Hour 1: NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico Talks Winter Olympics & Old School SportsCenter

18:49Mike Tirico:And he reads the pro lay. Coming up next, the sports center, Dan Patrick and Mike Tirico. Dan, you're breaking in another one, huh? that he just read the bullet points that were coming up on the show. And I shared that story with Boomer. Because I remember sitting there, you know, because like when you did the 230, and then you got bumped up to the one or the 130. Actually, you know what? It was Bob Lee. It wasn't Dan. It was Bob. Yes. Because it was Boomer and Bob who broke in like a thousand SportsCenter anchors in their time. And Bob, you're breaking in another one, you know? Gosh, it was fun to relive that with Boomer.

19:23Rich Eisen:What I saw about in San Francisco. No doubt. because I remember Stuart and I, one of the times where we realized we had made it as a team is when Dick Vitale was reading a promo that we were doing the SportsCenter next and like, Rich and Stu, and it's going to be great. And Stu and I looked at each other like, this is the greatest thing of all time. I'll never forget that. And it's cool.

19:43Mike Tirico:It's what we grew up on, you know? And it's like doing this job, you're hosting the Olympics. Like that's, I grew up on Jim McKay hosting the Olympics and my early days where Costas This was the Olympic primetime host. And now to be in that role for five of these is just, it's crazy. It still doesn't feel real, but it's so much fun because that's how we grew up aspiring to be in these positions.

20:07Rich Eisen:So how quickly did you turn the page from victory formation, right, for the Seahawks to, okay, I've got to now conduct an Olympic gig from the stadium, Mike. Yeah. What was that like?

20:24Mike Tirico:We did one segment show. I did not see Bad Bunny at halftime. People have asked, what was the halftime show? Like I said, I saw a bunch of grass on the field. And then I turned, went to the back of our booth in the area at the level we were on. And I hopped on with our Olympic folks and went through, has the rundown changed for the primetime show that's coming out right after the Super Bowl? Okay, what are the scripts? What's our plan? What are our logistics? Okay, great. Anything else I need to know? and we did like a 10 or 12 minute production meeting. And then I went back in the booth, you know, woofed down something to eat real quick.

20:59Mike Tirico:And then got back to position, started talking to Chris about the second half and our producer, Rob Hyland. But that was it. And then as soon as the game ended, we did one segment and I walked down to the field and got down an elevator down to the field level. And Maria finished with the trophy presentation. We picked up right off of that and kept going. And then as soon as we got done, back to the hotel, quick shower, uh grab a meal and then we were flying by about 1 a.m got here and like four hours after we landed was in the studio and doing the primetime show the next night so it was it was a whirlwind but it's been cool there's i haven't hit the wall this is i think day 13 of the olympics so day 14 15 in a row or whatever i feel really good this has been an energizing energizing three three

21:45Rich Eisen:week run for us oh unbelievable so two things first of all uh in the uh halftime show there were almost as many flags in the bad bunny halftime as there were in an opening ceremony that you've seen that's number one uh and then and then and then and plus i mean the presentation is similar to an opening ceremony because the the the grass were people as you know i'm sure you've learned since then moving i was sitting there in the stands i'm like wait a minute those that's people in there uh and then and then number two question uh do you sleep on planes I do. God bless you.

22:18Mike Tirico:Especially that night because, I mean, oh, you can't? No. Oh, so Marv, early on, Marv Albert, who's one of those people who I was looking up to, and that's part of the inspiration for doing this, and going to Syracuse was Marv Albert, Bob Costas, Len Berman, who was an exceptional sportscaster at NBC and WNBC, Dick Stockton. They were all Syracuse alums, and that was a little bit of why I wanted to go there. as as I read either Marv's second book or a subsequent conversation or both Marv said you must be able to sleep anywhere at any time and it's true like you need to you need to shut it down and there no the hour 15 power nap is after NBA shoot-arounds before a game is life-saving so yeah and especially that day after the Super Bowl I mean you know it's the first time I've done it.

