“From my vantage point, this is peace in our time, the end of the cold war, all things good,” Olbermann said. “Putting away all the acrimony, for which I take 100 percent accountability, by the way, the reason I’m doing this is the chance to work with Dan again.”
You have to give Olbermann credit. The host of MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” has forged a successful career over the last eight years. He no longer needs ESPN.
And yet there he was Tuesday, apologizing approximately 4 million times for his behavior during and after his five years at ESPN. He angered numerous colleagues and executives with his demands and complaints and then torched some of them publicly after his departure.
“I had a right to my opinions,” Olbermann said, “and I had a right to leave the job. But the problem was that I don’t know where I got the idea that everything I thought had to be spoken publicly.
“I didn’t burn the bridge. I burned the river. This is a redemption for everyone. Anything is possible now. The Red Sox might win the World Series or Phil Jackson might go back to the Lakers or Michael Jackson could be acquitted. Who knows what’s next?”
While Patrick will pilot the show from ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn., Olbermann will work from a radio set in Manhattan, where he lives and works.
“Eye contact is not a necessity,” Patrick said. “We seem to do well over the phone and with e-mails, too, so I’m confident we can do this on radio.”
As long as Olbermann is not actually forced to set foot in Bristol, CT, this might actually work out. Who knows? Maybe they’ll expand the segment to 90 minutes. And say what you will about Patrick’s former “Big Show” partner, he has to be considered an upgrade on Rob Dibble.
He no longer needs ESPN? Since when? Too bad this story doesn’t include his miserable MSNBC ratings, which DRUDGE posts at least once a week. Olbermann is stuck in a the lower levels of cable news punditry, but at least he’s beating out Tucker Carlson.
From DRUDGE:
FOXNEWS O’REILLY 2,722,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY/COLMES 2,016,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 1,864,000
FOXNEWS SHEP SMITH 1,563,000
CNN LARRY KING 1,277,000
CNN AARON BROWN 751,000
CNN ZAHN 718,000
CNN COOPER 618,000
CNNHN NANCY GRACE 583,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 459,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 330,000
MSNBC SCARBOROUGH 325,000
MSNBC TUCKER CARLSON** 231,000