FanHouse ChrisBerman

Latest ChrisBerman Stories

Erin Andrews Talks About Inspirations, Toughening Up ... and Contra Codes

Erin Andrews. Google her name and you'll get about 771,000 results, many of which are blogs that obsess over the ESPN sportscaster's every word. But meet her in person and you'll find a woman who may seem like you or I, stunning good looks aside. She loves sports, remembers old Nintendo games, and yes, does get her feelings hurt from time to time.

FanHouse recently had a chance to chat with the most popular female sports reporter at the NCAA Football 10 premiere party to find out what drives her, what gets under her skin, and whether she'd drop her career to be a backup dancer for Britney Spears. Our full interview with Andrews is below.

ESPN to Open a High School in NYC

Seriously, do you want to attend ESPN High School? If you live in New York City and you are approaching high-school age, then you'll have that chance. ESPN is teaming up with the NYC Department of Education to open a sports-themed high school. Now, that's not as absurd as it sounds on the surface.

The school will focus on the business side of sports, and will include internships with companies involved in sports like VitaminWater. Let's face it, the sports industry is one of the most lucrative in the country right now, so this has the chance to be a great idea.

ESPN, Barack Obama and John McCain ... Talkin' Bout Politics in This Craa-azy Tooown


Chris Berman. Barack Obama. John McCain. Tony Kornheiser. All together on the Monday Night Football halftime show. I, for one, don't see how any of us can possibly lose.

Barack came out hot talking about humility and then was asked a "If you could change one thing about sports, what would it be?" by Berman ... and he came with "KILL THE BCS!" Actually, he said we need a playoff, but he might have just pulled by swing vote with that statement right there.

Boomer naturally asked him about the Bears ... oh no. Wait. He only asked two questions. Then he said "Go Bears!". It was, however, a nice touch for Barack to tell everyone to vote regardless of who you vote for; I don't actually believe him, but whatever.

Redskins Heart Hines Ward's Tenaciousness

Unlike most weeks, there hasn't been much jibber-jabbering between the Steelers and Redskins in anticipation of Monday Night's get-together (complete with halftime horse-and-pony show featuring Chris Berman, with guest appearances by Barack Obama and John McCain).

In fact, Washington players have been downright complimentary, even when talking about the scourge of the NFL, that cheap-shot artist, Hines Ward.

You may have heard mention of Ward's latest victim, Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers, vowing revenge as soon as his broken jaw heals and it's no longer wired shut. His teammates voiced similar concerns, and Ravens Terrell Suggs and Bart Scott have some things in the works.

The 6-2 Redskins, on the other hand, have been nothing but laudatory. Even offering advice some Bengals' players might be wise to heed:

Obama and McCain Interviews Will Be Shown at Halftime of MNF

I'm sure everyone was happy about Barak Obama's infomercial prior to part two of Game 5 of the World Series. Now he, along with John McCain, will have their final words during halftime of the Steelers-Redskins game on Monday Night Football (via PFT).

ESPN has announced that both Obama and McCain will be interviewed during halftime of the Monday Night Football game between the Redskins and Steelers.

Chris Berman will interview both candidates separately. The interviews will be taped during the day on Monday and will air at halftime.
Who better than Chris Berman to do these interviews? What we need to hear from these candidates are their favorite 1970s rock songs and nicknames for their VP picks (Sarah "Lunch" Palin?). I don't need to hear Arizona senator John McCain chatting about the Arizona Cardinals.

I do need Berman talking to the candidates about the cost of "deux-deux-deuxs" in this country in relation to Canada.

I understand the significance of the Monday nighter in Washington. It is Election Day Eve and that city will be sitting on pins and needles as many of those people are gearing up for the biggest day of their professional lives.

The Once-Over: Week Four

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Cleveland at Cincinnati: So here are a few fun facts heading into the showdown of Team Zeros. Carson Palmer has more fumbles in three games (2) than touchdown passes (1). If you added up both Derek Anderson and Palmer's quarterback ratings, the number would still fall behind Philip Rivers, Kurt Warner and Jay Cutler, and would be just three points ahead of J.T. O'Sullivan and Tony Romo. Anderson's five interceptions are tied for the most in the league. Needless to say, this might not be the game you DVR in hopes of showing your son the proper way to play quarterback.

