Keith Olbermann’s voice-over work on the Sunday night NFL roundup on NBC can contain an occasional shock. (Consider the "Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles" inside joke.) This happened again on Sunday night, as Olbermann recounted the Oakland Raiders-Tennessee Titans contest: "Nine-three in the first half. We skipped the first half because it was really boring. LenDale White started finding some huge holes, 27 carries, 133 [yards]. It’s like falling off a roof."
To Green Bay Packer fans, this line was a jaw-dropper. Over the weekend, legendary Packers receiver (and long-time radio announcer) Max McGee was buried after falling off his roof in suburban Minneapolis and dying at the age of 75. How could Olbermann be this insensitive?
It turns out that Olbermann was making another inside joke. In his college days at USC, LenDale White once scared his teammates. Tom Johnson dug up a November 2, 2005 transcript of Countdown with Keith, as he counted down the day’s top three newsmakers:
And number one, Pete Carroll, coach of the nation‘s number-one-ranked college football team, USC. His team‘s tail back, Lendale White, stormed off the practice field last night, swearing, swearing he was quitting. Next thing his horrified teammates knew, White was on the roof of the building next to their field. Then they saw him, still in his number 21 uniform, plummeting four stories to the ground.
As players froze with fear and terror, Coach Carroll started laughing. It was his Halloween prank on his team. White waved happily from his hiding spot on the roof. It was a dummy that went over. USC announced today it will be rescheduling its remaining games around the psychiatrist appointments for half of the team.
So at least Olbermann had another reason to make a roof remark. But perhaps he should have thought over that inside joke a little longer considering the accidental death of Max McGee.
(HT: Mike Dorais)
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center
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Comments Policy
So the answer is no, he
October 29, 2007 - 22:56 ET by balboaSo the answer is no, he didn't ridicule Max McGee.
The answer is - he's the
October 30, 2007 - 00:06 ET by skeptic1The answer is - he's the douchebag and you're the enabler.
Gee Bal this was just a
October 30, 2007 - 09:12 ET by ahusserGee Bal this was just a coincidence. Give me a break.
Yes, coincidence. It does
October 30, 2007 - 09:58 ET by balboaYes, coincidence. It does happen.
all I know is the MSM wants
October 30, 2007 - 14:09 ET by TruthMongerall I know is the MSM wants black quarterbacks to succeed
Obama is a clean articulate negro
Jews need perfecting
Muslims are taught to kill us
and they don't denounce terror - most of them don't - prominent ones don't - well, not enough - more than enough - super emphatically enough - well, they haven't stopped terrorism completely - and if they do ever stop it, they still started it to begin with - yes, all of it - well, most of it - well, more than Christians...
Partner with Islam and the NB respect police:)
Yes, the MSM needs to stop
October 30, 2007 - 19:26 ET by balboaYes, the MSM needs to stop ignoring Brady and Manning...
He probably didn't even
October 29, 2007 - 22:58 ET by candanceHe probably didn't even know or care about McGee's death. I doubt he meant it to be mean. This just goes to show he wasn't really prepared to talk about the subject.
card holding member of the vast right-wing conspiracy
Um........and that's what
October 30, 2007 - 00:13 ET by skeptic1Um........and that's what Tim is saying.......not prepared
When is quief odorman ever prepared?
EXACTLY...
October 30, 2007 - 02:47 ET by danybhoyHe does'nt know or care about him, but BathTubBoy does'nt know about the things he comments on now. But I also think he IS trying to be mean, on his show & during his football gig. If you are doing "comedy", & his joke was that, there almost always has to be a victim. Someone or something is the butt of the joke.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
He must have known
October 30, 2007 - 07:19 ET by Tim GrahamI can't imagine someone who keeps up with the sports world -- which clearly, Olbermann does -- would have missed Max McGee's death. I don't think he meant to mock Max, but I'm puzzled that he didn't figure out that many more people knew of that roof death than knew of LenDale's college roof prank.
So no, he did NOT make a
October 29, 2007 - 23:45 ET by sanskritgSo no, he did NOT make a joke about a fallen former Green Bay Packer legend.
How about actual media bias instead of contradicting the headline with the story?
No, he just happened to wait
October 30, 2007 - 00:08 ET by skeptic1No, he just happened to wait 2 years to reference a fall from a roof - a subject just a few days removed from the Max McGee story. At the very least(and I say this very loosely), he wants some sort of controversy stirred up, just so he can get his name in the news, then turn around and say that he's been wrongly persecuted due to the fact that he was "referencing the Lendale White USC story". Anyone with half a brain can see how this douchebag operates.
Good catch Tim
Exactly
October 30, 2007 - 00:46 ET by ProudAmerican33I heard that comment and thought he was referencing the late Max McGhee, I thought it was in very poor taste to put it mildly. I wonder how many more thought the same thing?
Sanskrit...
