Brian Baumgartner: Training for Tahoe

The Office’s Brian Baumgartner produces and stars in “Training for Tahoe: Brian and His Famous Fans,” a sports comedy special airing on NBC this Sunday, August 7, at 4pm ET.

The program follows Brian as he prepared for the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament, held last month in Lake Tahoe. He trains with a number of superstar athletes, including baseball slugger Ryan Howard, high-flying dunk king Blake Griffin, champion U.S. speed-skater Apolo Ohno, and football greats Justin Tuck, Michael Strahan and Ndamukong Suh, among others, in a variety of golf and sports settings.

Here’s a clip:

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Brian Baumgartner’s ‘Golf Therapy’

The Office’s Brian Baumgartner produces and stars in an NBC special called “Golf Therapy: Life Lessons in the Pursuit of Par.”

‘Golf Therapy’ has Brian, who is an avid golfer in real life, visit with superstar athletes who offer mental and physical tips to elevate his game, including Pau Gasol, CC Sabathia, Michael Strahan, Nastia Liukin, Justin Tuck, Laila Ali, Aaron Rodgers, and Ozzie Smith.

The show airs Sunday, August 1, 3pm ET/noon PT on NBC, preceding the final round of the U.S. Senior Open Championship.

Previously posted items on the next page.

Brian Baumgartner visits Scranton May 28-29

The Office’s Brian Baumgartner will attend two special events in Scranton this Memorial Day weekend:

  1. Friday, May 28th: Library fundraiser block party

    Brian attends the Swingin’ On Vine block party benefiting Scranton’s Albright Memorial Library.

    Link: Swingin’ On Vine block party

  2. Saturday, May 29th: The Office Fan Tour

    Brian attends a four-hour tour of Scranton landmarks made famous by the show!

    Link: The Office Fan Tours

Brian Baumgartner’s cool Secret Santa gift

During the recent TCA press tour, The Office’s Brian Baumgartner was asked who he’s picking for the Super Bowl:

“Drew Brees will lead New Orleans to the Super Bowl,” he said. “Definitely they’re going to stop the Cardinals. They’re going to have a tough time against Dallas I think the next week. I think it’s going to be the Chargers and Saints in the Super Bowl, and if we get that far you can call me and I’ll tell you who will win.”

There’s a story behind Baumgartner’s confidence in Brees. The two met a couple of years ago while both were playing in a celebrity golf tournament, a relationship that allowed Baumgartner to execute one of the all-time-best Secret Santa gifts for a displaced Saints fan.

Link: ‘The Office’s’ Kevin, Drew Brees connect on Secret Santa completion

The birth and transformation of Kevin Malone

The Onion’s A.V. Club has an in-depth interview with The Office’s Brian Baumgartner.

Here’s a little bit of what Brian says about his character, Kevin Malone:

The costume designer was like, “Okay, this guy would wear a really tight shirt and have stains all over him, and it would be untucked, and he would be slovenly,” and it was like, “Well, let’s wait a second. Let’s look at him as something else, someone who may wear Dockers, but he’s really trying his best.” And we began to find out other things about him. That he won a World Series Of Poker bracelet, that he was really good at basketball …

The character began to transform, quite frankly, as he got more to do, and there became this child-like impishness, this playfulness, a sense that he did have something going on outside … Nobody hates him or dismisses him. There’s evidence that he and Jim play fantasy football or whatever. He and Dwight enjoy fireworks together. He and Michael get along fine. He has become, I think, in a way, that maybe not overly intelligent everyman that exists, and you get the feeling will always exist, exactly in this place.

Link: The A.V. Club interview with Brian Baumgartner

One of my recent favorite recent Kevin moments is in Scott’s Tots — when he interrupts Dwight as he says “Hey, so Jim thought it would be ideal if we all pitched in … ” So hysterical!

What are your favorite Kevin moments?