23:12Mike Tirico:So the adrenaline's going. You don't sleep as much. You get up early that day, get to the stadium early. And by the time we got done with the Super Bowl and the Olympics, I was, the tank was mostly empty. So when we got on the plane, complete shutdown for about five hours and then got right back going for, let's get into preparation for Monday night at the Olympics.

23:35Rich Eisen:Mike Tirico here on the Rich Eisen Show from the studio. I can see that this is, I could see it. In the International Broadcast Center.

23:42Mike Tirico:Here we are.

23:43Rich Eisen:Okay. This is the whole set. The IBC, if you will. So I'll be honest. I'm watching way more curling than I ever have in my entire life. I mean, I'm learning about the hammer. I'm learning about the brooms and learning about the stones. I mean, as we pointed out, the controversial Canadian forefingers. Oh. My goodness gracious. I mean, that is something, Mike. This has been amazing. Please. Can I just tell you?

24:09Mike Tirico:Please. So we've got like a production meeting room area where all of us are working on the primetime show. And we all get in around this time. So, you know, whatever time it is now, it's 730 here in the night. And we work from, you know, four, five in the afternoon until five in the morning. So we're just kind of on a flip schedule. So we're all in here. We're watching the end of the U.S. curling against Switzerland. They blow a lead. And now they're in an extra end. And we're all like, come on. Like, how does this happen? like they should have they should have closed them out and now now they're doing all the strategy and then you've got like five people when we are now we're crowded around the tv like no they've got to go here no they've got to go there and like we're just yelling at the rockets going down like no don't sweep it has the right pace like we don't know what we're talking about it's like you should

24:58Rich Eisen:call in right call in you're a long-time listener first-time curler you know what i mean but that's the beauty of the winter olympics it's everything's on snow and ice usually for those who live

25:10Mike Tirico:somewhere where there's snow and ice you do everything you can to get off of snow and ice quickly right and safely as possible these people not only need the snow and ice they strap metal things to go even faster or razor thin things to jump in the air and then land on said ice when you really boil down every sport in the winter olympics save for curling it's insane it's crazy what they do at these speeds and then curling is just the coolest thing if you've ever

25:42Rich Eisen:been to a crab you curled before rich i have not mike we've had people every single time we talk about it saying you should try it because there are places here in la that can actually do this

25:50Mike Tirico:are there yeah rich you have to take you have to take your show group okay for a curling night. It's awesome. Get some grown-up drinks. Make some brats. It is so much fun and so cool to do. Once you do it, you'll watch it totally differently. It's fun. Anyway, it's a cool sport. It's one of those things. You're not going to stop and watch speed skating over the next two years. Jordan Stolz goes tonight. He just skated. You're going to want to watch that. You don't regularly watch a Grand Prix figure skating show in all likelihood but when it's the olympics and that pressure and that gold medals online

26:28Rich Eisen:you stop and watch so that's the fun of it no doubt mike of that there is no doubt and i mentioned it's you know uh suzy uh and the kids all five of us watching it to get to get all five of us to watch the same thing it's impossible it's impossible it's cool it really is and i will say this mike um my daughter um i told her i was going to ask her this question she says because i you know i told suz that you're you're coming on the show today and she goes how come mike tariko does everything that's what she said how do i respond to that mike how do i you you've got to tell her

27:03Mike Tirico:that i'm lucky that i work with both her dad and her mom one of the few people that's true who've been on the air with both dad and mom yes indeed and and they they did they define the good people who do this tell tell her that i'm insanely curious about sports and i'm still a sports fan I love it. And I love it. Like I still love watching anything where they're keeping score and the people stories matter. Yeah. And I'm just lucky. I've chased my dream. This is the dream job for me when I was a kid, a little kid, her age or younger. And here I am in my late fifties and still doing it. And like you loving every single second of it.

