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John Buccigross

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John Buccigross
Born (1966-01-27) January 27, 1966 (age 58)
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

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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

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

ESPN

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Buccigross' television duties include SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight. He formerly served as the lead host of the NHL 2Night (1998-2004) alongside analysts Barry Melrose, Ray Ferraro, and Darren Pang.[5][6][7][8][9] He is currently a play-by-play commentator and studio host for the NHL on ESPN, play-by-play man for NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament games and is the lead host of their new weekly show, The Point, all with Melrose and Ferraro.[10]

From 2001 to 2010, Buccigross authored a weekly NHL column for ESPN.com; he continues to contribute written pieces to the site periodically.[11][12][13]

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 2024 playoffs, the challenge is still active.[14]

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.[15]

Broadcasting style

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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."[16] 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

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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

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Buccigross married his wife Melissa in 1987; they divorced prior to March 2017.[13][17] Buccigross and his ex-wife have three adult children: Brett, Malorie, and Jack.[3][13]

In 2017, former ESPN analyst Adrienne Lawrence filed a lawsuit alleging that Buccigross sexually harassed her.[18] In December 2019, the lawsuit was settled for undisclosed terms.[19]

Buccigross is a member of the advisory board for You Can Play, a campaign dedicated to fighting homophobia in sports.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Buccigross, John [@Buccigross] (September 29, 2022). "I was born in Allegheny General Hospital: 1/27/1966. Biological Mom was young—carried me to term to give me life & give me away to an unknown couple. Imagine that selflessness. That courage. That toughness. I've never met her. Don't care about him. It worked out, Mom. I'm good" (Tweet). Retrieved October 29, 2024 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "John Buccigross". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Kuc, Chris (January 28, 2022). "Nobody Loves Hockey More than John Buccigross". Sports Section. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Buccigross, John (December 3, 2007). "The hockey road less traveled ... to 'Jonesy'". ESPN. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  5. ^ Robenhymer, Julie (April 30, 2016). "Ties After Three Periods Send the Fans to Twitter". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Rorabaugh, Seth (November 11, 2002). "Out of Bounds: An interview with John Buccigross". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023.
  7. ^ Buccigross, John (January 2010). "Multi-Sport Star: John Buccigross". USA Hockey Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  8. ^ Buccigross, John. "NHL - From a pool of marinara, a star is born". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  9. ^ "Analysts: Team USA picks". ESPN.com. May 20, 2004. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  10. ^ McKay, Julie (March 22, 2023). "The Puck Drops on NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Post-Season Play Across ESPN Platforms". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  11. ^ "John Buccigross". ESPN MediaZone. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010.
  12. ^ Buccigross, John (November 17, 2015). "For the good of the game, bring on the bigger nets". ESPN. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c Buccigross, John (March 20, 2017). "John Buccigross: Watching son play last competitive high school game brings flood of emotions". ESPN. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  14. ^ "How 2 Play". #bucciovertimechallenge #cawlidgehawkey. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  15. ^ Curtis, Charles (April 26, 2017). "On the day of ESPN's reported layoffs, John Buccigross responds to the reports about his contract status". ForTheWin. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  16. ^ Buccigross, John (May 2, 2006). "We need comebacks, we need goals, we need hope". ESPN. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  17. ^ McCarthy, Michael (August 12, 2021). "SN exclusive: ESPN's John Buccigross poised to become free agent". Sporting News. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  18. ^ Maddaus, Gene (March 6, 2018). "Ex-ESPN Analyst Accuses John Buccigross of Unwanted Sexual Advances". Variety -US. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  19. ^ "ESPN reaches settlement on harassment lawsuit". AP NEWS. December 17, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  20. ^ "Staff and Board". You Can Play Project. Archived from the original on December 22, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
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