Phil Ceppaglia
Phil Ceppaglia, better known as "Phil The Showkiller," is a producer at ESPN Radio and worked as the producer of The Dan Patrick Show.
He is a Buffalo, New York native, and a 1997 graduate of St. Bonaventure (which is why Olean, New York also occasionally claims him as an area native). He got his nickname while working for The Tony Kornheiser Show, which formerly aired on ESPN Radio. During his first month as a show producer, Ceppaglia mistakenly passed along to the host, Tony Kornheiser, the wrong hometown for a caller. When the caller corrected his hometown on-air, Kornheiser began lambasting Ceppaglia:
"Phil's a dope." Kornheiser said.
"Phil's [...] the show," his co-host Andy Pollin chimed in.
"Phil's a showkiller," Kornheiser replied.
The nickname stuck.
Dan Patrick would tease Ceppaglia for accidentally hanging up on President Bill Clinton during the first year of the Dan Patrick Show.
As of November 29th, 2007, Phil Ceppaglia is no longer known as "The Showkiller." Mike Tirico and Kornheiser officially put the name to rest on Tirico's radio show "The Mike Tirico Show."
Ceppaglia's mother, a resident of suburban Buffalo and mother of seven, has been known for picking upset winners on The Tony Kornheiser Show's NCAA Basketball Pool since 2001. In 2006, Ceppaglia's mother picked the George Mason Patriots to win the entire tournament (to the astonishment of the show staff, and the pleasure of GMU head coach, Jim Larranaga). Although the Patriots made a historic run to the Final Four, they were defeated by the Florida Gators and did not get a chance to play for the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. Ceppaglia's mother continued to Contribute to Kornheiser's show even after Ceppaglia no longer had any involvement with it.
Ceppaglia is expected to get married in May 2008.