NFLSportsCenter

Schefter weathers storm to break McCoy story from his car

Unknown-2

After a busy day of in-studio appearances at ESPN’s Bristol, Conn. campus, NFL Insider Adam Schefter started his 115-mile drive home to Long Island, N.Y. in a rush-hour snowstorm. Minutes into the drive on Interstate 84, he received a cryptic text that would result in one of the biggest news stories of the early NFL offseason.

“Buffalo signing Shady” is what the text read from an independent source.

Schefter was puzzled. “I stopped and texted back to the person: ‘Shady???’. . . ‘LeSean McCoy?????’”

Schefter worked the phone in the middle of the storm to get confirmation from this source and others that, in fact, the Philadelphia Eagles had agreed to trade their All-Pro running back to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso.

From his car on the side of the road near Newtown, Conn., Schefter quickly filed the story and posted the news on Twitter. He then reported the trade via phone to anchor Lindsay Czarniak on the 6 p.m. ET SportsCenter and on ESPN Radio’s Sedano and Stink.

All at once, I was trying to confirm the trade, handle our [leaky] bathroom crisis, and deal with challenging road conditions. Made for quite the challenging ride.”
Adam Schefter

As if breaking this news wasn’t enough, Schefter also was communicating with his wife throughout his snowy drive home about a leak above the bathroom in their family home.

“All at once, I was trying to confirm the trade, handle our [leaky] bathroom crisis, and deal with challenging road conditions,” he said. “Made for quite the challenging ride.”

By 9:45 p.m., Schefter arrived at his house – it took two hours longer than normal due to the weather – just in time to read a bedtime story, “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse,” to his daughter. After putting her to bed, he taped a pair of interviews from his home studio for the 11 p.m. and late-night editions of SportsCenter.

As crazy as it was to file a NFL news story of this magnitude from his car on the side of the road in the middle of a snowstorm, Schefter said, “This is nothing compared to what next week will be like. It’s one of my two most active weeks of the year.”

Next week, of course, is the start of NFL Free Agency when Schefter will be back in Bristol early Monday through Friday. And, if his performance last year is any indication, get ready for a flurry – or more likely a storm – of activity.

Eagles Fan Negandhi ‘Stunned” by “Iggles’” Trade
SportsCenter anchor  Kevin Negandhi discussed the proposed deal to send Philadelphia Eagles star LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills.
SportsCenter anchor Kevin Negandhi discussed the proposed deal to send Philadelphia Eagles star LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills.

SportsCenter anchor Kevin Negandhi, a Phoenixville, Pa. native and life-long Philadelphia Eagles fan, was “stunned” by reports of running back LeSean McCoy being traded to the Buffalo Bills. Before Negandhi co-anchored this morning’s 9 a.m. SportsCenter with Jaymee Sire, he told Front Row this about his beloved Iggles:

“I’m stunned but not surprised. Stunned at who the Eagles will get in the proposed trade if it’s a 1-for-1 trade for Kiko Alonso – a player coming off an ACL tear and who has had some major injuries in the past. But I’m not surprised that the Eagles decided to part ways with LeSean. No doubt the Bills are getting a game-changer — an impact player for the next two years — but the value of running backs, especially backs who carry the ball as much as McCoy [he’s led all players with 6,155 rush yards and 1,566 combined rushes and receptions in the past five years) lose dramatic value when they’re on the wrong side of their 20s.

“Clearly, [Eagles head coach] Chip Kelly is freeing up cap space and showing everyone how he values his offensive scheme over offensive players. If Alonso returns to form as we saw in 2013, the Eagles defense will get a dramatic upgrade at the linebacker position. We can’t judge this trade until after free agency and the Draft because of the cap flexibility it provides the Eagles. And it makes me believe more and more that Kelly is going after his quarterback — [Oregon’s] Marcus Mariota. The question now is how will he get him after trading away his biggest asset. The big question in the Negandhi household is which jerseys should we get our two boys – they both had No. 25s in midnight green.” – by Dan Quinn

Back to top button