James Brown (sportscaster)
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| James Brown | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 25, 1951 Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy |
| Children | Katrina |
James Brown (born February 25, 1951), commonly called "J.B.", is an American sports announcer known for being the host of the FOX network's NFL pregame show Fox NFL Sunday. Beginning with the 2006 NFL season, Brown hosted The NFL Today on CBS, and returned to play-by-play of CBS coverage of NCAA basketball, along with co-hosting the Saturday Early Show.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Born on February 25, 1951 in Washington DC to John and Maryann Brown. Brown graduated from Harvard with a degree in American Government. A standout on the basketball court, he received All-Ivy League honors in his last three seasons at Harvard University and captained the team in his senior year.
[edit] First stint at CBS
After failing to make a roster spot when he tried out for the Atlanta Hawks in the mid 1970s, Brown entered the corporate world, working for such companies as Xerox and Eastman Kodak. Brown went into sports broadcasting in 1984 when he was offered a job doing Washington Bullets TV games. He later moved on to an anchor position at WDVM-TV (later WUSA-TV) in Washington, D.C. and to some work at CBS. While at CBS Sports[1], Brown worked as a play-by-play announcer for NFL telecasts and reported on major events such as the NBA Finals and the Winter Olympic Games. He has also reported on college basketball games.
[edit] The move to FOX
In 1994, Brown moved on to his biggest claim to fame yet as he accepted the position of host of the NFL on Fox pregame show. He shared the set with former football players Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long. Jimmy Johnson, Cris Collinsworth and Ronnie Lott have graced the fourth seat on the desk over the years.
From 1994-1998, Brown was the lead studio host for FOX NHL Saturday. He appeared in a similar capacity in the EA Sports video game NHL '97, which used full motion video.
Following the 2005 NFL season, Brown left Fox in order to rejoin CBS Sports.
Brown was removed from college basketball coverage for CBS after a one year stint in 2007.
[edit] Other appearances
Brown has also hosted The World's Funniest! (the Fox network's counterpart of America's Funniest Home Videos), Coast to Coast (a syndicated radio show formerly hosted by Bob Costas), and served as a correspondent for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
Aside from his HBO and CBS duties, Brown hosted a weekday radio sports talk show that aired weekdays on Sporting News Radio for several years. Brown left the network in April 2006. He has since, returned to Sporting News Radio with Arnie Spanier.
Brown regularly appeared on the syndicated radio program, The Don and Mike Show.
On Aug. 10, 2009, Brown interviewed NFL quarterback Michael Vick for a segment that aired on 60 Minutes Aug. 16[2].
[edit] Career timeline
- 1985–1986: College Basketball on CBS - Color Commentator
- 1990–1993, 2007: College Basketball on CBS - Play-by-play
- 1994–2006: Fox NFL Sunday - Host[3]
- 1994–1998: NHL on Fox - Studio host
- 2006–present: The NFL Today - Host
- 2008–present: Inside the NFL - Host
[edit] Personal
Brown resides outside of Washington, D.C. in Bethesda, MD, his town of birth, with his wife Dorothy and daughter Katrina. He formerly had a second residence in Century City, California, when working on FOX as their NFL program was based in Los Angeles. He was also named one of the 100 most influential student athletes by the NCAA. On January 12, 2008, James Brown became a grandfather when his daughter had her first child.
On May 3, 2006, Brown became a minority owner of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team. Brown was one of a handful of investors in the group led by Washington, D.C. real estate developer Ted Lerner.
[edit] References
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (June 2008) |
- ^ Brown first joined CBS Sports in 1984 where he served as play-by-play announcer for the network's NFL and college basketball coverage, as well as reporter for the NBA Finals. He also was host of the afternoon show from the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France and the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. While at CBS he also was co-host of "CBS Sports Saturday/Sunday," a weekend anthology series.
- ^ '60 Minutes' to air Michael Vick interview this Sunday - The Huddle - USATODAY.com
- ^ NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, Fantasy Sports News - CBSSports.com Live Scores, Stats, Schedules
[edit] External links
- Jaffe, Harry. "James Brown: Making Mama Proud", Washingtonian, December 1, 2008.
- Lerner Picked as Nationals New Owner
- Issue 44 -- Television Sportscasters (African-American)
- Fox's Brown Will Leave to Be CBS's N.F.L. Host
- Brown Leaving Fox's Pregame for CBS
- James Brown is switching jerseys.
- Official CBS news release.
- James Brown at the Internet Movie Database
