Norman Chad doesn’t mince words on Tony Kornheiser.

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Again, same here. And it went off like this:

We were all, a giant bunch of media types from many different avenues, at a big banquet one night to honor a beloved Hall of Famer. And Costas was the emcee, and the dinner and then the tributes lasted about three hours and overtime, and then when it finally broke up, most people headed for the exits, and I mean quickly, but Costas came down off the stage into the big banquet area, probably just to spread his wings stretch his arms and relax for a few minutes, and that's when we saw him down there near us, so of course we bum-rushed him just for the chance at ... whatever.

Hey, we were young, and it was Bob Costas, at the height of his fame. Damn right we ran right at his face.

And Bob – may I call him that now? – anyway, Mr. Costas saw us coming at that point, and his eyes sorta rolled back in his head for a half-second, like, "JFC, here come the fanbois again," and so we all but shouted, "Wait, we're with XYYZZZ! Just wanted to say hi!"

And at that point our new pal Bob relaxed, visibly and with a short sigh of relief, as he realized we weren't autograph hounds or something dumber and worse, and he graciously allowed us effin' young studs (and a studdette!) to stand there with him for 20 minutes and just shoot the shirt and ask him whatever we wanted to ask him, and so we just ate it up and we still talk about that moment, that generous and candid conversation, so many years later.

Hey, Bob Costas is not my god. But he couldn't have been a nicer guy the times we met.
Others' mileage might vary, of course. But he's not Skip Bayless, either. ... ... ... Thanks, Bob!

That's an awesome story.

My two cents, for whatever that's worth (two cents?), is that Bob's older*** and a little more vulnerable now...had a pretty messy divorce, right? And NBC shirt him out in order to own the libs, and I'm sure being the face of NBC Sports meant a lot to him, but he's too old*** to pack up and go join an MLB team as its radio or TV PBP guy. I'm sure he likes bouncing around MLB Network & TBS, but it's not the same as being the face of a network or being a team's PBP guy. So whether he needed it or not, he's been humbled, which means enjoying the chance to talk baseball with people who enjoy talking baseball whenever the opportunity presents itself.

***how the fork is Bob Costas 70 years old?

***I think deck Enberg joined the Padres in his 70s, so anything is possible, but Bob becoming a PBP guy probably isn't happening

 

[Slacker]

My underlying point about Costas is that he's not some kind of cocky Mr. Know-It-All jerk, like some people might think or say. He's a guy with sharp, focused perceptions and perspectives who also is confident about sharing them on-camera, because he's done the research and the other background work. He worked his beats pretty well, ya know.

Some people like to rip very successful people. I've always thought Costas earned everything he got.
I don't really know him, of course. But he's well worth admiring, I say. And he's just as human as the rest of us.

I don't know Norman Chad, either. But I respect his work, too. And I think TK'S best work life was in print, but YMMV.

 

[wicked]

One guy who seems to get a bum rap is Joe Buck. Maybe 15 years ago with his comments about Randy Moss (even though Moss is/was a tool), but he's in on the joke now and knows his life is absurd. I keep meaning to read his autobiography. Anyone who admits to a hair plug addiction has a high level of self-awareness.

 

[playthrough]

One guy who seems to get a bum rap is Joe Buck. Maybe 15 years ago with his comments about Randy Moss (even though Moss is/was a tool), but he's in on the joke now and knows his life is absurd. I keep meaning to read his autobiography. Anyone who admits to a hair plug addiction has a high level of self-awareness.

That autobiography is great. Very self-aware and brutally honest about his personal life. The hair plug stuff was pretty scary. I also don't understand the bum rap.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

The story he told on Howard Stern about eating the hot dog with ketchup was fantastic. Buck definitely jumped the shark with me when it became evident he was in on the joke.

 

[stix]

That autobiography is great. Very self-aware and brutally honest about his personal life. The hair plug stuff was pretty scary. I also don't understand the bum rap.

I've had the opportunity to work with Joe Buck and that NFL crew quite a few times through a little side job I've done over the years stage managing in the booth for FOX broadcasts when they come to Green Bay and Chicago.

Everybody has their personal tastes with broadcasters, but I'll say this: Buck and Aikman are two of the nicest, most down-to-earth guys you could ever meet. They prepare immensely and are very professional about their business, but they're also aware that it's just broadcasting football and they understand how much fun it is. Very easy to joke and pal around with those guys.

