This Was SportsCenter: Linda Cohn - Season 1, Ep. 4

22:03Rich Eisen:I stopped around 1 ,000. Yeah, right. But you had 5 ,000. But I was counting the co-anchors I work with, the different co-anchors. So not 5 ,000. What number were you up to? I stopped at 32, meaning I couldn't take it anymore. It just went on and on and on. But in a way that made me a better sports center anchor because I had to, everything you said, I had to kind of adjust to my partners, let them be them. But when people ask me, who is your favorite to work with? It's coming. You're in the mix. Definitely say it. You're in my top three for me. Because you always let me be me. And for me, it really wasn't, I had a few catchphrases, but I felt I was compelled and forced to do it because people like you, people like Keith, people like Dan, you guys made it work so well.

22:52It was so natural. And, of course, the late great Stuart Scott made it great. But I felt, for me, my secret and my longevity at SportsCenter was because I'm a fan first. Sure, it can get better than this for the Mets and the Braves, like a matchup in the NLCS. But being separated by just one game in the East and playing six times in the next ten days doesn't, shall we say, stink. The question is, who wants to finish in first place more? A Braves team overachieving through injuries, gunning for an A straight division title? or the Mets, desperate to gain respect, having lost 10 of their last 11 at Turner Field.

23:26And I felt that if I had something pre-rehearsed in my mind, it wasn't original, it wasn't authentic, it wasn't Linda, it wasn't me. I'm like reacting to what I see. Oh, once is not enough for Chipper Jones. He goes deep from the left-hand side and now the right-hand side. Just like the viewer at home is reacting to that highlighter, that what they see for the very first time, that's what I am and that's what I wanted to be. I wanted to be like the fans sitting at home watching and can relate to me. The Boston Red Sox have won the Pedro Martinez Bidding Derby. The Cy Young Award winner will go from cost-conscious Montreal to Beantown for minor league pitcher Carl Pavano and two other players to be named later.

24:06When Martinez got word of that, he said tonight, he would not sign a long-term contract with Boston. Said Martinez's agent, we indicated to Expo's GM Jim Beatty There are certain clubs he wanted to go to and certain clubs he did not want to go to. Because that's what I was. And that's what I tried to do. I never knew what was coming out of my mouth, sort of like this interview right now. No, no, no. You know what I mean? No, it's natural. That's how I was. And that's what people, when they say over the years, they go, Linda, that's what we liked about you because you were like one of us. We begin with a trade in the NBA because I know that's what you're waiting for.

24:43Trades were supposed to be made in the NBA. and we begin with one that we all expected. Vlade Divac goes from the Lakers to the Hornets in exchange for the draft rights of high school standout Kobe Bryant. This trade opens the doors and frees up more bucks for the Lakers' push to get Shaquille O 'Neal out of Orlando and into a Laker uniform.

25:02Rich Eisen:Yeah, and that's why I love doing shows with you, too. I will never forget the night. I think you know where I'm going to go on this. Maybe. Well, I mean, this is an unforgettable night. Okay. Oh, yeah. Where we were doing, I believe, an 11 o 'clock Eastern Sports Center together. And we get a call that you need to get down to the set. Probably was around 10 o 'clock, 9.30, early. Early. Because there was an absolute melee breaking out in Madison Square Garden because Andrew Gulotta kept low-blowing Riddick Bowe and everybody started hitting the shit out of one another in a melee and cops jumping into the plane.

25:41Yeah, in a ring, in a boxing ring. And it went. At Madison Square Garden, our homeland. I mean, this was like. Right.

25:47Rich Eisen:You're from Long Island. And you love boxing. I'm from Staten Island. And you always loved boxing. No, I didn't love boxing. Boxing was another one. You learned to love it. I did learn to love it because, again, it was the only gig that they would give me. Get you out of Bristol. Get me the hell out of Bristol and get on the road. You were smart. Good business. Because Charlie Steiner tapped out of doing it. And the one thing I was so upset about is when I first did my first assignment, they're like, yeah, you don't have to wear a tuxedo. and I'm like, actually, I wanted to. Yeah, go all out. I was fond about it.

26:14Rich Eisen:Yeah. That does lead to another story involving you. But I'll put a pin in that for the moment. I'll never forget the two of us, we looked at each other in the newsroom after we immediately got into our on-air clothes because you don't walk around in your on-air clothes. You don't walk around with a full face of makeup. No. Certainly not when you're like an hour or two hours removed from getting on the air. You know what I mean? And so we looked at each other and we're like, this is freaking out of control i have no idea what we're about to do because we were getting like i think we had like police on the phone lines and trying to figure out what the hell because it was it was an all-on full-on massive emergency of of law enforcement that went to madison square garden that night but first the riddick bowl andrew go out about madison square garden an outrageous finish i still can't believe it a crazy and scary night and i'm glad you brought this up because we can talk about how things have changed uh with doing live television especially a show like sports center yeah because when we did it and the golden era you know no internet right no other place to see these things right these events the breaking news the video all of So we were flying blind.

