Provus hired to replace JP

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'm having a hard time understanding why this is different than a player being drafted/signed/acquired by the Brewers who happened to root for a different team growing up (probably true for about 99.5% of players in baseball). If this guy doesn't understand the need to leave his life's rooting interest at the door when he gets ready to call a game, he wouldn't have gotten this job.

 

I'm sure it was easy for him to play homer during his part in Cub broadcasts when he was working for the Cubs radio network - but he had nothing but good things to say about the Brewers during his interview this morning...I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt until he does something with the Brewers to make me regret the hire.

[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."

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.

My point being that the Yankees are most hated rival of the Red Sox, as the Cubs are the most hated rival of the Brewers. ( Obviously, the rivalry isn't nearly as old, etc. I understand that.)

 

And if you read the whole thread, you'll see that I am willing to give the guy a chance, if he proves talented. I was mainly speculating about how another fan base would react in a roughly analogous situation.

[Bruce Ciskie]

I was mainly speculating about how another fan base would react in a roughly analogous situation.

 

I'm sure it would be a similar reaction to what we've seen here. Maybe a little more venom, but we're just not that kind of people. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[RU Rah Rah]

I was mainly speculating about how another fan base would react in a roughly analogous situation.

I'm sure it would be a similar reaction to what we've seen here. Maybe a little more venom, but we're just not that kind of people. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

(Laughs.) Not a bad thing -- the relative lack of venom, I mean.

[Invader3K]

Listening to his interview from WTMJ right now. His attitude seems fine enough, and his voice doesn't annoy me. To be honest, his voice reminds me of Bob Costas a little bit, which isn't a bad thing.

[StearnsFTW]

I, for one, welcome our new Provusian Overlord.

Nice.

 

Hail Ants!

[BCZF]

I dunno, if he starts asking why we don't put all of that crap on a hot dog, he should be fired. And if he doesn't know that the lyrics are "zing boom tarerrel" he should be fired. If he makes a joke about tailgating....fired.

Now these may seem a little harsh... But I think you'll agree assimilation will make everyone happy..

[valpocrewsader]

A rich preppy northern suburb Ferris Bueller wannabe Cubs fan jerk? I will be sending WTMJ so much hate mail after every Cubs game, pointing out every little teeny tiny thing that can be construed as pro-Cubs from this goofus. TMJ deserves it for this awful, awful, terrible, awful decision.

[BrewCrewForever]

He might end up being alright. I will give him a chance. But I can't see him being anywhere near as good as Powell. Powell was in a class all his own. Powell was supposed to be the guy after Uecker left. Not gonna happen now.

[StearnsFTW]

Valpo: Not sure if that was supposed to be funny, but it was.

 

A very small art of me agrees with every word of it though.

[CarRamrod01]

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.

Personally, if I were to use a Seinfeld episode to represent Cubs fans, I would choose "The Bet".

 

In fact, I could probably use the characters in that episode as a metaphor for the entire N.L. Central (the Pirates would be Kramer, for instance).

[pitchleague]

I listened to the audio clip that was posted this morning from his interview. He sounds good--there's a little bit of Powell in his voice. I know that I heard him do some Cubs innings the past year or two but I remember very little of it except for, "Hey, this isn't Pat Hughes. And Santo seems a bit quieter and subdued now. Maybe Pat had a heart attack or had to visit the restroom." (this was my thought, in case you didn't figure it out.)

 

I'm sure he'll be fine for about 147 games this year. Those 15 against the Cubs will be the games that we'll have to watch for. Unfortunately for him, there's a Cubs-Brewers series during the first week of the season, so I guess we'll find out quickly.

 

For those that do remember what he sounds like, is he really dry? Funny at all? I know that his excitement level on the air would be hard to judge since he only worked the 5th inning (not really bottom of the 9th kind of thrills in the 5th inning.) Again, his voice sounds good and strong. He loves baseball, so it's not like he's doing his 2nd (or even 3rd) favorite sport on the air half-heartedly.

 

So Cory, welcome aboard!!!! Wonder if anyone has got word to him about our nice little family site here. . . . Maybe Powell left him a note . . . . .

[GAME05]

ugh, a former Cubs guy? when i hear him on the radio and he starts cheering for the Brewers, i'm gonna start wondering if deep-down, he doesn't really mean it. but i'm going to try to give him the benefit of the doubt and presume he's the the VERY rare breed of people who come out of Chicago and actually know something about baseball.

