John Buccigross
Born (1966-01-27) January 27, 1966
EducationHeidelberg College
OccupationSportscaster

John Buccigross (/ˈbuːtʃiɡrɒs/ BOO-chee-gros; born January 27, 1966)[1] is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for ESPN since 1996.[2]

Biography

Buccigross was raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania before moving to Steubenville, Ohio, at age 11. He played basketball at, and graduated from, Steubenville Catholic Central High School.[3] Buccigross graduated from Heidelberg College, where he majored in communications and theater arts.[3]

Early career

Buccigross worked at a Cape Cod, Massachusetts, television station and at WPRI in Providence, Rhode Island.[3][4]

ESPN

Buccigross' television duties include SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight. He formerly served as the host of the NHL 2Night (1998-2004) alongside analysts Barry Melrose, Ray Ferraro, and Darren Pang.[5][6] He is currently a play-by-play commentator and studio host for the NHL on ESPN and is the lead host of their new weekly show, The Point.[3]

From 2001 to 2010, Buccigross authored a weekly NHL column for ESPN.com; he continues to contribute written pieces to the site periodically.[7][8][9]

Beginning with the 2012 NHL Playoffs, Buccigross began hosting the #Bucciovertimechallenge on Twitter, asking users to guess the player (one for each team) who would score the game-winning goal for every overtime game throughout the course of the playoffs. Selected winners receive a branded item from his online store. As of the 2022 playoffs, the challenge is still active.[10]

Despite initial reports to the contrary, Buccigross was not included in a mass layoff of on-air ESPN employees that included most of the network's hockey staff in April 2017; his contract was set to expire in the summer of that year.[11]

Broadcasting style

Buccigross described himself in a 2006 column: "I'm 6-foot-4, 192 pounds. Mizuno MP33 irons. Big Run-DMC fan. Love chicken parm. Once played golf with Ray Bourque and tried to intentionally three putt from 30 feet so I could say I shot a 77 playing golf with Ray Bourque. Instead, the slippery downhill putt went in and I shot a 75 not playing golf with Brett Lindros."[12] One of his catch-phrases is "nahmally good", which is a play on "normally good", and he refers to painful experiences by claiming, "Oh, Knights of Columbus that hurts!" Also, on occasion, he uses a Pittsburgh English or Pittsburghese accent, in his announcements of Pittsburgh sports. Another fun catch-phrase of Buccigross is associated with NBA star James Harden, exclaiming, "And a woo woo woo!" every time Harden scores a basket—a tip of the hat to Jeffrey Osborne's 1986 smash hit, "You Should Be Mine."

Book

Buccigross signed a book deal in the spring of 2006 with Middle Atlantic Press to write the life story of former NHL player and current NHL analyst Keith Jones. The book's title is Jonesy: Put Your Head Down And Skate. The Improbable NHL Career of Keith Jones. The book was released on October 2, 2007.[4]

Personal life

Buccigross married his wife Melissa in 1987; they divorced prior to March 2017.[9][13] Buccigross and his ex-wife have three adult children: Brett, Malorie, and Jack.[3][9]

In 2017, former ESPN analyst Adrienne Lawrence filed a lawsuit alleging that Buccigross sexually harassed her.[14] In December 2019, the lawsuit was settled for undisclosed terms.[15]

Buccigross is a member of the advisory board for You Can Play, a campaign dedicated to fighting homophobia in sports.[16]

References

  1. ↑ https://twitter.com/Buccigross/status/1575699538035150850
  2. ↑ John Buccigross. ESPN MediaZone (2016-05-24). Retrieved on 2016-05-28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Kuc, Chris. "John Buccigross' Love of the Game". Sports Section. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Buccigross: My long hockey path to 'Jonesy'". ESPN. December 3, 2007. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Out of Bounds: An interview with John Buccigross". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Multi-Sport Star: John Buccigross". USA Hockey Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  7. ↑ John Buccigross. ESPN Media Zone (2009-10-28)
  8. ↑ "Buccigross: Bring on the bigger nets". ESPN. November 17, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 "Buccigross: Last game is the hardest". ESPN. March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  10. ↑ "How 2 Play". #bucciovertimechallenge #cawlidgehawkey. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  11. ↑ "On the day of ESPN's reported layoffs, John Buccigross responds to the reports about his contract status". April 26, 2017.
  12. ↑ John Buccigross (May 2, 2006). "We need comebacks, we need goals, we need hope". ESPN. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  13. ↑ "SN exclusive: ESPN's John Buccigross poised to become free agent". Sporting News. August 12, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  14. ↑ Maddaus, Gene (March 6, 2018). "Ex-ESPN Analyst Accuses John Buccigross of Unwanted Sexual Advances". Variety -US. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  15. ↑ "ESPN reaches settlement on harassment lawsuit". AP NEWS. December 17, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Staff and Board". You Can Play Project. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
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