27:35What was supposed to be a routine bout for Riddick Bowe, facing an unbeaten Polish native named Andrew Gulotta at Madison Square Garden, well, it wasn't routine at all. It turned out to be a bizarre and scary night at the fights. The fight reached the seventh round, which was remarkable enough. Then, following a third low blow by Gulotta to Riddick Bowe, which disqualified Gulotta, then everything broke out. Somebody out of Bowe's corner rushed out and went right after Andrew Gulotta. Then fights broke out in the ring. Fights broke out outside the ring. We're talking about hundreds of people involved.

28:09Again, this was in Madison Square Garden. We're still looking for security to step in here. Among those carried off on a stretcher was Gulotta's trainer, Lou Duva. And I'm not saying, oh, to pat ourselves on the back. Oh, aren't we great broadcasters, blah, blah, blah. No. But that's why we loved it so much. because we knew the people that were watching, they weren't watching anything else. They turned to us for the information. Someone from Bo's Corner rushed out and went after Gulotta, and then there you see Lou Duva right in the middle of all that. Lou Duva. And there goes Lou Duva down, being stepped on.

28:46One bystander said he was clutching his heart. We don't know about his health condition right now. All we know is that he was carried off on a stretcher, but his head was moving. Of course, we will be keeping you up to date on the strange and very frightening incident that took place at Madison Square Garden. And I don't know about you, but I had many, many situations like that where I happened to be on the air when stuff happened. Yeah. When you just fly by the seat of your pants where your producer in your ear is telling you one thing and you're talking at the same time and looking at the video the viewers are seeing, you're also doing interviews.

29:22All right, we just got so-and-so on the air, and you're basically doing a live interview on the phone. And it is such, you know, we're not athletes, at least in real life, but it is the equivalent, I believe, of being on the biggest of stages and having that adrenaline rush and walking off that set saying you did the best you could and you did your job.

29:51Rich Eisen:Yeah. When we did the show, like SportsCenter was basically assumed of the viewer. We assumed of the viewer. Right. That they either had not seen the highlight or the game of the highlight was about to deliver. Of course. They didn't potentially know the result either. Mm hmm. If they did know the result and had seen the game, they'd only seen potentially the highlights of it once before or not at all. that was what we assumed of the viewer which is why we sat down and crafted a lead-in that would basically set the stage for the highlight we're about to deliver and then we would potentially also know the way they highlight we're about to deliver the result and we would lay an easter egg in the on-camera yeah where they put the you know the graphic over your shoulder and you know and Kilbourne who's going to be doing you know this show later on this season right he would throw you know like William Shatner over his shoulder and just do sorts of crazy stuff and then we would be able to have fun with each other for that you'd jump in my highlight I would jump in yours Stuart Scott would jump in my highlight way more often than I jumped in his you know and then we would be having that yin and yang yeah but that's the real part about it that folks at home would watch us go through this process for them with them together yeah there was a connection connection is the key that i think we we love i loved it i know you did we loved it fed off it fed off yes 100 and it's funny you brought up these the nuances the technical achievements and accomplishments and the way the business as a whole move through the years it and i've told this story before but it's classic involves um our colleague scott van pelt and he probably doesn't even remember it and by the way just real quick yeah he's kind of on a nightly basis doing the stuff that we're talking about right now.

31:44Rich Eisen:Still. Yeah. Yeah. I know. Keeping the flame going. Yes. And, you know, he's in a great spot. I'm telling you, I'm killed for his stage right now. It's lovely. But the Scott Van Pelt moment, I remember, we used to have these talent meetings. Do you remember that back in the day where the bosses would get us all together and we'd work all hours, right? But we'd have to, you know, head into Bristol, Connecticut, even if we worked the late show wouldn't get home till 3 30 yeah we're having a talent meeting at 9 45 a.m we expect all of you to be there in person yeah yeah right so we'd show up so i remember uh the bosses were there all in the front of the room big conference room and there was breaking news that from now on and it was interesting what you said moments ago how we used to craft our on-camera lead-ins and crafting is the right word because our writing was very important.

32:40No doubt. What is it about the Bills that have brought out the worst and one of the best? Dan Marino. Buffalo has the distinction of being the only AFC East team to own a winning record against the Dolphins passing grade. Lifetime, Marino is 11 and 18 against the Bills, including two and three on Monday night. If Marino and perhaps more important, the running game could motor, Miami would move into a tie for first. So this was the meeting when they told us that from now on, there's going to be a little ticker at the bottom of the screen. Oh, I hated that. That tells the viewer who won the game before we, the anchor that crafts our lead-ins, that builds up the suspense, that prepares the viewer to what they're about to see from this highlight, which we were all so very proud of because we were storytellers, that our bosses were going to take all that away from us by running the score at the bottom of the screen.

33:36I was so pissed. I remember this meeting. And so was I. And I remember Scott stood up and he eloquently basically said what I was thinking and said to them, well, what are we writing it for? What are we doing this for? And there was a lot of pushback. Did they listen to us? No. Absolutely not.

33:55Rich Eisen:Well, I remember I went, Norby Williamson was the guy who ran, you know. Mark Rose was there. I remember him. He was there. But Norby's long since gone because McAfee took care of him. Yep. Um, and, and, you know, what ended up happening was I went into Norby's office and I'm like, is there any way that we could make sure that the bottom line ticker doesn't reveal the lead in? And I knew that was a non-starter for me even to bring it up because, you know, you would change the rundown based on timing. Um, if the, once the previous segment went too long highlights in the next segment would get cut because to save time because it's still only a 60 minute show so there was no way to technologically line things up so as you're you know setting something up yeah as a storytelling gesture as a professional as what a sports center anchor was known to do that there was no way to make sure that the score wasn't revealed across your stomach, you know, as you're delivering it, I understood that.

