Tag: Bob Costas

Legendary broadcaster Bob Costas: Chiefs are ‘America’s Team’

Legendary broadcaster Bob Costas explained why he views the Kansas City Chiefs as “America’s team” during a segment on CNN’s “King Charles”

The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the most popular teams in sports because of their success on the field and the star power of their players. Super Bowl LVIII will be their fourth appearance in the big game in five years, making them a mainstay on the NFL’s biggest stage.

On Wednesday night, the Chiefs received another level of significant praise as legendary broadcaster Bob Costas appeared as a guest on CNN’s “King Charles” with Gayle King and Charles Barkley to discuss the Super Bowl. Costas, who has spent many years hosting NFL broadcasts, labeled the Chiefs with a title that will upset Dallas Cowboys fans.

“I think the Chiefs, now it can safely be said, are America’s Team,” Costas said. “The Dallas Cowboys have had that moniker for a long time, and there’s still a glamour franchise, but they haven’t been at the Super Bowl since the mid-’90s. But now the Chiefs have been to four of the last five Super Bowls. They have the best quarterback (Patrick Mahomes) in the game, even though others are really good. He’s exciting. He improvises. He’s charismatic.”

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The Cowboys have been known as “America’s Team” since an NFL Films highlight reel bestowed them with the moniker in 1978. It has been synonymous with the franchise ever since, but according to Costas, it’s time to give the Chiefs that label.

“Andy Reid’s been around a long time and went to the Super Bowl with Philadelphia and now with the Chiefs,” Costas said. “They’ve got Travis Kelce and his romance with Taylor Swift, and it’s a big deal to begin with. And now it blows up bigger. Plus, the State Farm commercials. Yes, you don’t have to know a screen pass from a field goal to know something about the Kansas City Chiefs. So they’re America’s Team.”

Costas could be on to something if Super Bowl LVIII ends with ring No. 3 for the Chiefs franchise.

MLB fans thought Bob Costas had the most boring call for the final out of the D-backs’ Game 2 win

He couldn’t sound more disappointed if he tried.

There’s no denying that Bob Costas is a legendary sports broadcaster. His career spans six decades, and he’s called countless major events all over the world. But when it comes to a high-tension postseason baseball game, Costas probably isn’t the person for the job.

Arizona Diamondbacks fans would certainly agree with that.

Costas has been on the call for the D-backs’ National League Division Series matchup with the Dodgers on TBS. And through the two stunning upsets the D-backs have pulled off, Costas has brought the kind of energy you’d expect from a mid-August game on the Dodgers’ home broadcast.

Take the final out of Monday’s Game 2 for example. Kolten Wong flied out to center to end the game, and you almost had to double-check the outs to make sure that was it because Costas essentially sleepwalked through the call.

Like, come on, Bob. At least pretend you want to be there calling postseason baseball. And it wasn’t just one call either. Costas has been like that all series.

When you contrast Costas’ call with Brian Anderson’s final call of the electric double play in the Braves-Phillies game, the difference in energy is almost hilarious. It’s like they were watching two entirely different sports.

Baseball fans had every right to criticize Costas there. The D-backs and playoff baseball deserve better.

Patrick Reed’s attorney demands on-air apology from CNN’s Jake Tapper, Bob Costas; threatens $450M lawsuit

The attorney representing Reed is demanding an on-air apology from the duo for a “highly defamatory piece.”

An attorney representing Patrick Reed has added yet another lawsuit to a lengthy list of recent filings against media companies and personalities.

During a segment on CNN last week, studio host Jake Tapper chatted with longtime announcer and reporter Bob Costas about the court battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. A letter from Larry Klayman, the attorney representing Reed, is demanding an on-air apology from the duo for what it calls a “highly defamatory piece.”

If not, Klayman’s letter says his group reserves the right “to sue Tapper, Costas and CNN pursuant to Florida Statute 770.01 for damages well in excess of $450,000,000 dollars which includes compensatory, actual, special and punitive damages.”

It should be noted that the piece didn’t include a mention of Reed, who has fallen down to No. 80 on the Official World Golf Ranking since moving to LIV Golf.

In 2022, Klayman filed and then refiled a $750 million defamation lawsuit against Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee, Damon Hack, Shane Bacon, as well as Golfweek columnist Eamon Lynch and its parent company, Gannett, then added a $250 million lawsuit against author Shane Ryan, Hachette Publishing, the New York Post and Fox Sports, as well as Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson and the organization for whom he works.

In civil cases, plaintiffs have to prove whether a defendant is liable, not whether a defendant is guilty. The suit was filed by Klayman, a Florida-based attorney who has been on the losing end of a number of defamation lawsuits, including one in which Arizona politician “Sheriff Joe” Arpaio sued several national media outlets, alleging they defamed him and impacted his attempt to win a U.S. Senate seat.

The original suit against Brandel Chamblee and Golf Channel said the group had “conspired as joint tortfeasors for and with the PGA Tour, it’s (sic) executives and it’s Commissioner Jay Monahan, to engage in a pattern and practice of defaming Mr. Reed, misreporting information with falsity and/or reckless disregard for the truth … purposely omitting pertinent key material facts to mislead the public, and actively targeting Mr. Reed since he was 23 years old to destroy his reputation, create hate, and a hostile work environment for him … ”

The new suit takes aim at Tapper and his political commentary, especially in regard to former President Donald Trump, who is tied to a number of golf properties.

