WEBVTT - Bob Costas 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:05.760 Welcome to the No Sports Report, a production of I 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:09.240 Heart Radio Entry Fork Media. Hey, everybody wanted to jump 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:12.119 in with quick context for today's interview with the legendary 0:00:12.280 --> 0:00:17.279 Bob Costas. We recorded it on Thursday May, which obviously 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:20.880 is before the civil unrest that our nation saw this 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:23.480 past weekend. And I only bring that up because if 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:25.520 I had Bob Costas on the show for twenty minutes 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:28.760 after what happened this past weekend, that's all we would 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:32.480 have spoke about the entire episode. Uh. Instead, we touch 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:34.680 on it a little bit. You see, Bob is a 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:37.800 hero of mine professionally because he, throughout his career has 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:41.680 seen these injustices in the world in our country and 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:44.720 been unable to just ignore them. He has to talk 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:47.120 about them, even if it affects him professionally, and it has, 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:49.000 and that's a big deal, and we talk about it 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:51.400 a bit. We also bring up Minnesota a little and 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.960 what he thinks the responsibility is of a broadcaster or 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:58.760 uh sports analyst and and all that stuff is incredible 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:02.880 and and listening to it now resonates even more. But 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:05.120 I wanted you to know where we were when we 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:06.920 recorded it, and we hope to get Bob back on 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:09.840 to go more in depth about the revolution that we 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:11.800 see in our country right now that I think is 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:14.839 a long time coming. But I hope everyone who listens 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:18.480 is safe, sound, and strong. And now my interview with 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:26.560 Bob Costas. My name is Jensen carp and I'm a 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:28.840 sports fan and I'm ready for teams to come back 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:31.399 as long as everyone's guaranteed safety and I can handle 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:34.280 total silence during games. It's gonna be crazy to have 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:36.840 no fans cheering during time outs enough to hear like 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.720 Matt Shoemaker cough in between pitches or make out the 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:43.199 click of Terry Stott's pen. Imagine Century Link as quiet 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:46.160 as a library. Melvin Gordon's right, though, he'll have it 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:48.320 way easier with no fans because he's already played for 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:51.840 the Chargers. Well, luckily you're here listening to me talk 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:54.960 to athletes and sports industry professionals about what they're doing 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:58.120 in quarantine, hoping to figure out if famous competing as 0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:00.320 much as I miss watching it. This is the no 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:05.640 Sports Report. It would be near impossible to find an 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:08.040 important sports clip from the past four decades that isn't 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:11.959 narrated by the unmistakable voice of broadcasting legend. Bob Costas, 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:15.080 the twenty three time Emmy Award winner, has put words 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:18.600 to timeless moments like Jordan's Game six final shot, Derek 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:21.880 Jeter's last game walk off base hit, where the infamous O. J. 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:25.600 Simpsons split screen high speed Chase. He frontline the Olympics 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:28.600 as host for almost twenty five years and has covered 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:31.680 Super Bowls, the Stanley Cup Finals, the NBA Finals, the 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:34.720 US Open, all three legs of the Triple Crown, NASCAR 0:02:34.880 --> 0:02:38.600 final races, and Championship boxing matches, and he still found 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:42.960 time to appear in theatrical masterpiece Basketball. He had his 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:46.600 own talk show on both NBC and HBO, interviewing guests 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:50.360 like Paul McCartney, Martin Scorsese, Jerry Lewis, and David Letterman. 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:54.040 He's now currently working at MLB TV, focusing solely on 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:57.520 his true passion of baseball, after a somewhat mysterious departure 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:00.720 from NBC, a network he worked at for almost forty years, 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:03.200 but had recently come under fire for on air comments 0:03:03.240 --> 0:03:06.040 that were labeled as political and critical of sports leagues. 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:10.360 There isn't much Bob Costas hasn't done. Except survive a pandemic. 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:13.240 We talk about what he's up to, the importance of 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:15.960 sports for normalcy, and why it's just impossible for him 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:17.760 to keep quiet when he knows there's an elephant in 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:20.840 the room. For this episode, I'm honored to talk to 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:24.239 an idol of mine, sportscaster Bob Costas on the No 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:40.680 Sports Report. How from Bob Costas to accept Press one. Hello, 0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:44.160 Mr Costas, Hello, how are you gentsen? I'm well, Thank 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:45.960 you for doing this. I'm so excited to have you on. 