35:04Rich Eisen:And it was a total non-starter and he just kind of like, you know, shooed me out of his office in a, in a, in a professional way. But, you know, um, but that was the beginning of how everything changed. Correct. And I remember the reason why they wanted the bottom line ticker is because it was probably around 2001, 2002, because it was 9-11. 9-11, you know, the bottom line ticker went on the bottom line on CNN for the first time. The bottom line ticker, news had it first. And then we had it, you know, for October, you know, of September of 2001. And - Once we got back on the air, remember we were - Oh, Stuart and I did the first 11 o 'clock show.

35:51That's interesting.

35:52Rich Eisen:Bob Lee did the first six Eastern, and I think Robin was with him. And, you know, Stuart and I did the first 11 o 'clock one, I believe on September 12th. Yeah. So at any rate, long story short is I remember all of that, but things changed, you know, I mean, and then the phones, I know we sound dating ourselves, but it's the truth though. Like that is like the way that SportsCenter could be delivered and the way that we started expecting a viewer to know, it just had to change. Yeah. And, you know, we had to change with the times as well. Yeah. But I remember those meetings too. Those were wild.

36:28Those were wild. But it was.

36:30Rich Eisen:Because we all had different agendas as on-air people, you know. But we were all like loving our jobs. Very much so. You know, we love the community of it. Yeah. You know, I remember when you first left and I remember what you said. And I said. What did I say? I'm going to tell you. Okay. Good thing you had me on. I'm so curious where this is, where you're about to go with this. Yeah, because I said, well, how's it going? Like, you're not here anymore and everything. And he's like, you know what I miss the most? You said, you know what I miss the most? This, meaning this campus, this camaraderie, my colleagues, that it was about we were the only game in town.

37:18And this stuff isn't everywhere. what we had yeah grass isn't always greener i'm happy you would say i'm happy but i miss

37:29Rich Eisen:this well i i did miss you know again having started nfl network and i was a single anchor show whatever yeah i and and plus you know i was only on in 10 11 million homes espn in over 100 million it there's nothing nothing compares to the platform of espn at the end of the day even today, even today with different viewership habits and anything like that. So it was a, it was an adjustment for me, you know, but you miss the people. I miss the people. Absolutely. Again. So Rich Eisen here for gusto right now, everyone's trying to run leaner, tighter budgets, smaller teams, higher expectations. The last thing you have time to waste on is manual payroll or chasing down an HR form.

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38:54Rich Eisen:Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash TWSC and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash TWSC. One more time, gusto.com slash TWSC. You know, the, the, um, other boxing story I did, I did start to cover because I did go into Norby's office. I'm like, I would like a beat. I want a sport. Right. Like the NFL wasn't happening unless like 10 people quit on the spot. Or you had pictures on somebody. Exactly. It was never going to happen in a million years. I did get baseball as a sport, which you love, which I'd love today because ESPN radio got the acquired the rights of Major League Baseball while I, you know, when I just first started.

39:41Rich Eisen:So I, I did the studio for ESPN radio's coverage of Major League Baseball. It was massive and I love doing it, but I, I, I still wasn't doing anything for sports center. So Charlie Steiner, because he was starting to call games for ESPN radio and all games for ESPN baseball. He, he said he, he, they took him off the boxing beat and they put me on it. And I didn't know a damn thing about boxing. I didn't care about it but i it was taking me to las vegas it was giving me something to do and so one of the first events i'm already laughing at this first events i covered was holifield more two okay a rematch between holifield and michael moore and i went there and it was me al bernstein john saraceno yeah i am joined right now by al bernstein and john saraceno of usa today Gentlemen, you're each going to have keys to victory.

40:34Rich Eisen:I'll start with you and Evander Holyfield. What does he have to do to win tonight? And they wanted a piece for the Sunday morning sports center. And I decided to the piece I wanted to do was not on the fight, not on the boxing. It was so you. But it was I wanted a sample the Las Vegas show scene and give a little flavor of what the boxing week was. I'm Rich Eisen. You know what? We here at ESPN, we've been here all week. Now, what's it like covering such a huge heavyweight championship title fight in such a huge glitzy place like Las Vegas, Nevada? And so I told you my idea. Yes. Now, again, this is the camaraderie that you miss, right?

41:11Rich Eisen:Right. When you're not there anymore. So I went up to you and I'm like, this is my idea of going. And you were like, this is a freaking great idea. You need to do it. You should do it. And I'm like, I'm going to do it. And so I told you the people that I was already in advance of this shoot getting commitments to that I could show up with a camera and interview them for the piece. And I looked at who was performing in Las Vegas at the time. And one of them was my first love, David, David Cassidy. My first love is a 12 year old, David, David Cassidy was performing live. David Cassidy. I think that Moore will give him some trouble because he's traditionally had some problems with Southpaws but I think the bottom line is that Holyfield will win and you were like can I possibly get an autograph for you right back when we you know autographs were kind of a thing but it's just for sure and I'm like I'll ask for you David Cassidy you work for ESPN I think you should know already that one of your future colleagues Linda Cohen is such a big fan of yours that she used to have pictures of you on her wall you're kidding No, I got to tell you something.

