Mike Tirico told me his secret.
It wasn't talent.
It wasn't luck.
It was what he does on every flight home.
A few years ago, I met him at a restaurant bar in Indianapolis during the Big Ten tournament. One of the biggest voices in sports.
He didn't lead with his résumé. He introduced himself. He asked questions. He cared about every person in the room before anyone cared about him.
Eventually, I asked him what made him great.
He said after every game he calls, on the flight home, he pulls up the broadcast and watches it back.
Listens to his own voice. Hunts for the misses. The dead air. The calls he wishes he could have over.
Every game. Twenty-plus years in.
He wasn't born world-class. He worked his way there one flight at a time.
The best in any room are usually the ones still grading themselves the hardest.
World-class isn't a personality.
It's a habit.
The moment that Makai Lemon found out the Eagles were trading up to get him at No. 20 while he was the on the phone with the Steelers, who were planning to take him at No. 21.
I’m reading lots of stories about the @penguins being furious about the Game 3 officiating. The fact is, Pittsburgh had 5 powerplays that totaled 8:24. The @NHLFlyers had 3 powerplays plays that totaled 4:03. End of discussion.
Interesting stat: @NHLFlyers averaged 2.84 goals per game before Porter Martone arrived; they averaged 3.67 goals per game in the 9 games he played, per https://t.co/0i5LwlsHeP.
The @NHLFlyers made the playoffs after sitting nine points out of the second Wild-card spot on March 10. Philadelphia became the first team in NHL history to make the playoffs after facing that large of a point deficit through 60 or more games played in a season.