Brent Musburger's last call: Longtime broadcaster says so long to viewers
Brent Musburger got an extra five minutes behind the microphone for ESPN on Tuesday. No doubt he appreciated every extra second.
The finality of the night was evident in the legendary broadcaster's voice during the closing minutes of Kentucky's 90-81 overtime victory over Georgia in Lexington. There was almost a somber vibe at times as Musburger and analyst Jay Bilas described the action late in the second half.
After the final horn, Musburger got an on-air handshake and a thank you from Kentucky coach John Calipari. Then it was Bilas' turn to thank Musburger for his service to the sports TV industry, and to introduce a short video montage of Musburger's most memorable calls. The video highlighted Musburger's versatility: football (pro and college, of course), basketball (same), baseball and even NASCAR and horse racing.
The video ended with a younger Musburger saying, "I'll see you down the road." Like the legend he is, Brent used that quote to segue into his farewell address.
Musburger, 77, moves on to a gaming-centric radio venture in Las Vegas (and yes, he mentioned the point spread at least once during the game; he told everyone Georgia was a 16-point underdog).
He announced in late January that this game would be his last. It was an oddly timed statement considering it came in the middle of the college basketball season; people speculated that maybe ESPN was pushing out Musburger for his comments about Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon during the Sugar Bowl. Musburger later said leaving was his idea.
Brent Musburger's last game: Broadcasting legend signs off from Rupp Arena
Fitting that one of the greats would be gifted with an overtime affair -- and a game that hit the over -- in his final call.
Brent Musburger signed off for the final time on Tuesday night from Rupp Arena during ESPN's broadcast of Georgia at Kentucky. The Wildcats won in comeback fashion, forcing the extra session and ultimately winning 90-81.
Musburger has been a staple of sports broadcasting for nearly 50 years, an iconic piece of CBS Sports broadcasts through the 1970s and 1980s and a recent staple of ABC and ESPN's coverage of college football after making the move in the 1990s.
In that career, he has called Super Bowls, college football national championships, the Indianapolis 500, Doug Flutie's Hail Mary against Miami in 1984, The Masters, college basketball national championships and got the country's football Sunday started as the host of The NFL Today.
Everyone has their personal favorites, but here's our best attempt at compiling the very best Brent Musburger moments.
But before all that, one last time, we got the famous intro.
Musburger had the call for several NBA Finals as a part of CBS Sports' coverage. His call of the insane finish to Game 5 in 1976 (Boston-Phoenix) from Boston is particularly memorable.
But so is this "live phone interview" with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1980. That's Brent, always resourceful and willing to go the extra mile for the people. And is that ... a rotary phone!?!
Brent's final call for CBS (after 22 years with the company) was the 1990 Final Four. After UNLV had put the finishing touches on Duke, Musburger signed off and made his move to ABC.
In 2008, the rest of the ABC broadcast team shamed Brent for not knowing how to pronounce Beyonce during a game between Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
Other great moments in cross-promotion: Brent and Kirk Herbstreit interview Eminem in the booth at Michigan-Notre Dame.
Brent shot his shot early, calling Louisville as a sleeper team on opening weekend in 2016. But he couldn't help himself by packing a motorcycle-related dig at Bobby Petrino into the compliment.
Some of the great individual calls from Brent's time with ABC were compiled in this supercut, starting with plenty of great "You're Looking Live" calls.
The finality of the night was evident in the legendary broadcaster's voice during the closing minutes of Kentucky's 90-81 overtime victory over Georgia in Lexington. There was almost a somber vibe at times as Musburger and analyst Jay Bilas described the action late in the second half.
After the final horn, Musburger got an on-air handshake and a thank you from Kentucky coach John Calipari. Then it was Bilas' turn to thank Musburger for his service to the sports TV industry, and to introduce a short video montage of Musburger's most memorable calls. The video highlighted Musburger's versatility: football (pro and college, of course), basketball (same), baseball and even NASCAR and horse racing.
The video ended with a younger Musburger saying, "I'll see you down the road." Like the legend he is, Brent used that quote to segue into his farewell address.
Musburger, 77, moves on to a gaming-centric radio venture in Las Vegas (and yes, he mentioned the point spread at least once during the game; he told everyone Georgia was a 16-point underdog).
He announced in late January that this game would be his last. It was an oddly timed statement considering it came in the middle of the college basketball season; people speculated that maybe ESPN was pushing out Musburger for his comments about Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon during the Sugar Bowl. Musburger later said leaving was his idea.
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Brent Musburger's last game: Broadcasting legend signs off from Rupp Arena
Fitting that one of the greats would be gifted with an overtime affair -- and a game that hit the over -- in his final call.
Brent Musburger signed off for the final time on Tuesday night from Rupp Arena during ESPN's broadcast of Georgia at Kentucky. The Wildcats won in comeback fashion, forcing the extra session and ultimately winning 90-81.
Musburger has been a staple of sports broadcasting for nearly 50 years, an iconic piece of CBS Sports broadcasts through the 1970s and 1980s and a recent staple of ABC and ESPN's coverage of college football after making the move in the 1990s.
In that career, he has called Super Bowls, college football national championships, the Indianapolis 500, Doug Flutie's Hail Mary against Miami in 1984, The Masters, college basketball national championships and got the country's football Sunday started as the host of The NFL Today.
Everyone has their personal favorites, but here's our best attempt at compiling the very best Brent Musburger moments.
But before all that, one last time, we got the famous intro.
Musburger had the call for several NBA Finals as a part of CBS Sports' coverage. His call of the insane finish to Game 5 in 1976 (Boston-Phoenix) from Boston is particularly memorable.
But so is this "live phone interview" with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1980. That's Brent, always resourceful and willing to go the extra mile for the people. And is that ... a rotary phone!?!
Brent's final call for CBS (after 22 years with the company) was the 1990 Final Four. After UNLV had put the finishing touches on Duke, Musburger signed off and made his move to ABC.
In 2008, the rest of the ABC broadcast team shamed Brent for not knowing how to pronounce Beyonce during a game between Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
Other great moments in cross-promotion: Brent and Kirk Herbstreit interview Eminem in the booth at Michigan-Notre Dame.
Brent shot his shot early, calling Louisville as a sleeper team on opening weekend in 2016. But he couldn't help himself by packing a motorcycle-related dig at Bobby Petrino into the compliment.
Some of the great individual calls from Brent's time with ABC were compiled in this supercut, starting with plenty of great "You're Looking Live" calls.
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