42:17Rich Eisen:What? I'm a huge fan of this. I didn't want to put you in a bad position, but this is my first one. But the twist that I did. Yes, which was brilliant. Was to get you to autograph your headshot and sign it to him and put it on his mirror of his dressing room as if he's looking at you every night. This is my window wall. And she sent me some great stuff, including this one, which is my favorite. David, you know, you can always reach me at Echo Valley 26809. It was priceless. And I did that. You did. And it was like the highlight of the piece. Linda, I've been calling that number, but it's disconnected.

43:00Could you send me the new phone number?

43:01Rich Eisen:So I went around asking, you know, like the piece started with me and Saraceno and Bernstein at the pool. and then I rent I got the ESPN to rent me a red convertible to drive around town right I had the blue man group in it yeah David Cassidy with your photograph up there and he said something like I remember him saying something to Linda yes which was funny and I loved it and you thought of it and I thought of it and I put it together and I did a live shot for Sunday morning sports center and and i got up asked crack of dawn to do it right it was like gotta be live in the morning gotta be live for six in the morning pacific for the 9 a.m sports center and i led into the piece and i'm like you know hey stay tuned for later on you know we'll we'll talk about the the fight and we throw back and jack edwards who was hosting it goes thanks rich look forward to the fight That's at 11.30 p.m.

44:00Rich Eisen:during SportsCenter tonight. Now back to the studio. We're looking forward to the fight. Like that. I'm thinking to myself, what? I'm like, what's up with that? You know? But there, and again. I locked them out. Listen, no, no, but there are some people at ESPN, certainly at the time, that were a little bit more hard-bitten or journalistically focused. Or jealous. I don't know. That one I don't know. Okay. He had better position than me, and I'll tell this story too. Please do. Do you know my Jack Edwards trying to take off days off story? No, but I think the world needs to hear it. This is why I have this was SportsCenter.

44:45Rich Eisen:This is why I'm doing this show. And then remind me to tell the people another memorable original idea by you. This is how we're putting this together. All right, so.

44:59Rich Eisen:so and this is interesting as well for you to um as you said earlier in our chat that you didn't have a so-called um tv sports center partner that was dedicated to you and you to that person right it was very briefly i do have a picture right with john anderson if that counts okay so so again that just so you were you were right so you would open up the way we learned our schedule back in the day yes is the schedule would be placed in the computer yes and it would be for like april schedule would be released in march but sometimes not to like march 30th yeah but you guys you and you stewart and we didn't know what days sometime really because i would think why do you even bother looking we know you're gonna okay as a matter of fact stewart and i learned that we became a team by just opening up the schedule week after week after week and seeing that we were doing the show together.

45:55No one told you. No. Hey, we got a great idea. You two would be great together. Never. Oh, that's breaking news.

46:01Rich Eisen:During a commercial break of our early years of working together on SportsCenter, Stuart looked at me and goes, are we a team? And I'm like, I think so. I'm like, has anybody told you? And he goes, no. And he goes, anybody told you? I'm like, no. I'm just seeing that we're doing it together a lot. Like that's the way we learned we were 18. Yeah. But at any rate. That's interesting. So there was a whole process about getting a day off. Yes. You know, and, and, you know, needing to ask in advance. Yes. Or rolling the dice and hope that you got something called a Bristol day. Right. Which was a day that you would just be asked to come in, touch base, say hello.

46:42Rich Eisen:Have someone see you. Catch up on some work. Yeah. Well, that was the way that we would handle it. Have somebody see you. Go in an office. Get the hell out. Right. The idea was that you're going to work at your desk and you're going to catch up on work and you're going to be there in case somebody calls in sick and you're, you're the backup for that night's. Yeah. You can't leave town. You could not leave town on a Bristol day. You had to be in Bristol. You had to show up. Yep. That's what the idea was. But as you point out, just like say hi and go hit the golf course or something, you know, or do something.

47:11Rich Eisen:Right. Or really roll the dice and leave town. Now that was, I was a provocative act. But at any rate, there was a whole process. And the person who I believe was in charge of scheduling is somebody named Julie Paradise. Yes. That's who it was. So I showed up as a 26-year-old, fresh from Redding, California. Right. And the first person I met was Julie Paradise. By the way. To go over the scheduling process. A name that should be another vocation for her. Right. So she sat me down and told me the way this works with a schedule. There's something called Bristol days. You're going to learn your schedule.

