Pat O'Brien (sports commentator)

Pat O'Brien (born February 14, 1948 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota) is a sports commentator and television show host. He currently hosts the Entertainment Tonight spin-off, The Insider. Prior to that, O'Brien spent 7 years as co-anchor of Access Hollywood.

Related Topics:
February 14 - 1948 - Sioux Falls, South Dakota - Entertainment Tonight - The Insider - Access Hollywood

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Pat O'Brien is perhaps best known for his almost 20 year association with CBS Sports, which O'Brien joined in 1981. While at CBS, O'Brien covered the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Winter Olympic Games, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and the Final Four.

Related Topics:
CBS Sports - 1981 - CBS - Super Bowl - World Series - NBA Finals - Winter Olympic Games - NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament - Final Four

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O'Brien is a graduate of the University of South Dakota. He also studied international economics at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. He began his career as a production assistant for The Huntley-Brinkley Report.

Related Topics:
University of South Dakota - Paul H. Nitze - School of Advanced International Studies - Johns Hopkins University - Washington, D.C. - The Huntley-Brinkley Report

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He then served as an anchor and reporter for WMAQ-TV in Chicago and KNXT-TV (now known as KCBS-TV) in Los Angeles from 1977 until 1981 when he joined CBS.

Related Topics:
WMAQ-TV - Chicago - KCBS-TV - Los Angeles - 1977

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In 2000 O'Brien returned to the sports world when he covered the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney for NBC, appearing on the CNBC channel. He also anchored the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece for NBC, this time appearing on both the Network and MSNBC.

Related Topics:
2000 - Summer Olympic Games - Sydney - NBC - CNBC - 2004 - Athens - Greece - MSNBC

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Comedians began taking aim at O'Brien in recent years -- lampooning his nasal voice and bushy moustache (as well as his subsequent voice mail scandal). O'Brien has been parodied on shows like The Simpsons, The Howard Stern Show, South Park, The Soup, and by Jimmy Fallon on Saturday Night Live.

Related Topics:
Voice mail - Scandal - The Simpsons - The Howard Stern Show - South Park - The Soup - Jimmy Fallon - Saturday Night Live

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Also recently, O'Brien had a cameo appearance in P. Diddy's Bad Boy For Life music video.

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On March 20, 2005, O'Brien issued a written statement announcing that he had been admitted to a rehab facility for alcoholism. Around the same period of the announcement of O'Brien entering rehab, a string of sexually graphic (and possibly embarrassing) voice mail messages that allegedly contained O'Brien's voice started to make the rounds.

Related Topics:
March 20 - 2005 - Rehab - Alcoholism - Voice mail

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On May 4, 2005, O'Brien was interviewed by talk show therapist Phil McGraw, which was featured during a prime time special on CBS. He disclosed his reasons for his alcohol and drug abuse, as well as his experiences during rehabilitation. O'Brien also expressed remorse for the voice mail incident and apologized for what his substance abuse did to his family.

Related Topics:
May 4 - 2005 - Phil McGraw - Prime time - CBS - Substance abuse

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O'Brien returned to The Insider the next day.

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