ESPN, Oprah make dream come true for aspiring sportscaster

Cleveland resident Ron Brown is a big fan of ESPN and has always wanted to a sportscaster. He was watching ESPN News the other day when something downright cool happened. Take it away, Mark Dawidziak of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:

Ron Brown was sitting in the bar of a Winking Lizard restaurant Sunday evening when he heard his name mentioned by an ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor.

“Here’s a story that caught our eye,” “SportsCenter” anchor Kevin Negandhi said. “There’s a guy in Cleveland, Ohio. His name is Ron Brown. Ron apparently has always dreamed of being a sportscaster.”

Brown, who lives in Cleveland, was sitting with his best friend, James Hill, who had invited him to the Winking Lizard on Huron Road in Cleveland. It was a setup, as Brown learned.

“Well, it seems that Ron’s best friend, James Hill, wrote into ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ and asked if they could hook him up with a reporting gig for his favorite sports network, ESPN,” said Negandhi’s co-anchor, Ryan Burr, according to a transcript provided by ESPN. “So, Ron are you watching?”

He was. Negandhi then dropped the big news: “Ron Brown of Cleveland, Ohio, we’re talking to you. Yes, you Ron Brown. Listen up. Here’s the deal. We’re sending you on assignment. You’re going to interview one of the biggest stars in the NBA, Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls.”

“And after your interview, you’re going to head back here to our ESPN anchor desk to give us the lowdown,” Burr said.

Brown is set to interview Rose on Saturday in Indianapolis.

And what did Oprah Winfrey have to do with this? A camera crew from a Cleveland station that airs her show captured Brown as he listened to the announcement on ESPN News. A segment with him will run on Oprah’s show on May 5.

And people say Cleveland fans have it all bad.

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