47:47Rich Eisen:You're going to see what you show you're doing. And she showed me how to log into the computer to see it. And I had the temerity, the balls to basically say to her, listen, I know I'm just new here, but I didn't know I was getting this job. This has been a dream moment for me. I didn't know I was getting this job. I have already paid for a vacation with my buddies from college and high school to go to Amsterdam later this summer. The tickets are not refundable. I've already got the hotels. I know I'm asking for vacation time two months in to getting my dream job, but can I have that week off? And she said, let me check, but I think that shouldn't be a problem, but I need to see who's already off that week because this is another thing that I'm telling you that for your time off you can ask for it but if somebody with more tenure than you asks for the same time like if you had asked for the day right you would get them off before me because you have more tenure yeah longer than you no longer than yeah so she looked at it she's like the week's clear you can have it i'm like because i mean i didn't have a pot to piss and i'm not gonna blow away these tickets no you know so then comes the jewish holidays oh so so i ask for for the jewish holidays off and i start thinking all right shit i'm not going to get it over linda i'm not going to get over steve levy you know like i'm starting going through the obvious jews with tenure right was he i didn't even practicing i don't know i wouldn't know i wouldn't know okay so i was told okay i was told this is great story i was told i couldn't have one of the holidays off because you asked for it off and jack edwards had asked for it off and i'm like jack edwards that's the way i said it and julie paradise said jack is engaged or just married to a producer who works there right who is jewish okay so i'm like wait a minute not on the pecking order i don't get it i'm like i understand he's got i literally said this to julie i'm i understand he's been here longer than me but i've been a jew longer than he

50:11Rich Eisen:i have tenure as a jew yes yada yada yada i worked it didn't work it didn't work she crack a smile i don't even think she did oh my god i don't think she did i'm like i've been when i have more tenure in judaism than him oh that's a great story this was sports center 100 i don't know how you could top that i don't know but you said you had a story oh yeah so one of the greatest original ideas i mean nothing can top you know david cassidy having my headshot picture on his um in his makeup room i mean thrilled that i got to do that right and then he knew who i was you know yeah that's the other He really did.

51:02And that's another thing we can talk to after I, you know.

51:04Rich Eisen:I think I called you to say, guess what? Yeah. He definitely knew who I was. You did call me. I called you to say, I did it, he knew you were. I know. And you know, when you heard that back in the day, I mean. Yeah. You know, it's not about us being conceited. We weren't conceited. No. We really were grateful every day to be doing our dream job. Fans. Okay? Fans first. Fans first. So when we found out that when someone that we admired knew who we were, and a lot of times it was not someone in sports, it was someone like outside of sports. Sports, yeah, but again, you don't put people on pedestals.

51:36You know, you'd be disappointed half the time. But when they're like celebrities and different people in acting or music, you know, like when Jay-Z knew who the hell I was. I mean, that was like, oh, my God.

51:49Rich Eisen:You know what I mean? Sure. Rich Eisen here for Gusto. Look, the economy is a lot right now, and if you're a small business owner, you probably feel it. You can't control interest rates or tariffs, but you can control how efficiently your business operates. Automating payroll and HR with Gusto is one of the fastest ways to cut friction and focus on what actually moves the needle. Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use, so you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. It's quick and simple to switch to Gusto.

52:24Rich Eisen:Just transfer your existing data to get up and run fast. Plus, don't pay a cent until you run your first payroll and get direct access to certified HR experts to help support you through any tough HR situation. There's a reason Gusto is ranked number one on G2's highest satisfaction products list for 2026 and trusted by over 400 ,000 small businesses. Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash TWSC and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash TWSC. One more time, Gosto.com slash TWSC. I think you know the story. I wrote about it in my book, Conehead, years ago.

53:04But it's a classic Norby Williamson called into the office kind of thing. You didn't think you did anything wrong. In fact, you thought you did something clever. Well, you know, there was that time where I talked about catchphrases earlier where, you know, sometimes people that weren't known for it, like myself, you know, you felt pressure to think of some. Right. So I remember it was Mike Piazza was still a Met. He was a Met. And, you know, the Mets were my favorite team. You, Mr. Yankee, I get that. All right. Whatever. Yeah, whatever.

53:33Rich Eisen:You're a Met Ranger. Yeah, Met Ranger. Off the, yeah. But I am Knicks. Yeah. Yeah, so that's a good thing. All right. Knock on wood, wherever that is. Right. But, yeah. So Norby calls me in the office after SportsCenter. Yeah, it was the next morning. and what I was doing over highlights, the pressure of trying to think of a catchphrase, and I had bounced this off a friend of mine who lived in North Carolina. She did graphics. She was in the business. And I said, you know, I have an idea for a catchphrase. When a guy is up at bat and he hits a home run, because you were so great with home run calls, you know, it's a home run.

54:12I think I have an idea for a home run call and a catchphrase of her highlight. So, like, whether it's Mark McGuire, Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds, soon as they, on the highlight, hit a ball that obviously was going to be a home run, I would say, Mike Piazza, master batter.

54:34Rich Eisen:Nobody, nobody, your graphics friend didn't think? No, my graphics friend Susie didn't think. She thought, that's so clever. I think that's so subtle enough. Come on. That, you know, you can get away with that and it will be remembered, you know, in a funny way. And because I said it's so dry. Well, it didn't take long. As I said, it only it was an open and shut case. It was a Broadway show that opens one show and closed the same time because Norby Williamson called me in and he goes, what made you think that that was a good idea? And I said, oh, okay. I thought it would be kind of funny. Well, don't ever do that again.

55:21And that was the end of the conversation.

55:23Rich Eisen:The only time, one of the only times I think that Norby called me into the office to say, well, I did, you know, don't say that again. Right. Or just like, come on, you know, you're killing me. Come on. You're killing me. He's a fun guy. You know, so after the Broncos won one of their two championships. With Elway and the whole thing. Okay. So 97, 98. Yeah. So Pat Bolin was in a convertible in the parade. Okay. With the Lombardi Trophy. Okay. And his spouse. Yes. Who was, shall we say. Blonde. Yes. and, you know, maybe a decade or two younger. Younger? You know, somewhere in that neighborhood.

56:14Rich Eisen:I don't know. But I decided over the highlight of the parade, say there's Pat Bolin with his trophy.

56:28That's great.

56:30Rich Eisen:And Norby calls me in because apparently some of our colleagues caught it, didn't like it. What? went to call 2149 which was his extension extension and i got a rich eisen you know 2149 call and i call him and come in the office and he said what's up and i'm like well listen i i understand some colleagues might be upset but what did i say that's factually incorrect The Lombardi trophy What's in his hand? Yes The trophy There's Pat Bolin with his trophy And just left it at that That's great And he goes You know Just You're killing me You know So That's That's a classic Yeah That's Again Clever Original Subtle Just get in there And again Just throw it in and get out It's very Again getting back to You know Stand-up comic You could have been one and like really like that's very snl-ish just like get in there skits and i was you know that you know but truth is my total defense there like i i was talking about what are you referring to right i could have just thrown it on yeah what are you looking at that's right i'm looking at that beautiful shiny

57:48Rich Eisen:that shows you he's won so he's winning yeah so which brings me to you know and now you can't say a damn thing you know about anything anyway and for other reasons be careful but when you brought up the the age difference i i think of uh you know bill belichick and uh george oh my goodness i mean what could you have done for that what could what what could the clever lines that you had been pulled in you don't touch it yeah don't even go there that's the whole idea could you imagine any of this what's going on in anything oh man before uh uh i let you go yes been so much fun um you know do you have a good steward scott memory do you got one for me because i love bringing him up as much as i possibly can your husband at the time was steward you would always refer to um steward scott as you'd say to me he's your stew right my stew your stew that's right the spelling was different stewing was different but you're like i got my stew you You have your Stu, because Stuart would always refer to me as his TV wife.

58:53Rich Eisen:Yes. You got a good. How did you feel about that? That was a good idea. You know what? It was so obviously his world. Yes. Sammy Sosa. 33 home runs in the last 72 games. Sammy, booyah! And we were thrilled to be one of it. You know what? And there were times doing highlights with him where he would interrupt me a lot. Susie you know had a front row seat because we were just friends at the time but I you know now my lovely wife of 23 years and counting I would you know I would say he's constantly jumping in on my highlights you know and I'm trying to do something I would never do that to him but it was just he was just so effusive like it was not like I'm in charge here this is my show he was just a child You know, he was a kid with a childlike enthusiasm.

59:47Rich Eisen:Give me the chest bump. Give me the chest bump. Touching you on television again. Hey there, welcome to SportsCenter. Back in the house with Stuart Scott. I'm Rich Arson. No chest bump, I don't do the show. Start the show. All right. You know, I miss him. Yeah. So I try to bring up him any time. I love that. You probably did hundreds of shows with him. Not only that, I just love that you bring him up because I think about him often. He's gone 11 years later. I mean, I know it's unbelievable. And does Ray have the Eagles back on the right road? But first, take us to Salt Lake, Stuart. Aye, aye, Linda.

1:00:21Rich Eisen:Warp speed. We will beam it up. I think about what world, what he would say in certain things that have come up in our world in the last 11 years. Doesn't that happen to you? Caleb Williams for his Bears. Belichick taking over North Carolina football. Right, right. I need to hear from Stuart. You know, what's going on with LeBron at age 41. How would he would do this highlight? No doubt. You know, regarding whoever, whatever. Me too. That's what's amazing, because he was part of our family, our TV family, right? Ahead, St. Patrick stands on his head, and a big-time college hoop showdown. And the Los Angeles Lakers will try and score more than the 18 points the Minneapolis Lakers scored back in 1950.

1:00:59Rich Eisen:They do it, but not by much. Stick around. My fun story is, so I was looking enough, like, after a few years at ESPN, when did you get an office? Stewart had an office. I got an office. No, I was one of the last. I never got, I don't think I ever got one. Okay. I bring that up. It's all right. Okay. Not to, you know, bring up the past. I've got one now. You have a big one now. It's fine. You have much more now. But so I had an office and when Stuart would come, his Stuart was on the other side of the building, same floor. Mine was on the opposite side. When Stuart would visit me, whatever, before a show, we would talk about something or whatever.

1:01:34That's what was so great about him. He could have just picked up the phone before phones. Correct. We had phones in our office. Yes. You know, and call me, but he would come over. you know and so for some reason one time he knocks on the door opens the door and I don't know what he tripped on but he actually fell into my office and I go are you okay Stu and and he's like oh yeah he goes but you know what this means I go what well this means every time I knock on the door and open the door and come into your office I'm gonna have to fall so what he said yes so

1:02:05Rich Eisen:Literally. Tell me you did that every time. Every time. Come on. True story. Every time he would come into my office, he would fall on purpose. And he kept that promise. Remember, his background was theater. That's right. Okay? If Stewart did not become what he became, legendary, okay, he would be on screen and stage. I truly believe that. Just cuss, man. Just cuss like a sailor. That's in now. They can bleep it out later. You got to say, that's a bull call. He did theater in school. He was so good at it. And that is why on stage, he owned the stage on SportsCenter, whatever stage it was, whether if he was emceeing something or whether he was, you know, in front of a camera, whatever it was.

