CBS Sports Spectacular
Encyclopedia
CBS Sports Spectacular is a sports anthology program produced by CBS Sports
. The series began on January 3, 1960 as The CBS Sports Spectacular, and has been known under many different names, including CBS Sports Saturday, CBS Sports Sunday, Eye on Sports and The CBS Sports Show.
The program continues to air on an irregular basis on weekend afternoons, especially during the late spring and summer months. Normally it airs pre-recorded "time-buy
" sports events produced by outside companies, such as supercross
or skiing
competitions, or sponsored documentaries
.
, Brent Musburger
, Dick Stockton
, Tim Brant
, Greg Gumbel
, Pat O'Brien
, Andrea Joyce
and Michele Tafoya
.
Under its current format, the program does not have a regular host.
's "Fire on High
" was used as the opening theme of the show (when it was known as The CBS Sports Special) from 1976
to 1978
. The next song used as a theme (from 1979-1980) was an "in-house" version of American composer Aaron Copland
's symphonic instrumental "Fanfare For The Common Man
." The CBS version of "Fanfare" -- clocking in at 1 minute, eight seconds—was styled after the 9 minute, 40 second version recorded by UK progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer
on its 1978 LP, Works Volume 1.
For CBS
' Super Bowl XVI
coverage at the end of the 1981 NFL season
, CBS' theme music would eventually become the theme for CBS Sports Saturday/Sunday. The music itself, could be considered a hybrid of the then, NFL Today
theme and their original college basketball
theme.
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
. The series began on January 3, 1960 as The CBS Sports Spectacular, and has been known under many different names, including CBS Sports Saturday, CBS Sports Sunday, Eye on Sports and The CBS Sports Show.
The program continues to air on an irregular basis on weekend afternoons, especially during the late spring and summer months. Normally it airs pre-recorded "time-buy
Brokered programming
Brokered programming is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot commercials...
" sports events produced by outside companies, such as supercross
Supercross
Supercross is a motorcycle racing sport involving off-road motorcycles on an artificially-made dirt tracks consisting of steep jumps and obstacles. Professional supercross contest races are held almost exclusively within professional baseball and football stadiums.-History:Supercross was derived...
or skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
competitions, or sponsored documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
.
Hosts
Hosts have included John "Bud" Palmer, Jack WhitakerJack Whitaker (sportscaster)
Jack Whitaker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American sportscaster who worked for both CBS and ABC.-Early life and career:...
, Brent Musburger
Brent Musburger
Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...
, Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton is an American sportscaster. He is currently employed by Fox Sports and Turner Sports as a football, baseball, and basketball play-by-play announcer.-Early life and career:...
, Tim Brant
Tim Brant
Tim Brant is an American sportscaster and Vice President and Director of Sports for ABC 7 / WJLA-TV in Washington DC. He has spent nearly thirty years covering sports nationally for CBS and ABC....
, Greg Gumbel
Greg Gumbel
Greg Gumbel is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments on the CBS network...
, Pat O'Brien
Pat O'Brien (television)
Pat O'Brien is currently a radio host with Fox Sports Radio as well as an author. He is best known for his time as a sportscaster with CBS Sports and as anchor/host of Access Hollywood and The Insider .O'Brien covered five Olympic Games, two for CBS...
, Andrea Joyce
Andrea Joyce
Andrea Joyce is an American sportscaster who works for NBC Sports after working 10 years with CBS Sports.-Education and early career:...
and Michele Tafoya
Michele Tafoya
Michele Tafoya is an American sportscaster.-Early life and career:Tafoya received a B.A...
.
Under its current format, the program does not have a regular host.
Memorable moments
- 1977 World's Strongest ManWorld's Strongest ManThe World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...
- The inaugural event featured the likes of Bruce WilhelmBruce WilhelmBruce Wilhelm is a weightlifter and strongman from the United States. He is a two-time winner of the World's Strongest Man competition in 1977 and 1978 and the author of numerous strength-related articles and books. He was a member of the executive board of the United States Olympic Committee...
