Neil Everett: Local Roots, National Brand

He may be one of the hosts of SportsCenter: Los Angeles, but ESPN broadcaster Neil Everett is an Oregon man through and through. The Portland-born University of Oregon graduate joined the BFT on Friday to discuss his alma mater, the Baseball Hall of Fame and his hosting duties for the upcoming 61st Oregon Sports Awards.

It was all business to start off, as Everett was asked about alleged steroid users in Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens not being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Everett felt that until someone from the league or the Hall itself presented a plan of how to address the Steroid Era of baseball, he doesn’t see a problem in not voting for Bonds, Sosa or Clemens. However, he also said voters have nothing to apologize for this year, and he would be okay had all three alleged steroid users been voted in.

“The thing about Barry Bonds was he was a Hall-of-Famer before all of the sudden he became the Incredible Hulk,” said Everett. “But a guy like Sammy Sosa? I don’t know if he ever would’ve been.”

When asked about if he was aware of the allegations coming out against MLB players as the Steroid Era was coming to a close, Everett admitted that he had a source in the form of his brother who worked in federal law enforcement.

“He kind of clued me in,” said Everett. “[Still,] there was enough being written – not extensively, but if you did your homework you knew something was going on.”

As the subject changed to his alma mater, the University of Oregon, Everett said he had no way of predicting the Ducks’ recent success in athletics based on his time as a student in Eugene. In fact, Everett admitted that the last Civil War he went to was the 1983 “Toilet Bowl,” a 0-0 tie between Oregon and Oregon State that was the last tie game in the history of college football.

“[The Ducks] just weren’t very good,” reminisced Everett. “[The University of] Washington owned us, and the only thing we had going for us was that Oregon State was even worse.”

He’ll have a chance to see the state of Oregon’s elite athletes up close and personal come February, when Everett will be hosting the 61st Oregon Sports Awards. Everett stated that when the opportunity arose and he was asked to host, he was honored to represent the state.

“I’m going to get up there, and I’m going to do my best to entertain the heck out of everybody.”

The event will be held on February 10th, 2013.

To listen to the entire interview, click below: