Bob Costas Sitting Out Tuesday's Primetime Coverage with Infections in Both Eyes

NBC Sports host Bob Costas will sit out Tuesday’s primetime coverage on NBC with what appears to be eye infections in both eyes. Costas started the Olympics with an infection in his left eye, and now the pink eye seems to have spread to his right eye.

On Monday night’s primetime coverage of the Olympics, Costas was having problems with both eyes.

Today show host Matt Lauer will take Costas’ place. As the AP notes, “no one else has anchored a prime-time summer or winter Olympic broadcast in the U.S. since 1998, when CBS had the rights to broadcast the games.”

“I was trying to throw a complete game here, but I think we’re going to have to go to the bullpen, and I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but you’re Mariano Rivera, at least tonight,” Costas said on Tuesday. “Let’s hope it’s only tonight. I’m walking around, I might as well be playing ‘Marco Polo.’ I have no idea where I am.”

Last Thursday, Costas informed his viewers that doctors had told him that his infection should be clear by the weekend. That obviously did not happen, as Costas looked worse on Monday. Later in Monday’s broadcast, he took a vodka shot with NBC’s Mary Carillo, saying that his eye could not get any redder.