Hiestand on TV

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2008 | by Michael Hiestand

Inside the industry

In big-time TV sports, Michael Strahan is the most coveted rookie prospect since Charles Barkley. And, suggested his agent Maury Gostfrand on Tuesday, Strahan could be signed "within a week."

Gostfrand says that while "initially, studio work is more appealing" to Strahan, the just-retired New York Giants defensive lineman is also interested in calling games -- and going beyond football: "Anything from sitcoms to movies to hosting his own late-night talk show. Hosting a late-night talk show would be his dream."

Don't laugh. Sometimes, nearly iconic sports figures -- Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Bob Knight and, now, Brett Favre -- get shots at TV stardom because their fame trumps questions about how they might perform. Those on-air...