ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit is not here for any kind of criticism toward his beloved canine, Ben.
Ben was in the booth with him and Rece Davis as the two called the LSU-USC game on Sunday night to help mark the official start of the college football season. Ben was seen lying down behind the two ESPN veterans as the game wore on.
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ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit walks his dog Ben before the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies at NRG Stadium in Houston on Jan. 8, 2024. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
Ben accidentally interrupted Herbstreit and Davis as the two got ready. It allowed for ESPN to have a wider shot behind the two commentators and give fans a glimpse of the production team.
However, any criticism of his golden retriever being in the booth with him was immediately pushed back on. Herbstreit made his feelings known on X.
Herbstreit is clearly doing the best he can to make his dog’s life as comfortable as possible as it deals with leukemia.
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Kirk Herbstreit attends the game between the LSU Tigers and the Southern California Trojans at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sept. 1, 2024. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
“Ben is always ready. We’ve had a tough offseason. I haven’t really told anybody this, he got diagnosed with leukemia and most recently had to have an operation where they had to take a couple of masses,” Herbstreit said on “The Brett Boone Podcast” last month. “They had to open him up and took out his spleen where there was a mass and then another mass on his intestine, which is a pretty big procedure when you’re 10 years old.
“I didn’t know if we were going to lose him or what. He did not respond favorably the first three or four days; wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t go to the bathroom. This was just probably two-and-a-half weeks ago, and he’s slowly kind of coming out of that state and is back to taking walks and eating and wagging and starting to get back to his personality.
Kirk Herbstreit, left, talks with Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops before the college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Kentucky Wildcats on Oct. 29, 2022 at Neyland Stadium, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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“So, I am praying every day for him and hoping that he’s going to be OK – first of all just to be OK and then, secondly, hope to be able to take him on the road with me again this year.”
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