Al Michaels Returns with His ‘Bigger’ Son

Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Al Michaels stopped by to catch up with Howard after a long absence from the show, quipping, “I was ranked one of the top interviewees of the 90s. And what do you do for an encore? I needed a decade off.” Al said his schedule rarely lined up with Howard’s, as he spends so much time on the West Coast, often with Don Rickles: “He has a home in Malibu and one in the city but mainly we go to Mr. Chow’s.” Al laughed that Don was somehow totally unaware of how famous he is: “He’s sure nobody knows him [until] he walks out of the restaurant and they’re screaming.” Howard remembered Don standing up at Brad Grey’s wedding and roasting the groom, so Al nodded: “There’s nobody like him…he’s going to have the last word on you–no matter what you say.”

His Son Is Bigger

Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Asked if he’d ever enjoyed the spoils of fame, Al claimed he’d never cheated on his wife: “If you give me the sodium pentathol and everything, I should be able to pass it.”

Al’s son, Steve, came in to say he’s seen as much–by accident–when he was 15: “It was embarrassing. It was disgusting…I only saw about a second of it but it lasted a lifetime.”

Steve said the sight wasn’t all bad news: “I’m bigger.”

Howard Stern: The Future Face of Football?

Al offered Howard a gig on “Sunday Night Football” if he’d just turn down “America’s Got Talent,” but Howard knew it’d never work: “Can we move all the games to New York?”

Asked who had suffered the bigger scandal, Penn State or Tiger Woods, Al said it was always disappointing to glimpse the human side of your heroes: “It’s human nature to think you can get away with something.”

Al said he loved his “Sunday Night Football” gig but had fond memories of his old Monday Night team: “We had one lame-duck year in ’05, working with Madden…[but] we all should’ve stayed together on Monday Night.”

Asked if he could ever run or coach a team, Al begged off: “No. You need CEO skills and I don’t have those.”