The George Michael Sports Machine

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The George Michael Sports Machine
Genre	Sports
Starring	George Michael Lindsay Czarniak (2004-2007)
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original run	1980 – March 25, 2007
Links
IMDb profile

The George Michael Sports Machine was a long-running television show, syndicated by NBC (Usually aired on Sunday nights, and has in the past been distributed by ITC Entertainment and King World; it was last distributed by NBC Universal Television Distribution). Hosted since its inception in 1980 by George Michael, a former WABC radio DJ and a former Sports Anchor at the Washington, D.C. NBC-owned and operated station, WRC-TV, the show presented clips from the weekend's sporting events from across the US, and sometimes Canada, if a given league includes teams there. Unlike newer sports-related programming, the Sports Machine did not present commentary or criticism, just the weekend's highlights, and sometimes an in-depth story about a particular athlete. The show was also somewhat unique in its occasional coverage of remarkable high school sports footage, and its occasional coverage of sports largely ignored by other sports wrap-up shows, such as equestrian events.

The show was sometimes derided for the large quantity of fake machinery on its set. Although the set changed throughout the years, the theatrics have basically remained the same: after introducing each of the highlights, Michael then "activated" the machinery to play the video clips.

Another criticism of the show was the poor video quality of the highlights shown, the reason being to focus on the action of the games and take out the distraction of the digital on-screen graphics added by the networks. However, both ESPN and Fox Sports Net have also practiced this policy in the past in order to deny each others network's free ad time for their shows.

George Michael WRC-TV March 25th, 2007.

Beginning in 2004, Michael had co-hosted the Sports Machine with former Speed Channel pit reporter (and fellow WRC sports anchor) Lindsay Czarniak, she became the official co-host of the program in September 2006. However, this arrangement did not last long, as Michael announced on November 16, 2006 that he would be retiring and The George Michael Sports Machine would come off the air in March 2007, citing that he would not want his contract renewed at the expense of WRC's sports staff, which would be reduced under the NBCU 2.0 network-wide cost reduction initiative. He will continue to do sports panel shows and Redskins-related programs for WRC.

The last episode aired on March 25, 2007. After thanking his co-host, sponsors, syndicators and staff, Michael said this at the end of the show:

"I close every show every Sunday by saying 'Thank you for letting us be a part of your weekend.' Well tonight, for the final time, we say 'thank you for letting us be a part of your life'. From everyone at the Sports Machine, have a great weekend everybody. We hope to see you somewhere down the road of life. Thank you."

Michaels then walked off camera, and is heard to say "Last one out, turn out the lights" as the show closed for the final time.