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:48.720 Thanks very much. Well, I want to start off by 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:51.680 asking you where you're quarantined at and with who and 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:54.560 how have you been doing? Well? We're doing fine. My 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:58.280 wife and I are in southern California, in Orange County, 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:00.960 where we have a home. Most of the year we're 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:03.360 in New York, but we happen to be here when 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:06.920 COVID nineteen reached critical mass, so it was best to 0:04:07.000 --> 0:04:11.040 just stay here. So we're safe. We're healthy, so too 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:15.040 is my entire family. Miss seeing family and friends in person. 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:18.720 But we're doing fine. Going on two and a half months. Yeah, 0:04:18.800 --> 0:04:21.480 it seems like much longer. For some reason. For the 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.640 past four decades, you've had an assignment basically every day 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:27.440 of your life. I can't see much more than a 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:30.480 week or two that maybe was a vacation. What does 0:04:30.480 --> 0:04:32.440 it feel like to have the entire sports world for 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:35.680 you come to a halt. Well, not as odd as 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:39.919 people might assume. I'd already elected to take her off 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:42.440 and leave some of the assignments that I've had for 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:45.400 a very long time. So actually, at this time of 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:49.560 the year, I would have been doing baseball ordinarily for MLBM, 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:52.200 and that would mean one game a week, but that 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:55.400 isn't happening at all now. And if they resume, I 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.080 don't know whether we would do the games virtually from 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:00.599 a studio or even from home watching on a monitor. 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:05.000 I'm not sure what the circumstances would be. But luckily, 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:08.480 one of the few upsides of this situation is that 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:11.279 we have the modern technology. We have Skype, we have Zoom, 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:14.479 we have FaceTime and other modalities that we can use 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:17.839 uh to put programs on. So I've been able to 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:21.800 be on the air on MLB, N on CNN, on MSNBC, 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:27.119 on ESPN fairly regularly over the last month to six weeks. Well, 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:29.800 how have you been passing the time outside of sports, 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:32.240 not able to go into the wild or anything like that, 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:34.560 like other than the MLB work. What have you done, 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:37.159 you know, just like us regular Joe's Yeah, And as 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:40.239 people would imagine, I like to go into the wild 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:46.359 under normal circumstances, deep sea diving, bungee jumping, hunting wild 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:49.599 boar with a crossbow. That's pretty much a costUS kind 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:54.600 of thing to do. So I'm deprived of that pasttime. Actually, 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:57.000 what I've done, there's always we all have books on 0:05:57.040 --> 0:05:59.200 the show that we've been meaning to read. Those books 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:02.120 come down from the ol. We've got a stash of 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:06.360 old movies to watch. I have capta into some of 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:09.760 the archival stuff that the various networks are showing. So 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:12.760 I've watched Old Masters on CBS, and Old World Series 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:14.640 on n O b N, and old NBA Finals on 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.440 NBA TV, and I'm sure all sports fans have done 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:19.880 at least a bit of that. As a matter of fact, 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:24.200 this weekend on MLB N there's a Derek Jeter Parathon 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:30.080 which I host, showing the entire broadcast of thirteen different 0:06:30.600 --> 0:06:35.960 milestone Derek Jeter games, The Flip Play, the Mr November Homer, 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:38.480 his three thousand face hit, a game in which he 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:40.920 went five for five, his walk off hit and his 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:44.000 last at bad at Yankee Stadium, the play where the 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:46.320 kid reaches over in right field and he gets a 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:49.279 home run out of it. Out of those thirteen games, 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:51.600 I happen to have called four of them, so I'm 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:54.560 connected to those more than the other nine. But in 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:56.880 each case I introduced them and then have something to 0:06:56.920 --> 0:06:59.719 say about the game on the back end. But we 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:03.279 will show the entire broadcast as it happened on whatever 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:05.320 network showed it. Yeah. I mean that that is the 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:07.480 thing that people have sort of connected with, and we 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:09.880 saw it with the Last Dances, that people are feending 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:13.840 for sports and they will watch the watch replays. