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Giff Nielsen says goodbye to KHOU after 25 Years covering sports.

T

TroyG

After he retired playing with The Houston Oilers, He started working for Channel 11 as a well-seasoned sports director for the station. Now, after a strong marriage, with 6 all-grown children and 8 grand-children, Giff's time to retire was right on the money. The native Utahan and devout Mormon will still call Houston home. For more info on Giff, go towww.KHOU.com/topstories.
 
I wonder if he is retiring on his own or if this a "Belo retirement"? ??? I didnt' realize he had so many kids and grandkids. Doesn't surprise me with his Mormon faith, he just looks rather young to have so many grandkids. So long Giffer.
 
snoman said:
I wonder if he is retiring on his own or if this a "Belo retirement"?
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Giff is retiring on his own terms.

This does'nt have anything to with Belo's downsizing. Giff's final appearance on Channel 11 is tonight at 10. Butch Alsondor has been named to replace Giff on an interim basis, while Matt Musil will cover the bases on weekends. Channel 11 does not planned to hire Giff's permanent replacement not right at this very moment.

I wish Giff the best of luck. He'll be sorely missed here.
 
You may want to rethink that last answer. According to the Chron.com article I saw today, Gif came back from 2 weeks off to find that his sports producers, including the guy who trained and mentored him 25 years ago had been let go. He made the decision on Sunday to resign. (not retire according to the article) He announced it yesterday and it all ends today. From what I read, sports will not be a major feature of future news if the powers that be have their way. If sports becomes big news, it will be featured, otherwise.. who knows. Alsondor and Musil are handline achor duties because there's a hiring freeze within Belo...

I would provide a link to the Chronicle article, but I am having trouble finding it. I read it around noon time today, but now at 3:15 pm it seems to have been buried or removed from the site. hmmm..

Finally, if his retirement comes on his own terms, why does he does he do it in the middle of "March Madness?" Arguably one of the biggest sports events going....
 
Quote from kevinc:
If his retirement comes on his own terms, why does he does he do it in the middle of "March Madness?"
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Apparently, Kev-It's down to just four teams battling out for The NCAA Title that'll determined this year's champ-Which will be settled in Detroit.
 
From what I read, sports will not be a major feature of future news if the powers that be have their way. If sports becomes big news, it will be featured, otherwise.. who knows?

I agree with Kevin. Giff has watched a lot of good people go out the door at KHOU over the past year or two. Then he got back from vacation to find his two longtime producers and mentors had been let go, and -- I believe -- that was the last straw for him.

He could see the handwriting on the wall. Sports coverage has been downgraded at KHOU, and he was going to be little more than a figure-head anchor. That's not what he signed up for 25 years ago, so he did the honorable thing and resigned.

I don't think this is the last we will see of Giff. I don't think he'll sign with another station -- but who knows? We'll see what happens when his non-compete clause expires.
 
Troy Goodwin said:
Quote from kevinc:
If his retirement comes on his own terms, why does he does he do it in the middle of "March Madness?"
Click to expand...


Apparently, Kev-It's down to just four teams battling out for The NCAA Title that'll determined this year's champ-Which will be settled in Detroit.
Click to expand...

I realized that just after I posted it but the point is still the same. The timing is not right for someone who has decided to retire... Remember how long they drug out Dr. Neil Frank's retirement on the air? This is way too quick for it to be something planned. (IMO)
 
Is my ex-KBTX-TV/Bryan co-worker Jeff McShan still doing sports at KHOU?
 
Kevinc said:
Finally, if his retirement comes on his own terms, why does he does he do it in the middle of "March Madness?" Arguably one of the biggest sports events going....
Click to expand...

The reason why they probably timed it like this, is because today is the last day of sweeps. And, because they moved Feb Sweeps to March this year, there is not much of a turnaround before May Sweeps. They probably wanted to establish Butch as the main sports guy before then. Not sure why Giff couldn't hang on until the end of May book, but there's probably more to it then meets the eye.

If a Houston or a Texas team been in the March Madness, you may have seen him stick around, but four East Coast teams doesn't really matter as far as their sports coverage is concerned.
 
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