Sports fans who think Gus Johnson’s hot sauce-in-the-Jockeys announcing style is the height of entertainment should be overjoyed to learn Johnson is “neck and neck” in a competition with Bob Papa to be play-by-play announcer on the NFL Network next season. So reports Phil Mushnick of the New York Post.
Johnson’s enviable ability to derive excitement from the most mundane sports action would be put to the test if the NFL Network has late-season snoozers akin to last year’s Dec. 23 matchup, which pitted the Super Bowl-bound Steelers against the No. 1 pick-bound Panthers. In case you forgot, that game ended in a 27-3 blowout win for Pittsburgh.
Whoever does the play-by-play for the NFL Network won’t have to keep Joe Theismann and Matt Millen awake this season. As Sports Illustrated reported, they’ve been replaced by Mike Mayock.