By Steve Kroner--San Francisco Chronicle
August 6, 2004
In other words, a former "SportsCenter" anchor will team each night with a current anchor in yet another vehicle the network has created to promote its 25th anniversary.
This one might have a similar feel to a class reunion.
The pairings: Sunday, Craig Kilborn (ESPN tenure, 1993-96) and Dan Patrick. Monday, Charley Steiner (1988-2002) and Bob Ley. Tuesday, Gayle Gardner (1983-87) and Stuart Scott. Wednesday, Greg Gumbel (1981-86) and Chris Berman. Thursday: George Grande (anchor of the first "SportsCenter," 1979-88) and Berman.
During a conference call Wednesday, the five returning anchors all spoke about how much they're looking forward to doing "SportsCenter" once more, and how excited they are to see many of their old collegues in Bristol, Conn.
Of course, Kilborn, now the host of CBS' "Late, Late Show," expressed another motivation.
"Aren't we all getting appearance fees for this?" Kilborn asked.
The appearances of Kilborn, Steiner, et al., won't alter the basic "SportsCenter" format of highlights and information, ESPN executive Mark Shapiro said.
"The news comes first," Shapiro said, adding that each program will have to get through what would be the first five or six pages of the next day's sports section before going to, say, some clips of the returning anchors in their previous ESPN stints.
Kilborn, Steiner (a Yankees announcer), Gumbel (the studio host for CBS' NFL and NCAA basketball coverage) and Grande (a Reds announcer) all currently have other broadcasting jobs. That's probably why they didn't figure they'll have as much anxiety about simply doing the task of anchoring "SportsCenter" again.
Gardner, though, is another story. She had stints with NBC and the Food Network after leaving ESPN. A few years ago, she was in a taxi accident. Gardner said she was waylaid for about 2 1/2 years following four major operations. She said she's fine now, but admitted her time away from broadcasting gives her some pause about her "SportsCenter" return.
"There is a level of fear and trepidation. ... There's no doubt about that," Gardner said. "But so what?...It's a great honor to be remembered."
Longtime "SportsCenter" viewers probably remember the pairing of Patrick and Keith Olbermann as one of the distinctive teams the show has had. Shapiro didn't consider bringing back Olbermann (who's now with MSNBC) because Shapiro said, in effect, that Olbermann had burned too many bridges at ESPN.
