Mike Greenberg | |
|---|---|
 Greenberg during ESPN The Weekend in February 2010 | |
| Born | Michael Darrow Greenberg (1967-08-06)August 6, 1967 (age 58) New York City, U.S. |
| Other names | Greeny |
| Alma mater | Medill School of Journalism atNorthwestern University (B.S.) |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Career | |
| Show | Mike & Mike (2000–2017) |
| Station | ESPN Radio |
| Time slot | Monday–Friday 6 am – 10 amET |
| Show | Get Up! |
| Station | ESPN |
| Time slot | Various |
| Country | United States |
| Previous show(s) | Mike and Mike |
Michael Darrow[1]Greenberg (born August 6, 1967) is an American television anchor, television show host, radio show host forESPN andABC, and novelist. At ESPN, he hosted the weekday evening, most often Monday,SportsCenter and previouslyESPN Radio'sMike & Mike show withMike Golic. At sister networkABC, he was the host ofDuel, which aired from 2007 to 2008, and co-hostedBattle of the Network Stars withJoe Tessitore. He has anchored ESPN's morning showGet Up since 2018, and has also anchored NBA coverage onNBA Countdown, along with NFL coverage onSunday NFL Countdown.
As of 2024, Greeny hosts his own radio show called #Greeny.
Mike was born to aJewish[2] family inNew York,New York, and graduated fromStuyvesant High School in 1985. In 1989, Greenberg graduated fromNorthwestern University,[3] where he joined theTheta Chi fraternity, and started work as a sports anchor and reporter atWMAQ-AM in Chicago. He left WMAQ in 1992 to work forWSCR-Radio as a reporter (covering events such as theWorld Series and theSuper Bowl) and talk show host. From 1993 to 1995, he also wrote a weekly syndicated column for the California-basedCopley News Service. In 1994, he added reporting for SportsChannel Chicago to his résumé. In 1995, he left SportsChannel Chicago to work atCLTV, becoming an anchor, reporter, and host of a live call-in show. He left Chicago in September 1996 for ESPN, where he became one of the first hosts[3] ofESPNEWS when it began broadcasting in November of that year.
In 1999, withESPN Radio airing in just four markets, Mike Greenberg was approached about returning to radio to be a part of a morning drive-time show withMike Golic as co-host. Greenberg agreed, with the understanding that he would continue anchoringSportsCenter on a regular basis. On April 26, 2004, the show started a regular simulcast on ESPNEWS.[4] Because of their continued success, the duo moved toESPN2 in January 2005.[4]
One of the most popular segments of the entire year onMike & Mike was the annual "Sheet of Integrity" wager, a bracket wager based on the NCAA men's basketball tournament and the massive ESPN.com bracket contest. The bet originated after Golic told of how he would enter a massive number of sheets into different pools to win the money involved in the pool. Greenberg, believing picks required a sort of integrity, insisted that any such entrant be required to enter only one "Sheet of Integrity". Golic would select one of his (presumably) dozens of sheets against Greenberg, with the loser having to perform a humiliating stunt, usually on the air. The first year, Greenberg won and Golic had to have an eyebrow wax on the air. The next two years, Golic won, and Greenberg had to wear the University of Notre Dame Leprechaun mascot costume on the air, the second time on the Notre Dame campus. In the 2007 competition Greenberg, an admitted die-hardNew York Jets fan, agreed to wear aNew England Patriots jersey to a Jets game and to milk a cow live on-air. Greenberg received advice about milking a cow from ESPN baseball analystBuster Olney, who grew up on a dairy farm.
Mike Greenberg's final day as co-host of theMike & Mike program was November 17, 2017. Greenberg and Golic were inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2016 and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2018. On November 27,Trey Wingo, host ofNFL Live and ESPN'sSportsCenter, became Golic's new morning show co-host, and the duo hostedMike & Mike's successor show,Golic and Wingo from 2017 to 2020.[5] Greenberg joined a new ESPN morning show,Get Up!, which premiered April 2, 2018.[6] He also returned to ESPN Radio with a new show, called Greeny.[7]
Greenberg hosted theABCgame showDuel.[8] The first season of the show, a week-long six-episode special, premiered on December 17, 2007, and ended on December 23, 2007. The show was renewed, and premiered its second season (consisting of ten episodes) on April 4, 2008; the show's sixteenth and final episode aired on July 30.
On February 20, 2008, Greenberg appeared, along with his radio partner Mike Golic, on the soap operaGuiding Light[9] as reported on ESPNradio.com.
On April 18, 2012, Greenberg co-hostedLive! with Kelly.[10]Nearly or over 10 years later, he became the host of Sunday NFL Countdown
On March 7, 2006, Greenberg released his first book entitledWhy My Wife Thinks I'm An Idiot: The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad, which reached 14th on theNew York Times Bestseller list and was nominated in the 2006Quill Awards for best sports book.[11] In April 2010, Greenberg, along with co-host Mike Golic, released a book entitledMike and Mike's Rules for Sports and Life. Along with the release, the two Mikes embarked on a 15-city book tour that included stops inNew York City,Philadelphia,Pittsburgh,Chicago,Dallas,Boston, andTampa. Greenberg released a novel entitledAll You Could Ask For in 2013.[12] He released the novelMy Father's Wives in January 2015. On April 4, 2023, Mike Greenberg partnered withGet Up! producer Paul "Hembo" Hembekides to release "Got Your Number" published by Hyperion Avenue.
In 2010, Greenberg was embroiled in controversy when returning from a commercial break on his showMike and Mike in the Morning. He appeared to refer to Martin Luther King Day as "Martin Luther Coon Day". He immediately "corrected" himself, and continued with the show as if nothing happened. He later apologized through an ESPN statement for saying what appeared to be a racial slur.[13]
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