SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote Fox Sports President & COO Eric Shanks "more than anyone" at the net is responsible for Gus Johnson "becoming the face and voice of the network's soccer coverage." For some soccer viewers, Johnson's appointment "makes Shanks a bold visionary," while for others, Shanks "is responsible for the sports broadcasting crime of the century." The long-term goal is for Johnson to "call (and call with distinction) the signature games" of the '18 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Shanks: "If you watched and really listened -- not just there is an American voice doing soccer and the American accent versus the U.K. accent -- Gus is clearly getting better every game. The broadcast is getting more conversational and not only is he learning the game still, but you are starting to see improvement." Deitsch wrote Shanks' point "is fair," but Fox' soccer coverage "also needs work." Johnson will be calling the UEFA Champions League final this weekend (SI.com, 5/18).
BESTWICK FORWARD: ESPN's Allen Bestwick said of switching from calling NASCAR races to IndyCar races, "It's funny because for as long as I've been around racing, I've spent my whole career in the month of May in Charlotte basically and watched the 500 from afar. I've been at the Speedway, around the NASCAR race there since 1994. ... It's not a completely new experience at the Speedway." He added, "I spent time in Indianapolis in February just after the Daytona 500. Some of the race teams were more than gracious in welcoming me in. ... I've had plenty of time to acclimate myself -- short way to say it -- the same thing done differently." Bestwick: "Obviously it's the premiere auto race in the United States, maybe the world, every year. To have the opportunity to call it is a fascinating thing" (THE DAILY).
ON THE LINKS: Golf Channel's Notah Begay will rejoin the net's broadcast team next
week after suffering a heart attack on April 24, serving as an on-course
reporter for coverage of the NCAA D-I golf championships (Golf Channel). Meanwhile GOLFWEEK's Martin Kaufmann reviews the first-week performance of Julie Inkster, Golf Channel's new on-course reporter. Kaufmann writes Inkster "learns quickly, but she's still a work
in progress." Inkster seemed "comfortable" calling shots during the first
round of the LPGA Kingsmill Championship, though she "sometimes got
wordy." Her interview skills "would benefit from practice" (GOLFWEEK, 5/23 issue).
NOTES: CBS Sports on Wednesday named Tracy Wolfson lead game reporter for the net's NFL coverage (CBS)....Tennis HOFer Jim Courier "will be adding his acumen to Tennis Channel's presentation" of the '14 French Open. Courier "has steadily expanded his presence on Tennis Channel since joining the network" at the '12 U.S. Open. He "became part of the network's Wimbledon team" last year and has "added the Australian Open and BNP Paribas Open" so far in '14 (MULTICHANNEL.com, 5/19)....Detroit-based WMGC-FM "continues to add local programming, announcing Monday plans for an all-baseball show to debut later this month." The show "will be hosted by Detroit News national baseball writer Tony Paul and will air Saturdays" for the remainder of the season, starting May 31 (DETROITNEWS.com, 5/19).