[berniebrewer4life]

My point being that the Yankees are most hated rival of the Red Sox, as the Cubs are the most hated rival of the Brewers. ( Obviously, the rivalry isn't nearly as old, etc. I understand that.)

 

And if you read the whole thread, you'll see that I am willing to give the guy a chance, if he proves talented. I was mainly speculating about how another fan base would react in a roughly analogous situation.

Second part wasn't really directed towards you, as i had read the entire thread. I guess i didn't make that part clear enough. As for the red sox/yankees thing, i just didn't think that's a very good comparison because of the history between those to teams, the mutal hatred between them, ect, which really lacks with us and the Cubs at the current moment.

[berniebrewer4life]

when i hear him on the radio and he starts cheering for the Brewers, i'm gonna start wondering if deep-down, he doesn't really mean it.

 

He's a professional sports broadcaster, i'd be willing to say that probably about 80% of them don't mean it when they start cheering. It's a job.

[Mass Haas]

Audio Interview at RightFieldBleachers. Nice get, guys...

[Thurston Fluff]

He's a professional sports broadcaster, i'd be willing to say that probably about 80% of them don't mean it when they start cheering. It's a job

 

I think you're right initially. I'd have to think with baseball it changes over time. I would think announcers are so involved everyday with the team they end up more interested in their fortunes as they go along. I don't think it would be possible to not root for guys you are with everyday for half the year. He may never hate the Cubs like we want everyone involved with the Brewers to but that doesn't mean he won't root for the guys he's around every day more.

[RobDeer 45]

Guys got a good voice. I'm ready to give him a chance. Lets not judge him until we hear him work.

[Jarjohm]

Audio Interview at RightFieldBleachers. Nice get, guys...

Thanks, Mass Haas.

 

Cory actually went out of his way to get the interview set up. We had contacted him a couple of weeks ago, but obviously he couldn't really talk with us until it was official. He was extremely nice when he did get in touch with us and I thought it was a great gesture that he'd be willing to take some time on the day his hiring was announced to chat with a fan site. I'm sure he had a lot of people trying to get in touch with him.

 

As far as the Cubs connection goes, I'm really not that concerned with it. From all of the stuff I've read and listened to since his hiring, he sounds like he's 100 percent committed to the Brewers organization. I doubt he'd be going around telling Illinois papers "I'm a Brewer now" if he was holding onto some Cubs fan love. He's a professional anyway. They shouldn't be up there openly cheering for the team they're calling for. Just listen to a few Marquette basketball games on the radio to find out how incredibly annoying that is. A little excitement during a big moment for the Crew? Absolutely. And I have no doubts that Cory will deliver that.

 

Most importantly, he's a good broadcaster. He has a great voice, he knows his stuff and comes with rave reviews from Cubs fan. I think it's a great hire.

[bobskube]

Pat Highes is a Milwaukee guy announcing for the Cubs and last I knew he still lived in Milwaukee and has close ties with Marquette.

 

This just evens the score a bit.

[hawing]

Most importantly, he's a good broadcaster. He has a great voice, he knows his stuff and comes with rave reviews from Cubs fan. I think it's a great hire.

That part of your post alone makes me feel better about the transaction. Thanks.

[Cracked Bat Collector]

I can't wait to hear him, he sounds like a genuinely nice guy and I like his voice. To me he has a little Powell in his voice as someone else said but I definitely hear a little Thom Brennaman in his voice.

[dvoiss]

I feel that some people are overeacting here. Who cares what he feels in his heart? Does anybody know for sure what Powell felt in his heart when the Braves were in town? Did his being a Brewer prevent the Braves from hiring him? No. So either he wasn't a Brewer fan or it doesn't matter.

 

This guy is a professional announcer. As long as he knows baseball, and doesn't sound like Gilbert Gottfried, give him a break.

[bjkrautk]

I can't wait to hear him, he sounds like a genuinely nice guy and I like his voice. To me he has a little Powell in his voice as someone else said but I definitely hear a little Thom Brennaman in his voice.

To me, his voice sounds remarkably similar to Craig Coshun, right down to the inflection.

Also, after hearing the music at the start of the interview, I can't wait for the spring training broadcasts!

[burniebrewer]

Sportsbubbler.com has posted a video interview conducted with Provus yesterday.

 

 

http://www.sportsbubbler....ayTopic.aspx?TopicID=3826