The sports world lost a significant member on Christmas Eve, with the passing of George Michael at the age of 70.
Not many my age truly understand the impact Michael left on sports broadcasting. His Sports Machine was hitting its stride in the 1990s, but as a kid, I didn't quite realize the importance Michael had—not just on DC sports, but also sports on a national level.
Michael started his Sports Machine in 1980 as a 30-minute highlight show titled George Michael's Sports Final , which focused primarily on recapping the local teams.
After four fairly successful years, the NBC major markets picked up Sports Final and the title was changed to The George Michael Sports Machine .
With the national syndication, Michael started to use highlights of games from across the nation, which in essence created the first "ESPNNews" type of show.
His syndication even hit greater strides in 1986, when more of NBC's markets started pic...
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