ESPN's Brent Musburger ended his 50-year broadcasting career by calling last night's Georgia-Kentucky men's basketball game. Following the end of the game, a video aired of some of Musburger’s best broadcasting moments, followed by his closing remarks. He said, “What a road we’ve traveled together. Thanks so much to you for sharing your time with me, (what) great memories we had over the last almost 50 years. But now it’s time for me to turn over the play-by-play duties to those fine young announcers who are growing up at ESPN. Make no mistake about it, I'm going to miss games like this. I’m going to miss working with all the great analysts that I've been with through the years. But maybe you'll pay me a visit out at my new place in Las Vegas. Why not? We can share a cold one and maybe a win or two. Anyway, thank you so very much for all the appreciation and all the great moments that we've experienced together. God bless” (
"Georgia-Kentucky," ESPN, 1/31). Musburger appeared on "SportsCenter" after the game and said, "I will only tell any of the youngsters coming up in this business or athletes, it is such a short time span from your first job to social security. Make the most of it. Those moments have gone by for me faster than anything in the world. I love being a guest in your living room or wherever you watched all of the games” (
“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 2/1).
GOING OUT IN STYLE: YAHOO SPORTS' Henry Bushnell noted Musburger was "brilliant over the two-plus hours of game time," but his "best moment was his final one on air" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/1). In N.Y., John Healy notes after the game an "emotional Jay Bilas thanked Musburger for all the memories" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/1). NBC's Mike Tirico tweeted, "The legend @brentmusburger sounds as good as ever on his last call. He created a template and set the standard. Thank you Brent." Vice Sports' David Roth tweeted, "Bless ESPN for including Musburger's world-historically corny "for all the Tostitos" call in their career retrospective reel." ESPN's Holly Rowe: "I am better at my job today because I've worked with Brent. Most versatile sports man ever. GOAT." Awful Announcing: "Musburger’s last game went to OT because perhaps we weren’t ready yet to say goodbye to him calling games." Kentucky Basketball's official feed: "Just wanted to keep you on the air a little longer, Brent" (TWITTER.com, 1/31).
VOICE OF A GENERATION, OR TWO: ESPN's Dick Vitale wrote Musburger when calling a game had the "unique ability to tell a story and paint a picture for the fans." He was "as good as anybody behind the microphone." When Musburger was "describing a game, and you were [sitting] there at home, you were wishing that you were there at the event." He "made the fans feel that special" (ESPN.com, 1/30). In El Paso, Bill Knight wrote Musburger's "eloquent, folksy delivery was unmistakable and simply an integral part of first the NFL and then college football" (EL PASO TIMES, 1/31).
ROLL OF THE DICE: In N.Y., Mark Sanchez noted since his national broadcasting career began at CBS in '73, the "warm-voiced Musburger has repeatedly referenced the gambling elephant in the room that so many others ignore" (N.Y. POST, 1/31). ESPN's Scott Van Pelt said to Musburger, "I owe you a debt of gratitude, because you were not afraid to address the elephant in the room, so to speak, that thing that makes the games a bit more interesting to some of us" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 2/1). In San Antonio, Chuck Blount wrote of Musburger's signature opening line of "You are looking live ..." has "deep ties to the gambling industry." It was "standard for football bettors to wait until the start of a Musburger telecast, where the catchphrase was consistently in synch with a look at the field." With a "solid 5-10 minute window between that live look and the official start of the games, bets would often be made based on the field conditions" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 1/31).
ON HIS OWN TERMS: SI.com's Richard Deitsch noted Musburger made it "repeatedly clear that he was not forced out by ESPN," nor was his exit "related to his comments about" then-Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon during the Sugar Bowl. Musburger said, "The morning after the Sugar Bowl I had breakfast with (ESPN President) John Skipper and (ESPN Senior VP/Event & Studio Production) Stephanie Druley, and they wanted to work out a plan to keep me at ESPN. There was not even a discussion about what had been said specifically about Mixon." He added that he did not want "his leaving ESPN to be drawn out." He said, “I prefer not to have the tour. ... I really don’t want a love fest longer than the two games. It just doesn’t suit my style" (SI.com, 1/30).
