James Brown (television)

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James Brown
Born	February 25, 1951 (age 56) Bethesda, Maryland
Occupation	Sportscaster
Spouse	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.

Contents 1 Early life 2 First stint at CBS 3 The move to Fox 4 Other appearances 5 Personal 6 External links

[edit] Early life

Born in Bethesda, Maryland, Brown's involvement in sports began while playing basketball at DeMatha Catholic High School in nearby Hyattsville. After doing the same at Harvard University, the three-time All-Ivy League was drafted with the 62nd pick overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1973 NBA Draft.

[edit] First stint at CBS

After a brief playing career, 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, 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.

[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. He left Fox at the end of the 2005 NFL season to rejoin CBS Sports, and also to call NCAA basketball. He will be replacing Gus Johnson in the regionals, a decision that several fans of Johnson have criticized CBS for.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Other appearances

Brown has also hosted World's Funniest (similar to America's Funniest Home Videos and other funny videos) on the Fox network, 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.

Brown is also the host of the nationally syndicated black talk show America's Black Forum.

Brown regularly appears on the syndicated radio program, The Don and Mike Show.

From 1994-1998 Brown was the lead studio host for FOX NHL Saturday.

[edit] Personal

Brown resides in Washington, D.C., with his wife Dorothy and daughter Katrina. He formerly had a second residence in Century City, California, when working on Fox because their NFL program was based in Los Angeles, unlike the traditional New York location for studio shows in the NFL. He was also named one of the 100 most influential student athletes by the NCAA.

On May 3, 2006, Brown became a minority owner of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team. Brown was one a handful of investors in the group led by Washington D.C. real estate developer Ted Lerner. He has retuned to Sporting News Radio with Arnie Spanier

Preceded by First host	FOX NFL Sunday host 1994-2005	Succeeded by Joe Buck and Curt Menefee
Preceded by Greg Gumbel	The NFL Today host 2006-Present	Succeeded by Current host

[edit] External links

• 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