sportscaster news stories on Newser

ESPN Fires Announcer for 'Sweet Baby' Crack

Rob Quinn — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 01:57:57 CST

Ron Franklin's 23-year career at ESPN is over because of sexist remarks he made to a colleague. "Listen to me, sweet baby, let me tell you something," Franklin said to sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards ahead of last week's Chick Fil-A-Bowl in the middle of an interview. When she told him...

Beloved MLB Broadcaster Ernie Harwell Dead at 92

Rob Quinn — Wed, 05 May 2010 04:00:00 CDT

Ernie Harwell, the only baseball broadcaster ever traded for a player, has died aged 92 after a long fight with cancer. The beloved sportscaster spent 55 years broadcasting major league games, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers. The transplanted Southerner, rated as one of the best baseball broadcasters of...

George Michael of Sports Machine Fame Dead at 70

M. Morris — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:21:51 CST

George Michael, whose syndicated Sports Machine show helped introduce viewers to the magic of game highlights years before ESPN made it obsolete, died today in Washington. He was 70 and suffering from leukemia. At WRC in Washington from 1980 to 2008, Michael became a legend during the heyday of the...

Bryant Gumbel Has Lung Cancer

Harry Kimball — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:37:50 CST

Bryant Gumbel is being treated for lung cancer and had part of his lung removed last month to excise a malignant tumor. The TV host and sportscaster, 61, revealed his condition today on Live! With Regis and Kelly , when he turned down an exhortation to dance and then explained why,...

ESPN's Andrews to 911: I'm Being Treated Like Britney

John Johnson — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:15:06 CDT

As if being videotaped in hotel rooms weren't bad enough, ESPN's Erin Andrews now has to deal with reporters outside her Georgia home, the New York Post reports. "I'm being treated like fucking Britney Spears and it sucks," she complains to a 911 dispatcher. After describing herself as the "girl...

NFL Runs 'Broadcasting Boot Camp' for Aging Players

Rob Quinn — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:07:00 CDT

The NFL is teaching two dozen pros nearing the end of their playing days how to tackle a media career in its third annual "Broadcasting Boot Camp," the Washington Post reports. The would-be sportscasters were no strangers to the camera, but many needed extensive coaching from ex-players with media jobs...

Madden Has Lots of Fans, If Not All the Facts

Katherine Thompson — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:46:02 CST

John Madden's on-air analysis isn't always right—zealous fact-checkers will attest to that—but the elder statesman of NFL commentators is usually on the money, writes Matthew Futterman in the Wall Street Journal. "I know there's talk he's lost a step," his former boss acknowledges, but the onetime Raiders coach...

Madden Takes First Weekend Off in 28 Years

Harry Kimball — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:16:01 CDT

For the first time in 28 years, sportscaster John Madden will not call a regular-season NFL game this weekend, ending an impressive run of 476 without absence, the Washington Post reports. The hiatus is expected to be short for Madden—now 72 and working NBC’s Sunday-night broadcast—who crisscrosses the...