Random 'Knowledge,' Courtesy of Sports Announcers

No, this is not a collection made up entirely of Bill Walton quotes—but it could be.

Sometimes in sports broadcasts, there is simply not enough action to keep all the commentary to game-related material only. And frankly, sometimes it can be refreshing to hear a little variety. 

The following broadcasters have contributed their "knowledge"—aka random thoughts that may or may not be actual facts—in broadcasts, interviews or over social media.

Read on to learn when the next volcano will erupt, how to fix a leaky pipe and the proper definition of an emoji. Oh, and just to make sure that sports aren't totally left out, Phil Simms will explain the true job of an NFL defense. 

Mike Francesa: Emojis

Mike Francesa, radio host for New York's WFAN, does not understand Star Wars, but he sure knows what an emoji is.

In June, a confused gentleman called into his show and asked him to explain emojis, and Francesa indulged the man. He said, in part, per Bernie Augustine of the New York Daily News: "When someone sends you, like, a thumb's up or something like that...that's an emoji. That little thing you see is an emoji."

Play the tape for your parents if they, like the caller, are confused.

Ron Darling: Toronto Landmarks

Andy Kropa/Associated Press

Look no further than Ron Darling to point out notable landmarks during a broadcast.

During a New York Mets-Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto this past June, the MLB broadcaster informed viewers, "You've got the Rogers Centre, you've got the Sky Needle, you've got beautiful Lake Ontario, and the Mets and Blue Jays coming up after this commercial," per Neate Sager of Yahoo Sports.

Sky Needle equals not a real thing.

Bob Costas: O.J. Simpson

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Here's a random scoop you probably didn't know until Bob Costas told you.

According to the NBC broadcaster, O.J. Simpson called him during the famous white Bronco chase in 1994. In January, Costas told Seth Davis of Campus Insiders (h/t Nina Mandell of For the Win):

"

The Friday night of the Bronco chase, I learned subsequently, he tried to call me from the Bronco. He had my home number in St. Louis but nobody was home and the phone just rang and rang. And he also had the number of the studio and we did the NBA show out of the same studio as the NFL show but since it was the Finals I was at Madison Square Garden for Game Five between the Rockets and the Knicks.

"

Cris Carter: Dance Moves

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

If you're going to share random knowledge, at least try to make sure it's right…right?

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has made dabbing famous with all his touchdown celebrations en route to a Super Bowl berth.

Still, when Newton first busted out the move, folks were confused. Enter NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter. The ESPN personality joined ESPN's Mike & Mike and demonstrated the move.

He got the general mechanics right but unfortunately referred to it as "bapping."

Close, but no cigar.

Al Michaels: Income Tax

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

According to NBC Sports broadcaster Al Michaels, income taxes are pretty steep, at least compared to 1975.

During a broadcast in October, it came up that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick supposedly made $25 a week at his first job. Michaels scoffed, "That'd be $8 today," per Timothy Burke of Deadspin.

Also according to Burke, math and historical tax records prove that little quip to be false.

Jason Whitlock: 'Thirsty'

As football fans might remember, there was a bit of an uproar over what Ciara wore to sing the national anthem at the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Jason Whitlock appeared on Fox Sports' The Herd and told host Colin Cowherd he thought Ciara looked "thirsty." He then proceeded to explain what the term meant, you know, besides eager for a drink of water.

He said, per Stephen Douglas of the Big Lead, "This woman is waiting...because some guy uh, wants to wait. She looked thirsty."

Some guy is Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, by the way.

Bill Walton: Temecula Dirt

At some point, ESPN broadcasting partners Bill Walton and Dave Pasch got talking about Temecula, California, aka the would-be site of the famous Kobe Bryant fan fight that never actually happened.

Walton somehow came to the conclusion that dirt from Temecula holds some sort of positive power. In January, during a Walton and Pasch broadcast of an Arizona vs. Oregon college basketball matchup, Walton whipped out a container of dirt, supposedly from Temecula.

He proceeded to rub it all over himself and say, "And that hopefully will get you out of the funk that you're in." 

Stephen A. Smith: Marijuana

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The topic of marijuana comes up in sports from time to time. For example, during a press conference in September, UFC fighter Ronda Rousey spoke out against testing for the drug in her sport. Naturally, the pundits responded.

Stephen A. Smith said on ESPN's First Take, "[Marijuana] serves the purpose of facilitating use of stronger drugs down the line, which can very well inhibit the progress of our citizens in a relatively civilized society," per Dan Levy of Awful Announcing.  

Interesting. According to Levy, there is plenty of evidence that marijuana is not, in fact, the gateway drug some think it is.

Phil Simms: Football Tips

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

CBS broadcaster Phil Simms is not exactly universally beloved. Still, his broadcasts are full of random knowledge from his days as an NFL quarterback. Yes, his contributions are sports-related, but they are random enough to be included. 

Here's a sampling, courtesy of our friends at @philsimmsquotes (all in good fun, of course):

"Take your timeouts and stop the clock. In other words, if you don't take those timeouts, time goes off the clock." (from the Minnesota Vikings vs. Arizona Cardinals broadcast in December)

"If you're a player that gets kicked out of this game, you are one word...not very smart." (from the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals broadcast in January)

"Your first job on defense is not to give up a touchdown." (also from the Vikings vs. Cardinals broadcast)

Marcellus Wiley: Ear Wax

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

During the College Football Playoff National Championship, ESPN featured ESPN Voices as part of its coverage, which basically just showed several ESPN personalities hanging out and watching the game.

Marcellus Wiley dropped his piece of "knowledge," which happened to be the debatable assertion that eating ear wax is a common thing.

ESPN later conducted an online poll, which shockingly concluded that 32 percent of respondents had, in fact, tasted ear wax.  

Mark Schlereth: Landscaping

Mark Schlereth, NFL analyst for ESPN, can tell you everything you want to know about "manly" endeavors such as landscaping. Really. Just check out his "Man 101" YouTube videos.

He can tell you how to fix a leak in an irrigation pipe or deal with overgrown roots in your yard, and he'll even give you some manly life lessons to boot. For example: "Sometimes you find things you don't want to find. You know what you do? You buckle up and you get it done. Why? Because you're a freaking man, that's why."

Beyond that, he's also dropped some galactic tidbits on Twitter (via Deadspin) regarding the "theory" of how the solar system was created. The man is a wealth of information. 

Bill Walton: Volcanoes

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

No, this is not a Bill Walton compilation, but we have to feature the man more than once.

Given available broadcast evidence, Walton fancies himself quite the volcano aficionado. In March, during a Stanford vs. Utah game, he asked David Pasch if he had ever seen a volcano erupt. Random.

Then in January, during an Arizona vs. Cal game, he dropped this on the home viewing audience, per Clippit  (via Ken Fang of Awful Announcing):

"

Are you aware that there's three volcanoes going off right now in the world? Something's happening. The planets are all lined up. There's water in the Strawberry Creek. Volcanoes are going off in Indonesia and Russia and outside of Mexico City. Somebody better watch out what's going to happen in Yellowstone pretty soon. That's where they're predicting the next big one.

"

It goes on. Walton is an absolute gem.