Earlier this month, ESPN college football commentator Kirk Herbstreit made it clear he would not tolerate any criticism of his beloved golden retriever, Ben.
Canine Appeared Some viewers expressed discomfort when they saw Benn standing between Herbstreit and his ESPN broadcast partner Rece Davis in the broadcast booth during the pregame show ahead of the LSU-USC game on Sept. 1.
The former Ohio State quarterback, who also serves as commentator for Prime Video's “Thursday Night Football” broadcasts, fired back at the negative comments made about Ben.
But as Herbstreit and Al Michaels kick off Week 2 of the NFL season, Ben appears to have captured the legendary play-by-play announcer's heart.
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ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit walks his dog Ben before the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies at NRG Stadium on Jan. 8, 2024 in Houston. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
Though Michaels admits he's not a big fan of dogs, the golden retriever appears to have won the “Miracle on Ice” announcer's heart.
ESPN star Kirk Herbstreit hits back at dog scammers: “You're stupid”
Michaels recently told Sports Illustrated that she has grown attached to the 10-year-old dog.
“Listen, I don't like animals,” Michaels said, “Kirk got me this dog last year and all of a sudden I fell in love with this dog. He's a golden retriever. He's well behaved. Kirk can walk with him and he's not even on a leash.”
ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit walks his dog Ben before the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies at NRG Stadium on Jan. 8, 2024 in Houston. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
Michaels then recalled being at a hotel with Herbstreit and Ben, and Michaels, who is known to hate vegetables, joked that he would rather “have a pet” than eat them.
“I think he's hysterical. One time, Kirk and I were in a hotel. We got out of the elevator and the dog was walking with us. He led the way around the street about four times. It was like a Grand Prix ride to Kirk's room. He knew exactly where the room was. Dogs are smart.”
Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels in the Amazon Prime TNF broadcast booth before the game between the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on November 9, 2023 in Chicago. (Cooper Neal/Getty Images)
“I've never had a pet or kept vegetables before, but I'll get a pet before I keep vegetables.”
In August, Herbstreit revealed that Ben had leukemia.
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“Ben's always going to be ready. He's had a tough offseason. I haven't told anybody about it. He's been diagnosed with leukemia and just recently had to have surgery to remove some tumors,” Herbstreit said on the Bret Boone Podcast at the time.
“They had to open him up and remove his spleen, where the tumour was, and another tumour in his intestine. That's a pretty major operation for a 10-year-old.”
“We didn't know if we were going to lose him or if something else was going to happen. For the first three or four days he was unresponsive, not eating, not going to the bathroom. This was probably two and a half weeks ago, and he's slowly come out of that and is starting to get back to his old personality, walking, eating, wagging his tail.”
Herbstreit and Michaels will provide play-by-play commentary for tonight's NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills.
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