RIP George Michael

Nationally known to television audiences for his Emmy award winning Sports Machine, George Michael was MY sportscaster. One of the great things about growing up in the NOVA area was being able to see George on a daily basis…I just shared him with the rest of the world on Sunday nights. George reported and covered many sports that others did not, including rodeo, NASCAR and professional wrestling. I looked forward to tuning in to see George’s “Wednesday Wrestling” segments. George also covered my beloved Redskins like no other sportscaster before or after him, and his shows like “Redskins Report” and “The Joe Theismann Show,” enabled inside looks at the team long before the Internet, ESPN and blogs that we have today.

The “George Michael’s Sports Machine” was a pioneering program that paved the way for SportsCenter and shows of the like. Long after ESPN 2 and SportsCenter started airing 24 hours a day, I continued to watch the Sports Machine. I’ve been humming the music that was played coming in and out breaks during the show all day. The Sports Machine is a piece of pop culture…and it reminds me of my childhood.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Michael on 2 different occasions and I said the same thing to him each time “George, I loved you in Silence of the Lambs.” George would laugh that familiar laugh that I grew up listening too and say, “if you blinked you missed me.”