Colin Cowherd yesterday addressed his impending transition to Fox Sports, leading off his ESPN Radio show by acknowledging the move and saying his departure is "amicable." He said, "I'm on the air today talking about it -- that tells you the relationship I have with this company and with my bosses, who are friends for life.” He noted ESPN "had guts, they had courage" in hiring him in '03 to replace Tony Kornheiser, and he called his time at the net the "best 10 years of my life.” Cowherd: “I worked my tail off and they’ve treated me fabulously. I’ve got no complaints. ... They offered me a great new contract, incredibly fair, could not have been more reasonable, never argued, totally transparent. It wasn’t about the money, it was about the funny.” He said he is trying to “reinvent” himself with the move, noting there is "no animosity, there’s no anger” with ESPN (“The Herd With Colin Cowherd,” ESPN Radio, 7/22).
THE HOSTS WITH THE MOST: ESPN has finalized changes to its college football studio shows, with Rece Davis moving over to replace Chris Fowler as host of "College GameDay.” ESPN is moving Adnan Virk to replace Davis on ESPN’s studio show, where he will be paired with Joey Galloway and Danny Kanell. John Saunders will continue to host ABC's studio show with analysts Mack Brown and Mark May. ESPN2’s studio show will be hosted by Chris Cotter with analysts Butch Davis and Robert Smith. ESPNU’s studio show will be hosted by Matt Schick with analysts Charles Arbuckle and Kevin Carter. Joe Tessitore will host the Saturday night studio show "College Football Final" (John Ourand, Staff Writer).
STAYING PUT: ESPN's Ryen Russillo yesterday said he has agreed to stay with the net, noting on his Twitter account that he is "really happy to get to stay at a place like this after 10 years" (TWITTER.com, 7/22). AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Matt Yoder noted it was a multiyear deal for Russillo, who has "grown into an integral part of ESPN Radio’s lineup and the network as a whole." It is "expected that Russillo will continue" with his radio show, though it "remains to be seen if Russillo will host it in a solo effort in the long term or whether he will be joined by a new co-host." Yoder: "With the departures at ESPN this summer, expect Russillo’s role to grow at the network in the next few years" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 7/22).
