| | | |  | | Miller. |
Welcome to ESPN.com's moderated chat room. On Friday, Up Close host Gary Miller will made a special appearance in chat to take user questions.Miller anchors the 30-minute program generally seen at 6 p.m. (and 3 a.m.) ET. Up Close, which originates from the ESPN Zone in the Downtown Disney district in Anaheim, Calif., features unedited interviews with top personalities from the world of sports. As host of Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter, Miller has anchored on-site coverage of the World Series, MLB Playoffs, NCAA Basketball, Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies, MLB Winter Meetings and more. He has also served as play-by-play commentator for the College World Series and Major League Baseball. Prior to joining ESPN in 1990, Miller had been a CNN sports anchor/reporter from 1982-90 . In addition, he hosted CNN's weekly baseball highlights show and college football and basketball preview program. Below is a transcript from Miller's April 20 chat:
 Gary Miller at 5:14pm ET
I am here and ready for your questions. Let's get started.
Geoff Folsom from [63.26.148.243], at 5:15pm ET
What do you think of the Falcons trading for the top pick?
Gary Miller at 5:16pm ET
I think it is an awesome trade for the Chargers and I think the Falcons gave up too much. I thought all along they would trade the pick. Now it puts pressure on Vick to help another struggling franchise.
Marty from [24.4.253.164], at 5:16pm ET
Hello Gary, describe what it was like to "Interview" Shaquille O'Neal on "ESPN'S Up Close" recently?
Gary Miller at 5:16pm ET
Refreshing.
I had interviewed him in the past and he gave me the short answer interview. Seeing his other interviews about his book, I think we got the best and he showed the most personality.
Jason from [66.61.38.225], at 5:17pm ET
Gary, how do you like working inside of the ESPN Zone?
Gary Miller at 5:17pm ET
It is great. It has added a lot of energy. The guests like it. The best part is to have that face to face contact with the audience and it provides lots of energy.
Jeff from [129.2.227.31] at 5:17pm ET
Who do you expect the Chargers to take now that they've traded the No. 1 pick?
Gary Miller at 5:18pm ET
Obviously we were scouting them with a different mind set. They need a reciever and the draft is packed with great WRs. They could use a RB and if LaDainian Tomlinson is there at No. 5, I would think they would take him.
Jon B from [209.204.123.159], at 5:18pm ET
Hey Gary, what do you think of your guests Drew Brees and Freddie Mitchell?
Gary Miller at 5:20pm ET
I was surprised because we were expecting Mitchell to be the more outgoing personality from what we have seen from him in the past. But Brees was very good and candid -- he was more poised than Mitchell. But they were both good.
Marty from [24.4.253.164], at 5:20pm ET
Hello Gary, Is there one particular "guest" you would like to have on your show in the future who you've wanted on for a long time?
Gary Miller at 5:21pm ET
We are still holding out for Phil Jackson. We were hoping to get him on his book tour. But I think he will be celebrating ring No. 8 in June.
Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and the usual suspects.
MoonMan from [24.8.91.81], at 5:21pm ET
What is the most interesting interview you have ever done?
Gary Miller at 5:22pm ET
Good question.
It is a good thing I am on the other end of these questions because they take a minute.
But the interview with former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien talking about his son losing his battle with brain cancer. It was one of the most touching interviews I have ever done.
Belfie from [63.57.168.186], at 5:22pm ET
How was it talking to Mark McGwire?
Gary Miller at 5:23pm ET
It was great. Our relationship has really grown. He is a guy's guy. He totally cracked me up. Every time I interview him, he is more humorous, relaxed and forthright about the direction baseball should be going in.
RyanKohlmeierfan from [24.49.156.29], at 5:23pm ET
Who was your favorite athlete as a kid?
Gary Miller at 5:24pm ET
Growing up in Chicago, Gale Sayers has always been one of my favorites. I think he is a great one to have because I don't think anyone has or will run like him. The best quote about him was "he runs like a split body and you never know which one to dive for when tackling him".
RyanKohlmeierfan from [24.49.156.29], at 5:25pm ET
I've met Cal Ripken Jr. many times, and feel that he's one of the best people to be around in sports. Who is your favorite athlete to be around?
Gary Miller at 5:26pm ET
One of my favorites is a guy I just met -- Mark Schlereth of the Broncos. He is a man of great faith and is a dedicated family man. But he is a great joker, and loves to tell behind the scenes stories about the Broncos. But he devotes a lot of time to the recovery of his hometown in Littleton, Colorado. He is a great guy.
mj fantatic from [63.27.50.50], at 5:27pm ET
How different is doing SportsCenter then doing Up Close?
Gary Miller at 5:28pm ET
There is a huge difference. Both require a ton of research. On Up Close you can focus on one player but on SportsCenter you have to be on all teams in all sports. At this time of year with so much going on, it can be overwhelming.
The other major difference is that I don't get to work with a lot of my co-anchors who I miss a lot.
Geoff Folsom II from [63.26.148.243] at 5:29pm ET
Why wouldn't Shaq do the interview from the ESPN Zone?
Gary Miller at 5:30pm ET
I'll use one of his "nicknames" the Almighty Conceitedness. He is a star of stars and it would have created too much excitement for an in-person interview. He was also doing a bunch of local interviews about his book so it served him better to do it from his manager's office.
S. Dowling from [152.163.195.182], at 5:31pm ET
If you had hosted Up Close back when O.J. Simpson was on, would you have been as tough as Chris Myers?
Gary Miller at 5:32pm ET
Yes and no. I thought Chris did a great job with it. There were questions he had to ask, but after 20 minutes of O.J.'s distorted take on the incident, I would have wanted to do some historical stuff with him about how the murders will impact his legacy in his mind. I would like to ask him what it's like to have the Hall of Fame get word to him to not show up at Canton, Ohio.
Marty from [24.4.253.164], at 5:32pm ET
How do you decide which Questions that viewers have sent in for the "Guests" are chosen on ESPN'S Up Close?
Gary Miller at 5:33pm ET
Generally we look for something that is orginal, possibly that we hadn't thought of. Sometimes we save a topic we were going to do but it may be asked in a unique way by a viewer and we still get it into the show through a viewer's perspective.
Belfie from [63.57.168.186], at 5:33pm ET
Who is the funniest player you have interviewed?
Gary Miller at 5:35pm ET
Bob Uecker is still at the top of my list. You can usually tell how funny someone is by the volume of my giggles. Some of the funniest guys were Mark McGwire, Mark Grace, Charles Barkley, Rick Majerus and actually two of the funniest together were Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm.
calplyballer from [207.62.160.142], at 5:35pm ET
In your career, what prominant athlete has been the rudest to interview?
Gary Miller at 5:38pm ET
Nobody has been awful on camera. George Foreman was pretty belligerent off camera. When I was covering baseball and doing interviews for that, Barry Bond, Kirk Gibson, John Tudor, Whitey Herzog and occasionally Tommy Lasorda were some of the most difficult people to deal with.
Gary Miller at 5:39pm ET
That is all the time I have for now. Thanks for all the interest and sorry I couldn't get to all the questions.
Keep sending in your questions to Up Close and maybe you can be a part of Up Close real soon.
Take care everyone and we'll do this again soon.
| |
|
