Bob Costas

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This article is about the sportscaster. For people named Robert Costa, see Robert Costa (disambiguation).
Bob Costas
Bob Costas.JPG
Costas in 2014
Born
Robert Quinlan Costas

(1952-03-22) March 22, 1952 (age 67)
Queens, New York, U.S.
ResidenceNew York, U.S.
EducationSyracuse University
OccupationSportscaster
Years active1973–present
Spouse(s)
Carole Krummenacher
(m. 1983; div. 2001)

Jill Sutton (m. 2004)
Children2
Parent(s)Jayne and John Costas

Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an award-winning American sportscaster, who is employed by MLB Network, where he does play-by-play and hosts an interview show called Studio 42 with Bob Costas. He is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports from 1980 through 2018, and for many Emmy awards,[1] he was the prime-time host of 11 Olympic Games from 1992 until 2016.

Early life[edit]

Costas was born in Queens, New York City, and grew up in Commack, New York, he is the son of Jayne (Quinlan), of Irish descent, and John George Costas, an electrical engineer of Greek descent. His father's ancestry can be traced back to the island of Kalymnos in the Aegean Sea in Greece; as Costas stated on Ken Burns' Baseball, he had a very poor relationship with his father. Costas graduated from Commack High School South and attended Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, he graduated with a communications degree in 1974 from their S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Broadcasting career[edit]

Early career[edit]

In 1973, Costas began his professional career at WSYR TV and radio in Syracuse, while still completing his communications degree at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. His 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.

After graduating in 1974 at the age of 22, Costas went to KMOX radio in St. Louis, Missouri, calling play-by-play for the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association in 1974. 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.

Later, Costas would call Missouri Tigers basketball and co-host KMOX's Open Line call-in program, he did play-by-play for Chicago Bulls broadcasts on WGN-TV during the 1979–1980 NBA season.[2][3] 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[edit]

In 1980, Costas was 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 ft 7 in (1.70 m)) and boyish, baby-faced appearance.[citation needed]

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.[4]

Boxing[edit]

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.[5] 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.[6]

Golf[edit]

Costas has also hosted NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open golf tournament[7] from 2003-2014.[citation needed]

Major League Baseball[edit]

For baseball telecasts, Costas teamed with Sal Bando[8] (1982), Tony Kubek (from 1983 to 1989), and Joe Morgan and Bob Uecker (from 1994 to 2000). One of his most memorable broadcasts occurred on June 23, 1984 (in what would go down in baseball lore as "The Sandberg Game").[9] 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.[9] 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;[9] the Cubs went on to win in the 11th inning.[10] When Sandberg hit that second home run, Costas said, "Do you believe it?!" The Cardinals' Willie McGee also hit for the cycle in the same game.[11]

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 Dodgers' competitive spirit. 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 the MVP of the 1988 World Series should be Bob Costas.[citation needed]

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 alongside Tom Seaver. Game 2 of the NLCS took place 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. Afterward, Costas flew back to Toronto, where he resumed work on the ALCS the next night.[citation needed]

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,[13][14] exclusively), it was not until 1997 when Costas finally got 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.[15]

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.[citation needed]

On August 3, 2019, Costas alongside Paul O'Neill and David Cone[16][17] called both games of a double-header between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for the Yes Network. Costas was filling in for Michael Kay, who was recovering from vocal cord surgery.

NASCAR[edit]

In November 2017, it was announced that Costas would alongside Krista Voda, co-anchor NBC's pre-race coverage leading into the NASCAR Cup Series finale from Homestead.[18] In addition to hosting pre-race coverage, Costas would conduct a live interview with incoming NBC broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was running his final race.[19]

National Basketball Association[edit]

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. 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 teamed with Isiah Thomas and Doug Collins for NBA telecasts from 1997 to 2000, he stepped aside following the 2000 NBA Finals in favor of a returning Albert. 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, he returned to call some games of the 2002 NBA Playoffs after Albert was injured in a car accident two days before the playoffs. Costas also co-anchored (with Hannah Storm) NBC's NBA Finals coverage in 2002, which was their last to-date (before the NBA's network television contract moved to ABC).[20][21]

Professional football[edit]

NBC Sports allowed Costas to opt out from having to cover the XFL, he publicly denigrated the league throughout its existence and remains a vocal critic of the league and its premise.[22]

