Bob Costas

Bob Costas

Costas in 2014.
Born Robert Quinlan Costas
March 22, 1952
New York, New York, United States
Occupation Sportscaster
Spouse(s) Carole Krummenacher (m. 1983; div. 2001)
Jill Sutton (m. 2004)
Children Keith and Taylor
Parent(s) Jayne and John Costas

Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster, on the air for NBC Sports television since the early 1980s. He has been prime-time host of nine Olympic games. He also does play-by-play for MLB Network and hosts an interview show called Studio 42 with Bob Costas.

Early life

Bob Costas was born in the borough of Queens in New York City, the son of Jayne (Quinlan), of Irish descent, and John George Costas, an electrical engineer of Greek descent. His father's family roots are from the island of Kalymnos in the Aegean Sea.[1] In the documentary television series Baseball (1994), directed by Ken Burns, Costas indicated that baseball was a connection between him and his father, in an otherwise, sometimes difficult relationship, but did not go into specifics. He grew up primarily in Commack, New York, graduating from Commack High School South.

Following high school, Costas majored in communications at Syracuse University,.[2] He left school prior to graduating to accept a job at radio giant, KMOX in St. Louis. Later, he received an honorary degree from Syracuse's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.[3]

Broadcasting career

Early career

Costas' sportscasting career began while attending Syracuse University, serving as an announcer for the Syracuse Blazers minor-league hockey team playing in the Eastern Hockey League and North American Hockey League.

From there, at 22, he went to KMOX, calling play-by-play for the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association in 1974. Later he would call Missouri Tigers basketball and co-hosted KMOX's Open Line call-in program.

He was a prominent contributor to the ABA book Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association. He is extensively quoted on many topics. The book includes his reflections of ABA life during his tenure as radio voice of the Spirits of St. Louis.

Costas later did play-by-play for Chicago Bulls broadcasts on WGN-TV during the 1979–1980 NBA season.[4][5] He was also employed by CBS Sports as a regional CBS NFL and CBS NBA announcer from 1976 to 1979, after which he moved to NBC.

NBC Sports

When Costas was first hired by NBC, Don Ohlmeyer, who at the time ran the network's sports division, told the then 28-year-old Costas that he looked like a 14-year-old. Costas would recite this anecdote during an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Ohlmeyer based his reaction on Costas' modest stature (Costas is 5' 7" in height) and boyish, baby-faced appearance.

For many years, Costas hosted NBC's National Football League coverage and NBA coverage. He also did play-by-play for National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball coverage.

With the introduction of the NBC Sports Network, Costas also became the host of the new monthly interview program Costas Tonight.[6]

Boxing

On March 30, 2015, it was announced that Costas would join forces with Marv Albert (blow-by-blow) and Al Michaels (host) on the April 11, 2015 edition of NBC's primetime PBC on NBC boxing series.[7] Costas was added to serve as a special contributor for the event from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. He would narrate and write a feature on the storied history of boxing in New York City.

Golf

He has also hosted NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open golf tournament.[8]

Major League Baseball

For baseball telecasts, he teamed with Sal Bando[9] (1982), Tony Kubek (from 1983–1989), and Joe Morgan and Bob Uecker (from 1994–2000).

One of his most memorable broadcasts occurred on June 23, 1984 (in what would go down in baseball lore as "The Sandberg Game").[10] Costas, along with Tony Kubek, was calling the Saturday baseball Game of the Week from Chicago's Wrigley Field. The game between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals in particular was cited for putting Ryne Sandberg (as well as the 1984 Cubs in general, who would go on to make their first postseason appearance since 1945) "on the map". In the ninth inning, the Cubs, trailing 9–8, faced the premier relief pitcher of the time, Bruce Sutter. Sandberg, then not known for his power, slugged a home run to left field against the Cardinals' ace closer.[10] Despite this dramatic act, the Cardinals scored two runs in the top of the tenth. Sandberg came up again in the tenth inning, facing a determined Sutter with one man on base. Sandberg then shocked the national audience by hitting a second home run, even farther into the left field bleachers, to tie the game again.[10] The Cubs went on to win in the 11th inning.[11] When Sandberg hit that second home run, Costas said, "Do you believe it?!" The Cardinals' Willie McGee hit for the cycle in the same game.

