Thoughts on Cory Provus?

[temke]

Not impressed. He got WAY too excited about routine plays. It didn't help me to separate my image of him from the other millions of idiot Cubs fans who get home-run-ready-excited for every stupid fly ball.

cub fans are the first thing i thought of when i read this

[Invader3K]

You can just hear the love of the Cubs he has during this game.

 

Yes, that should be in blue.

[BrewCrewForever]

I was pleasantly surprised. I liked him a lot. And put me in the camp that his voice sounds quite a bit like Powell's. I wish Jim never left but I am looking forward to hearing Provus for years to come.

[davego]

We all knew JP had some affinity towards the Braves, but in his 13 years hear I never recall that being a broadcast-issue. I'd think we can assume the same about Corey; at least until he may prove this wrong.

[trwi7]

You can just hear the love of the Cubs he has during this game.

 

Yes, that should be in blue.

I don't think it should be in blue. I thought there was a part of him rooting for the Cubs yesterday and it came through in his play by play.

[Nottso]

I managed to catch most of today's game, and although I'll probably be burned at the stake for blasphemy, I actually found myself looking forward to Ueck handing the mic off to Provus. I thought he was more descriptive on individual plays, and more informative overall. I think he's going to be great once he knows the players, coaches, and the rest of the organization a little better.

 

Uecker's getting awfully repetetive. I hope he retires before he turns into John Madden. Not that I think that will be (or want it to be) any time soon.

[pitchleague]

I, too, was finally able to listen to a game today, and thus able to get some better impressions. I thought he did fine. He did have the good vibes going I thought and his calls were clear and concise. However, he seemed to leave Uecker hanging a bit on his comments/jokes by not reacting much (at least it seemed so). Jim Powell used to interject a lot with what Bob had to say. But, perhaps, Jim was the same way when he first started (I don't really remember) and he grew into how I remember him.

 

Also, Corey seemed to be too loud. I don't think he was actually loud but it might have been the sound mix or wearing his headset with the mic too close to his mouth. Or it could have been just lousy spring training connections. Whatever the case, it wasn't the soothing voice of Jim Powell but more a booming Jim Powell. I hope that gets fixed. I did like his homer call on the Brent Brewer bomb, though.

[hawing]

Also, Corey seemed to be too loud. I don't think he was actually loud but it might have been the sound mix or wearing his headset with the mic too close to his mouth. Or it could have been just lousy spring training connections. Whatever the case, it wasn't the soothing voice of Jim Powell but more a booming Jim Powell. I hope that gets fixed. I did like his homer call on the Brent Brewer bomb, though.

I heard most of this afternoon's game (though I managed to just miss the HR call), and I agree with pitchleague exactly. Cory sounds loud. Or maybe it was more that JP had kind of an understated tone. It could be simply today's small sample, or something he'll move away from as he gets more than a few Brewer games under his belt...or maybe we'll get used to it.

 

If you all will excuse me for being the spelling-head for a moment...when it comes to current Brewers personnel, Corey Hart uses an "e" in his name. Cory Provus has no "e." That said, I admit to having begun to type "Corey" for "Cory" all afternoon on Wednesday. I think I may call our new announcer CP instead.

[chuckiehacks]

I listened to an inning or so on Saturday and my only complaint was that he sounded a little too game-show-hostish. Almost cheesy. But I thought his descriptions were good and generally enjoyed his game-calling. I'm sure I'll get used to his inflection.

[Diskono]

Did anyone else think he sounds like Powell?

My first thought was that he sounded cross between Powell and Pat Hughes. My dad actually mentioned to me that he thought the same thing.

[bobskube]

He sounds more like Thom Brennaman to me.

[Invader3K]

I still say he sounds kind of like Costas, for some reason.

[RU Rah Rah]

Whenever I see his name, it reminds me of Moxy Fruvous.

[RyDogg66]

Just caught snippets today as the game was on in the background for a while. I definitely like what I hear.