In 2006, Costas returned to NFL studio hosting duties for NBC's new Sunday Night Football, hosting its pre-game show Football Night in America. 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.[23]

Costas is nicknamed "Rapping Roberto" by New York City's Daily News sports media columnist Bob Raissman.[24] 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".[25]

National Hockey League[edit]

Costas hosted NBC's coverage of the 2008, 2009, and the 2010 NHL Winter Classic,[26] 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.[citation needed]

Olympics (1988–2016)[edit]

Costas has frontlined many Olympics broadcasts for NBC, they include the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, Salt Lake City in 2002, Athens in 2004, Torino in 2006, Beijing in 2008, Vancouver in 2010, London in 2012, Sochi in 2014 and Rio in 2016.[27] 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.[28]

During the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Opening Ceremonies, Costas's 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".[29][30] 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 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.[31]

Along with 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"[32] and the combined commentary as being "ignorant" and "banal".[33][34][35]

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.[36]

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 Costas had not done so at all since the 1998 Winter Olympics (as rights were not held by NBC).[37]

Thoroughbred racing[edit]

From 2001 until 2018, Costas co-hosted the Kentucky Derby.[38] In 2009, he hosted Bravo's coverage of the 2009 Kentucky Oaks.[39] After Costas officially departed from NBC Sports, his role on NBC's thoroughbred racing coverage was essentially filled-in by Rebecca Lowe, beginning with the 2019 Kentucky Derby.[40]

Departure from NBC Sports[edit]

On February 9, 2017, Costas announced during Today that he had begun the process of stepping down from his main on-air roles at NBC Sports, announcing in particular that he would cede his role as primetime host for NBC's Olympics coverage to Mike Tirico (who joined the network from ESPN in 2016), and that he would host Super Bowl LII as his final Super Bowl.[41] However, Costas ultimately dropped out of the coverage entirely.[42]

USA Today reported that he would similarly step down from Football Night in America in favor of Tirico. Costas explained that he was not outright retiring and expected to take on a role at NBC Sports similar to that of Tom Brokaw, being an occasional special correspondent to the division, he explained that his decision "opens up more time to do the things that I feel I'm most connected to; there will still be events, features, and interviews where I can make a significant contribution at NBC, but it will also leave more time for baseball (on MLB Network), and then, at some point down the road, I'll have a chance to do more of the long-form programming I enjoy." Costas told USA Today that his gradual retirement was planned in advance, and that he did not want to announce it during the 2016 Summer Olympics or the NFL season because it would be too disruptive, and joked that "I'm glad that Sochi wasn't the last one. You wouldn't want your pink-eye Olympics to be your last Olympics."[41][43]

Costas's final major on-air broadcast for NBC was hosting the 2018 Belmont Stakes, where Justify won the Triple Crown.[44]

On January 15, 2019, it was announced[1] that Costas had officially departed from NBC Sports after 40 years.[45]

Talk show hosting[edit]

Costas hosted the syndicated radio program Costas Coast to Coast from 1986 to 1996, which was 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. During that period, Costas also served as the imaging voice of Clear Channel-owned KLOU in St. Louis, Missouri, during that station's period as "My 103.3".[46] 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 conversing for the entire half hour, without a band, opening monologue or studio audience. On several occasions, Costas held the guest over for multiple nights; 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.[47] 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 Emmys during its ​5 1⁄2-year run, with Costas as host. It won the Emmy Award for Best Informational Series in 1993.

Costas decided to leave Later after six seasons, having grown tired of the commute to New York City from his home in St. Louis and wishing to lighten his workload in order to spend more time with his family, he also turned down an offer from David Letterman, who moved to CBS in 1995, to follow him there and become the first host of The Late Late Show, which was being developed by Letterman's company to air at 12:30 after the Late Show with David Letterman.[48]

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 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.[49] 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, and he was uncomfortable with television's drift in the direction of tabloid-type stories.[50]

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 to deny the charges.[51]

Costas hosted a monthly talk show Costas Tonight on NBC Sports Network.[52]

HBO Sports[edit]

In 2001, Costas was hired by HBO to host a 12-week series called On the Record with Bob Costas.[53] 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 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.

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.

