“When you have an idea of how all aspects of the business works, it makes you better at what you do.”
Nicole Briscoe anchors SportsCenter's NLDS coverage from Atlanta today, Friday
Nicole Briscoe’s usual ESPN habitat is co-anchoring SportsCenter:AM with Randy Scott, but today and tomorrow she’s getting a change of scenery.
Briscoe will be in Atlanta to anchor SportsCenter on the Road segments from the National League Divisional Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and host Braves. The segments will appear before and after tonight’s opening game with more on tap for Friday ahead of Game 2.
Being out of the studio for SportsCenter isn’t new for Briscoe but it’s also not a frequent occurrence. And even though her beloved Chicago Cubs were eliminated from the postseason, she looks forward to her assignment in Atlanta and spoke about it with Front Row:
How do you prepare for this differently than SportsCenter:AM?
You go about preparing for everything the same way but when you’re doing SportsCenter, you know a little about a lot. This assignment gives me the opportunity to focus on one series and a couple of teams and really dive in and figure out the best stories in that small little window. It’s not something that we get to do often on SportsCenter because there’s so much to cover.
Is it good for you to get out of the studio to actual events?
I think in the studio, in some ways you’re disconnected from the reality of the sporting world. Going out and being a part of the event, it gets you out on the field, it gets you out in the environment, and it lets you remember what made you get into the business to begin with.
The other part of it is when you have an idea of how all aspects of the business work, it helps you be better at what you’re doing. It’s being out in the field and working with bureau producers and camera crews and putting together stories and talkbacks. You have an appreciation for how hard those guys have to work all the time, and the balance they have to strike, and how hard it is to get the information and tell the story in such a compact little window. You see all sides.
What about this assignment interests you the most?
I am a fan of baseball and particularly postseason baseball – there’s something about the crispness in the fall air even though I’ll be in Atlanta and it probably won’t be ‘fall-y’ but you get the point. I’m really excited to be part of it, even if my team isn’t.
And me getting out of the studio gets me away from Randolph – it gives the poor guy a break!
ESPN Press Room has details on ESPN’s extensive, multiplatform coverage of 2019 postseason baseball.
