Kevin Robert Wildes is an American sports television producer, personality, sports radio talk show host, and podcaster. Wildes currently serves as a co-host on Fox Sports 1's ''

First Things First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

'' (''FTF'') alongside Nick Wright and

Chris Broussard Christopher Dana Broussard (born October 28, 1968) is an American sports analyst and commentator for Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Radio. Best known for his coverage of the NBA, he is now a co-host on FS1's afternoon show '' First Things First'', as ...

Early and personal life

Wildes is a native of Groton, Connecticut. Wildes graduated from

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History La ...

in Philadelphia. In 2011, he married his wife, Libby Geist.

Sports broadcasting career

Television

Wildes worked as a coordinating producer on ESPN2 shows '' SportsNation'' and '' Numbers Never Lie''. Additionally, Wildes also served as a coordinating producer ''Winners Bracket'', a part of ''

ESPN Sports Saturday ''ESPN Sports Saturday'' was an American sports anthology series, anthology television program that was broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Produced by sister cable sports network ESPN, it premiered on April 3, 2010. The two-hour ...

''. Wildes also has producing credits on '' Olbermann'', ''

Grantland Basketball Hour ''The Grantland Basketball Hour'' was a primetime show on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN on ABC in which sports and pop culture journalist, Bill Simmons and sports media journalist Jalen Rose discussed current events surrounding the NBA The Nation ...

'', and ''

It's the Shoes Robert "Bobbito" Garcia (born September 25, 1966), also known as DJ Cucumber Slice and Kool Bob Love, is an American DJ, author, streetball player, streetball coach, and member of the Rock Steady Crew. He is known as a former co-host of hip ho ...

''. While at ESPN, Wildes became the Vice President of Original Content for NBA Studio Production. He supervised production for '' NBA Countdown'', and also launched and developed '' The Jump''. Wildes also launched and developed ''Detail by Kobe Bryant'' for

ESPN+ ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Later, in 2018, Wildes served as the executive producer for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''GMA Day'' when it launched. In 2020, Wildes joined FS1 to be an on-air host on ''

''. As of 2022, Wildes remains in that role.

Podcasting

In 2013, Wildes and David Jacoby co-hosted the Grantland podcast ''Half-Baked Ideas''. Wildes has appeared on multiple podcasts hosted by

Bill Simmons William John Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports analyst, author, podcaster, and former sports writer who is the founder and CEO of the sports and pop culture website '' The Ringer''. Simmons first gained attention with ...

. While with ESPN, Simmons hosted ''

The B.S. Report ''The B.S. Report'' was an ESPN podcast, that occasionally touched on mature subjects, hosted by Bill Simmons. It featured interviews with athletes, sports commentators, pop-culture experts and friends of Simmons. The B.S. Report had no fixed pub ...

'', on which Wildes appeared. Wildes has also made guest appearances on Simmons' eponymous sports podcast. Wildes contributes to the "Half-Baked Ideas" segment on Simmons' podcast.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wildes, Kevin 1970s births American podcasters American sports radio personalities American television talk show hosts ESPN people Fox Sports 1 people La Salle University alumni Living people People from Groton, Connecticut Sports commentators Television producers from Connecticut