weekend, everybody. We hope to see you somewhere down the road of life. Thank you. Michael then walked off camera, and was heard to say "Last one out, turn out the lights!" as the show closed for the final time. The end of Sports Machine coincided with the end of Michael's contract as lead sports anchor at WRC, and he was replaced by Czarniak in that role. Michael continued to appear on sports panel shows and Washington Redskins-related programs for WRC-TV and Washington-area sports talk radio stations until more production and budget cuts forced those shows to be terminated. Michael died from leukemia on December 24, 2009. Shortly after the end of the Sports Machine, Czarniak became a permanent part of TNT's NASCAR broadcasts as a pit reporter in addition to her duties at WRC. She left that position after the 2011 season. In 2011, Czarniak left WRC to take a position at ESPN and initially was an overnight anchor at ESPNews before becoming a fixture on SportsCenter, where she anchored the 6 PM broadcast with John Anderson from December 3, 2012 to January 30, 2015 and later, was the sole anchor from February 2, 2015 to mid-October 2016. In August 2017, her contract with ESPN expired. References and notes John Maynard (2006-11-17). George Michael to drop anchor chores, continue weekend sports panel shows. The Washington Post. External links 1984 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings 1990s American television series First-run syndicated television programs in the United States American sports television series Television series by Universal Television Television series by CBS Studios Television series by ITC Entertainment English-language television shows