Jimmy Roberts is a sportscaster for NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

. Roberts joined NBC in May 2000 after serving as a sports reporter for almost 12 years at ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

, where he won 11 Sports Emmy Awards

Sports Emmy Awards

The Sports Emmy Awards are presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition of excellence in American sports television programming, including sports-related series, live coverage of sporting events, and best sports announcers...

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Early life and career

Roberts grew up in White Plains, New York and graduated from White Plains High School in 1975. In high school, he played varsity lacrosse, was the school's morning announcer (originating the morning "Joke of the Day"), and occasionally wrote columns for the high school paper, The Orange.

His journalism career began in 1975 when he started as a newspaper reporter. Roberts also worked under Howard Cosell

Howard Cosell

Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...

 as a writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 and producer

Television producer

The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...

 at ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

. His writing is regarded as some of the best in all of broadcast journalism.

He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park

University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...

. During his time at Maryland, Roberts worked at the popular campus hangout R.J. Bentley's Filling Station; one of his Sports Emmys is on display there.

NBC Sports

Roberts is the interviewer for NBC's golf coverage, in addition to hosting the halftime show for Notre Dame

Notre Dame Football on NBC

Notre Dame Football on NBC is a presentation of the Notre Dame football television package on NBC. The television network broadcasts all Notre Dame home games.-History:...

 football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, being one of the main anchors for NBC's weekend sports updates, anchoring the network's coverage of the Wimbledon Championships, and working as a field reporter for NBC's coverage of the 2000 American League Championship Series

2000 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 2000 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkGame 1 at Yankee Stadium started as a pitchers' duel between Mariners' Freddy García and Yankees' Denny Neagle. Neither team would score until the top of the fifth when Mark McLemore hit a two-out ground rule double off Neagle...

. Roberts has won two Emmys since joining NBC.

Roberts has worked 10 Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 in his broadcasting career. At the Olympics for NBC

Olympics on NBC

NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games consists of broadcasts on the various networks of NBC Universal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, Spanish language network Telemundo, and many of the company's cable networks....

, he has hosted a nightly feature called the Chevy Olympic Moments, which talk about a different athlete or the history of a certain place at an Olympics. Roberts served as a correspondent for NBC Sports

NBC Sports

NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...

 coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

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Other work

Roberts hosted and narrated the Outdoor Life Network's coverage of the 2005 Dakar Rally

Dakar Rally

The Dakar Rally is an annual rally raid type of off-road automobile race, organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation...

.

In April 2009, Roberts published his first book, Breaking the Slump (Harper Collins). Slump details the struggles of many famous golfers, including Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus

Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...

, Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer

Arnold Daniel Palmer is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955...

, George Herbert Walker Bush, and others, and how they found their way through the inevitable challenges that plague anyone who plays the game.

Personal life

Roberts and his wife, Sandra Mayer, have three sons, and they all live in Westchester County, New York

Westchester County, New York

Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...

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Roberts' sister-in-law, Debbie Mayer, worked in the south tower on the 56th floor at New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

's World Trade Center

World Trade Center

The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...

. Immediately after American Airlines Flight 11

American Airlines Flight 11

American Airlines Flight 11 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California...

 (the first aircraft of the September 11, 2001, attacks) struck the north tower, Mayer began going downstairs to leave the building. She had gotten to the 29th floor when the second aircraft struck, hitting the building she worked in. However, Mayer escaped safely before the towers collapsed.

Roberts told of the ordeal to USA Today

USA Today

USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

:

"We had a couple of very anxious hours. My wife couldn't get through to Debbie. Finally, she went to her Manhattan apartment to wait for her. And she found her there. Turns out when the first explosion occurred in Building 1, Debbie started down the stairs. She had made it to the 29th floor when the building was shaken when the second plane hit. She was terrified but made it out."