Provus hired to replace JP

[Patrick425]

Ru Rah Rah mentioned this article regarding Provus in the Roanoke Times last Summer. I thought it was worth posting the link here:

 

http://www.roanoke.com/sports/mcfarling/wb/169275

 

Hard to swallow some of those quotes if you are a Cub's hater.

[Mike2k33]

As long as he accurately describes the play on the field and adds some knowledge to the broadcast I'll be fine with him. If he lets the Cub fan in him show, I'll just listen to Ueck's innings and wait for Provus to be run out of town. I don't expect that to happen.

[patrickgpe]

since i never heard him call a game before and never heard a cubs pre or post game show, i'll give him a chance, while he is a cubs fan, as long as he doesn't overtly cheer for them, i'm fine with it. I look forward to hearing him call a game before before i pass judgment.

[logan82]

I prefer a little homerism in my announcers as well. Luckily I rarely listen to the Brewers on the radio. I have a very hard time with hiring a die hard fan of our rival and putting his voice on the radio.

[DuWayne Steurer]

As others have said, I dont' care that he worked for the Cubs. I care that he's a fan of the Cubs. I don't care if he calls a great game or not, I'll know that any excitement he lets out during a broadcast is fake. Sorry, I like homerism in my radio broadcast.

 

They should have done "Brewerfan announcer for a day"

 

Have one regular poster announce a game with Ueck. A new person every day. That would have been fun.

[patrickgpe]

for those who are interested, the interview on wtmj is on their website

 

http://www.620wtmj.com/po...37.html?video=pop&t=a

 

after actually hearing him talk, he seems to be very knowledgeable about baseball and excited to be here, which is all i can ask of a radio announcer.

[Cracked Bat Collector]

No one can replace Jim Powell, but I like this guy's voice he sounds like a voice I could get used to listening to. Looking forward to listening to him and Uke!

[Bruce Ciskie]

Cripes, people. Give the guy a chance.

 

I know the Braves were never a division rival, but when JP called a Brewers-Braves game, you weren't keenly aware that he grew up a Braves fan, were you?

 

These people are professionals. They understand their job, and Cory will do it just fine. The majority of radio listeners won't have a clue the guy grew up a Cubs fan unless he or Uecker make mention of it during a game.

 

I can guarantee you that he wouldn't have even thought of taking this job if he didn't think he could set his fandom aside and do a good job.

[whizkid]

Being a Braves fan is nowhere near being a Cubs fan. It's like the Seinfeld episode where he couldn't get the stink out of his car. There's no way to get the stink out of a Cub's fan. I'm not speaking for the majority of radio listeners, just myself.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

I wouldn't be surprised to see WTMJ's ratings for Brewer games drop by 20% this year. I know I won't be listening unless I have no other option.

[Bruce Ciskie]

I wouldn't be surprised to see WTMJ's ratings for Brewer games drop by 20% this year. I know I won't be listening unless I have no other option.

http://www.geotonix.com/image.axd?picture=businessman-banging-his-head-against-the-wall-ispc026073%5B1%5D.jpg

 

I guess I just don't hate the Cubs enough to understand.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

I'm glad they have an away feed for MLB Audio.

[rluzinski]

I have no doubt that he'll be able to put his Cubs fandom aside and pretend to root for the Brewers with all his heart. And I don't claim to either represent the majority nor do I think my perspective is the "right" one. I simply have immensely enjoyed listening to Powell and Bob root for the Brewers and I won't be able to have that same kind of enjoyment with this new guy. It's not personal, it's just the way it is.

 

If I am in the extreme minority and this guy turns out to be a great announcer, 620 will have made a great choice. Can't make everyone happy.

[greeg35]

I have no doubt that he'll be able to put his Cubs fandom aside and pretend to root for the Brewers with all his heart.

True, look how long Sutton managed to pretend he was over the moon for the Brewers.

[PeaveyFury]

I really dont care that he worked for the Cubs, although it does irk me some that he grew up and is a die-hard Cubs fan.

