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| Michael James Greenberg | |
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| Born | August 6, 1967 New York, New York |
| Show | Mike and Mike in the Morning |
| Station(s) | ESPN Radio |
| Time slot | Monday-Friday 6am-10am EST |
| Show | Duel |
| Station(s) | ABC |
| Time slot | Various |
| Style | Mike and Mike: Sports talk Duel: Game show |
| Country | United States |
Michael James Greenberg (born August 6, 1967 in New York, New York) is a television anchor, television show host, radio host for ESPN and ABC. At ESPN, he hosts the weekday evening, most often Monday, SportsCenter and ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning show with Mike Golic. At sister network ABC, he is the host of the former quiz show Duel.
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Early career
In 1985, he graduated from Stuyvesant High School. In 1989, Greenberg graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and started work as a sports anchor and reporter at WMAQ-AM in Chicago. He left WMAQ in 1992 to work for WSCR-Radio as a reporter (covering events such as the World Series and the Super Bowl) and talk show host. From 1993 to 1995, he also wrote a weekly syndicated column for the California-based Copley News Service. In 1994, he added reporting for SportsChannel Chicago to his résumé. In 1995, he left SportsChannel Chicago to work at CLTV, becoming an anchor, reporter, and host of a live call-in show. He left Chicago for ESPN in September 1996, where he became one of the first anchors of ESPNEWS when it began broadcasting in November of that year.[1]
ESPN career
In 1999, with ESPN Radio airing in just four markets, Mike Greenberg was approached about returning to radio to be a part of a morning drive-time show with Mike Golic as co-host. Greenberg agreed (with the understanding that he would continue anchoring SportsCenter on a regular basis), and thus, on December 30th, 1999[1], On April 26, 2004, the show started a regular simulcast on ESPNEWS. Because of their continued success, the duo moved to ESPN2 in January 2006. [1]
Greenberg and Golic also had brief cameo roles in Tilt, an ESPN original mini-series involving the underworld of Texas hold 'em in Las Vegas, Nevada. The duo is also featured in the Emmy-winning flash cartoon animation series Off Mikes produced by Animax Entertainment.
One of the most popular segments of the entire year on Mike and Mike in the Morning is the annual "Sheet of Integrity" wager, a bracket wager based on the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and the massive ESPN.com bracket contest. The bet originated after Mike Golic told of how he would enter a massive number of sheets into different pools to win the money involved in the pool. Greenberg, believing picks required a sort of integrity, insisted that any such entrant be required to enter only one "Sheet of Integrity". Golic would select one of his (presumably) dozens of sheets against Greenberg, with the loser having to perform a humiliating stunt, usually on the air. The first year, Greenberg won and Golic had to have an eyebrow wax on the air. The next two years, Golic won, and Greenberg had to wear the Notre Dame University Leprechaun mascot costume on the air, the second time on the Notre Dame campus. After the 2007 competition, Greenberg agreed to wear a New England Patriots jersey to a New York Jets game and milk a cow live on-air. Greenberg received advice about milking a cow from ESPN Baseball Analyst, Buster Olney. [2] On June 21, 2007, Greenberg milked a cow on the air. Subsequently, the governor of the state of Vermont declared that day "Mike Greenberg Day" in Vermont. (Vermont has a large dairy industry.)
In 2008, Greenberg won the bet, and Golic had to, as a result of a vote done previous to the tournament by the fans of the show, participate in a competitive eating contest against professional eaters Crazy Legs Conte, Eater X, and Pete Davekos. They competed on May 1, 2008, in a three-minute competition of eating Buffalo wings. So disgusted was Greenberg at the thought of Golic regurgitating, Greenberg wore a haz-mat suit on the air. (Golic, naturally, placed last.)
MC², a rap group with a member in the SportsCenter staff, made a tribute song and music video of the event, and Greenberg has agreed to make them the semi-official band of the show.
After Greenberg won the 2009 bet, Golic received another waxing, this time of his arms and legs.
Arena Football League
In 2007, Greenberg was lead play-by-play man for the The Arena Football League on ESPN, calling games alongside Golic. Greenberg and Golic broadcast their first game on March 4, 2007 on ABC.
Monday Night Football
Greenberg, along with Golic, Mike Ditka, and Bonnie Bernstein, performed play-by-play duties for the second game of the Monday Night Football week 1 doubleheader between the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers. They will perform this role again in 2009.
Greenberg, Golic, and Ditka performed similar duties during the second game of the 2008 opening-weekend ESPN Monday Night Football doubleheader between the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos.
Other television
Duel
Greenberg hosted the ABC game show Duel. The week-long six-episode special premiered on December 17, 2007 and ended on December 23, 2007. The show was renewed, and premiered on April 4, 2008.
Guiding Light
On February 20, 2008, Greenberg appeared along with his radio partner Golic on the soap opera Guiding Light as reported on ESPNradio.com.[3]
Book
On March 7, 2006 Greenberg released his first book entitled "Why My Wife Thinks I'm An Idiot", which reached 14th on the New York Times Bestseller list and was nominated in the 2006 Quill Awards for best sports book. [4]
Personal
Greenberg resides in Westport, Connecticut with his wife Stacy, his daughter Nikki, and his son Stephen. He is also an avid fan of the New York Jets and the New York Yankees. He also cites the Chicago teams as his secondary teams from his time as a sports reporter in Chicago. His father is a lawyer and his mother is a teacher.
References
- ^ a b c http://www.mike-greenberg.com/?page_id=2
- ^ "Bracket Wager for the '07 Sheets of Integrity". Mike-Greenberg.com. 2007-03-15. http://www.mike-greenberg.com/?p=905. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ^ Clip of Mike Greenberg on Guiding Light
- ^ 2006 Quill Awards winners and nominees
External links
- Mike and Mike in the Morning
- Official Mike Greenberg Fan Site
- Biography on ESPN 103.3 FM
- Off Mikes – An Emmy winning animation series set to the audio of Mike and Mike in the Morning
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