RealClearSports recently talked with Michelle Beadle, co-host of ESPN's newest show, SportsNation, airing on ESPN2 aily at 4pm EST. Previously, Beadle served as the New York SportsCenter anchor for ESPN Radio’s The Michael Kay Show on 1050 ESPN, and worked for the YES Network on shows such as the Emmy Award-winning Ultimate Road Trip, SportsLife NYC and Yankees on Deck.

RealClearSports: You are the co-host, along with Colin Cowherd, of ESPN's newest sports commentary show Sports Nation, a show that's formatted to be driven by fan-generated content. How do you think the show has gone so far? And what do you think have been your biggest successes?

Michelle Beadle: I think the show is going very well. I think we kind of came out of the box having odd expectations, because we really are unlike other shows that are on. So I think in that regard we have surprised some people.

Also, I'm a nobody, so for me I think people were waiting to see what I'm all about and what I talk about. So it's been fun.

Colin doing TV really has been an interesting experiment. I think the fact that we came out in the summertime has been an awesome, awesome thing, because we've had a lot of young people watching the show. We do a segment called "Fake Calls from Real Fans," and it's been a blast to listen to a seemingly seven year old call in as Sage Rosenfels.

It's just been good. I think the fact that we're so new and kind of have a clean slate is great.

RCS: Anyone who has listened to Colin Cowherd on the radio and watched him on SportsNation can tell there's a significant difference in tone. (Fewer rants on TV.) Do you think that's to the benefit or detriment to the show and its ratings?

Beadle: I think it's a bit of a mixed bag. I think on the one hand TV, or at least the structure of our particular show was not made to just have Colin rant. Radio for him is just his way of getting up in the morning and blasting whatever he feels like blasting. TV is a little bit more structured.

We have segments, and we have certain details that we need to get in. I think that when it does merit it he does have to go on rants, and I think he's becoming more and more comfortable with that. I also think the time of year that we are in has been interesting. I think once college football really gets under way and the NFL really gets under way he will tend to go more and more on rants. I think it's like that slow part of the year where it's really just baseball right now.

RCS: In an interview you did with Awful Announcing, you answered a question about the general disdain in the sports blogosphere for Colin Cowherd. "I never realized the love/hate relationship Colin has with everyone out there. Then friends started sending me articles and blogs ripping him to shreds. Great reading. This has been interesting to watch as he is forced not only to read the blogosphere, but embrace it." But in Tuesday's show, for example, while there is plentiful fan driven content via Twitter, YouTube and online polls, there weren't any explicit citations of blogs.

Upon reflection, in what ways would you say that you, Colin and SportsNation have embraced the sports blogosphere?

Beadle: I mean they are one of our main sources. It used to be, for me in particular, once I went on the thing for ESPN Radio, you kind of just go to the ESPN.com's or the CBSSports.com's. The places where writers go and file stories and articles. The blogs weren't necessarily where you'd go for story ideas.

Here it's completely different. My first stops in the morning are Deadspin and SportsByBrooks and Awful Announcing. There are ideas out there where fans and people who have very strong opinions on different sports stories have now found a forum. Sometimes they may point out something that I may already be thinking and not even have realized, or something that I completely disagree with but it definitely stands to be the focus of a great argument.

So for me and for Colin, I think he's realizing now that this sports industry is not just about guys in suits and ties who maybe once played the game. There are a lot of different opinions out there, and we're trying to get them all on there, whether it be the blog guys or the tweeting, which is really where we're getting so many ideas from.

We've had guests on where we basically take the questions from the fans. The fans want to know this about football, or want to ask Mark Schlereth about two-a-days or whatever it might be.

So for me the technology, as you made fun of before, has been very interesting. The tweeting thing, I just really started getting into it and it's kind of a fascinating thing.

RCS: It seems like much of the purpose behind creating SportsNation was to engage interactive sports fan. For that type of fan, why do you think it is a more satisfying experience to send a tweet to SportsNation rather than, for example, leave a comment on Deadspin?

