Image Credit: Richard Drew/AP
“Keith was tough on everybody. There was a rumor a few years ago that maybe he would come back, and one of our coordinating producers said, ‘I think it would be a good idea but with one caveat. If we hire Olbermann back, he first has to stand in the reception area and everybody who wants to, gets to come up and punch him in the stomach.’” — ESPN’s Rece Davis, in ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun, by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales.
Work on those abs, Olbermann! Get your brass-knuckles ready, Bristol!
According to the New York Times — in a story penned by the plugged-in James Andrew Miller — Olbermann and his representatives have approached higher-ups at ESPN about returning to the sports network where he first became famous 20 years ago. Back then, Olbermann partnered with Dan Patrick for the 11 p.m. SportsCenter, turning the highlight show into the sports equivalent of Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, the gold standard that all subsequent sports anchors aspired to emulate. From 1992 to 1997, Olbermann was one of ESPNs biggest and loudest personalities, an unrivaled talent in the field of sports television who didn’t mind reminding you of that fact. “Intellectually, he was a genius and socially he was, well, a special-needs student,” former ESPN anchor Charley Steiner told Miller and Shales for their book. And Steiner was a friend! READ FULL STORY »