1:02:50Hi, I'm Stuart Scott. But anyway, that's that's like one of my favorite Stuart Scott stories that it was just so much fun. And then also I just remember him always snacking and eating little crackers. is he would never gain weight. Yeah, never. Never gain weight. And he would still look like Adonis. He looks great, and he'd work out. And then also early American Idol. We both watched American Idol. And we, you know, at work, we'd have to watch it because you didn't have DVRs or anything. Right. We'd have to watch it. Right. You know, and you had mentioned you're going to have Kilbourne on. You know, I always remember Kilbourne watching David Letterman.

1:03:24He wasn't watching sports at night.

1:03:25Rich Eisen:Oh, that tracks. He watched David Letterman. Yeah. That tracks. Because he became what he was. Because that's what he wanted to do. That's right. I mean, it was obvious. And it was very transparent, you know, type of thing. So Stuart, definitely, there was Denzel in him. There was this great actor in him. He could do anything. He could do Shakespeare. Chosen one, huh?

1:03:47Rich Eisen:I never knew that story. But that's what he did. He would fall into your office. He would fall into my office. And he said on the spot, I'm going to have to do this every time. And then committed to the bit. Committed to it. Because he goes, if I stop, what would that mean? I'd be a liar. I told you I was going to do it. yeah true story wow just one of the things that's what i love about thank you for sharing that oh gosh my pleasure because you know because i it really freaks me out that people like again my my kids um now 17 15 and 12 right last december um suzy and i showed him the 30 for 30 oh so they don't they don't know him yeah they don't know him he's been gone for half their lives and then he was also at the point of his life too when he would come out here he didn't reach out to right susan i i mean right he was um he was enjoying his life best he could and obviously he got sick yes they didn't know him yeah and it's just like this is this is our way of letting them know somebody who is you know you were at my wedding yes stewart was at my wedding you know so you know it's and my daughter sammy remember she's 34 now right so she remembers stewart scott remembers how nice he was to her yeah you know dan's just turned 30 a few months ago back so a little bit but yeah remember yeah my kids didn't know no they didn't know at all i'm like you should know who this guy is and then of course i show up on there and i have hair and they had a fun time and they're like who's this i know that you know and there's a photograph at at the wedding because, you know, Stuart was the person who was always seeing that I wanted to be more than friends with Susie.

1:05:24Rich Eisen:You had a front row seat to that, too. Yes. You know, and then Susie, you know, didn't want to just stay friends. Right. He would always play us to the middle. Yes. And so on the day of our actual wedding. Yeah. You know, there's a photograph of him holding my hand, looking at the ring. Yeah. And oh, there it is. Look at this. There's a photograph right here. Awesome. And you can see the look on his face is like, you know, I told you. Love. But the other look is we did this. You know what I mean? Like, we did this. I get it. I get it. You know? Yeah. Like, this is it. I knew all along this was the plan.

1:05:59Yeah. And he was the director of that screenplay.

1:06:03Rich Eisen:Well done. No question about it. That's him in a nutshell. All right, I lied. One more thing. Okay, what do you think? There's this photograph that gets popped on social media all the time. and i don't know what it was for yeah i don't know if you remember it as well um it's it's a i guess it was um a pr shoot or something it must have been and they called it the golden era that's what they called i think the headline when we when when we did it they weren't calling it that no they weren't in reference in the social media world was calling it um this is you remember this picture i don't even remember maybe i was just blacking out that i was actually asked to be included in this but i do love that the same graphics yeah it's the same one behind us that's right is yeah look at that and is that look at that that's pretty cool is that big show bob up there that's big show bob stevens right there next to leaves and next to the rookie of the year chris mckendry look at tariko oh where is yeah look at mike reese davis reese davis larry beale who i did my first sports center with aloha means aloha means goodbye and of course the Gary Miller, who is just Gary Miller and I next to me.

1:07:12Yeah. Next to yeah. Yeah. So Gary Miller next to Dan. And is that we can't say his nickname next to Gary Miller in the corner.

1:07:22Rich Eisen:Oh, that's me. That's you. That's me. I can't even recognize you. I was Brett Haber. No, it's not Habes. Oh, yeah. You're talking about I'll say it. It's fuck stick. That's what he called a cameraman once. That's what this show is about. It's talking about that. Maybe we'll get Habes on this. Oh, my God. He'd be great. No, but can we get – show the picture again because I can't get enough of this picture. So Gary and I did the – usually we mentioned in classic sports centers that you and Stuart did. Yeah. Gary and I happened to be on the air doing the 11 o 'clock sports center during the OJ Bronco.

1:07:58Rich Eisen:No way. Yes. You were on with who? With Gary? Gary Miller. We will be here to at least 1230 Eastern Time tonight to keep you covered on this late breaking and ever changing story. We'll take you through step by step to one of the more bizarre murder stories ever. O.J. Simpson, a pro football Hall of Famer earlier in the evening, a suicidal fugitive, is now in under arrest and in police custody. And we never got to speak. We were just told show up on the set because the Bronco ride started happening before 11 Eastern. So we were, you know, it was earlier in the, but just in case we want you on the set.