Pick: Cincinnati

Houston at Jacksonville:
Is it fair to say that Houston is slowly taking the place of Arizona as "the team everyone picks as their preseason sleeper to the point that they're over-hyped and fall flat on their face?" The Texans limp in with the third worst quarterback in the league statistically and the third worst defense, going up against a Jacksonville team that just claimed their first victory in one of those "win or send all the ticket holders a free iPhone" games against the Colts. If there was ever a time for Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Jones to make some magic happen, it is at home against Houston who is giving up 170.5 yards a game on the ground. You know what they call what I just did? Blogger research. It's tough to come by so enjoy the smell.

Pick: Jacksonville


FanHouse Home Run Derby Live Chat


Admit it, you think it's cool that the Home Run Derby's in Yankee Stadium tonight. The thought of Josh Hamilton launching a ball into Monument Park has you just a little more geeked than you want to admit. Truth be told, you like home runs and the Derby has a ton of them. Maybe you're an NL fan that wants to see Evan Longoria and Josh Hamilton in action, or an AL fan that's curious if Dan Uggla can really be that good. And making fun of Chris Berman and Joe Morgan, well, that's just plain fun.

Anyways, come along after the jump where I'll be joined by a number of FanHouse luminaries while we chat live during the Home Run Derby, giving you the hard hitting analysis you want for the most meaningless event this side of the Slam Dunk Contest. I'll be kicking the chat off around 7:30 while the Derby starts at 8.

Everything You Need to Know About the 2008 Home Run Derby


The Home Run Derby has, in recent years, become a massive parody of itself. What used to be a short, fun diversion the night before the All-Star Game has devolved into a three-hour orgy of excess. There's three rounds now, which ensures that by the end of the night the finalists will be too tired to lift their arms over their heads, let alone hit home runs. There's a million commercial breaks and the thing never seems to end at a reasonable hour.

Still, the Derby is the only baseball on tomorrow night. The only Derby I haven't watched all of in recent memory was the one in Pittsburgh, during which I attempted to sneak a giant banner with an internet-based phrase poking fun at a certain overblown ESPN personality that loves the Derby onto the cameras. My friends and I failed, went to the bar, and yep, watched the Derby. So instead of saying that the Derby is played out and boring, let's embrace the fact that we're going to watch it anyways. A full preview of what I'm expecting from each participant and what you might see during the broadcast is after the jump.

Terry Bradshaw Considered Retiring From Fox 'NFL Sunday', Now Wants to Work Forever

Six months ago, Terry Bradshaw was set to retire from Fox "NFL Sunday" once his contract expired, because, as he explained to the New York Daily News' Bob Raissman, "I see the energy and the enthusiasm these young guys (who get into broadcasting) have and I think it's time to hang it up..."

Now, after some time off, the addition of Michael Strahan, and enough steroids to kill an elephant*, Bradshaw has reconsidered.
"I'm going to do it (the Fox pregame) as long as I can. I don't want to retire," Bradshaw told me. "I just see too many people retire and say, 'I'm going to take off, travel, spend time with my family' and they are just miserable. They end up dying. People who work and stay active, and like what they are doing, live longer. I look forward to doing the show."
Bradshaw thinks Strahan will liven things up on the set, which should offset any fears he has of viewers getting tired of the on-air talent. (Something the USGA has yet to embrace when talking about Chris Berman. Moving on...)

Rocco Mediate Forgives Johnny Miller; As Penitence, Miller to Serve as Tiger's Pool Boy


Just when you thought cuddly U.S. Open runner-up Rocco Mediate couldn't get any more lovable. One of the happiest guys on the planet told WJAR-TV that he's not upset by Johnny Miller's "[Rocco] looks like the guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool" comments.
Mediate told WJAR-TV that Miller's comments had been blown out of proportion. "It doesn't bother me at all," he said. "He definitely didn't do it on purpose."

He called Miller "quite a good announcer" because he says what's on his mind. He said the analyst had left him a voicemail and he planned to call him back.
I have no idea if he made the comments on purpose, and although, based on FanHouse reader feedback (which is certainly representative of the country's feelings on the issue), a lot of people don't consider Miller "quite a good announcer," I tend to agree with Mediate. That said, this isn't the first time Miller's been called out for speaking his mind.

From a 2000 interview with Golf Digest's Tom Callahan:

Featured Writers

Featured Voices