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

MLB Network[edit]

At the channel's launch on January 1, 2009, Costas 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.[54] In 2017, Costas called Game 1 of the American League Division Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros on MLB Network; the Astros went on to win 8-2. Unfortunately, Costas and his color commentator Jim Kaat received criticism for their "bantering about minutia" and misidentification of plays. Costas also went on to become an internet meme after using the term the "sacks were juiced" to describe the bases being loaded.[55]

NFL Network[edit]

As aforementioned, Costas hosted Thursday Night Football on NBC and NFL Network in 2016, having returned to broadcasting after a brief absence, he was replaced by Liam McHugh in 2017.

Other appearances[edit]

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's Nine Network of Public Media.[56]

Notable calls[edit]

June 23, 1984 – Costas called NBC's Game of the Week with Tony Kubek, where Ryne Sandberg hit two separate home runs in the 9th and 10th innings against Bruce Sutter to tie the game. This game is known as "The Sandberg Game".[57]

Costas's call of the first home run:

Into left center field, and deep. This is a tie ball game!

Costas's call of the second home run:

Costas: 1-1 pitch. [Sandberg swings]

Kubek: OHHH BOY!

Costas: [Over Kubek] And he hits it to deep left center! Look out! Do you believe it, it's gone! We will go to the 11th, tied at 11.

October 26, 1997 – Costas called Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, where Edgar Renteria hit a walk off single to give the Marlins their first World Series championship. Costas's call:

The 0-1 pitch. A liner... off Nagy's glove, into center field. The Florida Marlins have won... the World Series.

June 4, 2000 – Costas called Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals for NBC's NBA coverage. Kobe Bryant threw an alley oop pass to Shaquille O'Neal to give the Lakers a 6 point lead with 41.3 seconds remaining.[58] Costas's call of the play:

Portland has 3 timeouts left, the Lakers have 2. Bryant... TO SHAQ!

September 25, 2014 – Costas called Derek Jeter's final game at Yankee Stadium for MLB Network, where he hit an RBI single to win the game. Costas's call:

A base hit to right! Here comes Richardson, they're waving him home! The throw, it's close but he scores! On a walk off hit by Derek Jeter!

Interests[edit]

Love of baseball[edit]

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 playoff 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 an equal level with teams who outplayed them 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 to 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[edit]

On May 26, 2007, Costas discussed the presidency of George W. Bush on his radio show, stating he liked Bush personally, and had been optimistic about his presidency, but said the course of the Iraq war, and other mis-steps have led him to conclude 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."[59] The following summer, Costas interviewed Bush during the president's appearance at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[60]

Controversies[edit]

Gun culture controversy[edit]

During a segment on the Sunday Night Football halftime show on December 2, 2012, Costas paraphrased Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock in regard 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.[61]

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)[62] 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 abolition 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."[63] However, liberal reporter Erik Wemple of The Washington Post praised Costas for speaking out for gun control on the broadcast, commenting 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."[64]

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:[62]

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.[62]

2014 Winter Olympics[edit]

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.[65] 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."[66][67] Costas defended himself on O'Reilly's broadcast on March 3, reiterating that 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 had initially criticized Costas, had called Costas to apologize after hearing the full segment in context.[68]

Football's future[edit]

While visiting the University of Maryland in November 2017 for a roundtable discussion on various sports topics, Costas said that the sport of football was in a decline, with evidence mounting that it "destroys people's brains" and he wouldn't allow a son with athletic talent to play it.[69] Costas had been scheduled to work Super Bowl LII, his eighth as a host (despite stepping down from Football Night in America in favor of his successor Mike Tirico, Costas was to return while Tirico prepped to lead NBC's coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics, set to begin a few days later). However, the network announced shortly before the game that Liam McHugh would instead join Dan Patrick as a co-host, leading to speculation that NBC removed Costas from the NFL's biggest game over his comments. Costas originally denied such, stating that it made more sense for McHugh, who had been hosting Thursday night games that aired on NBC, to serve in that capacity.[70] However, he later admitted in an interview with ESPN's Outside the Lines that the comments were indeed the basis of his removal, ultimately resulting in his departure from the network after 40 years.[71]

Personal life[edit]

Costas and Jill Sutton at the 2014 Miami International Film Festival

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".[72] 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.[73]

Costas's children have also won Sports Emmys; Keith has won two as an associate producer on MLB Network's MLB Tonight,[74][75] and Taylor as an associate producer on NBC's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics.[75]

Awards and honors[edit]

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 Emmys for Sports, News (Sandusky interview), and Entertainment (Later).

