The Lighter Side of Sports
Encyclopedia
The Lighter Side of Sports is a long-running syndicated American sports blooper
program produced by Steve Rotfeld
Productions. It is currently hosted by ESPN personality Mike Golic
. Lighter Side is the first and longest-running of Rotfeld's productions, utilizing Rotfeld's extensive collection of stock footage
.
from 1986-1990. In addition to sports bloopers, interviews with sports figures and comedians in front of a live audience were included, along with music from the house band
, The Flamin' Caucasians. Jay Johnstone
was the original host, later replaced in 1989 by Jim Valvano
. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE3D71431F930A25755C0A96F948260
was the host of a sort of mock talk show. Uecker's incarnation involved numerous sports bloopers and oddities, as well as numerous jokes and sketches involving Uecker himself, often in front of a live audience. Since Rotfeld had just begun compiling stock footage at the time, that required more room for comedy. A typical episode would include a few comedy sketches featuring Uecker (usually leading into a series of clips), three music videos, an interview with an actor posing as an eccentric athlete of some sort, and the rest filled with sports bloopers and videos of unusual sports, many of which date back several decade.
In its over fifteen year run, only 46 episodes hosted by Golic have been produced. Only a few new episodes have been produced each year (most of the Golic run was produced in the early to middle 1990s), so to fill the gap, all 46 Golic-hosted shows air in rotation, with new shows added in as they are produced.
The Uecker and ESPN versions of the show have not been seen since the early 1990s, although at least two Uecker episodes were released to VHS
under the title "The Best of Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports, Volumes 1 and 2." 65 ESPN episodes were produced, and 30 shows were produced that Uecker hosted (18 under the Wacky World title and 12 under the Sports Show title).
Blooper
A blooper, also known as an outtake or boner is a short sequence of a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms of misspoken words...
program produced by Steve Rotfeld
Steve Rotfeld
Steve Rotfeld is an American television producer. His programs have appeared in national broadcast syndication on TLC, ESPN, ESPN Classic, Animal Planet, truTV, Golf Channel and the Travel Channel...
Productions. It is currently hosted by ESPN personality Mike Golic
Mike Golic
Michael Louis "Mike" Golic is a co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning and a former defensive lineman at Notre Dame and in the NFL. The NFL website lists him as and ....
. Lighter Side is the first and longest-running of Rotfeld's productions, utilizing Rotfeld's extensive collection of stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
.
Cable
The first incarnation of The Lighter Side of Sports first aired on ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
from 1986-1990. In addition to sports bloopers, interviews with sports figures and comedians in front of a live audience were included, along with music from the house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
, The Flamin' Caucasians. Jay Johnstone
Jay Johnstone
John William Johnstone Jr. is an American former professional baseball player, active from 1966 to 1985 for the California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs...
was the original host, later replaced in 1989 by Jim Valvano
Jim Valvano
James Thomas Anthony "Jim" Valvano , nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball coach.While the head basketball coach at North Carolina State University, he won the 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament against high odds...
. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE3D71431F930A25755C0A96F948260
Syndication: Bob Uecker shows
The idea behind the current version of The Lighter Side of Sports had its genesis in Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports (also known as Bob Uecker's Sports Show), which began airing in syndication in 1985. As the name implied, "Mr. Baseball" Bob UeckerBob Uecker
Robert George "Bob" Uecker is an American former Major League Baseball player, later a sportscaster, comedian, and actor. Uecker was given the title of "Mr. Baseball" by Johnny Carson...
was the host of a sort of mock talk show. Uecker's incarnation involved numerous sports bloopers and oddities, as well as numerous jokes and sketches involving Uecker himself, often in front of a live audience. Since Rotfeld had just begun compiling stock footage at the time, that required more room for comedy. A typical episode would include a few comedy sketches featuring Uecker (usually leading into a series of clips), three music videos, an interview with an actor posing as an eccentric athlete of some sort, and the rest filled with sports bloopers and videos of unusual sports, many of which date back several decade.
Mike Golic era
In the 1990s, Uecker left the show, and the concept was revamped. Both ESPN's "Lighter Side" and the Uecker series were merged into a new show that retained the Lighter Side name. A synthesizer-based theme song and digitally-generated opening sequence was produced, and Golic was tapped to host. Uecker's sketches were replaced with more bloopers and spectacular sports accidents, and Golic's role was reduced to one comparable to a disc jockey, introducing clips coming in and out of commercial breaks (often at some sporting venue as part of a running gag to tie the show together).In its over fifteen year run, only 46 episodes hosted by Golic have been produced. Only a few new episodes have been produced each year (most of the Golic run was produced in the early to middle 1990s), so to fill the gap, all 46 Golic-hosted shows air in rotation, with new shows added in as they are produced.
The Uecker and ESPN versions of the show have not been seen since the early 1990s, although at least two Uecker episodes were released to VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
under the title "The Best of Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports, Volumes 1 and 2." 65 ESPN episodes were produced, and 30 shows were produced that Uecker hosted (18 under the Wacky World title and 12 under the Sports Show title).