Friday, June 26, 2015

Maverick Speaker Series: Bob Costas


The University of Texas at Arlington hosted their final Maverick Speaker back in May - Bob Costas. He proved to be quite charming and funny with lots of sport stories to tell. After thirty years in the business, he's been witness to a lot of changes in the games, the characters, and the media presentation.

The talk was moderated by Charlotte Jones Anderson. She's the Executive VP of the Dallas Cowboys, and yes, Jerry Jones's daughter. Sharp lady with good questions. She and Costas knew each other and had an easy dialogue.

His favorite sport is baseball, thanks to fond memories of the game with his father. He enjoys Olympic coverage, though not his pink eye experience in Russia.  Favorite location was Barcelona. Favorite moment was Muhammad Ali as a torch lighter.

Most bizarre moment was the OJ Simpson Bronco chase. Costas was covering basketball playoffs. He was also personal friends with OJ. The whole coverage was surreal for him. After OJ was in jail, Costas did visit him with his lawyer (Robert Kardashian - yes, father of the K mess). That story was darn fascinating.

All in all, we enjoyed the 1-1/2 hours with Bob. His take on all of the instant coverage - there still needs to be network coverage and focus. Facts not fiction.  Sports unites the world.

And Bob Costas is quite short in person.

9 comments:

  1. A lot of people don't like Bob Costas. I do not share their animus...by the way, 'animus' is the Penwasser 'Word of the Month' for June. For July? 'Anathema.'
    But, I digress...
    He seems like a talented sort of feller and I would like to meet him.
    Incidentally, I am quite short in person, as well. I'm also quite short in the imagination, too. So, I have that going for me.
    Which is nice.

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    1. short is fine, but you always imagine TV folk as bigger than life. I think it was exceptionally notable because Charlotte Jones was quite tall and also added heels. She towered over him. I would imagine his vanity was struck a teensy blow.

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  2. 'Word of the Month.'
    Hmmmm....that gives me an idea for a post.
    Remember, if you see it, you can tell your friends that you first saw mention of it on your blog.
    Then your friends will ask, "Okay. But who the hell is Al Penwasser?"

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    1. Al who? Maybe I'll steal this Word of the Month idea......it sounds like good filler

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    2. That's EXACTLY what I thought! But, I already had a post with "Bones: The Motion Picture." Maybe next week...
      Don't worry. I'll give you credit.

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  3. That sounds like an entertaining event. Costas has, no doubt, seen and experienced a lot in the sports world, but it's especially cool that he's a good enough speaker to talk about his experiences in an interesting way.

    Happy weekend, kiddo. Stay cool! (If ya can.)

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  4. It must have been entertaining seeing Bob Costas! He was also great on Arli$$.

    Julie

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  5. That sounds like an enjoyable event. The OJ part...oh my. That must have been very difficult for a friend.

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  6. He looks short on television.
    I imagine it was fascinating with all the stories he told. I remember the OJ Bronco chase - it was surreal to watch.

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