The 50 Worst ESPN Anchors of All Time: Making You Change the Channel Since 1979
Sam WestmorelandFeatured ColumnistSeptember 6, 2010The 50 Worst ESPN Anchors of All Time: Making You Change the Channel Since 1979

It's happened to all of us a million times. You turn on ESPN, or ESPNews, and you immediately groan.
"Oh no," you say, with a roll of your eyes, or a reach for the remote. "Not them. They suck. I hate them." You immediately change the channel, and wait for the next edition to come on, praying that the anchor team will improve.
I've compiled a list of 50 of the men and women of SportsCenter and ESPNews who have made you groan, and change the channel over the years. I've tried to stay away from color guys or analysts, keeping the list primarily to anchors of the two sports staples, unless necessary.
50. Charley Steiner

Steiner was one of the original ESPN anchors, and he was one of my favorites. But the poor guy had a nasty habit of losing track of his place on the teleprompter, or breaking out with a case of the giggles.
49. Jay Crawford

On top of joining Woody Paige at the top of First and 10's lap dance list, Crawford always looks like he hasn't had an original thought since high school. He was bumrushed out of SportsCenter duty, and he does OK as the host of ESPN2's morning show. As long as you aren't a woman, that is.
48. Trey Wingo

There's a reason he doesn't host SportsCenter much anymore.
47. Whit Watson

Apart from looking like a used car salesman, there isn't much to say about Watson's time on ESPN, other than the fact that Whit Watson is up there with Trey Wingo as a fantastic name for a sportscaster.
46. Rece Davis

Rece is currently the in-studio host of College Gameday. His primary job is to keep Lou Holtz from soiling himself. That's why they pulled him from SportsCenter.
45. Kevin Frazier

Kevin was an ESPN anchor for four years before leaving to join Entertainment Tonight. You know, because he wanted to have a serious news job. Or because his cheesy act didn't cut it on the Worldwide Leader.
44. Stuart Scott

Before you jump on me, let me say this: I like Stuart Scott. But there is a sizable portion of the population who doesn't like the longtime anchor much. This is for them.
43. Dave Revsine

Revsine's on the left hand side of this picture. Don't have much to say here, he just was never one of my favorites.
42. Stan Verrett

Stan Verrett is a poor man's Stuart Scott. Hence his place on the list.
41. Sage Steele

I like Sage Steele. I really do. Which is why it pains me to watch her stumble through every episode of SportsCenter. She's really improved a lot since she started, soon, she won't be on the list at all.
40. Chris Berman

Berman is another who falls into the Scott-esque polarizing category. Personally? I like him. But I know a lot of people who can't stand his voice. So he goes on the board.
39. Ducis Rodgers

Ducis is still new to the ESPN family. He's got time to grow. But why does he have to be so annoying?
38. Brian Kenny

Kenny's the best interviewer of the SportsCenter hosts. But he tends to push the issue a little too far, and can be abrasive. Exhibit A: Floyd Mayweather.
37. Michelle Bonner

She's not the worst of the SC anchors. But I tend to get an itchy remote hand when she comes on.
36. Dana Jacobson

I'm not entirely sure what Jacobson brings to the First and 10 crew. But there has to be something, right?
35. Neil Everett

Much like Stuart Scott, there are those who don't like Everett. Me? I like him, especially when teamed with Stan "Stop Calling me Stuart" Verrett. That tie on the other hand, is awful.
34. Brett Haber

Haber had a couple of really good commercials for SportsCenter. It's too bad he never did anything of note on the actual show.
33. Steve Berthiaume

Berthiaume has one volume: loud. And sportscasters with one volume tend to annoy me. So Steve's on the board.
32. Sarah Walsh

Walsh is an ESPNews anchor with Steve Berthiaume disease.
31. Chris Fowler

I've seen Chris Fowler in person. He's crazy ripped. Which is why I'm scared of putting him on the list. He was an SC anchor in the early 90's and it didn't go well. I hope he doesn't rip me in half like a phone book for saying this.
30. Dari Nowkhah

Poor Dari. So much potential. It's a shame his vocal cords are coated in sandpaper.
29. Mike Golic

