Al Roker received a telling off from his Today Show co-host Laura Jarret after he revealed an 'off-the-record conversation' he had with Craig Melvin live on air during Friday's installment.
The NBC weatherman was joined by Laura and Craig to discuss March Madness – a single-elimination NCCA basketball tournament comprising 68 teams that compete in seven rounds for the national championship.
© NBCThe co-stars discussed Studio 1 A's leaderboard, with the day one result bracket projected onto the screen. Dominating the board was Dylan Dreyer, who was in the lead with 11 points. Next, stood Al with nine points, followed by Craig and Laura with seven points each.
After seeing the results, Craig said: "Laura and I are both in trouble as we picked Wofford." The team lost 77-62 against Tennessee in Lexington’s Rupp Arena on Thursday.
Following Craig's revelation, Al appeared confused. "You pick Woffords?," he asked his co-host.
© NBCThe news anchor responded: "To win last night, yeah."
Al questioned his co-host once more as he refused to believe that Craig had bet on Wofford to win the match. "Did you really?," he asked, before Craig answered, "absolutely."
The weatherman proceeded to reveal a conversation he shared with Craig off-air in which his co-star critiqued the basketball team. "When we were off the air you said they were probably going to lose," shared Al.
© Getty ImagesVisibly taken aback by his co-hosts admission, Craig responded: "No, Wofford College? No."
Laura then chimed into the conversation to call out Al for revealing the private discussion. "That was an off-the-record conversation," she said.
Al awkwardly laughed before he apologized to both his fellow co-hosts. "Oh, was it? Oh, I'm sorry."
Craig appeared visibly guilty as he directly addressed the audience. "By the way that's not true, he's lying American," he said.
© NBCClearly unimpressed by Craig's lack of honesty, Al added: "Ok." He then proceeded to mimic his co-star: "You have potential. You have potential."
The studio erupted into laughter as the trio attempted to remain professional and segue into the following news update.
© NBCSavannah Guthrie was noticeably absent from the morning show after taking the week off to enjoy some well deserved family time on vacation. Savannah's absence wasn't the only shake-up to hit the show this week. On Thursday, Al and Craig were joined by Laura, who stood in for Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones. Sheinelle took time out of the show following a sudden family illness, while Dylan was away on an assignment.
Laura, who is a weekend regular on the show, also filled in for Savannah on Friday.
