ESPN star Mike Greenberg and his wife, Stacy, lost a dear friend to cancer in late September of 2009.
That family friend’s name is Heidi Armitage and, nearly nine years after her passing, I can hear the emotion in Greenberg’s voice as we talk about her impact on his family.
Normally a smooth wordsmith, Greenberg’s plain talk catches me off-guard, “I was pissed when Heidi died – there is no other way to say it. I was mad – she was such a great person and for her to be gone hurt.”
His voice trails, then regains strength, “Afterward, I just had to do something. I found that writing was that thing.”
Greenberg channeled his anger into writing his first novel, All You Could Ask For, a story based on Armitage’s battle with cancer and the network of friends that cared for her throughout.
The book not only took the germophobic, hyperbolic anchor known to colleagues as “Greeny” outside of his sports-cocoon, it provided the Greenberg family the chance to donate over $150,000 to fund cancer research.
That, it seems, was just the beginning of the ESPN star’s philanthropic efforts to eradicate cancer.
On Tuesday, May 8th, Mike and Stacy Greenberg will release a co-authored, classic children’s book entitled, MVP: Most Valuable Puppy.
Greenberg is matter-of-fact in giving me a quick book report, “Make no mistake – MVP is NOT about cancer. It’s a book to read to your little ones or for a child learning to read. It’s about a puppy who learns about sports based on our Labradoodle, Phoebe.”
His academic tone turns more cheerful as Greenberg continues, “Best of all, MVP will, again, send ALL author’s proceeds to the Jimmy V Foundation with the specific intention to fund pediatric cancer research. We won’t make a dollar until, and I say this often, they cure cancer.”
Pausing for a moment, Greenberg sounds suddenly reflective, “Of everything I do, helping to fund cancer research is the most important.”
Given all of his daily commitments, that is quite a statement.
Greenberg, after all, wears many hats.
Greeny – the dad
Mike Greenberg became the face of early morning ESPN radio as the co-host of the enormously successful “Mike & Mike In the Morning” show. He is now the face of ESPN’s newly launched morning television show called Get Up!
While the titles and co-hosts have changed, his early morning schedule has not.
Those early hours, Greenberg says, provide a perfect opportunity to be an active dad to his two children – now teenagers.
“I have spent as much time with my kids as any working parent I know. I talk about sports and go home. When my kids were younger, I picked them up at least 3 times a week – and, normally, everyday from school. In fact, Ms. Hoover, my daughter’s 1st grade teacher, gave me the greatest compliment after speaking to her class many years ago. She said, ‘I’ve been here 30 years and you are the first dad to know each kid’s name.’ I still love to think about that. I was there – and still am.”
Greenberg’s love of fatherhood and family is evident as he chuckles and compares his children’s early years to today, “It’s funny, now my kids put me to bed. It’s different with older children – not less wonderful, just different. I have conversations with my kids that I’d never dreamed of – about everything. It’s the greatest.”
Greeny – the star of ESPN’s new morning show, Get Up!
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For 17 years, Mike Greenberg co-hosted America’s most popular sports radio show with Mike Golic – a daily, four-hour program aptly entitled Mike & Mike In the Morning. The two Mike’s diverge personalities and opinions – Greenberg often acting as the voice of the fan while Golic represented athletes in the locker room – was a recipe for remarkable success for the national radio show and its T.V. simulcast.
On November 1, 2017 Greenberg left Mike & Mike for his next project – a new, high-profile morning sports television show called Get Up! The show premiered in April 2018 and is anchored by Greenberg, former NBA star Jalen Rose and Michelle Beadle.
Just one month in, Greenberg’s enthusiasm for the show is palpable as we talk.
“Building something from nothing is a challenge. The show is, and will be, evolving – and we’ll be doing it while lots of people are watching. It’s not easy and not short-term. If anyone wanted this to come easy, they shouldn’t have signed up for this project.”
While not dismissive of the criticism that Get Up! has faced in its infancy, Greenberg is steadfast in his confidence about the show’s future.
“Our goals are huge – they are big and it will take time to get there. I love it. Bon Jovi actually told me once, ‘I’d rather sell 1 million albums for 30 years then 30 million in one.’ That is our mentality.”
Greeny, Beadle or Jalen (GBJ)
As Greeny and I continued to talk about Get Up!, I was compelled to learn more about his two co-hosts.
I asked Greenberg to play a game I’ve named “GBJ” – three situations (2 sports-related, 1 about parenting) where Greenberg picks himself (G), Michelle Beadle (B) or Jalen Rose (J) as best equipped for success.
GBJ Situation #1: An 8-foot putt for an amount of money that makes you nervous – who is going to drain it?
“Beadle. First, I’m a wreck over an 8-footer without anything on the line – so, I’m out. Michelle has such an ‘ice-water-in-her-veins’ demeanor that I’d go with her under pressure.”
GBJ Situation #2: Who could best change a diaper for (a) speed and (b) tidiness?
“Hold on. Of all of the skills that diaper changing requires, speed in doing so is not one of them. I’ve changed a lot of diapers so I’ll take this one – and I’m a tidy person for sure.”
GBJ Situation #3: Swimming in the East River (the backdrop of the Get Up! set) – who is going the farthest?
“Jalen actually says that he’d swim in the River if something improbable happens – so this one is all him. I’m telling you right now, under no circumstances am I swimming in it.”
Now, subtly chuckling at his impromptu responses to my silly, made-up game, Mike Greenberg and I wrap our time together.
It’s the top of the hour so I assume he’s headed to another interview in the lead up for his new children’s book, MVP: Most Valuable Puppy.
Greeny, I assume, is off to, once again, poke fun at his own idiosyncrasies, call himself “an idiot” and to do whatever he can to help cure cancer.
In doing so, Mike Greenberg is not simply selling another book, he is honoring the legacy of his family’s dear friend, Heidi Armitage, whose loss still eats at him today.
Click here to order MVP: Most Valuable Puppy where 100% of the authors’ proceeds will benefit pediatric cancer research.
