David Letterman retired last night, but not before he and his crack staff in the home office got one more sports reference into Late Show lore. Peyton Manning, clearly one of Dave’s favorite athletes ever if you go by the reaction given during Manning’s cameo in the show’s final Top Ten list, got to crack wise at the late night legend before the show came to a wonderfully produced close.

https://youtu.be/BBf8MyGaEk4

Letterman is gone from the late night landscape, replaced soon by Stephen Colbert on CBS in what has been a seismic shift in late night television over the last few months. (Add in Jon Stewart’s retirement from the Daily Show this year and late night hasn’t had this many changes to late night since Jay Leno was still alive.)

But back to Manning, and to sports. Manning can be a pretty self-aware guest on the late night circuit, and he’s great in a cameo moment like the Top Ten, but he’s certainly not late-night host material.

So who in sports would be?

Before we get to some names who would be good-to-great late night hosts, let’s quickly eliminate those in sports media who have dabbled in that genre in the past and failed to varying degrees.

First, and most notably, was Craig Kilborn who left SportsCenter to lead the aforementioned Daily Show before leaving that—Jon Stewart fans thank you, by the way—for the Late Late Show.

Kilborn was proof that going from sports to late night talk shows can work. Joe Buck, on the other hand…was not (video NSFW).

Bob Costas has had three or four incarnations of a late-night style talk show, and while Costas is more issue-driven than the glad-handing and yukity-yukking Kilborn did and Buck had hoped he could do, Costas could never host a late night program, unless it was on PBS. He’s far too dry to fit into the irreverent late night landscape. Though I would love to see Costas doing stupid human tricks, just for kicks.

If those three are out, which middle-aged white guys—I mean viable candidates in sports—might be in? Who in sports would you like to see hosting a late night talk show? Here are some suggestions.

https://youtu.be/EmzDZpcwBAY

Michelle Beadle

Let’s be honest, there isn’t a person around who doesn’t like Beadle (note: I do not count misogynistic internet trolls as people) and of all the sports celebrities on television, she’s got the perfect personality for late night television. That is to say, she’s funny in a kind of dirty way, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

Beadle is a natural interviewer, and she has the ability to make a guest feel comfortable without losing too much of the spotlight for herself. Just don’t put the show on NBCSN, because nobody would watch. We’ve already seen that. Or, I suppose, haven’t seen.

Katie Nolan

At the risk of overstating the obvious while simultaneously sounding hyperbolic, Nolan is a rising star in our industry. She’s much like Beadle with more of a blog-era snark that really plays well in an interview or conversational setting. She’s Liz Lemon, if TGS was about sports.

Blake Griffin

The guy lives in Los Angeles already, so it seems like a perfect fit, really. If you live in LA and are kind of funny and super famous, you probably already have a show in production, so don’t be shocked if this is already in the works.

Seriously, if there is one current athlete I’d put on the list of guys capable of hosting a daily late-night show, he’s the best I’ve got.

Michael Strahan

As for former athletes, that’s easy.

I admit I never thought Strahan would be a star on daytime television, but he’s amazing and has the draw now after sitting next to Kelly Ripa that would absolutely translate to late night. Having said that, there were obviously rumors in the past with Strahan and late night, but he found a much better spot for himself he can enjoy for decades if he wants.

I truly don’t know if Strahan would be nearly as great on TV if it wasn’t for his rapport with Ripa, but he’s proved many of us wrong already, so who’s willing to question he couldn’t be a star with late night?

Dan Patrick and/or Rich Eisen

Eisen took a page out of Dan Patrick’s book by leaving ESPN to make a bigger name for himself, which includes a radio show that has him glad-handing celebs with the best of them. Eisen has essentially become Patrick, and in a way vice versa, so why not have them both host a show together! And just for good measure, bring in Keith Olbermann to serve as band director and news reader.

We have a winner there, folks.

Stephen A. Smith

Quite frankly, I don’t know how this hasn’t happened yet with the guy having so many deals over the years in development with different cable channels looking to give him a late night show.

Quite frankly, the show Quite Frankly was a disaster, and whatever project SAS were to head up on late night television would probably be an unmitigated disaster that nobody would actually watch, but somehow everybody would be talking about in the morning.

Bill Raftery

The list should begin and end here. He’s probably too old to actually host a daily talk show at night, but if he did, Raft would regale us with story after story from decades on the road.

And what guest wouldn’t want to sit on the couch with Raft and share a story—and by story I mean drink—or two? He’d be so amazing, even for one night. Oh, and let’s not lose sight of the fact that his catchphrases like “with a kiss”, “a little lingerie on the deck” or even “man-to-man” would take on a totally different context in the late night scene.

We’ll miss Letterman, but if we could get Bill Raftery to replace him for a night, it would totally be worth it.

About Dan Levy

Dan Levy has written a lot of words in a lot of places, most recently as the National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. He was host of The Morning B/Reakaway on Sirius XM's Bleacher Report Radio for the past year, and previously worked at Sporting News and Rutgers University, with a concentration on sports, media and public relations.