1 00:00:01,397 --> 00:00:04,150 [Benetti] A mammoth game in the league tonight. 2 00:00:04,233 --> 00:00:08,571 Michigan trying to win itself the Big Ten with a couple of games remaining. 3 00:00:08,654 --> 00:00:11,657 Minnesota here at the Barn, which they take very literally. 4 00:00:12,158 --> 00:00:15,244 You have a chance, every night, to accentuate a moment. 5 00:00:15,327 --> 00:00:17,079 Gets a look for Livers. 6 00:00:17,163 --> 00:00:18,831 The emotional challenge. 7 00:00:18,914 --> 00:00:20,082 Murphy. 8 00:00:20,166 --> 00:00:22,126 The big moments. 9 00:00:22,209 --> 00:00:23,836 One more! 10 00:00:23,919 --> 00:00:28,174 Finds himself open and drills it, leading to a time-out, Minnesota. 11 00:00:42,897 --> 00:00:46,650 [Benetti] If you told young Jason Benetti at age 13, 12 00:00:46,734 --> 00:00:49,612 who was waking up and watching SportsCenter every morning 13 00:00:49,695 --> 00:00:51,822 before he goes to school, 14 00:00:51,906 --> 00:00:56,827 that he was gonna work for ESPN, he'd be like, "No. Like, that can't be." 15 00:00:56,911 --> 00:01:01,415 You're watching the Big Ten on ESPN. 16 00:01:03,376 --> 00:01:06,545 I spent a lot of time on Minor League Baseball buses. 17 00:01:07,046 --> 00:01:10,383 And while I was doing that, I was doing basketball at a small school 18 00:01:10,466 --> 00:01:13,344 in High Point, North Carolina, called the High Point University. 19 00:01:13,427 --> 00:01:17,306 And they let me basically be as creative as I wanted to be. 20 00:01:17,390 --> 00:01:20,309 I'd make some mistakes. I'd iron them out. 21 00:01:20,393 --> 00:01:22,269 It was, essentially, focused practice. 22 00:01:24,939 --> 00:01:26,941 [chattering] 23 00:01:28,359 --> 00:01:30,027 [Benetti] The first thing I do game day 24 00:01:30,111 --> 00:01:33,739 is go to shootaround, talk to the players and coaches. 25 00:01:33,823 --> 00:01:35,074 [Pitino] Last game, he couldn't move. 26 00:01:35,157 --> 00:01:36,492 -Tailbone? -[Pitino] Yeah, tailbone. 27 00:01:36,575 --> 00:01:38,160 But he's been practicing the last two games. 28 00:01:38,244 --> 00:01:42,331 The prep, day-to-day, is just about, at all times, 29 00:01:42,415 --> 00:01:47,044 looking through bios, local newspaper articles, watching games. 30 00:01:47,128 --> 00:01:50,589 I have these long sheets. I print them out on legal-sized paper. 31 00:01:50,673 --> 00:01:53,300 They have each player, and it's a bunch of notes about each of the players. 32 00:01:53,384 --> 00:01:57,638 I color-code 'em based on where they are in the standings and points per game. 33 00:01:57,722 --> 00:02:01,267 There's a constant feel of "There can be more." 34 00:02:01,350 --> 00:02:05,896 Like, if you wanted to never turn it off, you could never turn it off. 35 00:02:05,980 --> 00:02:07,398 -Good to see you guys. -Good to see ya. 36 00:02:07,481 --> 00:02:08,941 -Thanks, Richard. -Good to see ya. 37 00:02:09,025 --> 00:02:11,402 -See ya next Thursday at Northwestern. -Oh, really? 38 00:02:11,485 --> 00:02:12,737 -Yeah. -We'll be there. Cool. 39 00:02:21,620 --> 00:02:22,621 [Benetti] Oh, no. 40 00:02:26,333 --> 00:02:31,047 I got into this, and I was a radio guy because you could hide. 41 00:02:33,174 --> 00:02:36,552 You grow up with a disability, people say stuff. 42 00:02:37,178 --> 00:02:40,598 On ESPN, if I do a game, people are watching. 43 00:02:40,681 --> 00:02:41,932 If they say something about me, 44 00:02:42,016 --> 00:02:43,976 it's because they saw something that was different. 45 00:02:46,312 --> 00:02:47,313 There we go. 46 00:02:47,396 --> 00:02:48,939 How could I get mad about that? 47 00:02:49,023 --> 00:02:50,691 That's how we perceive the world. 48 00:02:51,442 --> 00:02:55,071 It's frustrating, at times, and it doesn't need to be. 49 00:02:55,571 --> 00:02:58,366 It kinda is funny how I walk. 50 00:02:58,908 --> 00:03:00,868 I might trip over something. 51 00:03:00,951 --> 00:03:04,330 That's an opportunity for me to practice my John Cleese. 52 00:03:07,541 --> 00:03:11,003 What do you want? Come on. Leave me alone. 