 

Agreed, and also agree that he'll likely jump ship the second a consistent on-air job opens up for the Cubs. Not a big fan of the hire at all.

[RU Rah Rah]

I am just trying to imagine what the fan reaction would be if the Red Sox announced, "We're hiring a 30-year old Yankee fan to call our games on the radio."

[Thurston Fluff]

I don't give a rats behind who he is a fan of. If he is good at his job and doesn't let his initial bias show I'm fine with it.

I think it's good to repay the Cubs for taking away Hughes. Now we can work on converting a lifelong Cub fan to a Brewer fan. Considering who he previously rooted for it should be a relatively easy task. Even worms can be trained if you apply enough electricity to them. Given Cub fans are nearly as intelligent as worms I think we can convert him in time. Lets face it the Brewers are certainly easier to root for than a salary bloated, perennially under achieving, franchise like the Cubs.

[endaround]

Would the Cubs ever, EVER, hire a life-long Cardinals fan?

[Bruce Ciskie]

Would the Cubs ever, EVER, hire a life-long Cardinals fan?

 

Harry Caray was born in St. Louis and unapologetically rooted for the Cardinals in the booth every day for over 20 years. He worked for the freaking White Sox before the Cubs hired him.

 

I'd say that if the right person was available, the Cubs would make that hire in a heartbeat.

 

(I mean, seriously, you don't think they'd take Joe Buck if he were available? Come on.)

[SeriesFinale]

Like most, I don't care that he worked for the Cubs. I'm not at all happy that he's a gushing die-hard life-long Cubs fan, but I could get over that if he was top-notch. He's not. Having listened to him when I lived in Chicago, he's middling to dull, and I'm shocked they couldn't find a better option out there.

 

The worst part about it is the only time I really listen to the radio feed these days is when I'm at work during weekday day games...an inordinate amount of which are at Wrigley. I know he's a professional, but I have a hard time imagining this life-long die-hard Cubs fan from the Chicago suburbs not getting just a little excited during one of the seemingly-many late melodramatic wins/comebacks the Cubs have had during those Wrigley matinees the last couple years.

 

Heck, even if he keeps a professional even-keel on-air, I despise the idea of our radio guy getting excited about Cubs' victories off the air, and I don't think there's anything wrong with Brewers fans thinking that.

[hawing]

I'm open, but wary. I'm definitely a Brewers Radio Network consumer, more so than TV, so how this goes matters more to me than to some of you.

 

Wafer-thin silver lining: at least he cited Pat Hughes as an influence. Imagine if he had cited Santo instead. That's all I've got.

[Brewtacular]

Alright Cory thank you very much......

 

This doesn't work for me. I don't like the sound of that. We should have went with another Jim.

[berniebrewer4life]

I am just trying to imagine what the fan reaction would be if the Red Sox announced, "We're hiring a 30-year old Yankee fan to call our games on the radio."

Did you really just compare the cubs/brewers to the red sox/yankees? Wow. What about Harry Carey? He was with the cubs main 2 rivals before he went to the cubs and was an ADMITTED Cards fan. He seemed to do pretty well. The kid could end up not only being a great hire, but he could end up being just as good as powell someday, and may become a staple within the brewer family for years to come.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

after actually hearing him talk, he seems to be very knowledgeable about baseball and excited to be here, which is all i can ask of a radio announcer.

After listening to this piece, I remember this guy now from listening to a few Cubs games last year. I'll give him this. He was a lot better to listen to with Santo than Hughes was.

[bucks2281]

I'm almost happy to hear a familiar voice. I know many of us listen to Hughes/Santo/Provus on AM 720, so we've had a dose of him the past few years.

 

I think we can expect him to be professional enough to not "get excited" when the Cubs do something well during a Cubs-Brewers game. I'd much rather have Provus, who has a good voice and has MLB experience, rather some blowhard, lifelong Brewers fan. Let's give him a chance -- he'll be fine.