CBS Fires Sean McDonough

[PUBLICREF3 <norwood@mln.lib.ma.us>]

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Yesterday (December 9th), CBS sportscaster Sean McDonough (also
over-the-air TV voice of the Red Sox) learned his contract would not be
renewed. His last broadcast is supposed to be the Sun Bowl on December
31st. I wouldn't be surprised if Sean doesn't do that game and someone
else does play-by-play instead.

McDonough was canned in order so that CBS could hire Dick Enberg to be
their new number-two NFL play-by-play man, and current NFL # 2 Verne
Lundquist would move to be the top college football play-by-play man.

Perhaps Sean should have known something was up a year and a half ago
when CBS recaptured the NFL. While nearly every TV writer in the country
was expecting that Sean would be the number-one play-by-play man, in the
end, Greg Gumble returned to CBS from NBC and was named top play-by-play
man for NFL coverage, and Sean remained with college football. In Greg
Gumble's defense, it should be noted that he is the first black man to
be a broadcast network's number-
one play-by-play announcer for one of the "big four" professional
sports, and that CBS would earn lots of diversity points with that move.
Still, Sean should have gotten the number-two slot, especially as he was
loyal to CBS, remaining with them even after they lost the NFL after the
1993/94 season, when many top announcers, producers, technicians and
executives left CBS Sports.

I personally think McDonough's most likely next stop is Fox, where I
think he'll end up both as play-by-play man for WFXT's Red Sox games and
as lead play-by-play man for their network baseball coverage (replacing
Joe Buck) so that Sean would be re-united with Tim McCarver, with whom
he did the World Series on CBS from 1990-93.

One other possibility might be a "part-time" gig with ABC to do some
collegfe football, and perhaps if they want a separate "lead" NHL
announcing team from ESPN's (as of now, Gary Throne and Bill Clement
will be the lead NHL play-by-play team for ABC as well as ESPN), perhaps
lead NHL play-by-play man, including the finals, where he could be
paired with John Davidson (currently scheduled to be studio analyst).
Remember that McDonough and Davidson did the men's and women's ice
hockey for CBS at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and their commentary was
hailed as one of the few bright spots in an otherwise inferior Olympics
production. Their call of the men's gold-medal game between the Czech
Republic and Russia was memorable, even if the network went off the air
before the medal ceremony was held.

Joseph Gallant
<notquite@hotmail.com>