This might surprise a certain demographic in the audience, but ESPN’s “SportsCenter” anchors weren’t the first to turn sportscasts into comedy sketches. Local news anchors delighted viewers with their creativity and wit long before Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick took both to new levels in the 1990s.

Chicago has been blessed to have a few. The late Tim Weigel was the first. His weekly staple was “Weigel Wieners,” sports bloopers interspersed with TV clips behind a cleverly written script. Bruce Wolf brought an alter ego to his segment, “Chet Chitchat,” a hilarious combination of the late Chet Coppock and the living Chuck Swirsky. Arriving in between them was Mark Giangreco.