While hosting Game 4 of the 1988 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics on NBC, Costas angered many members of the Dodgers (especially the team's manager, Tommy Lasorda) by commenting before the start of the game that the Dodgers quite possibly were about to put up the weakest-hitting lineup in World Series history.[12] That comment ironically fired up the competitive spirit of the Dodgers. Later (while being interviewed by NBC's Marv Albert), after the Dodgers had won Game 4 (en route to a 4–1 series victory), Lasorda sarcastically suggested that the MVP of the 1988 World Series should be Bob Costas.

Besides calling the 1989 American League Championship Series for NBC, Costas also filled-in for a suddenly ill Vin Scully, who had come down with laryngitis, for Game 2 of the 1989 National League Championship Series. Game 2 of the NLCS occurred on Thursday, October 5, which was an off day for the ALCS. NBC then decided to fly Costas from Toronto to Chicago to substitute for Scully on Thursday night. Afterwards, Costas flew back to Toronto, where he resumed work on the ALCS the next night.

Bob Costas anchored NBC's pre- and post-game shows for NFL broadcasts and the pre and post-game shows for numerous World Series and Major League Baseball All-Star Games during the 1980s (the first being for the 1982 World Series). Costas did not get a shot at doing play-by-play (as the games on NBC were previously called by Vin Scully) for an All-Star Game until 1994 and a World Series until 1995 (when NBC split the coverage with ABC under "The Baseball Network" umbrella), when NBC regained Major League Baseball rights after a four-year hiatus (when the broadcast network television contract moved over to CBS, exclusively). It was not until 1997 when Costas finally got the chance to do play-by-play for a World Series from start to finish. Costas ended up winning a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play.

In 1999, Costas teamed with his then-NBC colleague Joe Morgan to call two weekday night telecasts for ESPN. The first was on Wednesday, August 25 with Detroit Tigers playing against the Seattle Mariners. The second was on Tuesday, September 21 with the Atlanta Braves playing against the New York Mets.

National Basketball Association

When NBC gained the NBA network contract from CBS in 1990, Costas hosted the telecasts and was teamed in the studio with ex-Lakers coach Pat Riley. He also hosted the studio program Showtime and did play-by-play for the 1991 All-Star Game. In 1997 Costas began a three-year stint as the lead play-by-play man for The NBA on NBC. Costas teamed with Isiah Thomas and Doug Collins for NBA telecasts (from 1997–2000).

NBC enlisted Costas' services after they were forced to (temporarily) remove Marv Albert from their broadcasts due to lingering personal and legal problems at the time. Costas stepped aside following the 2000 NBA Finals in favor of a returning Marv Albert. Costas returned to call some games of the 2002 NBA Playoffs after Albert was injured in a car accident two days before the playoffs began.

While this, in essence, ended his active role on the NBA on NBC program (by this point, Hannah Storm and briefly Ahmad Rashād had replaced Costas on studio anchoring duties), Costas would return to do play-by-play for selected playoff games. Costas also co-anchored (with Hannah Storm) NBC's NBA Finals coverage in 2002, which was their last to-date.

National Football League

In 2006 Costas returned to studio hosting duties on The NFL on NBC (under the Football Night in America banner), which was returning after a near ten-year hiatus. Costas last hosted NFL telecasts for NBC in 1992 before being replaced in the studio by Jim Lampley and subsequently, Greg Gumbel. Before becoming the studio host for The NFL on NBC in 1984, Costas did play-by-play of NFL games with analyst Bob Trumpy.

Costas is nicknamed "Rapping Roberto" by New York City's Daily News sports media columnist Bob Raissman.[13] Al Michaels also called him "Rapping Roberto" during the telecast between the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants on September 10, 2006, in response to Costas calling him "Alfalfa".[14]

National Hockey League

Costas hosted NBC's coverage of the 2008, 2009, and the 2010 NHL Winter Classic.[15] He was scheduled to host coverage of the 2011 event as well but, due to the game's postponement, Costas only hosted pre-game coverage before leaving to go to Seattle for his duties with NBC's NFL coverage the next night. He hosted the event in 2012 as well as a post-game edition of NHL Live on the NBC Sports Network.

