Keith Olbermann is a U.S. political commentator and sportscaster. He is the host of MSNBC's 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' and appears with Bob Costas, Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison on the 'Sunday Night Football' pregame show on NBC.

Olbermann devoted his entire show on October 7, 2009, to address the need for national health care reform. During the show, he advocated donating money to the National Association of Free Clinics for the purpose of holding clinics in the home states of Senators central to defeating a filibuster on the issue. [1]

Olbermann began his professional career at UPI and RKO Radio. In 1984, he briefly worked as a sports anchor at WCVB in Boston, before heading to Los Angeles to work at KTLA and KCBS. His work there earned him 11 "Golden Mike Awards," and he was named "Best Sportscaster" by the California Associated Press three times.

In 1992, Olberman joined ESPN’s SportsCenter, a position he held until 1997, often co-hosting with Dan Patrick. In 1997, Olbermann abruptly left ESPN under a cloud of controversy and began his stint at NBC, hosting The Big Show with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. Olberman also hosted the 1997 World Series and Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, and contributed to pre-game coverage of the Super Bowl.

After the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke Olbermann's show changed into White House In Crisis. After briefly leaving the network, Olbermann returned in 2003 as the host of a new primetime newscast Countdown With Keith Olbermann. The program consists primarily of political commentary and satire, with right-wing pundits and politicians the frequent target of his wit.

Olbermann has expressed some concerns regarding various Obama cabinet policies that appear to mirror similar George W. Bush policies. NewsBusters: Olbermann frets Obama acting disturbingly... (Febraury 24, 2009)

As reported in September 2008, Olbermann and fellow MSNBC host Chris Matthews were removed as nighttime co-anchors for political events.The Associated Press: MSNBC says Olbermann, Matthews won't anchor (September 8, 2008) In addition to their regularly hosted programs, the two were reassigned to appear as commentators.The Associated Press: MSNBC says Olbermann, Matthews won't anchor (September 8, 2008)

Olbermann has been absent from Countdown a great deal in September, showing up for only 13 shows. On September 30, 2009, he explained during the show that he had been attending to his father, Theodore Olbermann, during a serious illness. [1] <ref> His mother, Marie, died in April 2009.

Olbermann is known for delivering "special comments" at the end of "Countdown", in which he editorializes about a particular issue of the day. During the Bush Administration, many of his special comments were directed at what he perceived were abuses of the Bush White House. On November 10, 2008, Olbermann delivered an impassioned special comment in which he spoke against the passage of Proposition 8 in California the previous week.