Skip Bayless
For 10 years while I was at ESPN, I lived at the Residence Inn in Southington, Connecticut, near Bristol. I did that because my wife had a great job in New York City, and we had a place in New York City, at 54th and 8th. On Friday, I would come back, and then on Sunday evening I would go back to the Residence Inn.Collection: Great
I didn't have a curfew and always slept at friends' houses, but on Sundays, Mom dragged me to church. It was the best thing she did for me. I was moved just to be there and to feel God had a plan for me.Collection: Mom
The Hunger Games' is for eighth-grade girls! Winners read 'The Art of War!'Collection: War
At the risk of damaging the 'First Take' ratings, the God's truth is I do not hate LeBron James. I actually like the man, who seems as close to being a role model as any superstar can be. He seems to be a good father and husband with a sharing, caring heart.
I like to take on athletes who have issues with me.
I say what I say because I believe it from the bottom of my soul and I can back it up.
I'm a communist, man. I'm going to break the rules.
My colleagues think I'm crazy but my motto is, never miss a day. If we're taping in L.A., I'll get up at 2 a.m. to go run. If I'm on the road and the hotel doesn't have a gym, I'll find a 24-hour gym. I don't know how to exist without my workouts.
I boil down people to 'good heart' or 'bad heart' - meaning they're basically good or basically not.
I'm over-passionate and in general people think I'm way too intense and way, way, way too hardheaded.
I want to win every debate and I think I do.
I'm not a shock jock. I never ambush anybody. I just speak my mind and my heart and my soul.
I have too many psycho superstitions.
Parcells is one of the all-time great commanders and motivators.
Understand, I'm in awe of Tom Brady. He grows on me by the game.
Advertisers rip out one another's conscience to control the spending impulses of males ages 18 to 34, who now have the cyber world at their fingertips. They want more.
I have never, ever, as God is my witness, contrived a single debate in a single show.
If you know me at all, I'm stubbornly proud to a fault.
I'm overemotional.
I knew nothing about nutrition until 1982. I had a big turnaround that year and never looked back.
I believe I can outrun most everyone.
For my meal replacements, I eat way too many Quest bars. I think you should eat every three hours. I usually wake up once a night, and if I do wake up, I always eat a Quest bar to feed my machine.
I never listen to music when I run.
Live TV is physically grueling. I'm concentrating very hard to recall numbers, dates and events to bolster my argument and win a debate. Every eight to 10 minutes, a new sport or topic is thrown at me.
My father was just an evil man.
I've worked with some people and they turn, they become that image on TV and they're lost in it, lost in who they are. It scares me. I want to stay me, preserve my soul.
I loved my 12 years at ESPN. And I loved working with Stephen A. - and trust me, it's hard to even talk about it, because I miss him. But the truth was, I never quite fit on a Disney-owned network.
I haven't watched one second of 'First Take' since I walked off that set.
I am not, and never have been, a member of the 'White Establishment.'
The 'White Establishment' never liked me. I have worked for 'White Establishment' newspapers and television networks.
My mom was real loud and that made me speak only when spoken to. But even as a child, if you challenged me, you would get both barrels.
By nature, I am quiet off the air.
I find that people love to hate me, and a lot of people love to love me.
My career is my life and my passion. It's not a job, it's my life.
I watch games a little differently, maybe, than other people do, because I'm constantly asking myself why did that happen, what's really going on here?
Too many people in charge at ESPN, for my taste, were a little too fearful. It's a Disney network. There are just certain boundaries that you can't even tiptoe along.
When I was a little kid going to Methodist church, I actually envisioned one day that I would become a minister but I never pursed that.
The No. 1 thing you should know about me: I've always tried to put God first in my life, and I'm the first to admit I often have failed because I'm too proud and too stubborn.
I like fast cars, and I always have.
I raced a lot when I was in high school, street raced.
Interviewing Michael Jordan is like playing him one on one. If he respects you and especially your media platform and he's amused by your college try, he'll let you get off a shot or two. Then he'll go behind his back, give you a head fake and leave you wondering exactly what he meant by this and that.
Image and privacy are still everything to Jordan, who has rarely if ever let the outside world see or hear the real Michael.
For 30 years I wrote for newspapers and magazines, wrote books on the Dallas Cowboys' dynasties of the '70s and '90s, wrote about Michael Jordan in Chicago and Barry Bonds in the Bay Area, even wrote columns for ESPN.com from 2004 to 2006.
The God's truth: I never much cared for Tebow when he played at Florida.
I merely dared to say Tebow could be a successful starting quarterback in the National Football League - not a Pro Bowler, mind you, just a guy who could win games his way. Which prompted relentless attacks from anti-Tebow analysts and journalists.
Live television is the hottest medium. My passion for sports debate runs hot enough without a camera transporting it into your living room with 10 times more impact.
I grew up a Cowboys fan, attending my first game in 1960, the first year of their existence.
The Cowboys fan in me is getting increasingly sick and tired of watching Jerry Jones enable his team to lose without fear.
The great ones are about winning and winning only.
I believe in God, but I also believe in jinxes.