October 30, 2007 - 00:22 ET by Clear thinkerLighten up dude!
Get Email updates from Fred http://socialnet.imwithfred.com/email_alert_july_26.html
KO's rules
October 29, 2007 - 23:56 ET by nkviking75What if we hold ol' Keith to the same standards he'd use on a conservative? No matter what he may have intended, refuse to let him off the hook. If he tries to explain himself, call him a liar. Then use the episode as fodder for tasteless jokes for the next several months.
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
Olbermann expects his
October 30, 2007 - 00:41 ET by scamoramaOlbermann expects his listeners to be as hip as he is.
So, he'd refer to an old story -- ignoring the recent events -- expecting that his hip listeners would catch it.
When you're Olbermann hip, anyone who isn't in the know isn't worth worrying about.
"How could Olbermann be this insensitive?"
October 30, 2007 - 01:49 ET by BeukeboomIt was asked "How could Olbermann be this insensitive?"
The fact of the matter is that Olbermann has a long history of being an insensitive, loutish bastard willing and able to provide hateful commentary on anything and anyone with dripping sarcasm.
Frankly whenever NBC brings Olbermann on during NFL games, I change the channel only to briefly flip back later to see if his segment is over. I find the man neither entertaining nor funny and consider his commentary to be rude, condescending, mean-spiriting and beneath my standards.
BATH-TUB-BOY...
October 30, 2007 - 03:00 ET by danybhoyBathTubBoy is half of the broadcaster that Max McGee was, Max was the color guy on the Packer radio network for years. I live in the southeastern suburbs of the TwinCities on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border, I have had the chance to listen more then a few times, he was very good at it & far more professional then BathTubBoy.
Something many here may not know, McGee was the star of Super Bowl 1, & did so badly hungover after a hard night of drinking. Party hard & play great. Maybe BathTubBoy could follow that model, he SHOULD go out & pound a 12-pack before his show. It could only improve his performance on the air. I'm just sayin'.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
Party hard & play
October 30, 2007 - 07:27 ET by motherbeltParty hard & play great.
I'm not a big football fan but wasn't that how Namath got his nickname "Broadway Joe"?
SORT OF...
October 30, 2007 - 07:47 ET by danybhoyHe did plenty of late night drinking, but he was also a well known playboy in New York City. He has gotten help since his Monday Night Football incedent with Suzy Kolber when he was plastered. Slurring your speech & asking someone to give you a kiss on national TV ain't good.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
.
October 30, 2007 - 07:48 ET by danybhoy.
That's one of my all-time
October 30, 2007 - 15:17 ET by scamoramaThat's one of my all-time favorite Super Bowl stories. Max was the #3 receiver, and didn't think he'd start, much less play, so he hit the town the night before.
Then Lombardi told him before the game that he was starting.
He should have been the MVP of the game.
So, let's see: A former
October 30, 2007 - 07:25 ET by motherbeltSo, let's see: A former Packers receiver falls off a roof and dies. And just coincidentally, a few days later, Keith Olbermann makes a joke about a prank from his college days where a player faked falling off a roof. And the two are not remotely connected.
Yeah, I'm buying that...
If it truly was an "inside joke" (and I'm betting dollars to donuts it's not) someone needs to tell KO that inside jokes don't work when you are the only one who knows what the joke is.
What a S-T-R-E-T-C-H
October 30, 2007 - 07:59 ET by ding7777Olberman references a anecdote of current Titan's Lendale White(which is a USC legend ) but somehow, someway, Packer fans are sure to be insulted because Max, who played for the Packers 41 years ago, died a week earlier from falling off the roof.
Mr. Berry, you are the k.o.
October 30, 2007 - 08:25 ET by skeptic1Mr. Berry, you are the k.o. of this website. quief and yourself are completely interchangeable, totally predictable and incapable of dealing with anything but negative hyperbole.
I agree wholeheartedly with
October 30, 2007 - 09:11 ET by Roger the ShrubberI agree wholeheartedly with Keith Olbermann, er, Dingy-poo here.
Olbermann is far too stupid to realize what Newsbusters accuses. Clearly, Olbermann was just failing (once again) to be funny.
roof joke
October 30, 2007 - 10:11 ET by paulnashtnI hate to side with Olberman here but it is a stretch,
HOWEVER,
when will that idiot learn that inside jokes are not
appropriate on a national TV show unless at least a partial explaination ensues
“I would remind you
that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind
you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
....cause-he's an idiot,
October 30, 2007 - 08:52 ET by kathleenirish....cause-he's an idiot, and a jerk, and a total a. Get him off the air, there must be some EPA standard he's violating with his spew.
Anyone who says they support the troops but not the mission is a liar.
Olberman
October 30, 2007 - 10:36 ET by iveseenitallHow could anyone think such a fine, upstanding, courteous, intelligent young man like Keith Olbermann do something so obnoxious. Scheech!
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"