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:15.400 I mean the Last Dance I think would have been 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:17.840 a big hit no matter what, even had it run 0:07:18.520 --> 0:07:22.280 as scheduled during the NBA Finals in June, which they expected, 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:24.200 of course would be the case. I think it would 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:27.120 have had an impact no matter what. But now, especially 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:31.280 so because it's original programming, and it was compelling original programming, 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:34.720 so people um really gravitated toward it. Well, I wanted 0:07:34.760 --> 0:07:36.520 to ask you because you obviously had a front row 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:39.080 seat for you know, sports in general since the eighties, 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:41.520 and I guess I never truly realized how much society 0:07:41.680 --> 0:07:45.040 like looks to sports for normalcy. It's almost like everyone 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:47.680 right now is just waiting for the basketball playoffs, are, 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:49.960 like you said, the baseball season, to look at each 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:52.320 other and say, see, it's safe out there. Why why 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:54.600 is it that that everyone is looking to sports to 0:07:54.680 --> 0:07:57.120 tell us that. Well, I think you said it, Gentsen. 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:00.880 It's part of what is for many people the normal 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:04.720 rhythm of their lives. The biggest games, the biggest events 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:07.600 of course stand out, but just the idea, whether you're 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:11.200 paying close attention or not. But there's a baseball game, 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:15.040 especially baseball, because baseball plays every day. Your team plays 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:20.320 virtually every day from spring through early fall. So the 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:23.040 idea that the ball games on on the radio on television, 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:25.200 you're half paying attention to it, half not. Then when 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:28.120 the biggest games come, you're really bearing down on it 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:31.320 um And the same thing is true. You don't have 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:33.760 to watch every play of a football game or basketball 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:36.720 game or hockey game, but you know it's there and 0:08:36.760 --> 0:08:40.160 the highlights on Sports Center or reading about it in 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:43.520 the paper or on the internet. That's part of people's lives, 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:47.280 and when that's taken away, it's just one more example 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:51.600 of what feels normal that isn't there anymore. For the 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:54.280 time games, I'm really honored to talk to you today 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:56.520 because you've been an idol for me with how much 0:08:56.520 --> 0:08:58.800 in your career you've decided to speak your mind and 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:01.080 if you feel something is wrong, to say it, and 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:03.360 sometimes you've paid a price for it with your work. 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.400 And we're hearing more and more about these athletes like 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:08.680 Dame Lillard and Blake Snell, guys who are raising concerns 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:12.320 about returning to sports. Do you see players having a 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.280 responsibility right now to the game if if they're being 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:18.400 asked to sort of in other words, be guinea pigs 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.880 for what's been going on, Well, they have a responsibility 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:24.560 in a broad sense in these times and other times 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:29.560 they have a responsibility to the game, the institution, uh 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:32.600 to promoting the game. In some sense, some players are 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:35.360 better situated to be able to do it than others, 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:37.920 but they all have some responsibility to the game, and 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:41.640 they all should understand that they have an interest in 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:45.040 the business doing well. But that doesn't mean that automatically 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:47.439 you make yourself a guinea pig. There are a lot 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:50.560 of vagaries here, a lot of needles to be threaded, 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:53.439 um or is it thread a lot of needles to 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:56.880 pa to pass? It's a fasting fabric. Yes, yeah, there 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.920 there you go. And and so it's right for the 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:05.439 players and their representatives to raise legitimate questions. If you're 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:10.040 talking about NASCAR or golf or tennis, non team sports, 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:12.640 it's easy to see how they could social distance and 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:16.320 as long as they're careful and responsible, come back more 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.560 readily than team sports. So it isn't just a matter 0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:22.319 of compensation or what the playoff format is going to 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.320 be in the case of the NHL or the NBA, 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:29.560 it's a matter of do we feel confident that it 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:32.960 makes sense, because sure we have a responsibility to the game. 