Neil Everett

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Neil Everett bigraphy, stories - Journalists

Neil Everett : biography

1962 –

Neil Everett Morfitt, known professionally as Neil Everett (born 1962), is a sportscaster for ESPN. He is best known for being the co-anchor of the West Coast edition of SportsCenter alongside Stan Verrett.

Biography

Born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Spokane, Washington, Everett attended Willamette University but graduated from the University of Oregon. He was initiated as a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Willamette and transferred that membership to the University of Oregon. He started out in broadcasting at KCST-FM in Florence, Oregon. However he left the media field and moved to Hawaii, where he worked 15 years as an athletic administrator at Hawaii Pacific University. He returned to broadcasting as a sports director and reporter for KGMB, Honolulu’s CBS affiliate.

In 2000, Everett interviewed with ESPN on the recommendation of a friend, and was hired by the network as a sports anchor. In March 2009, he relocated to California to anchor the late-night Los Angeles edition of SportsCenter, which debuted on April 6, 2009.

Broadcasting style

During his tenure as a SportsCenter anchor, Everett has added Hawaiian surfing sayings and other state references to the show’s famous repertoire of catchphrases. When noting the time of an event, he will often use the Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone. He also uses "Howzit" (Hawaiian slang for "How’s it going?") to start each show and "Recognize the WAC!" in reference to the University of Hawaii Warriors, who play in the Western Athletic Conference.

Everett closes each show’s introductory summary by shouting the words "Right now!" He also makes references to Spokane and Gonzaga University (located in Spokane), as well as references to the University of Oregon (his alma mater). He uses the catchphrase, "Bartender, Jack!" (as in Jack Daniels), in reference to home runs in baseball highlights. He often refers to The Grateful Dead lyrics, such as quoting "Tennessee, Tennessee, there ain’t no place I’d rather be" — a verse in the song Tennessee Jed — when referring to the University of Tennessee Volunteers sports teams. He also frequently uses the verse from the Grateful Dead song, St. Stephen, "One man gathers what another man spills," as well as often referring to the Pearl Jam song "Got Some" with the phrase "Got some if you need it!". He also refers to the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song "Jammin’ Me", in some cases when mentioning the University of Florida Gators sports team (since Tom Petty is from Gainsville, Florida), along with the song "It’s Good to be King" when referring to the Sacramento Kings. Most recently, he was noted paying tribute to the band Phish, after lead guitarist Trey Anastasio threw an opening pitch for a Padres and Rockies game.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFwmx1Em9Ww He also makes numerous references to The Big Lebowski, a movie set in his current town of Los Angeles, with references such as "The Dude abides" and "careful man, there’s a beverage here" and " Mark it eight Dude" during Top Ten Plays. He usually gets the number nine call, during Sportscenter’s top ten plays, and a popular catchphrase that he likes to use is, "She’s a Beauty That Number Nine," which is from Neil Young’s "Ordinary People." During the 2010 Oregon Ducks Football season he gave a shout out to "Supwitchugirl" and their smash hit "I Love My Ducks (Return of The Quack)" by singing the chorus. He occasionally references the George Thorogood classic One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer, with the line "One shot ain’t enough Jack, you better make it three".

Neil frequently refers to Gonzaga University as "America’s Team."