Keith Olbermann, who rose to fame as a wise guy ESPN sports personality before making a successful foray into politics, is returning to his roots after being chosen as the host of TBS's Major League Baseball postseason studio show, according to reports.
During the 1990s, Olbermann was an ESPN "SportsCenter" anchor, and eventually became the star of MSNBC's "Countdown," which, for a time, was the highest-rated news show not airing on the Fox News Channel.
Talking with media, Olbermann joked that his new gig with Turner amounts to about one month of work; the MLB playoffs typically span the month of October and no longer. "If you go through the 37 pages of my résumé, you will notice that every one of my jobs has lasted at least one month, so I'm covered no matter what the eventuality is."
Olbermann said he's open to other opportunities once the baseball playoffs wrap up, but he has nothing concrete he's looking at. "Planning on it? No. Need to? Fortunately not. Whatever else might be out there just could not be as compelling as this," Olbermann said.
David Levy, the president of sports distribution for Turner, said of the Olbermann hiring, "We think he's going to be an incredible asset to our company. I do believe it is going to work." Olbermann has a lengthy past of clashing with network executives, leading to his frequent ouster. This was the case at MSNBC, despite the success of his show.
Levy, joking about Olbermann's many stops, also joked about how extensive Olbermann's resume is. "I use your resume to work out. It's very heavy."
The studio team has not been completed, but early reports are saying that he will be teamed with Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley. The length and terms of Olbermann's deal have not been released, but Levy says he hopes the partnership will last "a long time."
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