In 1995, Costas received a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.[76] 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 2000, he won a TV Guide Award for Favorite Sportscaster.[77] In 2001, Syracuse University honored Costas with the George Arents Award, SU's highest alumni honor, for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting, 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, Costas was awarded the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.[78] In 2013, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications honored him with the first Marty Glickman Award for Leadership in Sports Media.[79][80]

On December 13, 2017, it was announced that Costas would receive the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 28, 2018.[81] In August 2018, the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame announced that Costas would be inducted to its body at a ceremony on December 11, 2018 honoring ten other sports figures including Dick Vitale, Jim Nantz and Bud Greenspan.

Costas is an honorary trustee of Webster University, a private college located in Webster Groves, Missouri, he is a frequent supporter of the school and has been in numerous radio commercials for them. He is also an honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

In popular culture[edit]

Films[edit]

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. Costas voiced the animated character Bob Cutlass, a race announcer,[82] in the movies Cars (2006) and Cars 3 (2017), 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.

Popular culture[edit]

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 roles[edit]

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 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.[83] 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).[84]

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 the Go On episode "Win at All Costas" with Matthew Perry, wherein Ryan King auditions with him for a TV Show.

Real footage of Costas from NBC's pregame show before Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals was used in the second episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

Costas appeared on the September 22, 2017 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher to discuss issues such as concussions and the role of political activism in professional sports (namely by Colin Kaepernick).[85]

Video games[edit]

In 2002, Costas was the play-by-play announcer, alongside Harold Reynolds, for Triple Play 2002 during the ballgame for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.[86]

