ABC college football play-by-play announcer Keith
Jackson ended his retirement yesterday because "he was asked
to come back" by ABC Sports President Howard Katz, according
to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. After the end of
last year, Jackson said that former ABC Sports President
Steve Bornstein "never entreated him to stay." Jackson
added, "I didn't expect to be asked to return for another
year." Katz' offer, which he presented "within a month" of
being named ABC Sports President, has Jackson announcing
Pac-10 games, which "curtails travel" from Jackson's CA
home. Bornstein, on the deal: "I wasn't smart enough to
come up with Howard's West Coast solution" (N.Y. TIMES,
6/16). In Minneapolis, Judd Zulgad writes that Katz "had no
intention of letting Jackson slip into retirement without at
least making an offer" (STAR TRIBUNE, 6/16). Bob Griese,
who will continue to partner with Jackson: "Katz is the man
who got this done. We're all aware of that" (USA TODAY,
6/16). DAILY VARIETY's Josef Adalian writes that Jackson's
return "is another sign of the re-emphasis on tradition at
ABC Sports under Katz" (DAILY VARIETY, 6/16).
