Wendi Nix (born September 17, 1974) is an American anchor and sports reporter for ESPN.

Professional[link]

Wendi primarily handles coverage for NFL and College Football games featuring teams from the New England area. Prior to working for ESPN, Nix was a weekend sports anchor at WHDH in Boston (2003–2006) and previously reported for Fox Sports Net, NESN and WPDE in South Carolina. Nix remains an occasional guest analyst on the weekend show "Sports Xtra" on WHDH.

Personal[link]

Wendi Nix was born in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. She is a 1992 graduate of Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She has received degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Wendi was married to Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington and the couple resided in the Boston area. A 2010 interview with the Myrtle Beach Tribune indicates they are no longer married.^[1]

External links[link]

• ESPN MediaZone Bio

References[link]

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Michelle Beadle
Michelle Beadle on the SportsNation set
Born	(1975-10-23) October 23, 1975 (age 36)
Education	University of Texas at San Antonio
Occupation	Television host Television personality Sideline reporter
Notable credit(s)	SportsNation Winners Bracket

Michelle Denise Beadle (born October 23, 1975) is currently a transitioning sports reporter and host from ESPN to NBCUniversal. She was the co-host of SportsNation on ESPN2 with Colin Cowherd, and Winners Bracket on ABC with Marcellus Wiley.

Beadle is a graduate of University of Texas at San Antonio and had various hosting jobs prior to joining ESPN in 2009, most notably for the YES Network as a reporter for the New Jersey Nets.

Life and career[link]

Early life[link]

Michelle Beadle was born in Italy^[1] to Bob Beadle, a former executive at Valero Energy, and Serenella Paladino, from Italy.^[2] She spent the first half of her childhood in Roanoke, Texas,^[1] outside of Dallas and the second half in Boerne, a small town outside of San Antonio, Texas.^[3] She said that her mother was her best friend growing up because her mother did not speak English when she came to America and they had to learn the language together.^[2] From the age of six, she wanted to be a lawyer because she heard they made a lot of money.^[4] She was admittedly a tomboy growing up and had all guy friends.^[5] She graduated from Boerne High School.^[2]

Beadle attended the University of Texas for political science^[4] as a pre-law student^[2] with aspirations of becoming an attorney.^[1] She later joined a law group, and worked at the capital in Austin,^[4] which helped dissuade her from pursuing a legal career.^[1] After three years she decided against law and took three years off because she did not know what she wanted to do and her college credits were geared toward law school.^[4] She spent time in Canada working odd jobs and doing "nothing" and eventually returned to Austin and waited tables while trying to figure out what to do with her life.^[1][4]

Beadle attended the University of Texas and the University of Texas at San Antonio,^[6][7] graduating from the latter.^[8][9]

Early career[link]

With her father's assistance, Beadle got her career start as an intern for the San Antonio Spurs and was later given a shot at being a reporter.^[2][10] She also started her career at Fox Sports Net hosting Big Game Hunters.^[9] In 2002,^[8] Beadle moved to TNN as a "behind-the-chutes" sideline reporter for the coverage of the Professional Bull Riders' (PBR) Bud Light Cup tour.^[2] She was originally meant to fill in for two weeks but was asked to stay full-time.^[4] While at TNN, she also served as a freelance reporter for CBS Sports on its coverage of the PBR and ESPN's Titan Games.^[9]

Next, Beadle went to the Travel Channel and hosted the show Get Packing.^[4] She then hosted a show for Major League Baseball Production's magazine show^[9] called Cathedrals of the Game.^[4] Beadle later worked for the YES Network where she conducted interviews and did feature reporting for YES' regular season, preseason, and postseason New Jersey Nets telecasts.^[8] She also served as a sideline reporter for Nets basketball games, was co-host of Kids on Deck and Sportslife NYC, and was the host of YES' Ultimate Road Trip.^[8] Additionally, Beadle hosted College Sports Television's The 1 College Sports Show, and pre and postgame sports shows. She was also the reporter for the NFL Films syndicated program NFL Under the Helmet.^[9]

She also hosted several other entertainment-themed and reality-based shows, including People.com's feature, What You Missed Over the Weekend; Fine Living Network's I Want Your Job; Animal Planet's Animal Planet Report; Travel Channel’s Beach Week series and Discovery Channel's Inside Orlando's Resorts, and Outrageous Room Service. She has also been a Red Carpet reporter for the Golden Globes, Grammy Awards, SAG Awards and the Tony Awards, and contributed for People Magazine on television, appearing on The Today Show, The Early Show, Extra, Access Hollywood, and Entertainment Tonight.^[9]