Olympics

Costas has frontlined many Olympics broadcasts for NBC. They include the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, Salt Lake City in 2002, Athens in 2004, Turin in 2006, Beijing in 2008, Vancouver in 2010, London in 2012, and Sochi in 2014.[16] He discusses his work on the Olympic telecasts extensively in a book by Andrew Billings entitled Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television. A personal influence on Costas has been legendary ABC Sports broadcaster Jim McKay, who hosted many Olympics for ABC from the 1960s to the 1980s.[17]

During the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Opening Ceremonies, Costas' remarks on China's teams' possible drug use caused an uproar among the American Chinese and international communities. Thousands of dollars were raised to purchase ads in The Washington Post and Sunday The New York Times, featuring an image of the head of a statue of Apollo and reading: "Costas Poisoned Olympic Spirit, Public Protests NBC".[18][19] However, Costas' comments were made subsequent to the suspension of Chinese coach Zhou Ming after seven of his swimmers were caught using steroids in 1994. Further evidence of Chinese athletes' drug use came in 1997 when Australian authorities confiscated 13 vials of Somatropin, a human growth hormone, from the bag of Chinese swimmer Yuan Yuan upon her arrival for the 1997 World Swimming Championships. At the World Championships, four Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned substance Triamterene, a diuretic used to dilute urine samples in order to mask the presence of anabolic steroids. Including these failed drug tests, 27 Chinese swimmers were caught using performance enhancing drugs from 1990 through 1997; more than the rest of the world combined.[20]

Along with that of co-host Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer, Costas' commentary of the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies came under fierce criticism, with Costas being described as making "a series of jingoistic remarks, including a joke about Idi Amin when Uganda's team appeared"[21] and the combined commentary as being "ignorant" and "banal".[22][23][24] At the same time, Costas was widely praised for noting the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympic terrorist attacks. And, for observing a moment of silence as the Israeli delegation entered, after noting that the IOC had declined to officially observe the anniversary.

Following the Olympics, Costas appeared on Conan O'Brien's talk show and jokingly criticized his employer for its decision to air a preview of the upcoming series Animal Practice over a performance by The Who during the London closing ceremonies. "So here is the balance NBC has to consider: The Who, 'Animal Practice.' Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend -- monkey in a lab coat. I'm sure you'd be the first to attest, Conan, that when it comes to the tough calls, NBC usually gets 'em right," Costas said, alluding at the end to O'Brien's involvement in the 2010 Tonight Show conflict.[25]

An eye infection Costas had at the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics forced him, on February 11, 2014, to cede his Olympic hosting duties to Matt Lauer (four nights) and Meredith Vieira (two nights), the first time someone other than Costas hosted a primetime Olympics broadcast since the 1998 Games (in which Jim Nantz was the primetime host) [26] and the first time Costas has not done so at all since the 1988 Summer Olympics (in which Jim Nantz was the primetime host) and the first time Costas has not done so at all since the 1988 Summer Olympics (Bryant Gumbel was the primetime host for NBC's 1988 Summer Olympics coverage, while Costas hosted the late night portion).[27]

Thoroughbred racing

Since 2001, Costas has been the co-host of the Kentucky Derby.[28]

In 2009, he hosted Bravo's coverage of the 2009 Kentucky Oaks.[29]

Talk show hosting

Costas also hosted the syndicated radio program Costas Coast to Coast from 1986–1996, which was later revived as Costas on the Radio. Costas on the Radio, which ended its three-year run on May 31, 2009, aired on 200 stations nationwide each weekend and syndicated by the Clear Channel owned Premiere Radio Networks. Like Later, Costas' radio shows have focused on a wide variety of topics and have not been limited to sports discussion.

Costas hosted Later with Bob Costas on NBC from 1988 until 1994. This late night show created by Dick Ebersol, coming on at 1:30 a.m. as the third program in NBC's nightly lineup after The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman, was something of a break from the typical TV talk show format of the era, featuring Costas and a single guest having a conversation for the entire half hour, without a band, opening monologue or studio audience. On several occasions, Costas held the guest over for multiple nights, and these in-depth discussions won Costas much praise for his interviewing skills. The show was taped in GE Building's studios 3B or 8H at the Rockefeller Plaza, with Costas interviewing the guest for 45 minutes to an hour before turning the material over to editors who condensed it down to 22 minutes plus commercial breaks.[30] More popular guests were given two or three part interviews that ran consecutive nights. In August 1991, Mel Brooks became the only guest for four consecutive nights in the series' history. The program was critically acclaimed, and twice nominated for Emmy's during its 5 1⁄2-year run, with Costas as host. It won the Emmy award for best informational series in 1993.

