Former ESPN personality Dan Patrick was interviewed by Sports Illustrated media writer Richard Deitsch recently; topics discussed in the interview ranged from how Patrick will handle his final show to how he left CNN in the late 1980s. Deitsch also asked Patrick about his future plans, most notably a future role with NBC.
“SI: But we might see you on NBC?
Patrick: I talked to Dick Ebersol about covering the Olympics. I covered the Olympics in 1988 for CNN, but we were not allowed to cover any sporting events. So I did stories about the Olympics but not the Olympics themselves. We were covering everything from the weather in Calgary to the Mounties. I told Dick I’ve always wanted to cover the Olympics. He said, ‘Do you want to go to Beijing?’ I said, ‘Wow, that was easy.’ He said, ‘I don’t know what you’ll do, but I’ll find a spot for you.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’d like to.’ I have always been fascinated by the ability to sell sports in a way that my wife, Mom or daughters would be attracted to, and that’s the brilliance of what he has done with the Olympics. It’s the one thing I would love to be able to put on my resume. I may get that opportunity. If not these Olympics, maybe the next one.”
If Ebersol and Patrick are already discussing potential roles for the Olympics, it is not hard to imagine that there may be future for Patrick at NBC Sports. What that future would entail is yet to be determined, as NBC only has the rights to two of the four major sports: the National Football League and National Hockey League — the latter of which will likely leave the network after this season. Outside of a potential hosting gig on Football Night in America, where would Patrick fit? Could he work Wimbledon or golf’s U.S. Open? Would he be an Olympics-only personality, like HBO’s Jim Lampley?
No matter what role Patrick takes on, the likelihood is increasing that NBC will be the next destination for the biggest free agent in sports broadcasting.
Link to Sports Illustrated article found via Fang’s Bites.
