Michael Phelps celebrates after winning a silver medal at the Olympic Summer Games Rio 2016 on Aug. 12, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Athletes in some sports are slowly but surely returning to training and, in some cases, competition.
For those who can’t wait to watch Team USA athletes back in competition, though, NBCSN is offering the next best thing.
The network will re-air 20 classic “Saturday Night Live” episodes next week, all of them hosted by athletes. And among the hosts are six U.S. Olympians who account for nine of the episodes — and 29 Olympic gold medals.
The suddenly en vogue again Michael Jordan kicks things off on Monday, when his Sept. 28, 1991, episode re-airs at 8 p.m. ET. That show was recorded not long after Jordan’s Chicago Bulls won the first of their six NBA championships, and just before he joined up with the Dream Team to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992.
That episode will re-air at the end of the week as well, at 11 p.m. on Friday. It’s the only episode that will show twice.
Fellow Dream Teamer Charles Barkley hosted three times. His 2012 show will re-air at 10 p.m. Monday, while his 2012 and 2018 shows air back-to-back at 9 and 10 p.m. Friday.
Rounding out the basketball stars, three-time Olympian LeBron James hosted a year before winning his first gold medal in Beijing. His September 2007 show is between Jordan and Barkley at 9 p.m. Monday.
The most decorated Olympian, Michael Phelps, fresh off his historic eight gold medals in the pool in Beijing, hosted SNL on Sept. 13, 2008. Viewers can re-watch that one at 7 p.m. Friday.
Also featured is tennis player Andy Roddick, a 2004 Olympian, whose November 2003 show can be seen at 10 p.m. Wednesday. Ronda Rousey, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in judo, hosted SNL in January 2016 during the height of her MMA career. That episode will re-air Thursday at 10 p.m.
Other non-Olympic hosts include NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady, Eli Manning and Peyton Manning, linebacker J.J. Watt, New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter, and pro wrestlers Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena.
Please visit NBCSN or click here to view the full schedule.
Chrös McDougall has covered the Olympic and Paralympic movements for TeamUSA.org since 2009 on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. He is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
