Roger Bennett, Joe Tessitore, NBA Playoffs Have Been Cancelled And We Rank Greek Things

Episode Description

On today's Pardon My Take... JOE TESSITORE! The play-by-play broadcaster for ESPN/ABC joined Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter to discuss a new season of the "Holey Moley", some of his favorite stadiums to call a game in, and I even asked a Big J question to wrap up the conversation. The trio also dove into the time last fall that Tessitore called a Boston College vs. Clemson game in Death Valley. You may be thinking, "What's the importance of that? It was probably a blowout." Well, it wasn't, as the then undefeated Tigers won 34-28. But that isn't what stuck out from that game.

Let's zone in on the end of the second quarter, when it was a 4th & 2 for the Eagles. Kicker/Punter John Tessitore entered the game as a part of the field goal unit, with his dad upstairs in the booth and on the call. Here is what happened next:

This. Is. Wild. Joe Tess reflected on what that moment meant to him on today's show:

Mr. Commenter: Your son, he's a kicker, he's also a running back, because he did get that first down. When you were announcing that game, as a play-by-play guy, you've got to be. prepared for everything, right? Did you have any inside information that this was a play that they might be running?

Joe Tessitore: No, PFT, that's actually one of the great tags to the story, is that John didn't tell me anything the whole week. And the whole week, you know, I'm sitting there prepping and I'm with Dabo, and I'm with Venables, and I'm with that whole side of the world, and then I get to production meetings with Boston College, and the whole week, we were just never talking football. 

Joe Tessitore: He was getting ready to do his thing with his teammates, I'm preparing for my broadcast. So, I go down there afterwards, I walked across the field and make it over outside the locker room, and he comes out and he is hot like a hornet, because remember, they were up by 18 points and they lose a tight one at the end, although you were probably catching the big number there, Big Cat, I'm hoping.

Mr. Cat: Ehhh, I can't remember what I had in that game. I think I may have had BC. Yeah, I think I had BC and that number. 

Joe Tessitore: Should have been catching double digits in there and laughing all day ling. Anyways, I said to him, "Hey man, no heads up on that?" Ho goes, "I couldn't tell you. I knew sitting all week long, it was in the playbook all week long. But no, he didn't give me the heads up on it at all.

As his partner said, you can tell that Joe Tess really stayed up all night the evening before kickoff to study that nugget about No. 98 in white. That's a very cool father-son moment, to say the least.