[brewerjamie15]

I've been listening to Brewer games on the radio for a long, long time. I flipped on the game today while we were in the car, without thinking Powell was no longer here.

To my surprise, it took a bit for me to realize it was not Powell, but Provus. I'm not saying that he has to sound just like Powell to be good, but his voice was kind of close in my mind.

I liked his play calling. Sure, there will be a few bumps in the road for a while, even Powell went through it. Provus seemed to be seasoned already, to a point that caught me off guard. I don't think that the transition will be as awkward as I had once thought. Provus has some things well in hand and I'm thinking that he will learn rather quickly. I'm interested in listening to the guy.

[RU Rah Rah]

I listened for awhile this afternoon while driving from Monroe to Madison. He was decent; it wasn't anything intolerable. But somehow Provus just seemed really dull to me. Granted, it's the Cactus League and not Game Seven of the World Series, but he didn't manage to say anything interesting or particularly insightful over the course of several innings. And he seemed to totally skip around from topic to topic without adding any depth. For instance, he mentioned the WBC, and the U.S. losing to Puerto Rico. But then he was off to something else (the parking lot of the Indians' AZ ballpark, etc.).

 

If the format had Uecker calling simultaneously along with him as a color guy, I think it would be fine. But solo? I think it's going to be kind of dull.

[JohnBriggs12]

He's okay in describing the action and he's knowledgeable enough. Powell's strength was providing that organizational insight. It was obvious that JP followed the entire system closely. I doubt I'll go out of my way to hear Provus' insight, but if I'm in my car and the game is on, he should be an okay listen. I heard him doing his inning for the Cubs in the past so it's about what I expected.

 

He needs a little work on his "straight man" routine with Ueck. Powell (and before him Hughes) had the timing down well.

[istanbultaye]

It sounded like the EQ needs to be tweaked (it's probably still set to Jim's old settings), but other than that, fine. It takes time for a duo to get comfortable with each other, and with the late news, there wasn't a whole lot of time for him to prep for this to get as much of the stuff that Jim would always talk about for 'filler'.

[hawing]

I'd like to bump this thread to give Cory some props. His call of J.J.'s hit (to score the then-go-ahead runs) in tonight's game was robust and he sounded genuinely excited. I'm not sure I would have expected that, given Cory's history with the opponent.

[SeriesFinale]

How was his call of Soriano's homer?

 

I even thought of Provus as it was going out.

[Oldcity]

I was actually going to dig this out as well to compliment him. I like what I've heard so far for the most part, and he hasn't come off as a Cub fan to me at all this series.

[Ennder]

Bland and average but with nothing really annoying about him. Things I find annoying include rampant homerism (Ron Santo is the worst at this), annoying catch phrases (Hawk Harrelson though he is guilty of #1 too), not learning the opponents names (I hear that a lot on mlb.tv, the ball is grounded to the thirdbasemen instead of his name, etc).

 

His only big issue so far is he never seems to say anything interesting outside of what is going on in the game.

[Oldcity]

I thought of one thing against him--he seems to leave Ueck hanging with some of his jokes. I know not all Ueck's jokes are funny, but some are and what made them even better is Powell splitting his sides. Ueck cracked some the last couple games that were met with total silence, and it was a bit awkward.

[jjfanec]

How was his call of Soriano's homer?

 

I even thought of Provus as it was going out.

I am pretty sure Uke made that call. It was in the 9th and that is Uke's inning. Provus even said that Soriano appeared to be out on the double play ball. I actually like him well enough and he seems like a good compliment to Uke.

[brewcrewkid14]

I think he's done a great job. He'll only improve with time as well. 30 is a young age to be sitting next to a legend, and I get the feeling he's going to create his own story with the Brewers over the years. He seems to be very detailed in his coverage of the game, and I know exactly what is going on when he's doing the call. I like his voice, and he does a great job complimenting Uke every two innings. He'll be just fine.