Gus Johnson (sportscaster)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gus Johnson (b. in Detroit, Michigan) is an American sports announcer. He is best known for his play-by-play coverage of CBS Sports' March Madness.

1 Education
2 Early career
3 Current roles
4 External links

[edit] Education

Gus Johnson grew up in Detroit, Michigan and attended the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy. He graduated in 1985. That same year, according to the winter, 1997 edition of U of D Jesuit's alumni magazine, Highlights, Johnson was all-Catholic quarterback for the school's football team, an all-Catholic shooting guard on the basketball team, and first baseman and catcher on the baseball team. The 1984-1985 U of D Jesuit yearbook also notes that Johnson was a co-captain of both the football and basketball teams and most valuable player on the latter.

Johnson subsequently graduated from Howard University with a degree in political science in 1990 and was a four-year letter winner on Howard's baseball team.

[edit] Early career

Johnson called play-by-play for the Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball franchise (1998–99), the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves (1996–97), Big East Basketball on the Big East Network, college hockey and college basketball on ESPN, and Canadian Football League games for ESPN2.

Johnson hosted ESPN's Black College Sports Today in 1991. After brief stints as an on-air personality with KXXV-TV in Waco, Texas, WAAY-TV in Huntsville, Alabama, and WXII-TV in Greensboro, North Carolina, he served as the weekend anchor for WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C., from 1991 to 1992.

[edit] Current roles

Johnson has covered numerous sports for CBS Sports, with his most recognized role as a play-by-play announcer for CBS' March Madness since 1996. He may be best known for his yelling and almost screaming play-by-play calls at the end of NCAA Tournament games. He is known for his call of the end of a UCLA-Gonzaga game in 2006 as well as his call of the Ohio State-Xavier game in 2007. Some of his other well known calls include Vermont's 2005 upset over Syracuse and Princeton's 43-41 upset over UCLA. Other CBS duties include play-by-play announcing for the NFL on CBS, college football, track and field, boxing, and bobsled/luge at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Since 1994, Johnson has worked for Madison Square Garden Network (MSG), where he is the current radio voice of the NBA's New York Knicks and also provides play-by-play for Madison Square Garden Network's coverage of the WNBA's New York Liberty. He is also the backup television play-by-play voice of the Knicks, filling in for Mike Breen. He has also provided commentary for MSG's coverage of the Golden Gloves Tournament and served as host of the "Yankees ScoreCard" and SportsDesk, as well as the New York Rangers and Knicks "GameNight." He also served as the preseason TV voice for the Buffalo Bills and, in 2006, the Philadelphia Eagles.

In March of 2007, it was announced that James Brown would take over Johnson's duties for the regional semifinals and finals in the 2007 NCAA tournament. Johnson still serves as a play-by-play announcer for first and second-round action.