53 00:03:11,504 --> 00:03:14,215 By the way, not having a sense of humor is an absolute disease. 54 00:03:14,673 --> 00:03:16,384 Torn anterior cruciate ligament. 55 00:03:16,467 --> 00:03:19,512 -[chuckles] Just say ACL, dope. -A torn ACL. All right, sorry. 56 00:03:19,595 --> 00:03:21,847 [Benetti] The reason I use humor as a device 57 00:03:21,931 --> 00:03:27,186 is because a lot of people watch these games after a really bad day at work. 58 00:03:27,770 --> 00:03:31,857 If I can make them smile twice or three times, that's the point. 59 00:03:33,359 --> 00:03:37,571 If there's anything the most Disney about covering sports, 60 00:03:38,155 --> 00:03:40,449 it's the smiles you can create. 61 00:03:41,784 --> 00:03:45,621 What I've gotten to know about Jason is anything that I tell him 62 00:03:45,705 --> 00:03:48,082 off the air is fair game on. 63 00:03:48,165 --> 00:03:49,709 -...in the NBA. -I can't believe you swore me 64 00:03:49,792 --> 00:03:50,876 to secrecy on that. 65 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,004 Look, after the Rudy Gay incident in Lincoln, yes. 66 00:03:54,088 --> 00:03:55,089 It's funny. 67 00:03:55,172 --> 00:03:57,675 I told him a story about, I guarded Rudy Gay 68 00:03:57,758 --> 00:03:59,844 in a game over at the Target Center right down the street. 69 00:03:59,927 --> 00:04:01,971 Well, of course I'm gonna bring that up. So I bring it up. 70 00:04:02,054 --> 00:04:05,975 I did a good job. You know, I'm 6'8", not athletic, slow. 71 00:04:06,058 --> 00:04:08,269 I wanna talk about this stuff. I wanna have some fun. 72 00:04:08,352 --> 00:04:11,397 And on-air, he shoots it back like, "What would Rudy Gay say about that? 73 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:12,773 You claimed to lock him." 74 00:04:12,857 --> 00:04:16,277 He's like, "What are you talking about?" In that, like, Robbie Hummel voice. 75 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:17,194 "Hey, how's it going?" 76 00:04:17,278 --> 00:04:19,989 It's happened recently that he said, "I can't tell you anything." 77 00:04:20,072 --> 00:04:23,826 And he doesn't mean it, I think, but he might. 78 00:04:23,909 --> 00:04:26,662 You know what? It makes it fun. It makes it... you know? 79 00:04:26,746 --> 00:04:30,499 It personalizes the broadcast, and he keeps you on your toes. 80 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:33,961 [Benetti] Aw. 81 00:04:36,922 --> 00:04:41,343 I'd feel horrible if you did blow out your knee while filming this. [chuckles] 82 00:04:41,427 --> 00:04:42,928 -Dunking with no one around? -[chuckles] 83 00:04:43,345 --> 00:04:45,347 -[Benetti] Clock dwindling. -[Robbie] Good. 84 00:04:45,431 --> 00:04:49,143 [Benetti] Yes, indeed. The officials say it does count. 85 00:04:49,226 --> 00:04:52,313 But Minnesota is gonna lose its tenth game of the year. 86 00:04:52,396 --> 00:04:56,692 It is gonna be an awesome run to the finish line in the Big Ten. 87 00:04:56,776 --> 00:05:01,238 He's Robbie Hummel. I'm Jason Benetti. Our entire crew. Michigan wins. Well done. 88 00:05:01,322 --> 00:05:03,949 Thanks, guys. Good job. See you next Thursday. 89 00:05:04,033 --> 00:05:05,284 -See you Thursday? -See you Thursday. 90 00:05:05,368 --> 00:05:06,577 -Good stuff. -Yeah. Great job. 91 00:05:06,660 --> 00:05:07,661 -See you soon. -Yep. 92 00:05:08,079 --> 00:05:11,624 I think the hardest part of the day is realizing that, 93 00:05:11,707 --> 00:05:15,211 especially when I'm working with somebody that I just love being around, 94 00:05:15,294 --> 00:05:18,255 like Robbie Hummel, that we can't do it for another week. 95 00:05:18,339 --> 00:05:21,384 This job is fun at every turn. 96 00:05:21,467 --> 00:05:24,428 It is fun. It's enriching. It challenges my mind. 97 00:05:24,512 --> 00:05:28,682 And to know the level of excitement players create for the fans, 98 00:05:28,766 --> 00:05:30,976 that's awesome to watch and be a part of. 99 00:05:31,060 --> 00:05:33,437 That's the depth of human emotion.