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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane-raised Everett staying put at ESPN

New deal comes on eve of CdA appearance

Neil Everett, left, and Stan Verrett will continue in their roles as co-anchors of the West Coast edition of SportsCenter. (Phil Ellsworth)

The ESPN West Coast broadcast duo of Neil Everett, who grew up in Spokane, and Stan Verrett is staying put.

ESPN announced Friday that it reached multiyear agreements with Everett and Verrett.

In a time when sports anchors and celebrities are testing waters elsewhere, Everett couldn’t be happier to remain with ESPN.

“It’s kind of like poker – you never change a winning hand,” Everett, 53, said in a phone interview. “We’re Felix and Oscar. ‘The Odd Couple’ was a pretty good show way back when.”

And ESPN is pleased as well.

“The on-air chemistry Neil and Stan have can’t be manufactured,” Rob King, ESPN senior vice president, SportsCenter and News, said in a release. “It’s as authentic as it gets, and we look forward to having them as part of our team for years to come.”

Everett, a 1980 Lewis and Clark graduate, and Verrett will continue to host the 10 p.m. Pacific edition of SportsCenter, which was launched from Los Angeles in 2009.

“I’ve been very blessed and very fortunate and very appreciative of ESPN to have the faith in me to keep me on board,” Everett said. “It’s a great job. I don’t know if there’s a better job that I could have at this point in my life.”

Everett and Verrett joined ESPN two months apart in 2000.

Prior to Everett landing at ESPN’s Mother Ship in Bristol, Connecticut, he spent 15 years as a sports information director and athletic administrator at Hawaii Pacific University. At points in between, he worked for a local TV station.

“I went into full-time TV for a while but then I got fired,” Everett said. “I had to work two gigs in Hawaii to survive.”

It wasn’t long after Everett arrived at ESPN that he started developing catchphrases that he’s known for today. One of the more popular ones is ‘Bartender! Jack!’ when he’s describing a player jacking a home run.

Everett couldn’t recall any catchphrases that flopped or his producers didn’t like.

“When you’ve been doing it long enough, you have an idea of what works and what doesn’t,” he said. “It’s like the bartender line. You can’t make too many of them or you dilute the drink so to speak. You don’t want to catch the attention of your bosses. If you try to be too cute too much, it’s no longer cute.”

Some of his best lines he thinks of are ones that come to mind on the drive home from work.

“When the highlights pop up on the screen, we’re seeing them for the first time just like you,” Everett said. “It’s free flowing, free thought. You’re flying by the seat of your pants.”

Everett flies into Spokane tonight to emcee The Showcase golf event for the Community Cancer Fund that’s being staged at The Coeur d’Alene Resort golf course.

“My mom died of cancer in Spokane,” he said. “Anything I can do to help with that cause, in that city, I’m going to do it.”

Later in August, Everett, a University of Oregon graduate, will be honored with his first bobblehead when the Hillsboro Hops baseball team gives out Everett bobbleheads to the first 1,500 fans. He will throw out the first pitch.

“The head on the bobblehead will be life size so people will have to make room in their trunks or back seats to fit it in their cars,” Everett deadpanned.