27:41Mike Tirico:So tell her I'm just,

27:42Rich Eisen:I'm just a kid living a dream. I love it. Perfect. I will show this to her. um what story are we not talking about i mean you must come across so many narratives stories uh if it's if it already hasn't happened it's something that you're looking forward to seeing

27:57Mike Tirico:over the rest of these olympic games mike what is it yeah yeah a couple of the one that's an international that i think is off the charts good is the cross-country skier johannes clabo from norway i mean he's the only guy with michael phelps who's won more than 10 gold medals in their life it's it's nuts this guy is talented he's got one more ski um he has a chance to just have one of those great of all time olympic performances this year if he closes it out i think the women's figure skating tonight there's significance in that because it's been 20 years since america has won a medal not a gold medal a medal in figure skating and alissa lou from oakland who's in third going into the short program and she's got what it takes to handle olympic pressure and I hope she has a great night.

28:46Mike Tirico:It's a sport where you can't play defense, right? You don't have the Seahawks defense to come out and shut down these three Japanese skaters. So I hope Alyssa has a great night on her own and has success. And man, the hockey was good yesterday, right? The hockey was so good yesterday.

29:01Rich Eisen:Well, obviously a Wolverine sending the Americans on to the semifinal and also starting the scoring for Team USA. say I'm well aware, as you know.

29:15Mike Tirico:Dylan Larkin and Jack Hughes, both Michigan-born, both Michigan Wolverines. They beat a team that was wearing a lighter version of maize, but a team that wears maize and blue. So they felt comfortable looking at the Swedes. Semifinals will be great tomorrow. USA plays in the afternoon, just after three o 'clock, and that'll be live on NBC. So we're excited about that. And we're on ESPN. You guys know what the Four Nations tournament was like last year. It was great. imagine Sunday morning it would be 8 a.m. Eastern, 5 a.m. on the West Coast. Imagine if we get USA Canada for the gold in ice hockey, the last event of the Olympic Games, people across the country will set their alarm and wake up.

29:55Mike Tirico:That's one of those wake up for it type of things. So we've had a really fun, enjoyable Olympics, and it's kind of building to a good crescendo with those couple of events coming this weekend.

30:04Rich Eisen:When do you turn your page to the NBA? When does that happen?

30:07Mike Tirico:I will be courtside next Sunday night in Boston for the Sixers and the Celtics. So I'm very glad that we've had this week of no NBA games other than All-Star and everybody's taking the break. And that reality sets in on the flight home that, okay, we've got the better than we thought Sixers against the Celtics. We've been incredible post-Tatum. And now that buzz is starting again as we get to the second half of the season.

30:32Rich Eisen:Fellow Syracuse Orange Chris Brockman, ask him what you want to ask him because you've been talking about the fact that NBC says, let's put that game on the air.

30:41Mike Tirico:Why would we flex into that, Mike, if JT is not coming back? I've seen people say that. That is not the case. If that happened, that would be 30 out of 10, not 10 out of 10. But no, the game we had in that window was not as competitive, and the NBA is pretty good about the flex scheduling idea from the NFL, which we've seen on Sunday nights. The NBA is really good about that. So this gives a competitive game. The Sixers are better than I think folks thought. So you get a good game in that Sunday night window now. And, you know, if Tatum, even if he's on the periphery are coming back, the conversation alone, what's your appetite for what's going to be a great last seven weeks of the NBA regular season and steamroll into the playoffs.

31:24Mike Tirico:Here we go.

31:24Rich Eisen:All right, Mike, before I let you go, I want to stroll down memory lane one last time with you here. Because, you know, as you know, when I saw you on the turf before Super Bowl 60, doing a SportsCenter video podcast series called This Was SportsCenter, and I want to go down a bunch of memory lane with you at some point when you have time out of this part of your schedule, obviously. But this photograph, I don't recall why. Oh, yeah. But I don't recall why we did it. I just remember, like, now I'm looking back, I'm like, I'm so excited that I'm in this photograph. Same, same. But do you remember why?

32:02Rich Eisen:Do you remember the circumstances behind all this or what?