In June 2005, Costas was named by CNN president Jonathan Klein as a regular substitute anchor for Larry King's Larry King Live for one year. Costas, as well as Klein, have said that Costas was not trying out for King's position on a permanent basis. Nancy Grace was also named a regular substitute host for the show.[31]

On August 18, 2005, Costas refused to host a Larry King Live broadcast where the subject was missing teenager Natalee Holloway. Costas said that because there were no new developments in the story, he felt it had no news value at that time, and he was uncomfortable with televisions drift in the direction of tabloid type stories.[32]

Beginning in October 2011, Costas was a correspondent for Rock Center with Brian Williams. He gained acclaim for his November 2011 live interview of former Pennsylvania State University assistant coach Jerry Sandusky concerning charges of sexual abuse of minors, in which Sandusky called in by telephone to deny the charges.[33]

Costas currently hosts a monthly talk show Costas Tonight on NBC Sports Network.[34]

HBO Sports

In 2001, Costas was hired by HBO to host a 12-week series called On the Record with Bob Costas.[35] On the Record with Bob Costas was similar to the format of the old Later program as they both concentrated on in-depth interviews.

In 2002, Costas began a stint as co-host of HBO's long-running series Inside the NFL. Costas remained host of Inside the NFL through the end of the 2007 NFL season. He hosted the show with Cris Collinsworth and former NFL legends Dan Marino and Cris Carter. The program aired each week during the NFL season.

In 2005, On the Record with Bob Costas was revamped to become Costas Now, a monthly issue oriented sports program that occasionally employed a town hall style format.

Costas left HBO to sign with MLB Network in February 2009.

MLB Network

At the channel's launch on January 1, 2009, he hosted the premiere episode of All Time Games, a presentation of the recently discovered kinescope of Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. During the episode, he held a forum with Don Larsen, who pitched MLB's only postseason perfect game during that game, and Yogi Berra, who caught the game.

Costas joined the network full-time on February 3, 2009. He hosts a regular interview show titled MLB Network Studio 42 with Bob Costas as well as special programming, and provides play-by-play for select live baseball game telecasts.[36]

Other appearances

Costas provided significant contributions to the Ken Burns, PBS mini series Baseball as well as its follow-up The 10th Inning. He also appears in another PBS film, A Time for Champions, produced by St. Louis' Nine Network of Public Media.[37]

Interests

Love of baseball

Costas is a devoted baseball fan. He's been suggested as a potential commissioner and wrote Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball in 2000. For his 40th birthday, then Oakland Athletics manager Tony La Russa allowed Costas to manage the club during a spring training game. The first time Costas visited baseball legend Stan Musial's St. Louis eatery, he left a $3.31 tip on a ten dollar tab in homage to Musial's lifetime batting average (.331). Costas delivered the eulogy at Mickey Mantle's funeral. In eulogizing Mantle, Costas described the baseball legend as "a fragile hero to whom we had an emotional attachment so strong and lasting that it defied logic". Costas has even carried a 1958 Mickey Mantle baseball card in his wallet. Costas also delivered the eulogy for Musial after his death in early 2013.

Costas was outspoken about his disdain for Major League Baseball instituting a wild card. Costas believed it diminishes the significance and drama of winning a divisional championship. He prefers a system in which winning the wild card puts a team at some sort of disadvantage, as opposed to on an equal level with teams by which they were outplayed over a 162-game season. Or, as explained in his book Fair Ball, have only the three division winners in each league go to the postseason, with the team with the best record receiving a bye into the League Championship Series. Once, on the air on HBO's Inside the NFL, he mentioned that the NFL regular season counted for something, but baseball's was beginning to lose significance. With the advent of the second wild card, Costas has said he feels the format has improved, since there is now a greater premium placed on finishing first. He has suggested a further tweak: Make the wild card round a best two of three, instead of a single game, with all three games, if necessary, on the homefield of the wild card of the better record.

Costas serves as a member of the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro League players through financial and medical difficulties.

