This week, ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" (Sunday, 11:00 a.m. ET) will feature a candid, in-depth interview with Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi. It is the first such interview for Bruschi since returning to the field after suffering a stroke in February of this year. The interview was a unique experience for reporter Andrea Kremer (pictured here).

 

"I had done so much research for this," says Kremer, who continues to stake her claim as the best football interviewer in the business. "This was the first time that Tedy agreed to sit down on television in such an intimate setting. I honestly didn't know what to expect.

 

"Having done so many interviews, I usually know on the first question whether the discussion will be antsy or formulaic. From moment one, (Bruschi) spoke from the heart about the struggle that he has gone through."

 

Bruschi reveals that his biggest challenge has been mentally, rather than physically, rehabbing from his stroke and heart ailments, and that he didn't just jump into his decision to return to the field.

 

"This was a life-threatening situation," said Kremer. "It wasn't Daunte Culpepper with torn ligaments or Donovan McNabb with a bad back. If that hole in his heart was a few millimeters different, he'd be dead."

 

Kremer's lengthy Bruschi interview will be run on ESPN in three parts. Part one is featured on Sunday's "Countdown" show. Part two will air Monday evening on "SportsCenter" and part three Tuesday on "SportsCenter."

 

While Kremer would not toot her own horn for landing the exclusive sit-down, Media Blitz spoke to several insiders with ESPN and the Patriots. Word is that more than 70 media outlets called the Patriots requesting an interview with Bruschi, including CBS's "60 Minutes." Kremer has been pursuing the story since February, sending e-mails to Patriots media relations VP Stacey James and to Bruschi himself. According to a source, Bruschi specifically wanted to do the interview with the talented Kremer.

 

She discusses Bruschi's struggle with the choice to play. "He told me that he used to think about the risk every second of every day. Now, it's every other hour of every day. He asked his doctor to give him an example of someone who came back to play after a similar illness. The doctor told him that there were no examples. He would be the first."

 

Perhaps the most significant part of Kremer's interview involves Bruschi's visits with a host of doctors. "This was not a Reggie Lewis situation," says Kremer referring to the late Boston Celtics star who, in 1993, seemingly searched for a doctor who would give him the go-ahead to play after suffering heart ailments. 

 

"Bruschi actually wanted to find a doctor who would tell him not to play. I asked him if any specialist ever told him not to come back. His response was, 'Zero.' It's almost like he wanted to find someone who would tell him not to come back. According to Tedy, it was the unanimous doctors' OK that made him want to play again."

 

The Bruschi interview had a deep impact on Kremer and her crew. "My whole crew was affected," she relates. "We use a Boston-based crew and I always ask them what they want to hear in an interview. We all felt drained after the interview, hanging on every word he said. I mean, for a player known for his reckless abandon on the field to articulate what he did about death and fear was remarkable."

 

Kremer says that Bruschi definitely wants to be known as a stroke survivor and that he is not shying away from the fact that he was seriously ill. "I know I had a stroke," Bruschi told Kremer. "I am sitting in front of you as normal as I can be right now. I know what it did to my body, but I won't let it affect my life."

 

Kremer says that she also spoke to several people in the New England organization about the unknown nature of Bruschi's ailments. To a person, they said that they don't think twice about it. 

 

The Bruschi story flies in the face of the ongoing Terrell Owens saga. Says Kremer, "If you look at the 2005 season, outside of the Colts being undefeated, the two biggest stories have been Terrell Owens and Tedy Bruschi. They couldn't be more opposite stories.

 

 "The media doesn't cover a lot of nice stories. I am so sick of the Terrell Owens thing. Think about it. On a national level, there was this huge buildup for Tedy's return against Buffalo, then what? There really hasn't been much else and that's wrong. This is a terrific story of redemption."

 

The key physical issue for Bruschi, Kremer reveals, is the plug in his heart. She says that Bruschi has asked his doctors if a hit can further injure that area. "It can't happen," Bruschi says of his doctors' responses. According to Kremer, Bruschi saw his doctors after his first game vs. Buffalo and continues to be checked regularly. He is taking this very seriously.

 

Kremer has made a name for herself with a hard-hitting, yet thoughtful, style. She interviewed ex-Vikings receiver Cris Carter about his drug abuse, golfer John Daly upon his release from the Betty Ford Clinic and current Cleveland quarterback Trent Dilfer following the death of his son. She was also the first to talk with Barret Robbins following his disappearance from the Raiders before Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003.

 

Given this past interview roster, what was the allure of a sit-down with Bruschi?

 

"He was someone whom a lot of people sought," said Kremer. I know we've heard from Tedy, but not in this intimate setting. He told me that when his oldest son asked about his illness, he told the boy that his heart had an "owie." That really hit me."

 

Bruschi opened up about a lot of personal issues. He said that he considers Patriots owner Robert Kraft a member of his family and that he was not hurt that Bill Belichick did not visit him in the hospital. Bruschi says they have a great relationship and that Belichick did anything he could do.

 

The interview pushed the boundaries of separation and professionalism for Kremer.

 

"In my business, I have to be objective about the people and teams I cover," she said. "Since coming back, maybe Tedy has been a little slow in coverage on a couple of plays, but so what. The fact is that I don't think you are a human being if you are not pulling for Tedy Bruschi."

 

John Molori's columns are published in ColdHardFootballFacts.com, The Boston Metro, Patriots Football Weekly, The Providence Journal, Boston Sports Review, New England Hockey Journal, New England Ringside Magazine, TheRemyReport.com, PatsFans.com, BostonSportsReview.com, BostonPressBox.com, BostonSportsMedia.com, BostonSportz.com and DiscoverTheValley.com. Email John at JOMOL3@aol.com.