Len Berman didn't exactly use his farewell from the WNBC 4 sports desk as an opportunity to have his Howard Beale moment, but he did get in a couple of jabs at all of the cutbacks around the station that led them to let him go after almost twenty-five years covering local sports there. When presented with a cake, Berman quipped, "Is this in the budget?" Apparently personalizing it was not.
The laughter shared with Chuck Scarborough and Sue Simmons during Berman's final segment reminded us why his departure is an especially sad moment for local news. While anchor teams at other stations have seen many faces over the years, the trio at WNBC has been such a staple that their comfort level with each other led to a loose rapport not seen elsewhere.
When Berman gave his final assurance that "nobody got hurt," Scarborough wasn't as convinced. Berman may have missed out on a much-coveted goodbye smooch from Sue Simmons, but luckily the lovely Janice Huff had him on her radar and sent him off into the sunset right.
