Don Imus Talks About Regrets, Radio & Howard Stern on CBS SUNDAY MORNING

After 50 years on the air, retiring radio broadcaster Don Imus ranks himself and long-time rival Howard Stern among the top-five best ever, in an interview with Anthony Mason for CBS SUNDAY MORNING to be broadcast Sunday, March 25 (9:00 AM, ET) on the CBS Television Network.

In his farewell to radio, Imus signs off in an interview with Mason that includes some parting shots, regrets, thoughts about the future and his relationship with Stern.

Stern and Imus have been on-air sparring mates for decades, dating back to when they each worked for the same New York City radio station. Their "feuds" at the time were legendary and transcended radio. Since then, Imus has been occasional FODDER for Stern's radio commentary.

"I would put Stern in there," Imus tells Mason when asked for his picks for best ever.

"If we weren't so bad, we wouldn't be so good," Imus tells Mason of his time in New York at the same station with Stern.

Asked if he thought people would be surprised he included Stern in the list, Imus says that Stern had the issue with him.

"He had a big problem with me," Imus says. "I didn't with him."

In a career that spans decades, Imus has long been considered one of the most outrageous and influential broadcasters of his time. He's been fired several times along the way, too, most notably in 2007 when he called the Rutgers women's basketball team a racist slur. It cost him a CBS Syndicated radio show and a show on MSNBC. Imus says he regrets the comments.

"It did change my feeling about making fun of some people who didn't deserve to be made fun of and didn't have a mechanism to defend themselves," Imus says of the Rutgers incident.

Next week he says goodbye to the current version of his radio show, which he broadcasts from his ranch in Texas. Imus admits he's going to miss that connection to the listeners, and he gets emotional about it when pressed by Mason.

"I always had it in my head I was talkin' to one person," Imus says. "I felt that when I walked in there and sat down and turned the mic on that I was - that I was talking to you."

Imus adds: "I'm gonna miss that."

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