Michael Barkann
Encyclopedia
Michael Barkann is an award winning sports host, anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...

 and reporter for Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet is a group of regional sports networks in the United States primarily owned by the Comcast cable television company....

.

Education

Barkann is a graduate of Syracuse University, class of 1982. He graduated with a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Barkann went to East Brunswick High School, class of 1978.

Early career

Barkann started his career at NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...

 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 as a desk assistant. From there he went to New Jersey Network
New Jersey Network
The New Jersey Network, or NJN, was a network of public television and radio stations serving the U.S. state of New Jersey. NJN was a member of the Public Broadcasting Service for television and the National Public Radio for radio, broadcasting their programming as well as producing and...

 in Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...

, working at first off-camera. On February 11, 1983, after the region was hit with a big blizzard, the station asked Barkann to contribute to the telecast, filing a weather report. It was his first time on air. Soon after, Barkann hosted a program called Weather Watch, which led to him doing the weather for the news broadcast. Several years later, Barkann started doing backup sports for the network, at age 26.

A few months later, Barkann moved to KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...

 in Philadelphia as a sports reporter. Barkann spent five years at KYW-TV but did not have his contract renewed, leading him to a job in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 as became sports director at WLVI-TV
WLVI-TV
WLVI, digital channel 41, is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts which serves as the CW affiliate for the Boston, Massachusetts television market. WLVI is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is a sister station to WHDH, Boston's NBC affiliate. The two stations share studios at...

. However, five years in, Barkann received "an unbelievable opportunity" and returned to Philadelphia, beginning his current role as host/reporter at Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet is a group of regional sports networks in the United States primarily owned by the Comcast cable television company....

, Philadelphia in 1997.

Comcast SportsNet

On October 1, 1997, Barkann brought the network on the air as host of Daily News Live. The success of Barkann's Daily News Live sparked many other SportsNet affiliates to establish similar programs.

Through his career, Barkann has also hosted Eagles Post Game Live
Eagles Post Game Live
Eagles Post Game Live airs after each Philadelphia Eagles game on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia . The program features the team's post game press conference, interviews, and game analysis...

, featuring Gov. Ed Rendell
Ed Rendell
Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...

, Hall of Famer Ray Didinger
Ray Didinger
Ray Didinger is an award-winning American sportswriter, author, film writer, radio host, TV commentator, and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame .-Early life and career:...

, and two time Super Bowl champion Vaughn Hebron
Vaughn Hebron
Vaughn Harlen Hebron is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos.-Early life:...

, who was replaced in 2011 by Tra Thomas. Barkann also hosted Monday Night Live
Monday Night Live (Comcast SportsNet)
Monday Night Live is a sports oriented talk show airing Mondays 7:00PM to 8:00PM ET on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia live from Chickie's and Pete's Cafe in South Philly. Michael Barkann is joined by Hugh Douglas and Ike Reese for a variety of sports entertainment and talk. Live musical...

and a program called Spotlight, which are both now off-air. Barkann also hosts the Postgame Live programs for the Phillies, Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 and Sixers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...

 whenever the team is in or near the playoffs.

Notable moments at SportsNet

In November 2005, Barkann got into a heated argument on air with controversial Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News
The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The newspaper is owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under...

panelist Marcus Hayes. After Hayes hounded NFL Films
NFL Films
NFL Films is a Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company devoted to producing commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries on the National Football League, as well as other unrelated major events and awards shows...

 producer Greg Cossell, who was in studio to break down film, Barkann intervened. Barkann, according to a written account, accused Hayes of being a know-it-all and asked why he always wanted to control the whole show. Barkann said Hayes made the show “no fun.” He later said that they weren’t debating “Afghanistan and Iraq”. Hayes kept saying things like “Okay, Dad, tell me what I need to know. Teach me.” He also said this would be "the last time [Barkann] will have to worry about it." Hayes is still a regular guest of the show. Daily News Live

Barkann was overcome with emotion when hosting a live postgame show the day Harry Kalas
Harry Kalas
Harry Norbert Kalas was an American sportscaster, best known for his Ford C. Frick Award-winning role as lead play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies...

 died in Washington. Barkann, through tears, called Kalas a "sound of summer" and the "soundtrack of our lives". Barkann said Kalas was a "great, great man", reported that "the voice is silent tonight". Barkann was also highly praised for his job hosting Kalas' memorial service, held at Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is a 43,647-seat baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, and home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the...

.

Before going on air for Phillies Postgame Live, Barkann, along with former Phillies all-stars Ricky Bottalico
Ricky Bottalico
Ricky Paul Bottalico is a former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. In high school, he played for South Catholic High School in Hartford, Connecticut under coach Tom DiFiore. He compiled a career earned run average of 3.99 over twelve major league seasons, during which he...

 and Darren Daulton
Darren Daulton
Darren Arthur Daulton , nicknamed Dutch, is a former catcher in Major League Baseball best remembered for his years with the Philadelphia Phillies...

, watched Game 4 of the 2009 NLCS from their set. When Jimmy Rollins
Jimmy Rollins
James Calvin "Jimmy" Rollins , nicknamed "J-Roll", is an All-Star and former MVP shortstop, who most recently played for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball's National League....

 hit a memorable walkoff double to the gap in right-center, Barkann and crew exploded. In footage captured by an idle studio camera and later released to the public, Bottalico can be seen saying "that's winning the game, that's winning the damn game" and Barkann throwing his hands in the air and yelling "this team is incredible, this team is unbelievable!" The video was used as part of the Phillies pregame montage shown on their video board at Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is a 43,647-seat baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, and home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the...

 during the 2010 postseason.

While working for KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...

