Keith Olbermann Will Host Turner's MLB Playoff Coverage

Well, Keith Olbermann has a job again. After months of s howing up at ballparks, Olbermann is going to be the studio host for Turner's coverage of the MLB playoffs this October. The Hollywood Reporter reports he'll be on with Dennis Eckersley and maybe one other studio guy (Jim Miller broke the Olbermann news). Cal Ripken Jr. will move from the studio to the booth, alongside Ron Darling and Ernie Johnson. Darling signed a long term extension with Turner, so we can scratch him off the short list as Tim McCarver's replacement on Fox.

It's telling that Turner didn't commit to Olbermann beyond baseball coverage (in fact, Turner won't even confirm whether he's signed beyond this fall). If you give Keith only a few weeks to work for you, chances are he won't have enough time to alienate every single person working on that show.

Olbermann's job is a very part-time job, so it leaves the door wide open to collect other gigs. So, what of ESPN? Well, as you may remember, ESPN president John Skipper went out of his way in March to say that ESPN has far more important things to worry about than rehiring Keith Olbermann. If they want him back, they'll do it at their pace. One source told me at the time this could include giving Olbermann something like his own ESPN Radio show—a job where they can still keep him at arm's length and out of Bristol. It's unclear if the Turner job would all but rule that out now.

[ The Hollywood Reporter]

Photo: Getty