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One of the first sports books I read was Instant Replay by late sportswriter Dick Schaap and Packers guard Jerry Kramer. It was a pleasure to speak with Jeremy Schaap about the return of ESPN’s classic show, The Sports Reporters.
The younger Schaap was a guest host and occasional panelist on the original version of the show, which aired on Sunday mornings from 1988 to 2017. (His father hosted from 1988 until his death in 2001; John Saunders hosted until his death in 2001.)
Schaap’s new Sports Reporters has been reimagined for YouTube and features four play-by-play announcers on NFL games: Joe Buck of ESPN, Mike Tirico of NBC Sports, Ian Eagle of CBS Sports, and Kevin Harlan of CBS and Westwood One.
For many kids like myself, The Sports Reporters provided a glimpse into the glamorous world of sportswriters. Yes, it showed them discussing the biggest sports stories of the week. But they also discussed how they did their jobs, how they covered athletes, how they lived their fast-paced lifestyles.
“I can’t tell you how many people have reached out to me and said, ‘This is the show that I watched as a kid on Sunday mornings that made me want to be in this business. That excited me about this business, about having a role in it,’” Schaap told me. “I was one of those kids. I was older when the show came out; I was in college. But it’s such a formative part of my life. There’s so many people in the business that it means a lot to. That’s what I think is so special about it. It’s also a serious responsibility. To honor the show—and do justice to it.”
As a young journalist, Schaap literally grew up on the ESPN set with sports media legends like his dad, the late Joe Valerio and Saunders, as well as newspaper columnists Mike Lupica, Bill Rhoden, Mitch Albom, and Bob Ryan. He’s spoken to those living legends—and invited them back on to the show.
“I think of those guys [Rhoden, Albom, Lupica, and Ryan] as the Core Four. They were the guys on the last show in 2017,” Schaap says.
As for their return to the show, he said, “Mitch expressed immediate interest; Mike was a little more circumspect. … It’s certainly my hope [he’ll appear]. The chair’s always there for him.”
Like Valerio, Schaap would also want to feature up-and-coming sportswriters. Back in the day, I remember watching the young Jemele Hill and Dan Le Batard on the show. Who will be the next generation?
“There’s no doubt that we’re looking for new voices. It’s going to be a mix of more familiar voices, new voices, finding people out there who have something to say in a unique and compelling way,” Schaap says. “That’s part of the joy, I think, of the whole thing. It’s the search for new voices—and giving them a platform.”