 Barkann did a piece called "Birds Eye View" during which Coach Buddy Ryan
Buddy Ryan
James David "Buddy" Ryan is a former American NFL football coach.-Early years:Ryan was born and reared in a small, agricultural-based community "just outside of Frederick, Oklahoma." Ryan played college football for Oklahoma A&M University where he earned four letters as a guard between 1952 and...

 allowed him to "try out" for the team. Barkann lined up at receiver with Randall Cunningham
Randall Cunningham
Randall W. Cunningham is a former American football quarterback.After playing college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season...

 at QB. Troy West, the DB, lined up to guard Barkann, and as he later recalled "threw me ten feet in the air." Mike Quick, asked about Barkann's performance said, "I thought he was going to be bad, but that was just sad."

National broadcasting career

Barkann's career also includes many national jobs. Most notably, he served as a field reporter for USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...

's coverage of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships from 1991-2008. In 2009, coverage shifted to ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

 and Barkann was left off the broadcast team.

Since leaving the Open, Barkann has covered one other tennis event, for HBO Sports, the Billie Jean King Cup
Billie Jean King Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup is a one-night tennis exhibition that features the four Grand Slam winners from the previous year to compete each March at Madison Square Garden in New York City....

. Held at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

 and shown nationally on HBO, the event featured a final of Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...

 against her sister Venus.

Barkann's career also includes work reporting for CBS. With CBS he has covered major events, including, in 1998, the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan; in 1994, the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, as a speed skating reporter covering Dan Jansen
Dan Jansen
Daniel Erwin Jansen is a former speed skater, best known for winning a gold medal in his final Olympic race after suffering through years of heartbreak. He graduated from West Allis Central High School....

, who won a Gold Medal in the 1000m.

In 1992, Barkann was a reporter at the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France where he covered the Dan Jansen
Dan Jansen
Daniel Erwin Jansen is a former speed skater, best known for winning a gold medal in his final Olympic race after suffering through years of heartbreak. He graduated from West Allis Central High School....

 story.
Barkann's career also involved the NCAA he has covered the Final Four and Fiesta Bowl for CBS as well as Big 5 Basketball events and telecasts.

In 2009, Barkann also hosted the finale of Being John Daly for the Golf Channel
The Golf Channel
Golf Channel, known as The Golf Channel before the July 2008 dropping of The, is an American cable television network with coverage focused on the game of golf. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, the American headquarters and studio are currently located in Orlando, Florida...

.

Barkann is also a former XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...

 commentator. He worked the UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...

 (now CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...

) game telecasts.

Notable national broadcasting moments

During Barkann's time at the Open, fans grew accustomed to his off-beat, fun interview style. One of the first stories Barkann did for USA was on a hot dog stand that players had mentioned smelling during their matches. His piece included an interview with the vendor, who insisted if the players came and tried his hot dogs all would be well.

Another famous moment came back in 1992 with Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...

, who was then rumored to be dating Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...

. Barkann asked Streisand, "what moves you about him on the court," to which she replied, "he's so evolved, more so than his linear years and he plays like a zen master out there." This interview marked the first time Streisand talked publicly about her relationship with Agassi and it made big news at the time.

In 2007, Barkann interviewed Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...

 and Larry David
Larry David
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...

. Barkann asked the two what the funniest thing they had seen at the Open was, to which Seinfeld replied, "not you."

More recently, at the 2008 Open, Barkann asked Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...

 in his on-court post match interview (which was not only broadcast to the television audience, but over the PA system at Arthur Ashe stadium) to do his famous, but never before seen impersonations. Djokovic did his Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...

 and Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...

 impersonations, becoming an instant sensation on YouTube (getting over one million hits) and in tennis circles. Ironically, Barkann's last interview at the US Open was another attention-getter with Novak talking in front of a sea of angry booing fans about how they were only cheering for Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....

 and thought he had "16 injuries".

Personal life

Barkann resides, with his wife Ellen, who was instrumental in the startup of The Philadelphia Sports Group, which serves as a talent marketing agency for local and national athletes and sports media members, in Newtown Square, PA.

Barkann read the eulogy at former colleague and MLB catcher John Marzano
John Marzano
John Robert Marzano commonly referred to as Johnny Marz was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1987 to 1998 for the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners, generally as a backup catcher...

's funeral and frequently recalls the shortened life of his great friend. He also spoke at legendary Daily News columnist Phil Jasner's funeral, along with Doug Collins
Doug Collins
Paul Douglas "Doug" Collins is a retired American basketball player, a former four-time NBA All-Star and currently the head coach of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.-High school and college:...

.

Barkann was the subject of part of Bill Conlin
Bill Conlin
William "Bill" T. Conlin is an American sportswriter and long-time columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News. Prior to joining the Daily News, he wrote for the Philadelphia Bulletin. He is a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and a voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame.Conlin won...

's speech at his induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Conlin has been banned from Daily News Live for a number of years after making what the network deemed "racist comments" toward an e-mailer named "Raul from Vineland".

Awards

  • Named Pennsylvania
    Pennsylvania
    The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

    's Sportscaster of the Year in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007.
  • Recipient of 1989 Mid-Atlantic Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement Sports Reporter
  • Recipient of 1989 Mid-Atlantic Emmy for Outstanding Sports Feature
  • Recipient of 1991 Mid-Atlantic Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement Sports Reporter
  • Recipient of 2003 Mid-Atlantic Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement Host/Talk Program
  • Recipient of 2006 Mid-Atlantic Emmy for Outstanding Talk Program
  • 5-time Philadelphia Sports Emmy Award winner
  • 2010 Greater Philadelphia Chapter of ALS annual honoree
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