Career timeline[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Marchand, Andrew (January 15, 2019). "Bob Costas and NBC are quietly and officially broken up". New York Post. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  2. ^ Database (undated). "WGN Channel 9 – Chicago Bulls Basketball With Bob Costas (Promo, 1979)". The Museum of Classic Chicago Television. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  3. ^ Database (undated). "WGN Channel 9 – Chicago Bulls Vs. Seattle SuperSonics (Opening, 1979)". The Museum of Classic Chicago Television. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  4. ^ Sands, Rich. "Channel Changing: Versus Becomes NBC Sports Network". TV Guide. Retrieved 2012-01-01.
  5. ^ Deitsch, Richard (30 March 2015). "Marv Albert, Al Michaels, Bob Costas to join forces for a broadcast". Sports Illustrated.
  6. ^ DeFrank, Sean. "Bob Costas joining Al Michaels, Marv Albert for PBC on NBC". premierboxingchampions.com. PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b c Neil on June 23, 2009 (June 23, 2009). "Looking Back at '84: The Sandberg Game". ChicagoCubsOnline.com. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  10. ^ The Top 20 Cub HR Of All Time – #4 Ryne Sandberg 6/23/1984 – Bleed Cubbie Blue.
  11. ^ Woodley, Christopher. "June 23, 1984: The Ryne Sandberg Game". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  12. ^ Ostler, Scott (October 20, 1988). "This Is One Incredible Stunt They're Pulling Off". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  13. ^ Jim Sarni (October 7, 1989). "Costas Prepares For (long) Offseason". Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. Tribune Publishing.
  14. ^ Du Brow, Rick. "NBC's Team Player Has His Eye on the Ball : Sportscasting: With CBS' surprise sacking of Brent Musburger, Bob Costas would seem the obvious replacement—but he's sticking with his baseball-less network". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ "#NewhouseNetwork: Bob Costas '74". syr.edu. S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  16. ^ Hladik, Matt (August 3, 2019). "Why Bob Costas Is Calling Today's Yankees-Red Sox Doubleheader". The Big Lead.
  17. ^ Magliocchetti, Geoff (July 30, 2019). "Bob Costas to Call Yankee Game for YES as Michael Kay Nears Return". The Spun.
  18. ^ "Extra Points: Costas, Danica, ESPN, NFL Commish". Sports Media Watch. November 18, 2017.
  19. ^ Hembree, Mike. "NBC brings Bob Costas to NASCAR season finale to interview Dale Earnhardt Jr". usatoday.com. USA Today. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  20. ^ Sarni, Jim. "NBC GETS WISH WITH DOUBLEHEADER". sun-sentinel.com. South Florida South Sentinel. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  21. ^ "NBA Finals Game 3 draws best rating since move to ABC". apnews.com. The Associated Press. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  22. ^ Clark, Tom. "Director Charlie Ebersol Talks 'This Was the XFL' 30 for 30, Vince McMahon, More". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  23. ^ "BOB TRUMPY NAMED ROZELLE AWARD WINNER". profootballhof.com. PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  24. ^ Raissman, Bob (September 12, 2006). "NBC out-Foxed in opener". Daily News.[permanent dead link]
  25. ^ Hiestand, Michael (September 11, 2006). "Scores, injury updates early fodder for NBC's Sunday-night NFL show". USA Today.
  26. ^ a b NHL.com – 2008 NHL Winter Classic[dead link]
  27. ^ Guinto, Joseph (August 1, 2008). "Golden Boy". American Way. Archived from the original on August 13, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  28. ^ (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.
  29. ^ Liang, K. Harrison (August 29, 1996). "Text of Protest Ad". China News Digest.
  30. ^ Sandomir, Richard (September 6, 1996). "Cultural Views: Differing Outlooks". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  31. ^ Penner, Mike (January 18, 1998). "Latest Drug Scandal Has China Critics Seeing Red". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  32. ^ 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.
  33. ^ 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.
  34. ^ Holmes, Linda (July 27, 2012). "The Opening Ceremonies in London: From the Industrial Revolution to Voldemort". NPR. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ Porter, Rick. (September 13, 2012). "'Conan': Bob Costas not a fan of NBC's Olympic closing ceremony coverage" Archived 2012-09-14 at the Wayback Machine. Zap2it. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  37. ^ "Page not found - NBC Olympics". www.nbcolympics.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  38. ^ Hoppert, Melissa (May 2, 2012). "NBC Blankets Churchill Downs". The Rail (blog of The New York Times). Retrieved August 5, 2012. Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  39. ^ [1] Archived March 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  40. ^ "FROM THE MANCHESTER DERBY TO…THE KENTUCKY DERBY, NBC SPORTS' REBECCA LOWE MAKES HER HORSE RACING DEBUT AT CHURCHILL DOWNS NEXT WEEK". nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com. NBC Universal. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  41. ^ a b "Bob Costas steps down as NBC host of Olympics; Mike Tirico to replace him". USA Today. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  42. ^ "Bob Costas is right about the alarming dangers of football". Philly.com. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  43. ^ "Brennan: Bob Costas has been the face of the Olympics for Americans". USA Today. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  44. ^ https://www.newsday.com/sports/media/bob-costas-nbc-belmont-1.18990237,
  45. ^ "Bob Costas Leaves NBC Sports After Nearly 40 Years". wsj.com. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  46. ^ "103.3 KLOU becomes "My 103.3" - Format Change Archive". 18 June 2007.
  47. ^ Later 1994 on YouTube.
  48. ^ Brow, Rick Du (1 January 1995). "TELEVISION : Doesn't Tom Snyder Ever Say Good Night? : The radio-TV veteran returns to the late late-night spot that made him famous. So, will this move be a step back--or a step back to his former glory?" – via LA Times.