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:36.840 Sure we have a responsibility to our employers, the teams, 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:39.880 but we also got a responsibility your families and our 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:43.120 loved ones and other people around us. So we've got 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:45.120 to be as a group, we've got to be assured 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:47.760 that this makes sense before we go forward. And we're 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:50.520 talking in a week when there's major civil unrest in 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:54.520 Minnesota regarding racial tension. I guess my question to you 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:57.640 is why was being heard as a sports reporter so 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:00.320 important to you? As you know, a journy to listen 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.760 a broader sense. But why did you always want to 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.120 be heard with what you were thinking? I thought it 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:09.559 was a matter of a responsibility to the audience. UH. 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.120 I wanted to respect their intelligence. A lot of this 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:15.080 stuff is right out in front of them. It wasn't 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:18.120 so much that I was doing investigative reporting. That wasn't 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:21.640 my role, and we didn't have the resources and wherewithal 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:25.440 to do that at NBC Sports. Neither do the other networks. 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:29.800 ESPN does. They've got a different situation. But this isn't 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:33.720 front Line on TBS, this isn't Nightline. But I thought 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:38.640 that an element of journalism and commentary UH done judiciously 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:41.840 at the right time. I thought an element of that 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:45.440 should be part of the presentation, and that people might 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:48.000 have expected because of the various roles I had played, 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:51.679 mostly in sports, but sometimes outside sports, that people might 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:56.760 have expected something different from me than they would from others. 0:11:56.840 --> 0:12:00.720 And I just could not ignore elephants in the room. 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:05.800 You're doing an Olympics from Sochi, Russia or Beijing, China. 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:11.559 It's impossible not to acknowledge that these are authoritarian states. 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:18.640 It's impossible not to acknowledge when political differences and and 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:24.840 long simmering national and ethnic resentments overlapped into the Olympics. 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:29.240 No matter how wonderful the Olympics may be, overall or 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:31.240 more of it should just be about the joy of 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:34.600 the competition and the drama and the human emotion. But 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:37.760 anyone who thinks that the Olympics have ever been free 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:40.600 of politics might as well be living on another planet. 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:44.160 And there have been times, not a lot, but enough 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:46.760 to take note of. There have been times when sports 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:52.440 was where societal issues have played out, often as regards race. 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:55.679 So those who say stick to sports never heard of 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:59.000 Jack Johnson. They never heard of Joe Lewis and the 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:02.800 way he was positions so that white Amarica could feel 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:05.680 more comfortable with it. They never heard of Jackie Robinson 0:13:06.040 --> 0:13:10.040 or Arthur Ash or Billy Jane King or Tommy Smith 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:14.120 and John Carlos. They never heard of CTE in football, 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:18.080 steroids and baseball. They never heard of uh states and 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:25.280 municipalities um purposing tax dollars for stadiums and other benefits 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:26.960 for teams, which may or may not be the right 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:30.240 thing to do, but certainly should be discussed. I guess 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:32.080 they never heard of any of that, and they just 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:35.040 want to hear here's the groundball to short stuff. Well 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:37.560 that's the case. They got the wrong guy. And me, well, 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.440 I genuinely from my heart, hope there are more of 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:42.840 you when we return back to the field after this, 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:45.000 because I think it's it's extremely important with what we're 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:46.880 facing right now, and thank you, and with the Major 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:49.120 League Baseball that leads us directly into what you do 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:51.240 now at the network, and Baseball seems to be inching 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:54.440 closer and closer. There are major hurdles still on the 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:57.120 players union side, as you know. Do you think no 0:13:57.160 --> 0:13:59.320 matter what happens here though, even if they come to 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:03.000 a conclusion this is an ASTERIX season, of course it is. 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:05.840 Even if everything was fine, even if there were no 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:09.360 concerns everyone believed they had buttoned up in terms of 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:12.040 the health and safety aspect, even if there were no 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.360 financial issues. It has to be because you're playing at 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:19.440 most half a season, you're playing it under odd conditions. 