Jon Stewart’s final episode of The Daily Show was Thursday, marking the end of an era in TV comedy.
With a droll delivery, Stewart could take a serious topic and make light of it or turn a ridiculous news story into satirical gold.
Stewart is obviously known for his political humour, but over the years he addressed a plethora of sports topics and interviewed many athletes.
With that in mind, enjoy some of Stewart’s best sports moments.
Organized crime meets triple axels
When Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were ripped off at the 2002 Olympics, a dark side of the sporting world was thrust into the spotlight. Before there was Sid Seixeiro, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were on the front lines tackling corruption in figure skating.
“The Fresh Prince of Ball Air”
Deflategate has to be one of the most ridiculous stories in recent sports history and Stewart gave it the proper treatment.
MMA for Dummies
Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman – a self-proclaimed master of martial arts and martial crafts – did a feature on mixed martial arts back in 2007. At the time it was the fastest-growing sport in North America yet still quite misunderstood.
“The Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup.”
The show filed this report in 2002 on the confusing sport known as ice hockey.
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics totally sucked
Jon enlisted the help of Steve Carrell and his wife Nancy Carell to report on the incredible athletic feats, the records, the medals, the emotions, the pageantry…and the overall suckiness of the 2000 Games.
NBA ownership: It’s a complicated venture
In the midst of the Donald Sterling ownership debacle with the Los Angeles Clippers, The Daily Show expressed a subversive view on what it’s like to own a professional sports franchise.
R.A. Dickey stops by
Current Toronto Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey was a guest of Stewart’s back in 2012 when he was still with the New York Mets. Stewart accurately predicted that the Mets would trade the knuckleballer after he won the NL Cy Young Award.
Stewart is a lifelong Mets fan. In addition to Dickey, he had the likes of David Wright, Matt Harvey and others on his show over the years and he poked fun at his favourite team whenever he could. He was also the butt of his own jokes when it was warranted.
Jon’s 47mph heater
Subway Series travel tips
Shaq is tall. Jon Stewart is not.
There aren’t many athletes more entertaining than Shaquille O’Neal and his charisma shines through in this interview. He also picks the host up like he’s a stuffed animal.
Charles Barkley being Charles Barkley
Fluctuating weight, custom suits, boredom in retirement and the time he threw a basketball at Shaq’s head are among the topics covered.
Serena Williams cheats at Operation
Here’s the biggest star in women’s tennis talking about her book and her dance moves.
“Pretentious Use of an Archaic Number System”
The Super Bowl uses roman numerals. Jon Stewart thinks this is dumb.
Taking aim at the NFL
Stewart looked at the Ray Rice suspension and didn’t hold back when talking about how Roger Goodell and the NFL handled the situation.
Pele graces the set
The soccer legend, while promoting his book Why Soccer Matters, spoke about his experiences playing at and winning multiple World Cups throughout his historic career and he presents Stewart with a special jersey.
LeBron James
Jon tries to persuade LeBron to sign with the Knicks. It totally didn’t work. Not even for a second.
Wayne Gretzky retires from hockey
When reports surfaced in the late 90s that The Great One was going to hang up his skates for good, Stewart wasn’t all too shaken up about it.
Interview with Viacheslav Fetisov
Fetisov was a guest on the show to promote the documentary Red Army in which the hockey and political worlds cross paths. It’s a fascinating interview.
Stewart takes on gambling in baseball…
…and then he takes on Roger Clemens and the whole steroids thing.
…and let us not forget the Hall of Fame vote.
A truly dynamic duo
When Usain Bolt set a new world record for the 100m sprint, Stewart likened the Jamaican sprinter and American swimmer Michael Phelps to a new breed of superheroes.
Tribute to Gary Carter
It wasn’t all comedy all the time and Stewart honoured the late Expos and Mets star during the show’s nightly Moment of Zen.