, Lou FerrignoLou FerrignoLouis Jude "Lou" Ferrigno is an American actor, fitness trainer/consultant, and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles, and appeared in the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron...
and Ken PateraKen PateraKen Patera is a former professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and Strongman competitor.-Weightlifting/Strongman career:Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter and American powerlifter... - 1978 Belmont StakesBelmont StakesThe Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
- AffirmedAffirmedAffirmed was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the eleventh and most recent winner of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing...
over AlydarAlydarAlydar was a chestnut colt and an American thoroughbred race horse who was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a feat not achieved before or repeated since.-Racing career:Trained by John M...
to become (as of 2011) its last horse racingHorse racingHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
Triple CrownUnited States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred RacingIn the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
winner. - 1979 Daytona 5001979 Daytona 500The 1979 Daytona 500 was the second race of the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It was held on February 18, 1979. Critics consider the 1979 Daytona 500 to be the most important race in stock car history....
- The first 500-mile race to be broadcast in its entirety live on national television in the United States. - Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals1980 Stanley Cup Finals-See also:* List of Stanley Cup champions* 1979–80 NHL season* 1980 NBA Finals* 1980 World Series* Super Bowl XV-Notes:...
- The New York Islanders1979–80 New York Islanders seasonThe 1979-80 New York Islanders season was the eighth in the franchise's history. It involved winning the Stanley Cup. During the season, the Islanders dropped below the 100-point mark for the first time in five years, earning only 91 points....
would defeat the Philadelphia Flyers1979–80 Philadelphia Flyers seasonThe 1979–80 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 13th season in the National Hockey League .The Flyers began the 1979–80 season with a somewhat controversial move by naming Clarke a playing assistant coach and giving the captaincy to Mel Bridgman. While Clarke was against this...
in overtime, 5-4, to win their first ever Stanley CupStanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
championship. This would be the last National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
game to air on American network television until the 1990 All-Star Game41st National Hockey League All-Star GameThe 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, on January 21, 1990. The game saw the team of all-stars from the Wales conference defeat the Campbell conference all-stars 12–7...
aired on NBC.
Theme music
The Electric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
's "Fire on High
Fire On High
"Fire on High" is the opening instrumental track from the 1975 Electric Light Orchestra album Face the Music.The song was the UK B-side to the band's worldwide hit single Livin' Thing, issued in blue vinyl...
" was used as the opening theme of the show (when it was known as The CBS Sports Special) from 1976
1976 in television
The year 1976 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1976.-Global television events:*The Olympics, broadcast from Montreal, Canada, draw an estimated one billion viewers worldwide....
to 1978
1978 in television
The year 1978 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1978.For the American TV schedule, see: 1978-79 American network television schedule.-Events:...
. The next song used as a theme (from 1979-1980) was an "in-house" version of American composer Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
's symphonic instrumental "Fanfare For The Common Man
Fanfare for the Common Man
Fanfare for the Common Man is a 20th-century American classical music work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. It was inspired in part by a famous speech made earlier in the same year where vice...
." The CBS version of "Fanfare" -- clocking in at 1 minute, eight seconds—was styled after the 9 minute, 40 second version recorded by UK progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
on its 1978 LP, Works Volume 1.
For CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
' Super Bowl XVI
Super Bowl XVI
Super Bowl XVI was an American football game played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan to decide the National Football League champion following the 1981 regular season. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city...
coverage at the end of the 1981 NFL season
1981 NFL season
The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...
, CBS' theme music would eventually become the theme for CBS Sports Saturday/Sunday. The music itself, could be considered a hybrid of the then, NFL Today
The NFL Today
The NFL Today is an American sports series that precedes the American football program The NFL on CBS on CBS Sports. The program usually airs at noon on Sundays of the National Football League regular season...
theme and their original college basketball
College Basketball on CBS
College Basketball on CBS presented by State Farm is a presentation of men's NCAA Division I basketball games on CBS...
theme.
See also
- ESPN Sports SaturdayESPN Sports SaturdayESPN Sports Saturday is an American sports anthology series produced by the ESPN sports network. Hosted by Hannah Storm, it premiered at 4 p.m. ET April 3, 2010 on the American Broadcasting Company...
- Wide World of SportsWide World of Sports (US TV series)ABC's Wide World of Sports is a sports anthology series on American television that ran from 1961 to 1998 and was originally hosted by Jim McKay. The title continued to be used for general sports programs until 2006...
- Sportsworld