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Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens – names synonymous with Major League Baseball’s steroid controversy – belong in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, says ESPN’s Chris “Boomer” Berman. The sports broadcast legend tells Lara Logan that and much more in a fun and fascinating 60 MINUTES SPORTS profile premiering Wednesday, April 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME®.
Berman, the excitable host of ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown and major event golf and baseball coverage, has been a sportscaster for 34 years. “I think Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens should get in at some point,” he says. “I think because Barry Bonds was the best player in baseball, along with junior [Ken, jr.] Griffey, and Roger Clemens was a great pitcher before he allegedly did what he did, at some point I think those two have to go in,” says Berman.
“Best player, best pitcher of the era, or else you eliminate the whole era, which if some voters want to do it, I’m okay with,” says Berman, referring to the MLB period in the 1990s and 2000s when, many believe, the use of performance-enhancing drugs rose and longtime records fell. “I would put them in and then I’d really have to think hard about everyone else.”
In the 14-minute profile, Berman discusses his dramatic style, especially his trademark “whoop,” which has put him in a class by himself in highlight reel commentating. Logan asks him to demonstrate the high-pitched utterance he uses to accentuate a spectacular play he is calling in a game or recalling in a highlight. Berman obliges. “Whoop!! But, I get stopped by 12 year olds all the time. ‘Say it’: Whoop! It’s the Three Stooges.,” he tells Logan. “It’s just when a guy does the spin and all. But, a highlight is to me bringing to life games nobody saw.”
Berman also talks about the classic sports moments he called on television, among them, the 1995 game in which Baltimore Orioles great Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record by playing in his 2,131st consecutive game and the 1981 NFC Championship won by Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers.
Here´s a Video Preview about it: “WEB EXTRA” for this month’s 60 MINUTES SPORTS premiering Wednesday, April 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. Take a sneak peek of Lara Logan’s upcoming profile on Chris Berman including a look into the ESPN sportscaster’s overstuffed wallet. Want to know why Berman believes Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens belong in the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Find out during the full interview on SHOWTIME.
What do you think? Should Bonds and Clemens be in the Hall of Fame? Let me know in the comments section. Also, follow me on Twitter for more scoop.