Career at ESPN[link]

Beadle joined ESPN on June 1, 2009, as co-host with Colin Cowherd of SportsNation,^[9] which premiered on ESPN2 on July 6, 2009.^[11] Beadle was one of the last people out of 142 to audition for SportsNation.^[12] ESPN called her back and asked her to write about what she would do to make the show better.^[12] Thinking it was a joke, she wrote "a sarcastic list of 10 stupid things," which helped her land the job.^[12] Prior to co-hosting SportsNation, during her time at TNN, Beadle also worked freelance as a reporter for ESPN's Titan Games.^[8] She also was the New York SportsCenter anchor for ESPN Radio’s The Michael Kay Show on 1050 ESPN New York.^[3][9]

She was later named the co-host of Winners Bracket along with Marcellus Wiley. The show, which was part of ESPN Sports Saturday, a two-hour block of sports programming on ABC, premiered on April 3, 2010.^[13] She also hosts a weekly Podcast, "The Michelle Beadle Podcast",^[14] and has also served as a guest host on Mike and Mike in the Morning.^[3][5][15]

Career at NBC[link]

On May 22, 2012, it was announced that she would be leaving ESPN for the family of NBC networks, primarily NBC Sports Network, eventually to become co-host of Access Hollywood ^[16].

Personal life[link]

Beadle lives in Hartford, Connecticut.^[4] She is an avid dog lover, as well as being a fan of wrestling and the Houston Astros.^[17][18][19] She has two siblings: a younger brother, Robert;^[3] and a younger sister.^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bio from ESPN.com
• Michelle Beadle at the Internet Movie Database
• Michelle Beadle on Twitter

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michelle Beadle

Dana Jacobson
Dana Jacobson participates in a skydive with the Army Golden Knights at Fort Bragg, NC.
Born	(1971-11-05) November 5, 1971 (age 40) Michigan
Show	SportsCenter
Station(s)	ESPN
Time slot	Various
Country	United States
Previous show(s)	Cold Pizza ESPN First Take

Dana Jacobson (born November 5, 1971) is a sports anchorwoman, most recently with ESPN. She joined the network as an ESPNEWS anchor in December 2002 and soon became a regular anchor on the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter. In March 2005, she was named co-host of Cold Pizza, and transitioned with the show as it became ESPN First Take. Jacobson provided sideline reporting for ESPN's coverage of NBA Sunday night games. On Monday, December 26, 2011, Jacobson announced that Friday, December 30, 2011, will be her final day on "First Take." She will stay with ESPN but will serve in a different capacity. On March 27, 2012, USA Today announced that Jacobson will leave ESPN when her contract expires at the end of April. Monday, April 30, 2012 was her final day at ESPN when she anchored the 6-8 p.m. ET SportsCenter show.

Early life[link]

Jacobson was born and raised in Michigan where she attended Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Subsequently, she attended and graduated from Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, in 1989. Jacobson graduated from the University of Michigan in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and communications.

• Her first television job was in Traverse City, Mich., at WPBN/WTOM-TV, where she spent two years as a fill-in news anchor and weekend sports anchor, producer and editor.
• Reported on a number of stories in Northern California, including profiles of one time Sacramento Kings players Mike Bibby, Chris Webber and Jason Williams.
• Covered a wide range of professional sports including the NFL and NBA as a weekend sports anchor at KXTV-TV, ABC’s Sacramento affiliate station (1998-02).
• Hosted KXTV’s News10 Red Zone
• Served as a sports reporter for KXTV's Monday Night Football show (1996–98).
• Hosted The NBA Insiders, a weekly two-hour radio show for KHTK-AM (2000–02).
• Filled in for Dan Patrick on his radio show broadcast on ESPN radio weekdays from 1pm - 4 p.m. Eastern time, during the 2005 holiday season.
• Filled in occasionally for Mike Golic on the ESPN Radio show Mike and Mike in the Morning.

Controversy[link]

At a roast for co-workers Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic in January 2008, an allegedly intoxicated Jacobson reportedly cursed the University of Notre Dame, Jesus, and Touchdown Jesus.^[1][2] ESPN and Jacobson both released a statement apologizing for any offense given to those offended by the comments [1]. Jacobson was suspended from ESPN for one week. Upon returning from her suspension, she apologized on air for her behavior and comments. Footage can be found online of Jacobson at the event.

Awards[link]

• Edward R. Murrow Award (2000)
• National Headliner Award (1998)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dana Jacobson

• First Take Bio
• Dana Jacobson ESPN Bio
• Chicago Tribune on Jacobson
• Twitter account

Charissa Thompson (born May 4, 1982) is an American television host and sportscaster, currently for ESPN.

