UConn James Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 (No, not that George Michael! ) George Michael's Calls Sports Machine Quits For a while in the late 80s-early 90s, it was the only place to get Bills highlights of any quantity or quality on Sunday night.... So I would stay up until 12:30 a.m. even with school the next day. He was the first to have a show consisting entirely of highlights, followed by the cloying E$PN. Well, the end of an era is tonight. Here's to you, George Michael (again, not that George Michael!). And here's to you, Sports Machine --- may they recycle your gears, pixels and red replay button to something just as enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 The end of an era. I'm surprised he made it this long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I agree...I used to watch that long before ESPN. I can't believe it was still on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 left feet Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 he was on the don and mike show about a month ago, sad how they screwed him and made him can his own wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 he was on the don and mike show about a month ago, sad how they screwed him and made him can his own wife. What happened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 he was on the don and mike show about a month ago, sad how they screwed him and made him can his own wife. he was certainly a pioneer in sports television...he's been doing this for 27 years. That being said, I don't think anybody's going to miss him. He's not the easiest guy to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 left feet Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 What happened? his wife co-wrote the show and the network (cbs i think?) forced him to fire members of his staff, including his wife. he stepped down shortly there after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 That was the only way I'd get to see highlights of most games on Sunday nights when I lived at home, since my parents didn't have cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 his wife co-wrote the show and the network (cbs i think?) forced him to fire members of his staff, including his wife. he stepped down shortly there after. that's not exactly what happened. NBC didn't come out and say you must fire your wife. Basically, it was an expensive show that NBC didn't want to pay for anymore. They had a price they were willing to pay for the show and it was drastically lower. To get to the number he'd have to cut 70% of his 22 person staff. Instead of doing so he just decided to call it quits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 left feet Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 that's not exactly what happened. NBC didn't come out and say you must fire your wife. Basically, it was an expensive show that NBC didn't want to pay for anymore. They had a price they were willing to pay for the show and it was drastically lower. To get to the number he'd have to cut 70% of his 22 person staff. Instead of doing so he just decided to call it quits. thx for clearing that up, that interview was a while ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluenews Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 To get to the number he'd have to cut 70% of his 22 person staff. sounds about right. I don't have a problem with that. Never really watched the show. I'll miss it, like I'll miss Chris Berman and Joe Theismann.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 that's not exactly what happened. NBC didn't come out and say you must fire your wife. Basically, it was an expensive show that NBC didn't want to pay for anymore. They had a price they were willing to pay for the show and it was drastically lower. To get to the number he'd have to cut 70% of his 22 person staff. Instead of doing so he just decided to call it quits. Not to get to technical, but that is not what happened either. The local NBC station where George has been the sports anchor for 30 yrs WRC in DC) was the place that was doing the cutbacks, and it was not only in the sports department, in all areas of the news operations. So,George left his nightly gig at WRC, however he still does a redskins and Bullets show for them on the weekends. Now the Sports Machine was just not a relevenat show anymore, and would have went away wether he left WRC or not. But still remeber it in the early days when it was a pioneer. George was okay as a nightly anchor, but always prefered another guy in DC by the name of Glenn Brenner(or). Funniest guy in sports till this day, and puts the schtick that guys do at ESPN to shame. He died very young, but was great Any body else from DC remember him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Flanders Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 another guy in DC by the name of Glenn Brenner(or). Funniest guy in sports till this day, and puts the schtick that guys do at ESPN to shame. He died very young, but was great Any body else from DC remember him? I remember him well...he was running a marathon (USMC?) collapsed, fell into a coma, and never recovered. The best part about Brenner was that he was never full of himself, unlike George Michael. Yes, Michael was a pioneer, pushed for more air time for sports, blah, blah, blah. But he was so driven by ego, he became sickening. Ch. 4 had a weekend sports anchor, Darrian Chapman, who was a good Buffalo guy. Downed several Blues with him at Grevey's. Remember watching the 1995 division clincher vs. Miami with him at Grevey's. He soon left for better pastures in Chicago, and also died of at a young age, collapsing while playing pick-up hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Not to get to technical, but that is not what happened either. The local NBC station where George has been the sports anchor for 30 yrs WRC in DC) was the place that was doing the cutbacks, and it was not only in the sports department, in all areas of the news operations. So,George left his nightly gig at WRC, however he still does a redskins and Bullets show for them on the weekends. Now the Sports Machine was just not a relevenat show anymore, and would have went away wether he left WRC or not. But still remeber it in the early days when it was a pioneer. George was okay as a nightly anchor, but always prefered another guy in DC by the name of Glenn Brenner(or). Funniest guy in sports till this day, and puts the schtick that guys do at ESPN to shame. He died very young, but was great Any body else from DC remember him? I don't know what I said that's incorrect. What are you saying I'm incorrect about? Believe me, I know the situation well. WRC informed michael the show budget would be (X) and to get to the figure 75% of his staff would need to be cut. He decided to walk away rather than accept those conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I was always a fan of the sportsmachine. Where have you gone George Michael? Now we are stuck with Stuart Scott and Kenny Mayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostradamus Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I was always a fan of the sportsmachine. Where have you gone George Michael? Now we are stuck with Stuart Scott and Kenny Mayne BOO YA!! While Michaels shows lacked the dry and condescending wit that is so embedded in sports journalism, he never tried to be someone he wasn't. Not to get political, but Stuart Scott is representative of everything wrong with the concept of affirmative action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneonta Buffalo Fan Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Sounds like this guy was a great sports caster. I don't know who he is exactly but it seems a lot of you like him. I never heard of Sports Machine. I don't think it's a channel you can get in the Albany area. My guess it that you can only see in around the Buffalo/Syracuse area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Sounds like this guy was a great sports caster. I don't know who he is exactly but it seems a lot of you like him.I never heard of Sports Machine. I don't think it's a channel you can get in the Albany area. My guess it that you can only see in around the Buffalo/Syracuse area. I used to watch him like 10yrs ago. I liked him. Didnt know he was still on. It is funny but in alot of ways the power of ESPN has almost has ruined the integrity of sports reporting. I used to love ESPN when I was in College back in the mid 90s, now I have to say I still watch it but almost every night but I dont enjoy it like I used to. The stuff they are trying to do in football is just mind boggling. I mean come on, putting that bald headed mother f*cker Tony Kornball to do the games is a head scratcher. & Tirico has the personality of a mule eating sh*t. I dont get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I never heard of Sports Machine. I don't think it's a channel you can get in the Albany area. My guess it that you can only see in around the Buffalo/Syracuse area. It's not a channel, it's a syndicated show. TV stations across the nation could choose to buy it or not. Here's an article about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I remember him well...he was running a marathon (USMC?) collapsed, fell into a coma, and never recovered. The best part about Brenner was that he was never full of himself, unlike George Michael. Yes, Michael was a pioneer, pushed for more air time for sports, blah, blah, blah. But he was so driven by ego, he became sickening. Ch. 4 had a weekend sports anchor, Darrian Chapman, who was a good Buffalo guy. Downed several Blues with him at Grevey's. Remember watching the 1995 division clincher vs. Miami with him at Grevey's. He soon left for better pastures in Chicago, and also died of at a young age, collapsing while playing pick-up hockey. Forgot about Darrian, liked him alot. he actually showed hockey back in the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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