Episode 71: Bob Costas
On the 71st episode of “Great Dane Nation,” Morten is joined by a member of both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame – the legendary sportscaster Bob Costas joins the show for a lengthy conversation on a variety of topics (04:38 – 01:10:50). But first, he checks in with TommyFreezePops (Tom Carroll) for this week’s edition of the “Opening Kick” (01:06 – 03:50). This week, Morten reflects on a special night for the Georgia Bulldogs, winning their first College Football National Championship since 1980.We then move to our interview with Bob Costas, where he discusses a wide range of topics: dealing with a terrible eye infection while hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics (05:24); his perspective on the Antonio Brown story, and why he thinks his problems go way beyond football (06:52); returning to HBO and reviving his old show (10:09); why his biggest professional regret is giving up his late night show “Later” on NBC (12:14); why Adam Vinatieri passing Morten on the all-time scoring list was a good thing for Morten, and the next two kickers to be joining him and Jan in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (15:55); his keys to being a great interviewer (17:16); his favorite interview ever (21:25); why he’d love to interview Barry Bonds, and what he thinks will happen with Bonds and Roger Clemens when it comes to Hall of Fame voting (25:57); why he believes Curt Schilling should be in the Hall of Fame, regardless of his political views (27:53); trying to decide which of the major events he covered throughout his career was his favorite (28:16); how to handle the mammoth that is hosting the Olympics in primetime (30:25); the battle on obscure sports he lost to NBC Sports (35:34); why the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 stand above the rest for him personally (37:18); what makes a tough interview (38:32); his thoughts on MLB Network parting ways with Ken Rosenthal after critical remarks made about Rob Manfred (40:14); his thoughts on the MLB lockout and what he thinks is the biggest problem with the game of baseball right now (41:24); why he does not envy the position NBC is in with the Olympics this year (46:38); his thoughts on the Chiefs, Packers and Buccaneers heading into the NFL Playoffs (49:04); “The Name Game,” featuring John Madden, Al Michaels, Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Dick Enberg and Dick Ebersol (54:46); and why he’d love to sit down for an interview with both Morten and Gary Anderson (01:07:02).Then we move to a special edition of “Morten’s Fast 5,” where our Hall of Famer makes picks for all six games being played this Wild Card Weekend (01:12:11 – 01:21:36). Morten gives his picks for Raiders at Bengals (01:13:02), Patriots at Bills (01:14:35), Eagles at Buccaneers (01:16:09), 49ers at Cowboys (01:17:33), Steelers at Chiefs (01:18:44) and Cardinals at Rams (01:20:03).Finally, we close things out with “Morten’s Game Winner” – a weekly monologue from The Great Dane on his biggest takeaway of the week. This week, Morten talks about Bob Costas and the art of a great interview (01:21:36).