CBS Sports and Turner Sports last week "turned a negative story into a positive one" with the news that Bill Raftery will call his first NCAA Tournament Final Four by replacing the suspended Greg Anthony, according to Richard Deitsch of SI.com. Following the announcement, social-media users "were genuinely excited for a broadcaster who has dedicated his life to college basketball." CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus said that he "called Raftery himself to deliver the news." Raftery said that he "never envisioned getting the assignment upon learning of CBS suspending Anthony" for allegedly soliciting a prostitute last month. Raftery primarily has been working with Fox on Big East games, and he said that he informed Fox Sports President Eric Shanks and Exec Producer John Entz "about the Final Four assignment ahead of time so they would not be blindsided." He praised Fox "for its willingness to offer him flexibility working for different networks." Meanwhile, Turner Sports President Lenny Daniels said that Turner "had been looking for a replacement" for Steve Kerr, and former NBAer Grant Hill "was always on the radar given the upside management sees in him." Deitsch noted Hill "is clearly bright and exceedingly personable, but not high-energy, which is something you need in college basketball." However, both Turner and CBS execs think that Raftery "can help Hill there." McManus last week said that he considers the Jim Nantz-Raftery-Hill team the "official Final Four broadcasting team heading forward and not a one-year assignment." He added that CBS and Turner officials "discussed a two-person booth versus a three-person booth, but given the partnership, the three-person booth was more ideal." McManus: "In a perfect situation there would be one person primarily with CBS and one with Turner and that’s what we did” (SI.com, 2/8).