Biography[link]

Education and early career[link]

Thompson grew up in Seattle, Washington. She is a 2004 graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she interned at ABC affiliate KEYT-TV.^[1][2][3]

Broadcasting career[link]

Thompson began her TV career with FSN Rocky Mountain (in Denver, Colorado) in the Human Resources Department. Thompson's first on-screen job was covering the Colorado Rockies for FSN Rocky Mountain in the weekly news magazine show Rockies All Access. She also hosted WNBA Weekly and covered sports for the University of Denver and the University of Colorado at Boulder.^[1]

Baseball programs she has appeared on include The 2007 MLB All-Star Game Red Carpet Parade and The Baseball Report both on FSN.^[1]

Her duties include NFL sideline reporter for Fox, as well as for college football and college basketball games on Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Net. She also appears on the college football shows Friday Night Tailgate, on Big Ten Network; as well as BCS Breakdown and The BCS Show on FSN.^[1] She also co-hosted FSN's The Best Damn Sports Show Period alongside Chris Rose and John Salley. The show was canceled in July 2009.

She has also hosted FSN's rodeo show Toughest Cowboy.^[1] She is also the co-host of Big Saturday Night on GSN and host of countdown show Big Ten's Best on Big Ten Network.

In 2009, she performed sideline reporting in the television show Shaq Vs..

In the fall of 2009, she was named an ice-level reporter for NHL on Versus.

In 2010, Charissa appeared on the NFL Network's "NFL Now Updates". She covered the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, reporting for Yahoo! Sports. She was also recently added as a co-host for the Speed Network's "Fast Track To Fame" alongside NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip.

In June and July 2010, Thompson covered the FIFA World Cup in South Africa for Yahoo! Sports. In January 2011, Charissa covered the BCS National Championship game for Yahoo! Sports. In February 2011, she covered the Super Bowl in Dallas, Texas, for Yahoo! Sports. Also in February, Charissa covered the NBA All-Star Game for Yahoo! Sports.

In January 2011, Charissa covered the NHL All-Star Game for Versus.

In February 2011, Versus dropped Charissa, as well as Lindsay Soto, from their ice-level reporting staff after the NBC-Comcast merger and were replaced by Pierre McGuire and Brian Engblom by forming the Inside the Glass.

ESPN[link]

In June 2011, Thompson joined ESPN. She along with Michael Smith co-host the show Numbers Never Lie, which debuted September 12, 2011.^[4] Charissa has also filled in as a host on SportsNation and ESPN First Take. She will replace Michelle Beadle as host of SportsNation once Beadle leaves for NBC.

Non-broadcasting works[link]

Thompson appeared on the cover of the April 2009 issue of Access DirecTV (satellite TV provider DirecTV's monthly TV Guide-like magazine) and interviewed Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels for the feature story.^[5]

In 2009, Thompson was nominated as one of Playboy's Sexiest Sportscasters of the year. She made it as a Top Five finalist, but the award was given to ESPN's Erin Andrews.

Personal[link]

She currently lives in Hermosa Beach, CA.

In the fall of 2009, Thompson broke her foot and her ankle in a step aerobics class and had to miss most of the 2009 NFL and college football season due to surgery. Charissa enjoys yoga, running, cycling, and rhythmic gymnastics.^[2]

References[link]

^{[dead link]}

External links[link]

• Official website
• Charissa Thompson on Twitter

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2010)

Sara Elizabeth Walsh (born April 12, 1978) is an American sportscaster who joined ESPN in May 2010. Walsh came to ESPN, from WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C., where she served as the station’s weekend sports anchor and Redskins beat reporter. Prior to WUSA, Walsh worked at WKRN in Nashville, winning four Regional Emmys in three years. She also co-hosted the weekly “Monday Night Live” with Titans Coach Jeff Fisher, and hosted a weekly radio show with then Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Walsh also served as Sports Director at WPGA in Macon, Georgia, and began her career as a sports writer for the Beaches Leader Newspaper in Jacksonville Beach. She is currently a Sportscenter anchor, and hosts SportsNation on ESPN when Michelle Beadle is absent.

Personal[link]

Walsh grew up in the Tampa Bay area, graduating from Gulf High School^[1] in New Port Richey, Florida. She was a four-year starter on the University of North Florida soccer team, where she holds the school record for goals and points in a game.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sara Walsh: On Tap Magazine
• Haynesworth Heading to Redskins