Lest millions of people be forced to look at his nasty, infected eyes for one more itchy second, Bob Costas is bowing out of hosting NBC’s Olympics coverage. So far it’s only for tonight, when Costas will yield his spot to Today’s Matt Lauer.
Costas was struck down with some weapons-grade Russian version of conjunctivitis in one eye last week, but it’s since spread to the other, causing Costas to look visibly uncomfortable and wear glasses, like some sort of nerd. The sportscaster told Lauer on this morning’s Today show that he was “trying to throw a complete game” and host the whole Olympics, but that he “might as well be playing ‘Marco Polo,” because right now he can’t see a thing.
Costas says he hopes to be able to return to the Olympics desk as soon as possible, but not until he crosses some t’s and dots some lower-case j’s regarding his optical health.