Episode 14: Chris Berman

On the fourteenth episode of “Great Dane Nation,” Morten is joined by his Pro Football Hall of Fame brother and broadcasting legend Chris Berman of ESPN (05:18 – 47:41). But first, he checks in with TommyFreezePops (Tom Carroll) to talk about the weekend that was in the NFL. Morten was incredibly impressed by a veteran-savvy move on Monday afternoon involving a k-ball, Alex Smith, and a maintenance timeout – it all makes sense after Morten breaks it down! (01:19)We then move to our interview with Chris, where he discusses a wide array of topics: his background in broadcasting, and what led him to being one of the first on-air talents at ESPN (07:19); why he didn’t audition, but rather told the ESPN executives to just turn on the local sports broadcast that weekend (11:31); the bare-bones nature of the ESPN studios in its infancy (13:26); how he got the nickname “Boomer” (17:47); how Boomer popularizing Morten’s nickname “The Great Dane” changed his status around the league (19:56); one of Boomer’s favorite Morten-stories from his playing days (20:58); how Morten found out he had been drafted by the New Orleans Saints by watching Chris Berman on ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft (22:38); why he had such good chemistry with his longtime TV-partner Tom Jackson, and why Jackson was selected as Boomer’s righthand-man all those years ago (24:29); the similarities between amazing musicians and professional athletes, and how music connects different types of people in a way that sports can’t (29:48); some of the famous people Boomer has been able to rub elbows with as a result of his status as a Hall of Fame broadcaster (32:29); the amazing start Patrick Mahomes has gotten off to in his NFL career (34:41); why the league is being dominated by veteran quarterbacks (37:43); why he thinks Tom Brady and Bill Belichick split up (39:32); and how honored he is to be a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (42:40).Then, TommyFreezePops is joined by Kevin Rogers for his weekly check-in with the experts from VegasInsider.com (49:42 – 55:24). The guys take a look at the Cardinals-Giants match-up, and how these two teams heading in opposite directions might make you think twice about chalk (51:02). Plus, a breakdown of Dalvin Cook and the Minnesota Vikings heading to Tampa Bay to take on Tom Brady and the Buccaneers (52:14), and the defending Super Bowl champions heading back to the stadium where they won their Lombardi Trophy in February as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Miami Dolphins (53:01).Finally, we close things out with Morten’s “Game Winner” – a weekly segment where Morten monologues his biggest takeaway of the week. This week, he talks about Chris Berman, and why he’s a pioneer in every sense of the word (55:24).