Where Have You Gone, Aaron Levine?

I watched the First Season of Dream Job on ESPN. It was one great show. It taught me so much about how Sportscenter works...it was all fascinating from that angle alone. Add in my favorite active Sportcenter anchor (Stuart Scott, I love you) and a ton of great journalism alums like me--the makings of an enjoyable show.

The best candidate by far was this 21 year old from California, Aaron Levine. Barely out of college (a little uni called Stanford), but he was so composed. He didn't try to "Schtu it up" (there can only be one Stu)...he was just smart, witty and poised in the anchor chair. It wasn't laborious to watch him, as it was with some of the wannabes.

One of his greatest strengths was that he was by FAR the most knowledgeable about sports. He didn't mix up player names. He knew Olympic sports. He could recall team matchups from 1992. Was there any trivia he didn't know? The hard-ass ESPN talent coordinator arrogantly tossed out the question "what is the lowest seed to ever win an NCAA tournament game?" And Aaron popped off "16th, Harvard" (women's, 1998) as if he'd been asked "And Michael Jordan played WHAT sport?" It's not just knowing Jeopardy-type questions--being an all-around sports nut makes you a more well-rounded and believable anchor, in my opinion.

And I got him. When the judges ribbed him for naming (Stanford alum) Logan Tom as his favorite athlete, I got it. They didn't know who Logan Tom was, but because I worked with Nebraska women's volleyball, I knew. Yeah, she's like the greatest college volleyball player ever. As a sophomore she was the star of USA Women's Olympic Team. Yeah.

So anyway, Aaron lost to Mike Hall, a Missouri grad who was free and loose with the jokes. Yeah, haha. There's plenty of that. What we wanted was a true anchor with class, the next Karl Ravech if you will.

Aaron Levine, in my opinion, you were the best.