Political views

George W. Bush

On May 26, 2007, Costas discussed the presidency of George W. Bush on his radio show, stating that he liked Bush personally, and had been optimistic about his presidency, but said that the course of the Iraq war, and other mis-steps have led him to conclude that Bush's presidency had "tragically failed" and considered it "overwhelmingly evident, even if you're a conservative Republican, if you're honest about it, this is a failed administration."[38] The following summer, Costas would interview Bush during the president's appearance at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[39]

Controversies

Gun control controversy

During a segment on the Sunday Night Football halftime show on December 2, 2012, Costas paraphrased Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock in regards to Jovan Belcher's murder-suicide the day prior, stating that the United States' gun culture was causing more domestic disputes to result in death, and that it was likely Belcher and his girlfriend would not have died had he not possessed a gun.[40]

Critics interpreted his remarks as support for gun control, resulting in mostly negative reactions. Many (including former Republican Presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Herman Cain)[41] felt that Costas should not have used a program typically viewed as entertainment to publicize political views on sensitive topics, Lou Dobbs criticized his remarks for supporting the abolishment of the Second Amendment by quoting a sports writer, while Andrew Levy remarked that he had been given a civics lecture by someone who had "gotten rich thanks in part to a sport that destroys men’s bodies and brains."[42] However, liberal reporter Erik Wemple of The Washington Post praised Costas for speaking out for gun control on the broadcast, feeling that the incident's connection to the NFL provided him with an obligation to acknowledge the incident during the halftime show, stating that "the things that [NFL players] do affect the public beyond whether their teams cover the point spread. And few cases better exemplify that dynamic as powerfully as the Belcher incident."[43]

During the following week, Costas defended his remarks in an appearance on MSNBC's program The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, where he stated that the remarks were related to the country's gun culture, and not about gun control as critics had inferred. Costas did suggest that more regulation be placed on America's gun culture:[41]

"Now, do I believe that we need more comprehensive and more sensible gun control legislation? Yes I do. That doesn't mean repeal the Second Amendment. That doesn't mean a prohibition on someone having a gun to protect their home and their family. It means sensible and more comprehensive gun control legislation. But even if you had that, you would still have the problem of what Jason Whitlock wrote about, and what I agree with. And that is a gun culture in this country."[41]

Commenting on Russia and Vladimir Putin during the 2014 Winter Olympics

During his coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics, Costas was criticized by some conservative members of the media, including Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck for supposedly praising Vladimir Putin’s role in defusing tensions surrounding Syria, and Iran.[44] Several media commentators, including Bill O’Reilly and Bernard Goldberg, defended Costas’ remarks as factually correct and pointed out that Costas had also voiced considerable criticism of both Russia and Putin while broadcasting from Sochi. During an interview on Fox News Goldberg said "... the idea that Costas somehow portrayed Vladimir Putin as a benign figure is ridiculous."[45][46] Costas defended himself on O'Reilly's broadcast on March 3 reiterating he criticized Putin immediately preceding, and following, the statements that were questioned. O'Reilly then aired a portion of an Olympic commentary in which Costas was pointedly critical of the Russian leader. Costas also indicated that Senator John McCain, who had been among those who initially criticized, had called him to apologize after hearing the full segment in context.[47]

Personal life

Costas was married from 1983 to 2001 to Carole "Randy" Randall Krummenacher. They had two children, son Keith (born 1986) and daughter Taylor (born 1989). Costas once jokingly promised Minnesota Twins center fielder Kirby Puckett that, if he was batting over .350 by the time his child was born, he would name the baby Kirby. Kirby was hitting better than .350, but Bob's son initially was not given a first (or second) name of Kirby. After Puckett reminded Costas of the agreement, the birth certificate was changed to "Keith Michael Kirby Costas".[48] On March 12, 2004, Costas married his second wife, Jill Sutton. Costas and his wife now reside primarily in New York, but he has often said he thinks of St. Louis as his hometown.[49]

Costas's children have also won Sports Emmys; Keith has won two as an associate producer on MLB Network's MLB Tonight[50][51] and Taylor as an associate producer on NBC's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics.[51]

Awards and honors

Costas has won eight National Sportcaster of the Year awards from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He was inducted into that organization's Hall of Fame in 2012. He has also won four Sportscaster of the Year awards from the American Sportscasters Association and well over twenty Sports Emmy Awards for outstanding sports announcing.

He is the only person in television history to have won Emmy's for Sports, News (Sandusky interview), and Entertainment (Later).

In 1999 he was a recipient of the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is awarded to members of the electronic and print media for outstanding contributions to the sport.

In 1995 he received a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.[52]

In 2000 he won a TV Guide Award for Favorite Sportscaster.[53]

He was selected as the Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism recipient in 2004.

In 2006 he was also awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Loyola College in Maryland.

In 2012 he was awarded the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism.

He is an honorary trustee of Webster University, a private college located in Webster Groves, Missouri. He is a frequent supporter of the school, to include numerous radio commercials.

He is also an honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

In popular culture

Films

In 1994, Costas appeared as the play-by-play announcer for the World Series (working alongside Tim McCarver) in the movie The Scout. In 1998, he appeared as himself along with his rival/counterpart Al Michaels (who now works for NBC) from ABC in the movie BASEketball. In 2006, Costas voiced the animated character Bob Cutlass, a race announcer, in the movie Cars. He also appeared as himself in the 2001 movie Pootie Tang, where he remarks that he saw "the longest damn clip ever".

Costas' voice appeared in the 2011 documentary film Legendary: When Baseball Came to the Bluegrass, which detailed the humble beginnings of the Lexington Legends, a minor league baseball team located in Lexington, Kentucky.

References in songs and musical appearances

Costas has been alluded to several times in popular music. The songs "Mafioso" by Mac Dre, "We Major" by Domo Genesis and "The Last Huzzah" by Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, all refer to Costas. He was also mentioned in a Ludacris song after Costas mentioned the rapper on the late night talk show Last Call with Carson Daly.

In June 2013, Costas provided the voice of "God" in the Monty Python musical Spamalot at The Muny Repertory in St. Louis.

Television guest spots

Apart from his normal sportscasting duties, Costas has also presented periodic sports blooper reels, and announced dogsled and elevator races, on Late Night with David Letterman.

In 1985, Costas appeared on the The War to Settle the Score, a pre-WrestleMania program that the World Wrestling Federation aired on MTV.

In 1993, Costas hosted the "pregame" show for the final episode of Cheers. Costas once appeared on the television program, NewsRadio, as himself. He hosted an award show and later had some humorous encounters with the crew of WNYX. Costas also once appeared as a guest on the faux talk show cartoon Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

Costas has been impersonated several times by Darrell Hammond on Saturday Night Live.[54] Costas was "supposed" to appear in the fourth season premiere of Celebrity Deathmatch (ironically titled "Where is Bob Costas?") as a guest-commentator, but about halfway through the episode it was revealed that John Tesh had killed him before the show to take his place.

On June 13, 2008, Costas appeared on MSNBC's commercial-free special coverage of Remembering Tim Russert (1950~2008).

On January 30, 2009, Costas guest-starred as himself on the television series Monk in an episode titled "Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs"'. He mentions to Captain Stottlemeyer about how Adrian Monk once helped him out of a problem several years ago with regards to a demented cat salesman. He apparently sold Costas a cat that allegedly tried to kill him with a squeeze toy (in fact, when he signs off, he says "The cat was definitely trying to kill me").

Costas guest-voiced as himself in 2010 Simpsons episode, "Boy Meets Curl", when Homer and Marge make the U.S. Olympic curling team. Costas also guest-voiced as himself on the Family Guy episode "Turban Cowboy" in an interview with Peter after he wins the Boston Marathon by hitting everyone with his car.

On February 11, 2010, Stephen Colbert jokingly expressed his desire to stab Costas with an ice pick at the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver so that Colbert could take over as host. Costas later made a cameo appearance on the February 25, 2010 edition of Colbert's show.

In January 2013, Costas appeared as himself in Go On episode, "Win at All Costas" with Matthew Perry, where Ryan King auditions with him for a TV Show.

Video games

In 2002, Costas was the play-by-play announcer, alongside Harold Reynolds, for Triple Play 2002 during the ballgame for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

