This may not be Bob Costas` ”defining moment” as a sportscaster. But by hosting NBC`s prime-time telecasts of the 1992 Summer Olympics, Costas will become a defining moment for America.
And what will America see?
It`ll find a talented broadcaster who is as much at home in an NBC studio as he is in a baseball broadcast booth. A guy who can beat Pat Riley in a silly pregame basketball toss. A man who has turned 40 but can act like that 15-year-old smart-alecky brat next door.
”I never use humor or anything that would divert attention from the situation at hand,” said Costas, defending his wisecracking. ”I pride myself on being well-informed and well-prepared. If the choice comes down to
(dispensing) essential information or cracking a joke, 100 times out of 100, I`ll come down on the side of essential information. (But) usually that information can be imparted with a smile or with a joke.”
As he did in his opening remarks in the conference call from Barcelona, Spain, earlier this week: ”I have no opening statement, so as is traditional, I`ll take the first question from Helen Thomas of UPI.”
But, seriously folks, nobody prepares better, works harder or is more sincere about his work than Costas.
”Throughout my career, I`ve learned 10 times more from my own mistakes than anyone else`s mistakes,” said Costas. ”There`s nobody who`s (anchored the Olympics)-Jim McKay, Bryant Gumbel, Tim McCarver, Paula Zahn-whom I do not respect highly. I respect the differences in the circumstances under which we`ve each had to operate. I probably have a deeper appreciation of the possibilities and limitations that each of them faced. What I`ve learned from the mistakes I`ve made is that I`m a pretty harsh critic of myself.”
But those mistakes have been few and far between for Costas, who in 12 years has gone from a network backup baseball broadcaster to studio host to exalted Olympics anchor.
”It`s the most-watched thing a sportscaster can possibly do,” Costas said. ”In many ways, it`s only because of the sheer volume of material involved and total number of hours on the air. Even though you try and approach (the anchor job) without being overwhelmed by the attention involved, you have to be living in a cave not to realize people pay a disproportionate amount of attention to the anchor.”
Most of that attention came about because of the work McKay did for ABC from 1968 through the Winter Games of 1988. When NBC took over coverage of the 1988 Summer Games, critics had a field day pointing out Gumbel wasn`t McKay. Now Costas finds himself preparing to sit on that hot seat.
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”The only thing you can reasonably hope for is a positive consensus about what you do,” he Costas. ”With this visible a position, and with this many hours on the air, I will-and NBC will-inevitably receive some criticism. Some of that criticism will be well-taken. Some will come out of left field. And then you put it all in perspective and try to move on.”
American TV audiences will try to put Costas in perspective for the next two weeks. Do we like him? Do we hate him? Do we wish he`d shut up? Or do we wish he`d say something profound?
”You`re in people`s living rooms for many hours up to 17 consecutive nights,” said Costas. ”But you can`t do anything different. I can only be the same broadcaster I always am.”
Which should be good enough.
– Ahmad Rashad, hosting part of the Olympics TripleCast, received the royal treatment when he arrived at one of the Olympic Villages this week. Officials rolled out the red carpet and a band began playing before Rashad corrected the mistake: ”They didn`t have a clue. They must have thought I was on the Dream Team.”
– ”Dick Enberg`s Moments” debuts on NBC`s two-hour Olympics preview show at 8 p.m. Friday. The network will use Enberg, who also hosts the morning telecasts as well as covering gymnastics, as a Jack Whitaker-type
”essayist.” . . . In addition to the network`s two-hour preview, NBC will carry two half-hour shows Saturday with Olympic-related themes. ”Sports Illustrated for Kids Olympic Special,” hosted by Tatyana Ali and Dustin Diamond, airs at 11 a.m. on WMAQ-Ch. 5 and ”Guardians of the Flame,” a documentary on the International Olympic Committee, at 2:30 p.m. Also that day, Channel 5 will carry the syndicated ”USA Barcelona Basketball Preview,” hosted by Bill Macatee and featuring the U.S. Olympic coaching staff, at 12:30 p.m. . . . ESPN`s ”SportsCenter” will have daily reports from Barcelona with Robin Roberts and Steve Cyphers starting Friday.
– A local reminder: WSCR-AM airs virtually all the U.S. Olympic men`s basketball games live, starting at 9:30 a.m. Sunday against Angola. The lone taped game will be the quarterfinals because of to NBC Radio`s plans. Also, the station will have hourly reports from Barcelona at 15 minutes past the hour as well as twice-a-day Q & A sessions with NBC talent. . . . Willye White (track and field), Tom Dore (basketball), John Sluntres (boxing) and Rob Brown (gymnastics) provide Olympics commentary the next two weeks on ”The SportsChannel Report” nightly.
– Pat O`Brien interviews soon-to-be free agent pitcher Greg Maddux, live on CBS` baseball pregame show at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on WBBM-Ch. 2.
– CBS has hired former Rams coach John Robinson and ex-Redskins lineman George Starke as NFL analysts, replacing Merlin Olsen and Irv Cross. Robinson and Starke will switch off with play-by-play man James Brown. The other CBS newcomer, analyst Matt Millen, will team with Tim Ryan. Also teamed are Verne Lundquist and Dan Fouts, Jim Nantz and Hank Stram, Dick Stockton and Randy Cross and Pat Summerall and John Madden, beginning their 12th season together.