Keith Olberman Returns to Sports Center After 17 Years, Breakup, Makeup For Liberal Sports Anchor/Newsman

Venerated sports anchor and polarizing newsman Keith Olberman will be making his return to ESPN's flagship show Sports Center this fall. The liberal announcer won't be losing his namesake show, but it will move to 5p.m. and will be just a half hour instead of an hour. After 17 years away from the SC desk, the breakup/makeup seems to be good for all involved, mostly the viewing audience.

Olberman tried to make his mark in the cut-throat world of political analysis, but he seems more at home on ESPN. He can still bring his intellect and insight to whatever project he chooses, but Olberman's distinct brand of news casting really shines in the sports arena (via Awful Announcing):

"A move to a new timeslot and a chance to return to SportsCenter is a low-risk, big buzz move for ESPN now that Olbermann's shown he can play nice and stick around for a little bit. What an age we live in."

Olberman's outspoken opinion pieces may get wider viewership at 5p.m. (via Chicago Tribune):

"As I like to say on the air, I've done all the damage I can do here in late night. I'm very proud that we've accomplished what (ESPN president) John Skipper asked me to do more than a year ago..."