This past Christmas I was working a game with them. I would normally never do this in a work setting, but hours before the game, when everyone was just kinda chopping it up in the booth, I said to Buck, "You know, my mom would absolutely die if you sent her a Christmas message." So he told me to grab my phone, start recording, and he and Aikman did like a little 30-second bit, joking around and wishing my mom a Merry Christmas, personally. I sent her the video and it was like the greatest gift ever to her. I was profusely thanking Buck, and he told me, of course, he was happy to do it. He was totally aware of how much that meant to just a random Packers fan.

Anyway, just a little tale from the booth, I guess. But Buck is a great dude. His autobiography is real good. Self-aware is a great way to describe it. He totally knows how lucky he is, but he also works very hard, and in my opinion, he's always been fantastic.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

This forking thread made me like Joe Buck! Thanks forkers.

My only real qualm with him the last few years has been him bouncing from football to baseball on a daily basis in October. He's always struck me as a guy who loves football more than baseball and I got a detached, ironic sense from him on baseball that I didn't get on football. But that may just be my own personal tastes (as a guy who loves baseball more than football) clouding my perception of him. Plus, let's face it, Buck *is* detached & ironic. Regardless of his schtick, nobody rises to the "holy shirt!" moment and gives it a memorable call more than him.

 

[LanceyHoward]

This forking thread made me like Joe Buck! Thanks forkers.

My only real qualm with him the last few years has been him bouncing from football to baseball on a daily basis in October. He's always struck me as a guy who loves football more than baseball and I got a detached, ironic sense from him on baseball that I didn't get on football. But that may just be my own personal tastes (as a guy who loves baseball more than football) clouding my perception of him. Plus, let's face it, Buck *is* detached & ironic. Regardless of his schtick, nobody rises to the "holy shirt!" moment and gives it a memorable call more than him.

I don't know if Buck loves football more than baseball or just realizes that the NFL is the center ring of televised American sports and baseball is in a side ring.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

I don't know if Buck loves football more than baseball or just realizes that the NFL is the center ring of televised American sports and baseball is in a side ring.

Very fair point.

 

[LanceyHoward]

Stopped listening to his WTEM show years ago when it was just old guy with money whining about things in between humble bragging about the golf courses you played.

I was taught in high school journalism teacher that a reporter is completely uninteresting and should omit himself from the story. To me, there is no better example of the wisdom of my teacher than Kornheiser. He is brilliant and has immense talent. On PTI or when he was at the Washington Post and supervised he was great. But unsupervised on his radio show it becomes all about Tony and truly sucks.

 

[stix]

I guess one thing I've always liked about Buck just from an announcing standpoint is I never feel he makes himself bigger than the game.

I know some people don't think he gets excited enough and kind of comes off as detached, but I think a big part of that is he feels that people want to watch the game, not listen to him.

I've heard him and Aikman talk about the importance of keeping it simple, and I agree with that approach for the massively large broadcasts like they do. Just narrate the game, stick to the basics and let people watch. Yes, there's a segment of the audience that sort of mocks that as being "lowbrow," compared to analysts who talk a lot and try take deep dives into analytics, etc. But that kinda stuff can always be found elsewhere if you're looking for real deep analysis.

Sometimes crazy sports junkies like myself don't see it this way, but the vast majority of fans (especially for NFL games) are just casual fans who want to watch a game, not listen to announcers fill every spare second with their own expertise. Buck is great at that but also knows when to rise to the occasion. Even then, he keeps his calls concise and short and lets the action do most of the talking.

I guess I've always felt he has the subtleties of a true pro and truly, honestly cares more about the people watching than listening to himself, but also maybe I'm biased cause I personally like the guy!

 

[jr/shotglass]

I was taught in high school journalism teacher that a reporter is completely uninteresting and should omit himself from the story. To me, there is no better example of the wisdom of my teacher than Kornheiser. He is brilliant and has immense talent. On PTI or when he was at the Washington Post and supervised he was great. But unsupervised on his radio show it becomes all about Tony and truly sucks.

I listened to Kornheiser's radio show for a year or two, maybe a decade ago. If you're in on the gig, know his sidekicks, know the little jokes, it could be good late-morning companionship. But it was not a show you stopped in on once every three weeks. And if anyone expected it to be sports-centric, they were going to be disappointed.