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:23.160 People have hit four hundred over the course of eighty games, 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:26.080 whether it was overlapping one season to the next, that 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:30.040 that's happened since Ted Williams, but no one has done 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:32.400 it for a full season, and if someone happens to 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:35.440 do it, that's just one example. Happens to do it now, 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.560 that would have an asterisk next to it, and a 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:41.600 championship would certainly have an asterisk next to it. You 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:44.880 have a new playoff format, and teams that get into 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:47.640 the playoffs prior to this have always been vetted for 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:51.560 a full season, or as in the case of when 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:54.800 they missed some games because of the labor stoppage, or 0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:58.800 even where I think eighteen games were locked off the 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:01.200 beginning of the season before they finally got them back 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:04.720 on the field, those were always close to full seasons. 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:09.120 They didn't play the full one fifty four in because 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:12.920 of the flu pandemic, but they played enough of the 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:15.920 season for the championship to be legitimate, and nothing's ever 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:18.280 been close to this. So I think people will have 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:20.680 an asterisk in their minds after it, even if the 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:23.600 record book doesn't officially note it that way. But they'll 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:26.760 also be understanding. If it happens because of a labor 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:30.080 and money squabble, they won't be understanding. But if they're 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:32.400 only able to play. However, many games that they're able 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:35.320 to play and play them under the altered circumstances made 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:39.120 necessary by this unique set of conditions. I think people 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.440 will be happy to have sports back in some way, 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:43.960 and they'll be understanding of the differences, and they'll put 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:46.600 it in the category of a one off. Sure, And 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:49.400 and the Olympics obviously decided to do something else. When 0:15:49.400 --> 0:15:51.360 it comes to the Olympics. There's no host or analyst 0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:52.960 or reporter or any of those roles you've played for 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:55.040 the games that come to mind more than you. For Americans, 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:59.240 it survived terrorist attacks, it survived Boycott's Do you still 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:03.480 fear this gathering even? I mean, in the past you've 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:05.480 sort of hinted to the idea of what a Petrie 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:08.720 dish it is. Anyway, now you're adding on a pandemic 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:12.440 that we might not yet have a cure for. Yeah, 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:14.960 had they gone ahead, and I didn't think there was 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:17.240 ever much of a chance, and they would. But had 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:21.400 they gone ahead this summer, of all the sports that 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:24.560 should not have returned, or all the events, the Olympics 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:26.840 were at the top of that list, because you would 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:30.880 have brought competitors from virtually every country on the globe 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:35.120 into one place from Pete together to live close to 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:38.160 one another in the Olympic village. Plus everybody on their 0:16:38.240 --> 0:16:42.000 delegations in theory, the spectators, in theory, the media, and 0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:45.520 then go back. There are one hundred plus respect two 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:49.479 hundred plus in the case of the Summer Olympics respective 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:53.240 countries more than ten thousand athletes. Um, you don't have 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:56.400 to be an epidemiologist to realize that that would be 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:59.880 a true Petrie dish for the thing exploding once again 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.040 when we look one when they hope to be able 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:06.080 to hold it. Tokyo, I'm not Dr Fauci, I'm not 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:09.639 an expert. As he has said about this and other circumstances. 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:14.960 We don't make the timetable, the virus timetable. So uh, 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:17.199 if they can responsibly do it a little more than 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:19.560 a year from now, great, but we gotta wait and 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:28.480 see after this more with broadcast legend Bob Costas. Right now, 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:32.600 Feeding America is working tirelessly to ensure our most vulnerable populations, 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:35.640 like students who are out of school, the elderly individuals 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:38.600 whose jobs are impacted, and low income families continue to 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:41.439 have access to food and other needed resources during the 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:44.840 COVID nineteen pandemic. The Feeding America Food Bank Network is 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:47.800 committed to serving communities and people facing hunger in America, 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:50.720 and their greatest need is donations and support of local 0:17:50.760 --> 0:17:53.840 food banks. This podcast is committed to donating a portion 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:56.479 of the proceeds from the show to Feeding America and 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:58.159 we hope that you can join us in this effort 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:00.840 to find out how you can help Eating America dot 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:10.560 