For Immediate Release
ESPN PR
June 20, 2008
860-766-2000

Anchors Named for Live 9 a.m.-3 p.m. ET Monday-Friday SportsCenter

Current SportsCenter anchors Josh Elliott, Robert Flores and Chris McKendry will join the previously announced Hannah Storm as anchors for the live daytime SportsCenters which debut Monday, Aug. 11.

Sage Steele will present the SportsCenter updates every 20 minutes Monday-Friday throughout the 6 a.m.-noon blocks. Steele has been handling the update responsibilities on ESPN2 during the Mike a& Mike in the Morning simulcast and First Take

SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship news, highlights and information program, will go live 9 a.m.-3 p.m. ET Monday-Friday starting August 11, the opening week of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, replacing the current wheel of re-aired SportsCenters. ESPN’s morning programming has consisted of encore presentations of SportsCenter since January 1996.

The new six-hour block of live SportsCenters will feature two teams of two main show anchors, an update anchor, and production personnel split into three-hour shifts. Shows will generally reset every hour and SportsCenter Right Now updates will be presented every 20 minutes throughout the block.

The new SportsCenter weekday anchor teams 

9 a.m.-noon:     Hannah Storm* and Josh Elliott

noon-3 p.m.      Chris McKendry and Robert Flores

*Fridays during the NFL season, Steele will replace Storm who will co-host Sunday morning’s SportsCenters. 

“The depth and talent of our existing SportsCenter anchor team ensures the daily SportsCenters will meet the high standard set by its nightly predecessor,” said Norby Williamson, executive vice president, production. “Producing six additional hours of live SportsCenter illustrates our commitment to satisfying fans’ needs for sports news that is immediate, interactive and entertaining.” 

Click on the name for:      Bios                   Photos

             Elliott                        Elliott         

             Flores                       Flores          

             McKendry                McKendry        

             Steele                      Steele

                  Storm                               Storm 

 
 

Josh Elliott, a southern California native, has served as SportsCenter anchor since joining ESPN from Sports Illustrated.

Robert Flores, a Houston native, joined ESPN in March 2005 as an ESPNEWS anchor and has since anchored SportsCenter after serving as sports director to TV stations in Austin and Waco.

Chris McKendry, a Philadelphia native, joined ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor in July 1996, from WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. where she was the first woman to work as a television sports anchor in the market

Sage Steele, previously the lead anchor for Comcast SportsNet, serving the Washington D.C./Baltimore region, joined ESPN in February 2007 and has provided news updates during ESPN2’s morning programming

Hannah Storm, an Oak Park, Ill. native, joins SportsCenter after five years as host of CBS News’ The Early Show, and 10 years at NBC Sports where she became the first woman to act as solo host of a broadcast network's sports series when she hosted NBC's MLB coverage.

SportsCenter will evolve throughout the day, originally putting more emphasis on reviewing the previous night’s news and events, then shifting that emphasis to the news of the day, that night’s events, and the current “buzz” via fan interactivity through a new SportsCenter.com site. Shows (available on ESPNHD) will consist of highlights, breaking news, expert analysis, commentary and debate, plus interviews, live coverage of press conferences, and more.

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