1:08:38And all Gary and I did was sit there and watch our monitors and watch ABC News and Bronco run.

1:08:42Rich Eisen:If I'm not mistaken, that was on during a Knicks playoff game. That's right. Was that again the NBA Finals against Houston? That's right. Heading into game five of the NBA Finals, the New York Knicks were in guarded condition. In their case, that's good. Their guards, Derek Harper and John Starks, combined for 41 points in New York's Game 4 victory. The Knicks also had their way with Houston on the boards. On the line tonight in New York, an edge and a 3-2 lead in the series. And it was also, because 30 for 30 did a great 1994 that day. It was the day of the Rangers parade, which I could not go to because I had to do SportsCenter that day.

1:09:18Rich Eisen:And you were probably pissed about that. And now you're sitting on the set wordlessly watching the O's. Like you don't need me. Get out of here. You know where I was? Where were you? Graduating from Northwestern Medill School of Journalism. I graduated that day and I went to a lunch with some of my fellow graduates and our parents in Chicago, Illinois. And I was in a sports bar and they were showing the high speed chase or low speed chase. Yes. and a larger square, a rectangle, and then the lower part of the rectangle was the Knicks-Rockets game that Marv was calling. And I just remember the whole bar had their jaws on the floor watching OJ go crazy.

1:10:08And just because I don't know what takes me over in my brain sometimes,

1:10:14Rich Eisen:I just screamed out, that was a flagrant foul. and people are looking at me like what's your malfunction man i'm like that's a i'm a nick fan you're a stand-up comic i just couldn't resist that was so fun and i'll never forget because the the sound was up yeah and the bar was dead quiet yeah and then they finally threw back to um the game yeah and marv at the mic the great marv albert was like um so we will keep an eye on what is happening, but he said something like this, in Southern California. Yeah. And we'll go back to it as conditions warrant. Pause. Amazing. Here in the third quarter, like he somehow turned the page to bat a call play-by-play.

1:11:03Rich Eisen:So you were on the set. I was on the set with Gary. You're graduating college. I was on the set with Gary. So yeah, it's only, you know, we're only two, I'm only two years into ESPN, you know, because I got there in July 92. So yeah. And I was there with Gary and we're just i'll always remember gary leaning over like this next to me and we're just like this looking at our monitor was in the house that's all we did that's all we did was watch the bronco ride yeah holy i know and i was two years away and that was a big step in me being just only wow that was yeah i think it was june 19th 1994 i think if you had tapped me on the shoulder and said you were going to be on sports center in less than two years from that moment graduating When you were saying, that's a flagrant foul.

1:11:41Rich Eisen:I know, being a total asshole. But wow, that's crazy. And last one, who did you do your first SportsCenter with? Chris Myers. Hi, and how are you? Along with Linda Cohen, Chris Myers. Glad you could make it for the show. We want to welcome Linda to SportsCenter here. She comes to us by way of Seattle and New York before that. Nice of Larry Loretta, too, to light up a cigar on your behalf. Well, Chris, you know, I don't smoke, but thanks anyway. And we'll show you Larry's fine round at the Senior Open in a moment. But first, let's talk some baseball. You were there. He was there. You were there.

1:12:13Love Chris Myers. I love Chris. Chris Myers was your first sports fan? Yes. Oh, it was great. It was a Saturday night, 2 a.m. Eastern with Chris Myers.

1:12:21Rich Eisen:I'm here. You were there. Well, the fact that Babe Ruth started his career as a top left-handed pitcher is not worthy of a did-you-know. But then that doesn't stop us from digging now. Did you know that 78 years ago on July 11th, Babe Ruth made his big league debut with the Red Sox? He beat Cleveland 4-3, but he was lifted, yeah, for a pinch hitter in the seventh. A pinch hitter for Babe Ruth. Duffy Lewis singled for the Babe and later scored the winning run. So I guess it all worked out. That's, oh, so good. He always told me I'd be on the good boat. What does that mean? That means, like, if you're out at sea and you're lost at sea and there were two boats, I'd be on the one that would be rescued with him.

1:13:00Rich Eisen:Was he drunk? I'm not sure. on the good boat i took it as a compliment by the way you know he was there before me you know and he used to say you're you're no good oh that's right you you you're no good like that'd be that would be for a strikeout or something yeah yeah you're no good yeah i remember that so good it was so good um so are you rich i mean this is a blast i could go on for hours this is our emmy right here what a great way to start this show off in this studio right here i love thank you linda cohen oh gosh my pleasure rich continued success thank you i appreciate it your next chapter i still would come to one of your stand-up comedy if i ever do that again suzy would never let me do that well we'll talk to i did that once after after knowing her after i was on sports center in new york city i was terrible i was terrible because i couldn't i was out of practice and I was also you know I couldn't.

1:14:00But you know what's great about

1:14:01Rich Eisen:I was working for Disney at that time. Yes you can't be you. Your stages here allows the sarcasm. I'm happy to be So I love it. It does it's perfectly Linda Cohen everybody. Our final two episodes coming up on This Was SportsCenter. Chris Fowler will be here and then Craig Kilbourne in that very short. Love it. Thanks for being here. My pleasure. And thanks for watching the latest episode of This Was SportsCenter.

1:14:27Thank you.