Quotes from Skip Bayless

For 10 years while I was at ESPN, I lived at the Residence Inn in Southington, Connecticut, near Bristol. I did that because my wife had a great job in New York City, and we had a place in New York City, at 54th and 8th. On Friday, I would come back, and then on Sunday evening I would go back to the Residence Inn.

In the '80s, I did two hours of cardio every day, split between running and the stationary bike. It was a trap - afterward I'd feel starving but also bulletproof, so I'd pig out. I slid into what I call exercise bulimia, when you're running more and more miles so you can eat worse and worse food.

For me, watching football played in the snow is abominable, as in snowman.

I loved my 12 years at ESPN. And I loved working with Stephen A. - and trust me, it's hard to even talk about it, because I miss him. But the truth was, I never quite fit on a Disney-owned network.

Trust me, you cannot love football any more than I do.

I remain unashamed to publicly declare my lifelong love of watching football. I have watched thousands upon thousands of games simply because I cared solely about which team won.

When I was a little kid going to Methodist church, I actually envisioned one day that I would become a minister but I never pursed that.

I knew nothing about nutrition until 1982. I had a big turnaround that year and never looked back.

I consider myself a reasonably intelligent guy. Made straight A's in high school (except for driver's ed and typing).

My mom was real loud and that made me speak only when spoken to. But even as a child, if you challenged me, you would get both barrels.

I'm not a shock jock. I never ambush anybody. I just speak my mind and my heart and my soul.

I say what I say because I believe it from the bottom of my soul and I can back it up.

For 30 years I wrote for newspapers and magazines, wrote books on the Dallas Cowboys' dynasties of the '70s and '90s, wrote about Michael Jordan in Chicago and Barry Bonds in the Bay Area, even wrote columns for ESPN.com from 2004 to 2006.

The 'White Establishment' never liked me. I have worked for 'White Establishment' newspapers and television networks.

No doubt boxing's brutal beauty lies in the eye of the rooting beholder.

No doubt Mayweather is the greatest defensive fighter ever.

Inch for inch, the 6-foot-3 Westbrook is the NBA's most sensationally talented player, a relentlessly explosive basket-attacker with a deadly pull-up jumper - a top-10 NBA player by any big-picture statistical measure from Player Efficiency Rating to Win Shares.

During games, I love a Twitter-rocking dunk as much as the next NBA nut. But now, I'd slightly rather see a crowd-detonating (or crowd-silencing) 3-pointer, either off four or five whip-whip passes or (even better) off a steal and a one-on-two pull-up on a solo fast break. No shot in basketball can be more psychologically devastating.

For years I wrote newspaper columns mostly about the teams in my city. There was no cheering in the press box, and I fought to remain objective.

Politics can cloud objectivity.

You know what, Tom Brady is unlike any quarterback I have ever followed or covered. He is shattering every mold of how a franchise quarterback should be on and off the field. He's just different.

Though I graduated from Vanderbilt, I was born into a family of crazed University of Oklahoma football fans and became one.

I raced a lot when I was in high school, street raced.

Mayweather has boxing genius. But it takes one to know one, and he knew right away Pacquiao also has rare boxing IQ - an equalizing gift for setting up and taking down an opponent.