32:05Mike Tirico:I don't know. I don't know if it was like one of those pictures for the corporate brochure that goes out to the shareholders. I got you. One of those things. I forget. I don't know the why of it, right? But man, how cool is that? And how cool is it to look and just see the Hall of Fame careers there and the people who are still friends. And like after the Super Bowl, I got to text some Charlie Steiner. Like, you know, just checking in and just watching. And I talked to Reese a whole bunch and see Larry Beal when we're out in San Francisco off. And we just talked about Boomer and Big Show Bob Stevens back there next to Chris McKendree.

32:40Mike Tirico:But like texting Chris when she started calling the Australian Open. She had been the studio host for the tennis and just texting back and forth with her and working with her on that. It just, it was, you kind of pinch yourself and you go, how lucky were we? And I would say, Rich, that everybody in that group, I learned something from. And I think we all took something from each other. Like, I couldn't be as funny and quick-witted and, you know, just with a dual dry wit, one-line jab as you or Kilbourne. But you know that every once in a while, that's a good club to have in your bag, right? And, you know, and just the class that Robin Roberts brought to everything she did.

33:21Mike Tirico:And how to do a highlight. Like, if you've got a great highlight and a good music theme behind you, like, you can definitely think about how Boomer used to deliver a good highlight. I think pieces of everyone, Olbermann, go sit and write the hell out of a story. Oh, no doubt. Nobody could sit there like Keith and go, Well, use one hand. Didn't you use one hand sometimes? And just write, like, the whole show in 40 minutes, and you're, like, grinding on a lead for the Mavericks. The Mavericks taking on the Bucks on a Wednesday night in Milwaukee, and you're like, what fact do I have? How can I set this game up?

33:56Mike Tirico:And Oakman's just gone. And he's just written this brilliant lead. Like we all, I think, collectively learned from each other on how to make good TV. And it's a blessing to be in that picture and call most of the people, everybody in that picture, really, a friend and somebody who I respect the heck out of.

34:14Rich Eisen:Well, I'll pay it back to you, Mike. What I remember from our sports center that we did do together is I picked up from you that when you do a highlight and the information's all there on this shot sheet as they say we're going deep in the leads here but um but when the information's all there and you would just sometimes read it like you know um i'll go go back in the day vince carter gets the dunk and it's now you know so and so gets the rebound and you would not say what we were seeing you would start telling a narrative a storyline and your vince carter started taking over this game is what you would start to say you wouldn't read verbally word for word or even close to word for word on the shot sheet you would start using the highlight to tell a story and i picked up that from you doing

35:03Mike Tirico:highlights that is a fact that's that's cool i never i never knew that i i didn't even know that that's what i was doing so you were thank you for no thank you for getting in my head no so it's all

35:14Rich Eisen:good it's all good and and you know uh and and larry beal you mentioned him he was my first by the way he was your first he was indeed and and and and who was yours who was yours jim bergamo okay there you go were you were you you weren't still you were in did you and jim cross over i don't think so no we did not i got there in 96 you know wonderful wonderful man

35:37Mike Tirico:he was my early sports centers were with jim bergamo and am montgomery the first couple of weeks they were sports center late night anchors and the greatest thing about jim bergamo in the newsroom because we were all in cubicles in the newsroom yeah jim had that like it wasn't even sam's club then like that sam's club size ketchup bottle and like if you had food that you warmed up at 11 o 'clock you could go to jim's cube and get his ketchup bottle and that that was like that's

36:03Rich Eisen:the guy i did my first sports center with it it was awesome yeah yeah my mine was was um was larry and i did an entire nick's highlight in marv albert's voice because i i'm the same as you Like, I'm sitting here today, I rip off from Marv every day, whether it's cadence, whether it's a cracking wise, whatever. All of us. And I did notice that you can't do Marv's voice. You can't say anything about Marv without doing his voice. I picked up on that from you earlier in this conversation.

36:33Mike Tirico:It's in your head for life. I told somebody the other day, now I'm back doing the NBA, you have Mike Breen, I, an eagle, myself, no eagle. just a few. I know there's so many other good people who do the NBA at ESPN, Dave Pash and Mark Jones and everybody else. I'm not just picking out anyone, but just the guys who we're familiar with and to be back in the group of lead guys with Mike and Ian, like we are all disciples of Marv. And there are pieces of the style of how Marv called the game in our own personality that in all three of us, you can hear. And it's really cool to know that the guy who was the voice of the NBA for an entire generation.

