Soledad O'Brien might not be the most sports savvy journalist in the business, but she will now join forces with HBO and form part of "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel." For Gumbel, O'Brien's passion and experience played a huge part in the addition of the newest member of "Real Sports." 

O'Brien's most recently worked with CNN as a morning-show host. However, she was replaced by Kate Bolduan and Chris Cuomo. Gumbel thinks O'Brien will fit in well since she is a true journalist. "Soledad's a respected journalist with a proven track record," Gumbel said. "Her credibility, broad interests and passion make her a wonderful addition to our program. I'm thrilled to have her on our 'Real Sports' team."  

O'Brien feels very comfortable with her job as she sees a lot of similarities with what she's done in the past. As pointed out by MSN, her first project will detail the importance of martial arts in the lives of retired war veterans. For O'Brien, though the focus is sports, there is a human interest story at hand. "It's exactly what I've been doing for a long time - telling stories about human beings and their struggles," O'Brien said. 

How excited is O'Brien about joining the "Real Sports" team? "I'm honored to join the 'Real Sports' team and look forward to continuing my fervor for uncovering unique and impactful stories," said O'Brien.

For those at all curious about O'Brien's athletic abilities, she played some rugby while studying at Harvard. She seems pretty tough.