Not So Fast My Friend!!

I might be in the minority here, but I like Sports TV personalities. I think they make watching a game so much more enjoyable. I'm not talking about former jocks who get hired the minute they retire, but guys who who made their mark in the broadcast booth.

In my lifetime the first one that I remember was Howard Cosell. Incredibly intelligent, very controversial and had a unique ability to both divide and unify and audience during the same broadcast.

Then John Madden designed the blue print for becoming THE face of the NFL. He became so popular that he has one of the top selling video games of all time.

More recently Chris Berman has become the face of ESPN. I'm not sure there's been anyone in the field of sports broadcasting that has done more for their company then what Berman has done for ESPN.

Lee Corso of College Game Day used to fall into this category. Yes he had a long football coaching caeer but he "made it" on College Gameday. His trademark slogan - "not so fast my friend" became a catch phrase a lot of us used in everyday life. His use of the school Mascot head to show whom he picked in a game became the highlight of the show. Nothing drew the ire of the crowd more than for him to pick the home teams opponent.

This past year Corso had a stroke. he has worked extremely hard to get back in front of the cameras. His humor and wit have not died and he hasn't forgotten how to analyze a football game. But he's not the same guy. His delivery is slowed down, he doesn't show the emotion and fire that caused me to become a big fan. Watching him last Saturday at times hurt. He seemed to forget what he was going to say while the cameras were squarely on him.

Lee Corso should be an inspiration to all stroke victims. His passion for the game was his motivation to do the hard work necessary to get back to work. He could have just sailed into retirement - he is 73 years old. But he worked his butt off to get back.

Coach - thank you for not giving up. I know you're not back to your old self but a little bit of Lee Corso is better than no Lee Corso.

David