To say HBO’s Real Sports revived Bryant Gumbel’s career is like saying Rex Ryan likes cheeseburgers.

Well done, not the cheeseburgers, the HBO program is as Gumbel deftly plays host to different sports-themed stories, some featurey and most thought-provoking.

Without one piece, I wouldn’t know about Jack Harbaugh, dad of NFL football coaches Jim and John. What a neat guy, who is not only OK but proud that his kids surpassed him professionally.

Real Sports has also done terrific work on events like the running of the bulls in Spain and dogfighting when the Mike Vick controversy broke.

Reporters Andrea Kreamer, Frank Deford and Mary Carillo are terrific as is the courageous Bernie Goldberg who could have ruined his career by breaking from the liberal pack years ago.

Speaking of which, the only cringe-worthy thing about the program is when Gumbel, the ex-Today show host decides to opine on something he thinks everyone will agree with him on.

We don’t Bryant, just stick to the show. Keep the focus on Real Sports, that’s plenty good enough.