George Michael, after many, many years, has left NBC-4 — his final broadcast as sports anchor on NBC-4 was Thursday’s 11 PM news (the last episode of his syndicated The Sports Machine airs March 25).
He is a polarizing figure in the sports world. Some will miss him; he was undeniably a sports broadcasting pioneer in the early 1980s, mixing gimmicks and entertainment into his sports coverage. ESPN clearly took cues from Michael in its early days as the station developed its identity. Steve Levy, currently a SportsCenter anchor, even admits stealing footage from Michael when Levy worked at SUNY Oswego.
Others feel he overstayed his welcome and should have retired long, long ago — his increasingly self-congratulatory and cantankerous attitude wore on many people’s nerves, as did his glad-handing, back-slapping interviews with Redskins coaches and the like. OFB is firmly in the latter camp.
However, let us take a brief but fond look back at the good ol’ days. In 1984, George Michael’s Sports Final (Sports Machine precursor) covered the NHL Playoffs. This clip has everything: classic Capitals footage, cheesy props, a playoff sweep of the Flyers, and Olivia Newton-John.
Here, The Great One reminisces — again, though, he’s looking back fondly on the early 80s . . .
Sadly, as Michael became a sports broadcasting “personality,” he increasingly treated the NHL as red-headed stepchildren. Too often his hockey coverage — on both NBC and his own show — was a mention of the score and perhaps a brief highlight clip. Coverage of high school sports, boxing, and rodeo got more air time than hockey.
Rumors that the equestrian-loving broadcaster decided to retire so he could mourn Barbaro full time appear to be unfounded.
In truth, it seems that his decision to leave his post was born of loyalty to his staff, the victims of layoffs at the station. Michael told the Washington Post, “If I have to lay somebody off . . . I have to take the first bullet. It’s that simple.” In this regard, we salute him (a lesson many CEOs could take to heart). Not that Michael is hurting for money, of course — if one can afford a half-page ad in the Washington Post saluting one’s own career, one is not a pauper — but it was the right thing to do.
Regardless of his financial situation: as fans of hockey and of quality sports broadcasting, we will not miss him.
OFB hopes that Lindsay Czarniak, Michael’s Sports Machine co-host and NBC-4 anchor/reporter, embraces hockey more than her predecessor did. Regardless, she is certainly a bit easier on the eyes:
Lest readers accuse OFB of being age discriminators, Michael was never exactly of model-quality. In fact, some would say he has a face for radio; he may also be a Vulcan:
Those who remember Michael fondly from his early career may look on his departure as the end of an era. But to those who have watched the past decade of his increasingly poor broadcasting, that era ended a long time ago.
But it’s not over… as Michael told WJFK-FM’s Don and Mike on Thursday, “If you’ve got the money, I’ve got the time.” Those inspiring words accompanied his announcement that he will begin covering NASCAR for Fox Sports.
So his career follows a Strom Thurmond-like trajectory — it just doesn’t end. But NASCAR can have him, and hockey fans are well rid of him. George Michael isn’t really retiring; we’re just glad that Skeletor will no longer be the face of DC sports.
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And it’s surprising about his Caps coverage, because he has season tickets. (Or at least he claims to.) He was the Islanders play-by-play guy and was supposed to call the 1980 Olympic hockey games…until ABC went with Al Michaels instead.
He was the play-by-play guy on WDCA for the Caps, too, for a short time in the early 80s shortly after his arrival. I don’t particularly remember his play calling, but he could not have been worse than the years we got to suffer with Jeff Rimmer.
George’s reports and highlights use to be the best, but lately I had grown weary of his hockey-less coverage and his insistance on zooming in on a replay, slowing it down, and adding sound effects.
Actually, he looks more like a Romulan than a Vulcan.
(Hey, a Star Trek joke! Yeah, I’m a REAL hit with the ladies!)
I hope they keep Czarniak..of course she is pretty but she appears to be good off the cuff and funny.
I met Lindsay once, (incidentally, when she bought a retirement gift for George) and when I chided her for NBC’s lack of Caps coverage, she promised it would get better, as she claims to be a rather big fan of the sport.
I was at a game a few weeks ago and Czarniak and a few of her friends were sitting down the row cheering. She was not working that night.
So even if not like Darrian from years ago, Lindsay at least enjoys going to games of her own accord.
As for George, there was a definite decline in the quality of his coverage (and in his willingness to make sure he got names right), but wasn’t he heavily involved in the “Save The Caps” movement all those years ago too?
Absolutely, good call Grooven, and long-time Caps fans should appreciate Michael’s efforts. But that campaign was in 1982-83. Again, an example of Michael’s former hockey devotion that dwindled to nothingness in the ensuing decades.
It is the end of an era but maybe the beginning of a new one.
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