A Little On The Side

Yes, to some they are the embodiment of the phrase too much information. Yet where would we be without sideline reporters, microphone-wielding wanderers like Andrea Kremer , Chris Myers and Bonnie Bernstein ? The answer: exactly where we are right now, 32 years after Jim Lampley (above) and Don Tollefson invented the job during ABC's telecast of a UCLA -Tennessee game in 1974--but without the Great Moments in Sideline Reporting that follow.

1986
Susan Warnick, reporting from the course during the Boston Marathon for local station WCVB, notes that two-time winner Joan Benoit Samuelson isn't among the leaders. She's right: Benoit Samuelson , who didn't enter, is at the finish line--working as a commentator for WCVB.

1996
Before the civil trial stemming from charges he killed his wife, O.J. Simpson (left) dismisses claims that he owns the Bruno Magli loafers that left prints at the crime scene by saying he'd never wear those "ugly-ass shoes." Oh, but he would: Plaintiffs later introduce photos of him working a 1993 game for NBC wearing the kicks in question.

1999
Before Game 2 of the World Series, NBC 's resident bulldog, Jim Gray , the sideline reporter's sideline reporter, grills Pete Rose about his gambling. What follows is a loud public outcry--against Gray, who is vilified for putting Rose on the spot and is snubbed on camera by Yankee Chad Curtis (right) after he hits a walk-off homer in Game 3.

2001
TNT's Charles Barkley , upon seeing Craig Sager 's decidedly unconservative suit, says, "I don't have anything against black people, white people or any kind of people, but when you start letting pimps interview people, that's where I draw the line."

2003
Joe Namath during a December Jets game responds to a question from ESPN 's Suzy Kolber about the team's struggles, saying: "I want to kiss you." Namath later apologizes, saying he was "full of some Christmas cheer, certainly too much."

2003
Lisa Guerrero (left) gets her Monday Night Football career off to a rocky start by asking the Redskins' Patrick Ramsey about facing "ex-teammate" Laveranues Coles . Ramsey is flummoxed: Coles is his current teammate--and has just caught five of his passes.

2003
Actress Nicole Richie (right), asked by Fox Sports Net's Bill MacDonald at a Lakers game to name her favorite player, seems oblivious to the fact that L.A. 's star is fighting a rape charge. "Kobe," she replies. "I want him to have sex with me."

2005
Nebraska coach Bill Callahan is doused with Gatorade after a win over Colorado . ABC's Suzy Schuster asks him, "Was that one of the most gratifying dumps you've had?"