Front & Center: The Voice of SportsCenter, Chris Kelley

Click HERE to listen or visit iTunes to download the podcast and be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Front & Center podcast. Also, make sure to check out the all new ESPN Radio app, now available for the iPad for the first time.

In the Front & Center podcast above, the “voice” of SportsCenter, Chris Kelley, discusses how he got a paying job to say, “This is SportsCenter,” describes watching rock ‘n’ roll legends react to Paul McCartney and gives advice to aspiring “voices.”

Kelley’s circuitous route to what many would consider a dream job included stops at Boston College, Tramps in New York City, and the X Games in San Diego. Other than occasional outings — like introducing Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall-of-Famers at the annual induction ceremony — Kelley mostly works from his home studio in the woods of Connecticut.

In addition to the podcast, watch the rare, exclusive (actually, the only) video of Kelley doing his SportsCenter voice-over work in the studio on the June 11, 6 p.m. ET show.

“We are always looking for new, creative ways to tease and bump SportsCenter, and we thought it would be something fun to try, and perhaps give us some insight into some new and innovative ways to promote the show,” producer Ira Fritz says of luring Kelley into the SportsCenter studio for his first on-air ESPN appearance. “The buzz was terrific.”