Memorable calls

Into left-center field and deep, THIS IS A TIE BALLGAME!
—Calling Ryne Sandberg's first game-tying home run against Bruce Sutter in the ninth inning of a Cardinals–Cubs game at Wrigley Field, June 23, 1984.
He hits it to deep left field, LOOK OUT! DO YOU BELIEVE IT! IT'S GONE!!
—Calling Sandberg's second game-tying home run against Sutter in the 10th inning. The Cubs went on to win 12-11 in the 11th inning. June 23, 1984.
Grissom on the run... The team of the '90s has its World Championship!
—Calling Marquis Grissom's catch for the final out of the Atlanta Braves' 1995 World Series victory.
Costas: But look who gets it next! Enberg: The Greatest! Oh my!
—With Dick Enberg, calling Muhammad Ali's appearance before lighting the Olympic Torch at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA.
Tony Fernández, who has worn hero's laurels throughout the postseason, including earlier in this seventh game of the World Series—now, cruel as it may seem, perhaps being fitted for goat horns.
—Calling a miscue by Cleveland Indians second baseman Tony Fernández in the 11th inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, ultimately won by the Florida Marlins
McKey...gets it in to Miller for the win...IT'S THERE! Four tenths of a second! Yeah, you can dance, Reggie! One of the greatest clutch playoff performers of his generation has apparently done it again!
—Calling Reggie Miller's game-winner in Game 4 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.
Seventeen seconds from game seven or from championship number six. Jordan...open...CHICAGO WITH THE LEAD!
—calling Michael Jordan's championship-clinching shot in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals.
Bryant...TO SHAQ!
—Calling the famous Kobe Bryant-to-Shaquille O'Neal alley-oop in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals.
Back from the brink of elimination to the brink of the NBA Finals!
—moments after the Kobe–Shaq alley-oop, which capped off a 15-point comeback.
A drive to right! Back to Georgia! Gone! A grand slam! What a scene at Shea!
—Call of the Mets' Robin Ventura's Grand Slam Single in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS

Career timeline

References

  1. ↑ Database (undated). "Bob Costas Biography (1952–)". filmreference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ Meliker, Shayna (March 7, 2010). "Bob Costas To Address University". The Daily Orange. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  3. ↑ Meliker, Shayna (September 24, 2013). "#NewhouseNetwork: Bob Costas '74". Syracuse Newhouse Network. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  4. ↑ Database (undated). "WGN Channel 9 – Chicago Bulls Basketball With Bob Costas (Promo, 1979)". The Museum of Classic Chicago Television. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  5. ↑ Database (undated). "WGN Channel 9 – Chicago Bulls Vs. Seattle SuperSonics (Opening, 1979)". The Museum of Classic Chicago Television. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  6. ↑ Sands, Rich. "Channel Changing: Versus Becomes NBC Sports Network". TV Guide. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Deitsch, Richard (30 March 2015). "Marv Albert, Al Michaels, Bob Costas to join forces for a broadcast". Sports Illustrated.
  8. ↑ Yoder, Matt (June 18, 2012). "U.S. Open Fan Interrupts Webb Simpson Trophy Presentation, Bob Costas Interview (Video)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  9. ↑ Kalb, Elliott (March 22, 2012). "At 60, Costas Remains at Top of His Game – MLB Network Commentator's Talent, Love for Baseball Unmatched". MLB.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Neil on June 23, 2009 (June 23, 2009). "Looking Back at '84: The Sandberg Game". ChicagoCubsOnline.com. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  11. ↑ The Top 20 Cub HR Of All Time - #4 Ryne Sandberg 6/23/1984 - Bleed Cubbie Blue.
  12. ↑ Ostler, Scott (October 20, 1988). "This Is One Incredible Stunt They're Pulling Off". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  13. ↑ Raissman, Bob (September 12, 2006). "NBC out-Foxed in opener". Daily News.
  14. ↑ Hiestand, Michael (September 11, 2006). "Scores, injury updates early fodder for NBC's Sunday-night NFL show". USA Today.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 NHL.com – 2008 NHL Winter Classic
  16. ↑ Guinto, Joseph (August 1, 2008). "Golden Boy". American Way. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  17. ↑ (June 7, 2008). "Legendary Broadcaster McKay Dies – TV Sports Journalist Known for Hosting 'Wide World of Sports' and Olympics". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  18. ↑ Liang, K. Harrison (August 29, 1996). "Text of Protest Ad". China News Digest.
  19. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (September 6, 1996). "Cultural Views: Differing Outlooks". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  20. ↑ Penner, Mike (January 18, 1998). "Latest Drug Scandal Has China Critics Seeing Red". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  21. ↑ Adams, Guy (July 30, 2012). "As America Succeeds at the Games, Back Home All the Talk Is About #NBCfail – Host Bob Costas Made a Series of Jingoistic Remarks, Including a Joke About Idi Amin When Uganda's Team Appeared". The Independent. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  22. ↑ Huff, Steve (July 28, 2012). "NBC's Broadcast of the Olympics Opening Ceremony Was the Worst – We Cringed". The New York Observer. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  23. ↑ Holmes, Linda (July 27, 2012). "The Opening Ceremonies in London: From the Industrial Revolution to Voldemort". NPR. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  24. ↑ Keller, Emma G. (July 28, 2012). "NBC Lambasted Over Banal Butchering of Opening Ceremony – And Rightly So – Tim Berners-Lee? Who's That? Madagascar? Oh, Like the Kids Movie! If You're Going To Make Us Wait Hours To Watch the Ceremony Live, NBC, the Least You Could Have Done Is Keep Quiet". Olympics2012 (blog of The Guardian). Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  25. ↑ Porter, Rick. (September 13, 2012). "'Conan': Bob Costas not a fan of NBC's Olympic closing ceremony coverage". Zap2it. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  26. ↑ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1955944-bob-costas-eye-infection-forces-host-to-be-temporarily-replaced-by-matt-lauer?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&hpt=hp_c4
  27. ↑ http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/matt-lauer-fill-bob-costas-nbcs-olympic-primetime-show?ctx=att-olympic-news-desk
  28. ↑ Hoppert, Melissa (May 2, 2012). "NBC Blankets Churchill Downs". The Rail (blog of The New York Times). Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  29. ↑
  30. ↑ Later 1994 on YouTube.
  31. ↑ "CNN Hires Bob Costas". Associated Press (via CBS News). June 9, 2005.
  32. ↑ "Bob Costas Says No to Hour on Aruba". New York Times. August 25, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Lawyers for convicted serial child molester Jerry Sandusky to appeal conviction on grounds of TV glitch during his interview with Bob Costas". Daily News. June 24, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Costas Tonight Looks at Bounty Scandal". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. June 21, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  35. ↑ Database (undated). 'On the Record with Bob Costas' (2001)". Internet Movie Database.
  36. ↑ Press release (February 3, 2009). "Bob Costas Joins MLB Network – Costas Returns to Baseball To Host Special Programs, Contribute to On-Air Game Telecasts MLB Network To Be Exclusive Cable Home of 19-Time Emmy Winner". MLB.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  37. ↑ "Time for Champions". Time for Champions. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  38. ↑ Costas on the Radio, May 26, 2007.
  39. ↑ Ostrow, Joanne (August 10, 2008). "Bob Costas, redeemed". Ostrow Off the Record (blog of The Denver Post). Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  40. ↑ "Bob Costas Got Blasted For His Gun-Control Monologue After Jovan Belcher's Murder-Suicide". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 Pengelly, Martin (December 5, 2012). "Bob Costas defends 'gun culture' comments in MSNBC interview". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  42. ↑ "ob Costas delivers anti-gun message on Sunday Night Football one day after NFL player Jovan Belcher kills girlfriend, himself". New York Daily News. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  43. ↑ Wemple, Erik (December 4, 2012). "Bob Costas, please keep spouting off". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  44. ↑ Farhi, Paul (February 21, 2014). "In coverage of Olympics, NBC has largely steered clear of controversy". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  45. ↑ Feldman, Josh (February 14, 2014) "O’Reilly, Goldberg Defend Bob Costas from Conservative Critics over NBC Putin Coverage" Mediaite. Retrieved February 22, 2014
  46. ↑ O'Reilly, Bill (February 14, 2014) "Politics and the Olympics" Fox News Channel - The O'Reilly Factor. Retrieved February 22, 2014
  47. ↑ Wemple, Erik (March 4, 2014). "NBC’s Bob Costas, Sen. John McCain mend fences on Putin". Washington Post. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  48. ↑ Wulf, Steve (July 22, 1992). "The Host with the Most – Bob Costas, the Anchorman for NBC's Olympic Television Coverage, Is, as Always, Voluminously Prepared". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  49. ↑ Powell, William (June 19, 2013). "Q&A: A Conversation With Bob Costas – ". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  50. ↑ THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE 33rd ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 "THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE 34th ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS". Emmyonline.org. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  52. ↑ St. Louis Walk of Fame. "St. Louis Walk of Fame Inductees". stlouiswalkoffame.org. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  53. ↑ TV Guide Book of Lists. Running Press. 2007. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-762-43007-9.
  54. ↑ Darrell Hammond impersonation on Bob Costas
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 55.3 55.4 HBO: Costas Now

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