  49. ^ "CNN Hires Bob Costas". Associated Press (via CBS News). June 9, 2005.
  50. ^ "Bob Costas Says No to Hour on Aruba". The New York Times. August 25, 2014.
  51. ^ "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.
  52. ^ "Costas Tonight Looks at Bounty Scandal". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. June 21, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  53. ^ Database (undated). 'On the Record with Bob Costas' (2001)". Internet Movie Database.
  54. ^ 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.
  55. ^ "Please keep Bob Costas away from Red Sox playoff games". 6 October 2017.
  56. ^ "Time for Champions". Time for Champions. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  57. ^ MLB (2014-11-17), Sandberg's ties the game twice, retrieved 2019-07-07
  58. ^ LJIS LJIS (2015-12-08), Kobe Memories: KB to Shaq Alley Oop WCF 2000 NBA Game 7 Blazers vs Lakers, retrieved 2019-07-07
  59. ^ Costas on the Radio, May 26, 2007.
  60. ^ Ostrow, Joanne (August 10, 2008). "Bob Costas, redeemed". Ostrow Off the Record (blog of The Denver Post). Retrieved August 1, 2012. Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  61. ^ "Bob Costas Got Blasted For His Gun-Control Monologue After Jovan Belcher's Murder-Suicide". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  62. ^ a b c Pengelly, Martin (December 5, 2012). "Bob Costas defends 'gun culture' comments in MSNBC interview". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  63. ^ "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.
  64. ^ Wemple, Erik (December 4, 2012). "Bob Costas, please keep spouting off". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  65. ^ Farhi, Paul (February 21, 2014). "In coverage of Olympics, NBC has largely steered clear of controversy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  66. ^ Feldman, Josh (February 14, 2014) "O'Reilly, Goldberg Defend Bob Costas from Conservative Critics over NBC Putin Coverage" Mediaite. Retrieved February 22, 2014 [2]
  67. ^ O'Reilly, Bill (February 14, 2014) "Politics and the Olympics" Fox News Channel – The O'Reilly Factor. Retrieved February 22, 2014 [3]
  68. ^ Wemple, Erik (March 4, 2014). "NBC's Bob Costas, Sen. John McCain mend fences on Putin". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  69. ^ Schad, Tom (November 8, 2017). "Bob Costas on the future of football: 'This game destroys people's brains'". USA Today. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  70. ^ Putterman, Alex (January 22, 2018). "Bob Costas won't work Super Bowl for NBC, even though he's also not working the Olympics". Awful Announcing. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  71. ^ Pallotta, Frank (February 11, 2019). "Bob Costas and NBC broke up over concussion remarks". CNN. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  72. ^ 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.
  73. ^ Powell, William (June 19, 2013). "Q&A: A Conversation With Bob Costas –". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  74. ^ THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE 33rd ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS Archived May 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  75. ^ a b "THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE 34th ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS". Emmyonline.org. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  76. ^ St. Louis Walk of Fame. "St. Louis Walk of Fame Inductees". stlouiswalkoffame.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-31. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  77. ^ TV Guide Book of Lists. Running Press. 2007. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-762-43007-9.
  78. ^ Arizona State University. "Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  79. ^ Meliker, Shayna (7 March 2010). "Bob Costas To Address University". The Daily Orange, Syracuse, New York, USA. Retrieved 31 July 2012. Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  80. ^ Meliker, Shayna (24 September 2013). "NewhouseNetwork: Bob Costas – 1974". Syracuse Newhouse Network, New York, USA. Retrieved 13 August 2014. Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  81. ^ "Bob Costas wins the Ford C. Frick Award". 13 December 2017.
  82. ^ "'Cars 3' Drops New Poster, Announces Voice Cast - Rotoscopers". www.rotoscopers.com.
  83. ^ Darrell Hammond impersonation on Bob Costas Archived 2013-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  84. ^ "CNN.com - Transcripts". transcripts.cnn.com. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  85. ^ "Bill Maher and Bob Costas Take Trump to Task Over His Colin Kaepernick Rant". Archived from the original on 2018-09-16. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  86. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (2002-03-19). "Triple Play 2002". IGN. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  87. ^ a b c d e HBO: Costas Now Archived December 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  88. ^ "History of US Open golf TV coverage (1954-present)". www.classictvsports.com. Retrieved 2019-06-06.

External links[edit]

Preceded by
Len Berman
Greg Gumbel (in 1997) 		Studio host, NFL on NBC
1984–1992
2006–2016 		Succeeded by
Jim Lampley
Mike Tirico
Preceded by
none 		Studio host, NBA Showtime
1990–1997 		Succeeded by
Hannah Storm
Preceded by
Bryant Gumbel 		American television prime time anchor, Summer Olympic Games
1992–2016 		Succeeded by
Mike Tirico
Preceded by
Sean McDonough 		World Series network television play-by-play announcer (with Al Michaels in 1995 and concurrent with Joe Buck in odd numbered years)
1995–1999 		Succeeded by
Joe Buck
Preceded by
Marv Albert 		Play-by-Play announcer, NBA Finals
1998–2000 		Succeeded by
Marv Albert
Preceded by
Jim Nantz 		American television prime time anchor, Winter Olympic Games
2002–2014 		Succeeded by
Mike Tirico
Preceded by
Vin Scully (in 1989) 		Lead play-by-play announcer, Major League Baseball on NBC
1994–2000 		Succeeded by
Last
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