Todd Harris
Todd Harris's extensive experience and expertise make him the ideal host for This Sporting Planet.
He is a renowned American sports announcer with a career spanning over thirty years. A prominent voice for NBC Sports, he specialises in Olympic and extreme sports coverage and has covered 11 Olympic games.
Harris began his broadcasting career with ESPN in 1991, covering college football, the X Games, and IndyCar racing. He even served as the lap-by-lap announcer for ABC's coverage of the 2005 Indianapolis 500. Known for his versatility, Harris has also contributed to Turner Sports' coverage of the NBA playoffs and the 1998 Winter Olympics. He gained early recognition as the long-time host of ESPN's World's Strongest Man competition.
At NBC Sports, Harris has become a familiar voice for various events. He received critical acclaim for covering Shaun White's gold medal run at the 2018 Winter Olympics and has hosted the Tour de France and the Ironman World Championship.
In recent years, Harris has taken on lead commentary roles for Supercross on NBC Sports and SailGP.
He was also announced as the new lead announcer for the Super League basketball for the London Lions.
My Sporting Planet Top Ten
What is your favourite sport?
College/NFL Football, College and NBA Basketball, Snowboarding, Cycling, Premier League.
Who are your favourite teams and/or sporting personalities?
Minnesota Vikings, BYU Cougars, Burnley FC, Michael Jordan, Damian Lilard.
What are your favourite sporting venues?
The Rose Bowl,
LA Coliseum,
Delta Center,
Stamford Bridge,
Oracle Park in San Francisco
and, of course, Turf Moor in Burnley.
What are your favourite sporting events?
Olympics, Super Bowl, Tour De France, World Series.
What was your best-ever event on this sporting planet?
I will give you a couple. The 2006 Rose Bowl for the National Championship between Texas and USC. It was the last call for veteran broadcaster Keith Jackson, and I was lucky enough to be the sideline reporter. Maybe the best college football game of
If you visit an ground often, what’s your favourite place for pre- or post-match food and/or atmosphere?
Downtown Portland before a Blazers game- Portland made the “food carts” chic!
What do you predict will be the golden moment on this sporting planet in 2025? Or what are you most looking forward to in 2025?
The outcome of the new College Football 12 team playoffs.
If Juan Soto lives up to his $765 million contract for the NY Mets.
The KC Chiefs win 3 Super Bowls in a row!
What was your golden moment in 2024?
Sail GP Grand Final San Francisco and Paris Olympics and Paralympics.
Who do you think are the best supporters on this sporting planet?
Burnley FC - it’s the only show in town and they are all in!
Who do you think is/was the best commentator or sports reporter, whose work do you admire?
Rebecca Lowe- NBC Sports Premier League host.
Remembering Todd Harris’s favourite sporting highlights…
"“The 2006 Rose Bowl for the National Championship between Texas and USC. It was the last call for veteran broadcaster Keith Jackson, and I was lucky enough to be the sideline reporter. Maybe the best college football game of all time! Also Shaun White's last run heroics at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. One run in the halfpipe for the Gold medal.”"
That probably was the best college football game of all time! The Texas Longhorns didn’t clinch the win until the game’s final 19 seconds!
This headline act featured the only two unbeaten teams of the season: the defending Rose Bowl champion and reigning Big 12 Conference champion Texas Longhorns and Pacific-10 Conference titleholders and two-time defending AP national champions, the USC Trojans. Texas had recorded victories in their last 19 games, while USC were on a 34-match winning streak. They had been ranked No. 1 since the preseason and the Longhorns had held the No. 2 spot that entire time. Before the game, some commentators postulated that the 2005 USC team was one of the greatest college football teams of all time. It was truly a clash of the titans.
So highly anticipated – and it lived up to its billing. USC led 7-0 after the first quarter; but Texas totally dominated the second. The third went the way of the Trojans and the fourth was pure drama. Longhorns trailed by two scores with just 6:42 to play – and Vince Young, who went on to have a fantastic career in the NFL, did the business for the Texans. He was named the Rose Bowl's MVP for the second time in as many years (the first time being the 2005 Rose Bowl) and is only the fourth player in Rose Bowl history (and the only player from the Big 12 Conference) to accomplish this feat.
After the match, journalists and pundits were united in celebrating the game itself, the Longhorns as a team, and Young individually. To witness that event truly ranks as a career highlight!
Yet Todd offered up another golden moment from his incredible career: the third Winter Olympics gold medal won by snowboarder Shaun White. The American had triumphed in 2006 and 2010, but in 2014 he’d missed out on a podium place. At 31, he was up against a new generation of athletes, like the talented Japanese teenager Ayumu Hirano and 24-year-old Australian Scotty James.
White was in the silver medal position as he headed into the last of his three runs. He pulled off a set he said he’d never completed cleanly until earlier that same day and scored a massive 97.75. That was the USA’s 100th gold medal at the Winter Olympics, and their halfpipe hero said he felt “blessed.”