Christopher James Berman (born May 10, 1955), nicknamed Boomer, is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for SportsCenter on ESPN since 1979, joining a month after its initial launch, and hosted the network's Sunday NFL Countdown program from 1985 to 2016. He has also anchored Monday Night Countdown, U.S. Open golf, the Stanley Cup Finals, and other programming on ESPN and ABC Sports. Berman calls play-by-play of select Major League Baseball games for ESPN, which included the Home Run Derby until 2016. A six-time honoree of the National Sports Media Association's "National Sportscaster of the Year" award, Berman was instrumental in establishing ESPN's lasting popularity during the network's formative years. He is well known for his various catchphrases and quirky demeanor. In January 2017, ESPN announced that Berman would be stepping down from several NFL-related roles at the network, but would remain at the company.