At one time, I had known Jake Tapper to a moderately honest journalist and commentator, but after the election of President Donald Trump, he sold his soul to the hierarchy of CNN, then headed by rabid Trump-hater Jeff Zucker. Ever since, CNN and Tapper pliantly have been on a crusade to destroy Trump, which crusade apparently appeals to CNN’s generally leftist viewership, and reaps profit for the network. Interestingly, a person with the last name Zucker is referenced in the subject broadcast.

While Jeff Zucker has since been fired at the CEO of CNN over alleged misconduct with a subordinate at CNN, his legacy as a Trump-hater lives on and Tapper continues his unhinged vicious attacks on not just Trump but anyone and anything associated with him, such as LIV Golf, which simply played two events at the former president’s golfing venues in New Jersey and Florida last year, which LIV Golf payed (sic) for.”

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Three quotes from Doc Rivers’ HBO interview with Bob Costas

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers sat down with Bob Costas for an interview on the legendary broadcaster’s HBO show, Back on the Record With Bob Costas.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers sat down with Bob Costas for an interview on the legendary broadcaster’s HBO show, “Back on the Record With Bob Costas“. The interview aired at 11 p.m., Eastern time, on Friday night. The discussion was focused mainly on the recent anti-Semitism controversy surrounding Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving.

Rivers and Costas branched into other topics, as well. They touched upon the toxic nature of social media, how online platforms blur the journalistic lines between propaganda and truth, and the duties that the NBA community and humanity, as a whole, has to speak up and denounce social issues.

Here are three quotes from the interview.

Al Michaels has a warning for people considering making a living off sports betting

The legendary broadcaster wants sports bettors to be responsible with their money.

One of the all-time great sports broadcasters, Al Michaels has seen just about everything sports has to offer.

From the United States hockey team’s upset of the Soviets in the 1980 Olympics to the St. Louis Rams’ goal-line stop of the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV, and the list goes on, there aren’t many outcomes Michaels hasn’t been there to witness personally. 

It’s easy to think those experiences, along with his access to players, coaches and information the average fan doesn’t have, give Michaels a leg up when it comes to predicting the outcome of games. However, as he explained on the latest episode of HBO’s Back on the Record with Bob Costas, those first-hand accounts only speak more to how unpredictable sports truly are. That’s why he doesn’t recommend sports betting as anything more than recreation. 

“As much information as we have and collect and have access to, and watch film and all of the rest, and meet with the coaches and the quarterbacks, I don’t know who’s going to win the game. And if I had to make my living betting, you might find me living under a freeway overpass. I know that. Because you can’t beat it. You can not beat it.

“So I think this legalized gambling now around the country…OK, you know, it’s kind of fun. But I would hope that people don’t bet the mortgage money and the rent money and food money and the kids’ education money on it. I mean, it’s one thing to bet 50 bucks on a game and, you know, have a little fun. But if this becomes your life, good luck.”

Costas broached the subject of gambling because of Michaels’ ability to inject those storylines into broadcasts before sports betting was widely accepted and legalized. The clip below is from a 2010 preseason game Michaels called between the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings, where a safety on the final play was more significant than the average viewer might know.

Michaels said he never personally bet on games, but he had fun going against the grain as far as what networks and leagues wanted. 

“It was fun being the rascal. There’s no question about it. I can still be a bit of a rascal, but now everybody knows you can mention certain things you couldn’t a few years ago,” Michaels said. “A lot of people used to think, ‘oh, he must have money on that game.’ I don’t. I have it. Because the thing I love about sports is that you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

PSA: That Bob Costas Twitter account that popped up is fake

Not the real Bob Costas!

It was a pleasant surprise to wake up on Wednesday morning to see the great Bob Costas join Twitter.

Sure, there wasn’t a blue check-mark on the name (we all figured it was on its way soon), but it sounded real to A LOT of people — there was a bio about all the Emmys he’s won and Olympics he’s hosted, and the initial tweets  — “Decided to give Twitter a try, can’t be any harder than the booth right? #rookie” — sounded like someone who was giving the social media platform a whirl.

Well, as you may have guessed from the headline, nope! Not the real Bob Costas. His son, Keith, called it out quickly:

And his agent confirmed it:

There you have it. It would have been fun, but alas.

https://twitter.com/real_bobcostas/status/1336683402238550017

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LeBron James gives great advice about taking things one day at a time

LeBron James referenced extreme expectations that were placed upon him at a young age as an example of not getting overwhelmed.

Perhaps nobody in the history of the NBA has had higher expectations and still exceeded them more than LeBron James. Before James had even left high school he was expected to be one of the best players we would ever see and he’s delivered perhaps even more than what was expected. Coming off of his fourth NBA championship ring and his first with the Lakers, he reflected on the expectations that were placed upon him and also what the key was to get to his next step: taking things one day at a time.

James shared an old interview with Bob Costas regarding the subject from way back in 2003.

Few, if any players in NBA history, have felt the same expectations as LeBron did when he wasn’t even old enough to have a drink. And reflecting on that feeling is something that a lot of people can use as inspiration. Even if the expectation isn’t to be a Hall of Famer, the only way you can get to a better place is by focusing on the task at hand and the moment you’re in.

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