Beadle: Well, because at the end of it all, TV is king. I think the same way you unleash a local news camera into the public and people freak out, is the same thing as seeing your avatar and your handle on ESPN2 or ESPN. I think it's kind of a thrill and it's kind of cool.

Fans spend many, many hours of their personal time devoted to watching these channels. I think they really feel like a part of it when we call them out, or whoever calls them out and actually makes them part of the show. It's fun. I think I would definitely want to be a part of it, especially if I'm sitting here watching ESPN2 for six hours a day. It's kind of nice to have my name said.

RCS: Even though Sports Nation's content is driven by fan interactivity, how important do you think it is for you to pay attention to what professional sports columnists are writing on a daily basis?

Beadle: Oh, it's huge. Tuesday is the perfect example with Brett Favre signing a deal. While the guys on SportsCenter right now are having to handle it in a much more serious manner: Analyzing the contract, what he'll bring to the table, and is he ready to hit the field and all that.

We still give you the story. We're going to give you the reasons why we're talking about Brett Favre or Usain Bolt or MMA, but we're also allowed a little bit more freedom in that we do recognize this Brett Favre soap opera has been ongoing and somewhat entertaining and very hilarious. So we can kind of do a tongue-in-cheek. I hung a Brett Favre shirt on the set while we talked about him, and we can woo-hoo. Things that can't really be done on different shows, but it's still very important that we still give you the news story. Otherwise we'd just be up there talking about anything.

RCS: Who are the sportswriters you admire most?

Beadle: Sportswriters that I admire most? I love Bill Simmons. I know he's like a columnist more than anything else, but for me the way he writes is great. He is very entertaining.

There are certain people that I like. I still follow all the local newspapers in the New York area. The Star-Ledger and the Post and the Daily News, just because those are guys that when I covered the NBA in the area I got to know. So I read a lot of them. For me that's kind of it. I google first thing in the morning Yahoo! Sports, obviously ESPN, and just follow. There's just too many.

RCS: A few weeks ago, we interviewed USA Today columnist Christine Brennan who has talked about the importance for women in sports journalism to appeal to the 12-year-old girl watching and learning about sports.

In your role as a host of SportsNation, how important is it to appeal to that 12-year-old girl?

Beadle: I guess a twelve-year-old girl would look at me and think I can do that too. I think while we have come an extremely long way in this business it's still hard. We didn't play these sports that we're talking about, and there is always going to be that percentage of people who don't want to listen to what we have to say or don't think our opinions are as valid.

It's funny actually. When I covered the Nets we had a girl named Allison, who I guess is a eighth grader now, she came and shadowed me for a day and now we still stay in touch via email, and she wants to do this when she grows up. To me that's a big deal. If one little girl looks at any woman on television or in the papers or in the magazines and realizes that you can still do this regardless of what you can or don't bring to the table or your gender, it's a big deal. I love that.

I don't think I'm doing anything in particular, but I know that growing up if I saw a Robin Roberts or a Linda Cohn, you realize those women are hanging and they're doing a great job. People take them seriously and it's kind of nice.

RCS: Alright, last question. You covered the Professional Bull Riding tour for TNN. What's the craziest thing you ever saw at a rodeo?

Beadle: I saw so many blood curdling injuries that were so non-chalant in the way they happened that it was shocking how quickly you become immune to the severity of what goes on out there.

I saw one guy have four ribs crushed and a lung collapse and just be walked off of the dirt and taken to the hospital like it was no big deal. It's amazing because then you go back and watch a basketball game and an ankle gets tweaked -- and I love basketball -- but it looks like they're dying. Versus these guys who actually are probably dying a little bit, and they just are so tough.

To me the 1500 pound animals, and the stepping and the horns are just shocking. And we're talking about five or six guys who weigh less than I do. They were tough. I learned a lot and learned about a sport I probably never would have paid attention to otherwise.