''Off the Record with Michael Landsberg'', also known as ''Off the Record'' or ''OTR'', was a Canadian sports talk show that was produced by
TSN hosted by
Michael Landsberg
Michael Elliott Landsberg (born July 22, 1957) is a Canadian sports journalist and the former host of TSN's, ''First Up with Landsberg and Colaiacovo'', and former host of TSN's '' Off the Record with Michael Landsberg'' from 1997 to 2015.
B ...
. The program aired from 1997 to 2015, making it one of the longest-running sports talk shows on Canadian television.
History
The half-hour show featured guests from various backgrounds, ranging from sports athletes to reporters to political figures or even entertainers, participating as panelists in a
round table discussion on notable sports events of the day, with Landsberg serving as the moderator. Occasionally, an episode would feature just one guest in a one-on-one interview with Landsberg, usually from the sports world or
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
personalities. Prior to the second commercial break of the show, a portion of the
commercial bumper
In broadcasting, a commercial bumper, ident bumper, or break-bumper (often shortened to bump) is a brief announcement, usually two to fifteen seconds in length that can contain a voice over, placed between a pause in the program and its commercia ...
included a "Quirky Fact" shown on the screen related either to the major sports topic of the day, or in relation to the guest being interviewed by Landsberg. Prior to the third commercial break, a portion of the bumper included Landsberg reading a witty email to the show from a viewer, often in the form of quips directed towards him. However, when there was a one-on-one interview that Landsberg was conducting with someone that was dealing with an issue of seriousness or solemness, this segment would be omitted.
During its initial years, Landsberg would always preface before the discussion with his guest panel or one-on-one guest interview that whatever opinions were stated by his guests on the program would be
off the record and could therefore not be used against them. This practice, however, eventually disappeared in later seasons.
In later years, the guest panel segment was sandwiched between the opening "Up Front" segment (where Landsberg would ask a guest one-on-one questions in relation to a sports issue of the day) and the closing "Next Question" segment (where Landsberg would rattle off a series of one-on-one questions that relates to the guest's interests and background).
Clips of ''Off The Record'' were featured in the 1998 documentary film ''
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows''.
One of the show's most noted moments occurred in an episode in which
Gene Simmons,
Thea Andrews
Thea Andrews (born October 4, 1973) is a Canadian journalist and television personality in both sports and entertainment news, as well as hosting reality competition and morning shows. From October 2003 to November 2006, she served as co-host on ...
and
Mark Tewksbury
Mark Roger Tewksbury, (born February 7, 1968) is a Canadian former competitive swimmer. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also hosted the first season of ''How It's Made'', ...
were guests. During the episode, Simmons told Andrews he had slept with 4,500 women, to which Andrews replied she wasn't interested in being 4,501. Tewksbury, in response, offered himself to Simmons instead, to which Simmons declined. Tewksbury would state in a 2012 interview with the
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
that Simmons shook his head at Tewksbury off-camera.
On November 17, 2015,
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
(amongst other outlets) reported that Off The Record would be ending its 18-year run as a standalone program. Landsberg remained employed at TSN to produce shorter segments, but many of the show's staff were let go.
On September 10, 2018, Landsberg launched a new radio show with former
Toronto Maple Leaf player
Carlo Colaiacovo
Carlo Colaiacovo ( ; born January 27, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently co-hosting a show on Canada’s TSN 1050 radio station, ''First Up with Korolnek and Colaiacovo''. He most recently played for ...
, titled ''First Up with Landsberg and Colaiacovo'', airing weekdays from 6 - 10 a.m. ET on
TSN 1050.
References
External links
''Off The Record'' site from TSN.ca(copy archived April 1, 2015)
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{{The Sports Network
The Sports Network original programming
1997 Canadian television series debuts
1990s Canadian sports television series
Television series by Bell Media
Television shows filmed in Toronto
2000s Canadian sports television series
2010s Canadian sports television series