Golic's had the occasional guest host spot on SC over the years. He really should stick to radio.
28. Pam Ward

Could have fallen into the Stuart Scott category, except that she insulted an Ohio University player when he was hurt. She thought she was off air, and seemed genuinely irritated that he had the gall to get injured.
27. Mike Tirico

Before he was one of ESPN's best play-by-play guys, Tirico was a struggling SC and ESPNews anchor. Once he found his calling, a star was born. Before that, it was painful for everyone.
26. Robert Flores

I don't know why, but I cannot stand Robert Flores. He makes me change the channel whenever he's hosting SC. But there are those who like him, so he goes in the middle.
25. Ryan Burr

At one point, Burr was a young SC and ESPNews host. Then they realized he sucked at it, so they sent him to NASCAR Now. He's much better talking about left-hand turns.
24. Tim Brando

Much like Mike Tirico, Tim Brando had a short lived stint as an SC announcer. Also like Tirico, Brando's stint was excruciating.
23. Kevin Neghandi

Neghandi has the same issue as Nowkhah. Someone needs to invent a cure for a sand paper voice box.
22. Thea Andrews

Andrews floated between several shows on ESPN and ESPN2, but never quite took off the way the sports media conglomerate hoped she would.
21. Steve Phillips

Phillips was fired from ESPN for having an affair with 22-year-old production assistant Brooke Hundley. He was also wrong about everything, which may have contributed to his firing. He wasn't an anchor, but still annoyed the crap out of me.
20. Bram Weinstein

Weinstein is a relative newcomer to the ESPN family. Based on his performance thus far, let's hope his stay is a short one.
19. Lee Corso

Much like Phillips, Corso is wrong about everything. Unlike Phillips, Corso could never bed a 22-year-old production assistant because he might be certifiable.
18. Leslie Maxie

Maxie was a short-lived co-host on ESPN2's Cold Pizza. When you hear her talk, it helps you know why the show failed.
17. Mike Hall

Hall was the original winner of ESPN's Dream Job show. As it turned out, Hall was a nightmare for the network, where he struggled to ever make a solid impression.
This proves once more that reality shows are always a bad idea.
16. Will Selva

He's so boring he makes Kenny Mayne's deadpan style sound like Gus Johnson.
15. Danyelle Sargent

Sargent was fired from ESPNews because she made mistakes almost constantly, proving that in order to report on sports, one must first know what one is talking about.
14. Craig Kilborn

Kilborn has been a failure at just about everything he's done professionally, including making the Top 10 of this list.
13. Kevin Connors

Connors is on the left. He makes it hard to notice him because he speaks in monotone, and not in a funny way like Kenny Mayne.
12. Linda Cohn

Linda Cohn's voice makes me want to drag nails over a chalkboard to get the sound out of my ears. It's that bad.
11. Larry Biel

Poor Larry couldn't sell the joke in this commercial. He was doomed from the start.
10. Fred Hickman

Hickman reportedly called in sick more than 200 times in his brief tenure with SC. At that point, why bother ever showing up?
9. Mike Greenberg

Greeny's actually a great SC host. But he's so arrogant, he deserves to go Top 10 here.
8. Alexi Lalas

Not only was he wrong all the time, he was also an arrogant jerk who thought he knew more about soccer than anyone in the world because he was one of the first Americans not to suck out loud at the sport.
7. Rob Stone

See: Lalas, Alexi.
6. Andre Aldridge

Andre tells bad jokes. Lots of them. No one got poor Andre's jokes, so they fired him.
5. Jonathan Coachman

Coachman has one volume: loud. He has one setting: annoying. But he's huge, so he can't go No. 1 because I value my life.
4. David Holmes

While Dream Job's first winner, Hall appeared on SC, it's second winner, David Holmes, never did. So he goes Top 4.
3. Kit Hoover

Hoover managed to be the first of the Cold Pizza cast to lose her job due to the fact that she knew nothing about sports.
2. Steve Weissman

The sad part? He's more obnoxious than he looks.
1. Keith Olbermann

Olbermann was a perfect storm of bad. He was pretentious, had a poor sense of humor and offended numerous audience members during his tenure. In other words, he was Dennis Miller, but on SportsCenter. That's why he tops our list.