It has been a long flirtation, but after fourteen months of “intense discussion” between Keith Olbermann and ESPN, the network reportedly plans to announce Wednesday that it’s taking the anchor back— provided he stays away from politics. Apparently Olbermann’s stint hosting Countdown on MSNBC made him nearly too politicized to hire, the New York Times reports: “On his new show, Olbermann will be free to discuss matters other than sports, including pop culture and current events, but not politics, the two-year pact specifies.” But he’s a draw, so they’re trying him out. Not everyone at ESPN will be glad to hear it. After Olbermann left sixteen years ago, “he didn’t burn bridges, he napalmed them,” an executive there said. But those bridges didn’t reach current president John Skipper, who told The Hollywood Reporter last month: “I wasn’t here when Keith was here, but he is very talented.” And buzzy.