37:13Mike Tirico:It's almost like that Bill Walsh coaching tree, right? We all learn from the same place and kind of bring the same big picture, 30 ,000 foot approach to a broadcast where there's time for a little fun, time for stats, make a big moment a big moment, stamp it in your own way. All of that came from all of us for years growing up in about a 50 mile radius and listening to Marv, just like people who are sportscasters who grew up on the West Coast are in the style some way of Chick Hearn. Like Chick's voice is in their head and how to make it flamboyant in Hollywood. That's what I always love to share with young sportscasters or even people who are going to news or writing.

37:55Mike Tirico:Like steal what you think is great, but do it in your personality. You can't be a clone of someone because there's only one Chris Berman. There's only one Dan Patrick, but the things they like to do in your personality and voice can be successful because that's what you like to hear. And, um, that's, that's a little bit of the, the amalgamation of the people who I've loved covering and watch and hopefully bring to the set every, uh, every day, every night that we do this. Yeah.

38:24Rich Eisen:Dan taught me to call it sampling. That's what he taught me. Sampling. Yeah. It's such a Dan term. He said, don't call it stealing, call it sampling. he's the best love him love him hey mike we'll be out there watching you tonight keep doing your thing man thank you look forward to seeing you again it was great to run into you on the field

38:43Mike Tirico:before the game right back at you see you primetime the next few nights and you got it

38:47Rich Eisen:you got it that's mike tariko right here from milan cortina from the international broadcast center where he's dominating uh the the host seat or standing in his shoes that was awesome my gosh do I have a lot of stories off of what he just said? 844-204-RICH being the number to dial right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Don't go anywhere.

39:16Rich Eisen:If you're like me and my family, you're all about creating amazing memories while on vacation. And for me, many of those have involved a home we found on Airbnb. We had such great experiences that whenever we travel somewhere new, we always check Airbnb first to find a place that fits our needs. The homes we've stayed in, comfortable, safe, private. You feel like you're part of the community. After a long day of exploring or sitting on a beach, it really is nice to come back to a place you can call your own. Airbnb is also a great way, if you want, to earn some extra money while you're traveling or out of your house for an extended period of time.

39:53Rich Eisen:You can make your home work for you while you're away, not as a full-time thing, not as some big production, just something that fits into trips you're already taking. You can use the money for that dream vacation or put that money towards that outdoor kitchen you always wanted. Hosting on Airbnb just feels smart. Your home may be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host. Rich Eisen here. The tax deadline will be here before you know it. And you just want to know your taxes are actually being handled. But the old way, you hand everything off and then silence. Days pass.

40:28Rich Eisen:Weeks pass. You start wondering, Should I send another follow-up email? It feels like you're chasing updates and getting nowhere. But now, taxes are different because your taxes are done for you by a TurboTax full-service expert. With Intuit TurboTax, you can match with your dedicated tax expert and hand off everything right in the app. And while your expert checks for every deduction, you'll see real-time updates on your phone so you always know exactly where things stand. Suddenly, you're not refreshing your inbox. You're going for a run, grabbing a coffee, scrolling anything other than a just checking in message.

41:04Rich Eisen:Because your TurboTax expert is handling it and keeping you in the loop. So this tax season, get your best possible outcome and every dollar you deserve without the guesswork. Visit TurboTax.com today to learn more. Real-time updates only in iOS mobile app. Only available with TurboTax full-service experts.

41:24Mike Tirico:As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional-grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRANGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

42:01Rich Eisen:We're back on our radio feed here as well on ESPN Radio and Sirius XM Channel 80 along with our ESPN audience. That was great being back on ESPN with Mike Tirico. Again, the last time that happened was, and I think it was the early aughts had to be when he was leaving the SportsCenter chair for good. off to do other things. And I was just, you know, grinding it out every night doing sports centers and he was just sitting there. And that, again, we'll just show that photograph one more time to wrap up our first hour here to tell the stories. Keith and Kilbourne were probably gone. That's why they're not in this picture.

42:42Rich Eisen:Keith and Kilbourne, I think, left in 96. Okay. And so they're probably gone. Yeah, Keith was gone because the reason why, Mike Tirico referred to Bob Stevens, who's there between Chris McKendry and Steve Levy. He's referred to him as big show Bob. It's not a, it's not a, a, a Simpsons reference. It's not like sideshow Bob. We would call him big show Bob. It wasn't a Simpsons reference at all. It's when Keith went, And I believe he covered Jackie Robinson night in Shea Stadium one night. And Dan was doing the big show. And they put Bob Stevens in Keith's chair. Out of all of everybody available.

43:34Rich Eisen:Oh, wow. It kind of surprised all of us. We're like, oh, okay. So you choose Bob for that spot. And there were some people, as you could see on the screen there, who were there a lot longer than Bob. But maybe he was the oldest. But if you could choose somebody who was as far afield from Keith's broadcasting style, or somebody who would have an edge that Dan could play off of, Bob would have been, with all due respect, the last one on the screen. and um so uh when Keith left and there was a um in-house competition if you will for who would get the chair next to Dan um Bob Stevens would show up there a lot and so we started nicknaming him Big Show Bob did he know this i don't know if he's name you know i don't know where bob is today uh if he's learning it now but um yeah and as we know kenny main got the seat i was eager to get that seat uh much to the dismay chagrin which means there was a sense of embarrassment of Stuart Scott.

44:59Rich Eisen:He was not happy because he's like, we're the team. Right. Not Dan and whoever's sitting in that chair. We are. Like, what's your malfunction? Why would you want to not do this? And I'm, you know, basically said to him, hey, they're on earlier. Yeah. You know, I mean. I can get to sleep three hours instead of. That's the truth. One time, I forget what year there was the World Cup that was across. It was in Asia, I think. Or, I don't know. Look up where the World Cup was in either 98 or 2002 or 2000. My right eye is twitching even talking about staying up late right now. World Cup 98 was in France.

45:48Rich Eisen:Okay. Where was it in 2000 or in 2022 then? 2022, South Korea and Japan. Okay, there you go. That would have been it. So the U.S., look how far the United States went in that one. I want to get my P's and Q's right. So this was in 2022. Stuart Scott and I are doing the 2 a.m. Sports Center on the night the United States was playing. Did we make the round of 16 that year? They were good for a run.

46:15Mike Tirico:I know.

46:15Rich Eisen:It's a high register Thursday right there. We were good. I think Landon Donovan was taking the team to different heights there. and if i'm not mistaken it was u.s versus maybe mexico or something yeah best uh best finish ever reached the quarterfinals again who did we play in that quarterfinal match losing to germany in the quarterfinals so it was us against germany uh mexico was the round of 16 round of 16 okay so then then this was it beat mexico we did okay and so we were told one of you two have to stay until this thing is over. And it was being played from 4 to 6 a.m. Oh. One of you two guys needs to stay and do the highlight until it's over.

47:00Rich Eisen:That would have been June 17th, 2002. We drew straws. I got the short straw, and Stuart had the biggest S-eating grin on his face, like, see ya. I stayed. I saw the sunrise going home. And I was thinking to myself, yeah man I wanted that seat at 11 o 'clock Kenny Maine is already six hours into his sleep probably yeah that's a true story man oh that's why I wanted the seat instead of big show Bob for moments like that other than that Stuart and I had a great run you know all right fun first hour that was great fun first hour Kyle Van Nooy is going to be joining us in hour number two talks and ball with him the ridge eisen show podcast shot clocks big

47:54Mike Tirico:shots upsets aces tgl playoffs are here first atlanta drive starts their repeat run against los angeles golf club then rory's boston common golf and tigers jupiter links face off in their playoff debuts who will advance keep up its playoffs tune in tuesday march 17th at 6 30 p.m and 9 p.m only on espn and the espn app