org backslash COVID nineteen. Now here's the rest of my 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:14.920 chat with American Treasure Bob Costas. You have been all 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:17.960 over the place doing some you know, last dance press 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:21.000 here and there. You obviously were the voice for Michael 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:23.119 Jordan and many of his big games. I wanted to 0:18:23.119 --> 0:18:25.159 know what you thought of this past two weeks of 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:27.480 some former teammates coming out and sort of starting to 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:31.200 question the series narrative and what Jordan's kind of expressed 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:33.360 and who he really was. I mean, you were there, 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:35.000 what what do you think of of some of these 0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:38.919 new conflicting reports. Well, I was there for all the 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:42.200 games and for some of the interviews surrounding the games, 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:44.640 but I wasn't there day to day. I wasn't in Chicago, 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:47.640 like the reporters who covered the team day to day 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:51.160 at the practices and privy to all of that sort 0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:53.080 of stuff, and I don't I don't think any one 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.119 reporter was privy to all of it. A lot of 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:59.159 it happened in their personal interactions. So Horace Grant can 0:18:59.200 --> 0:19:02.000 have his take, Scotty Pippen can have his take, and 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:05.600 they're entitled to it. I thought that the the series 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:09.320 did a very good job with the abundant material they had. 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:15.159 Nothing is definitive nothing. Even the best of ken Burns 0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:19.600 doesn't have every voice, every perspective on whatever subject he's covered. 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:23.080 But when you look at the Last Dance, you realize 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:26.000 that this is an excellent piece of work. It had 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:28.320 elements of journalism in history, but mostly it was just 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:32.359 it was a wonderful bit of storytelling. And when something 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:37.280 that is that widely seen, obviously the principles those involved 0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:39.600 are going to have an interest in how they're perceived, 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:43.080 and they have every right. Even though the Carsman, for example, 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:45.120 was interviewed for the Last Dance, but he has every 0:19:45.200 --> 0:19:49.960 right to try to further his perspective or clarify whatever 0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:52.199 he thinks has to be clarified in the aftermath, you 0:19:52.200 --> 0:19:54.320 said you've been watching some of the old broadcasts in 0:19:54.359 --> 0:19:56.760 the past during pandemic. I want to know. You've been 0:19:56.800 --> 0:19:59.000 with so many incredible voices in the booth over the years, 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:02.280 as a partner, as a team. Now that you have revisited, 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:04.960 do you feel like there's anyone that you jelled with 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:08.800 the most. I was very fortunate. I jelled with almost 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:12.200 all my partners. A Madrashad and I didn't call games together, 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:14.720 but we worked in the studio on football. He was 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:18.359 the guy on the sidelines and a very good sideline reporter, underrated. 0:20:18.480 --> 0:20:20.439 When I was doing the basketball games, A mod and 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:24.840 I always jelled personally and professionally. I got Bob Eucher 0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:26.760 from the very start. I knew how to set him up. 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:28.720 I knew how to get out of his way. Doug 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:31.800 Collins was a wonderful basketball analyst, in my opinion, the 0:20:31.840 --> 0:20:35.520 best on the NBA ever. And Doug and I, you know, 0:20:35.640 --> 0:20:38.439 fell right in to a rhythm. And I'm happy to 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:41.199 say it, almost everybody. I worked with Tony Kubec in 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:43.600 the eighties on the baseball Game of the Week. All 0:20:43.600 --> 0:20:46.959 of the people I've mentioned and more remain close friends 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:49.639 and I remain in contact with all of them, So 0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:51.119 that tells you what you what you need to know. 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:53.360 But I wouldn't put anybody at the at the top 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:55.680 of the list because it would slight too many others. 0:20:56.040 --> 0:20:58.159 A mod and you remind me of of some great 0:20:58.240 --> 0:21:01.080 NBA games, And as we wrap up, there's no baseball 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:03.080 historian that means more to me than you. Thank you. 0:21:03.160 --> 0:21:06.120 Do you think the Astros got the right punishment? What what? 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:07.800 What would have what would have been your call? And 0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:10.760 also is this break going to help them? I think 0:21:10.800 --> 0:21:13.520 the break will help them because other things have taken 0:21:13.600 --> 0:21:16.639 center stage and everything else is put into a different 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:19.879 perspective in terms of how much importance we give it. 0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:21.600 And they're not going to be any fans of the stand. 0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:23.600 So when the Astros, in theory play a road game, 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:26.439 nobody is going to be booing them. They'll get around 0:21:26.440 --> 0:21:30.119 to it. They'll still boot them in and beyond. But 0:21:30.359 --> 0:21:33.560 time tends to to take some of the edge off 0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:36.080