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Kristen Balboni answers your ‘#AskBalbiz Questions’ about her job as a Mike & Mike researcher

(Amanda DeCastro/ESPN)
Kristen Balboni on the set of Mike & Mike. (Amanda DeCastro/ESPN)

Last week, Front Row asked readers and “Balbiz” fans to send us your work-related questions for Mike & Mike researcher Kristen Balboni. The moderator of the popular “Next Question” segment of the show has sifted through your queries and supplied some answers:

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I’ve worked on Mike & Mike for a little over two years now. The most fun part of my job is working with the awesome staff. We laugh every day! The most challenging part of my job is making sure I get the guys accurate information really quickly as soon as they ask for it. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of practice and it’s become second nature.

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My favorite experience so far has been traveling to Super Bowl Week with the show this past February. I’d never been to New Orleans before, and getting to experience the unique culture and history – not to mention the food – was an experience I’ll never forget.

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The other day I researched how fox urine is collected. We were talking about that song “What Does The Fox Say” when someone sent in an email detailing the many uses of fox urine. Greeny [co-host Mike Greenberg] asked how on Earth someone even collected fox urine, and it was my job to find out!

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My first day on Mike & Mike, Greeny informed me that I needed a nickname because no one on the show went by their first names. They started calling me by my last name, Balboni, and eventually Liam shortened it to Balbizzle, which became Balbiz and sometimes just Biz. Now everyone calls me Balbiz!

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I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in Journalism in 2011. I interned with the Stats & Information Group at ESPN the summer before my senior year, and I returned in a full-time capacity after I graduated from college. A few months later, I was assigned to be the researcher on Mike & Mike and they’ve been stuck with me ever since!

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Yeah, let’s just say I tanked them to make Greeny feel better! Wink wink. Note: The Mike & Mike push-up backstory is explained here.





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