Brent Musburger: Difference between revisions

With [[CBS Sports]] from 1973 until 1990, he was one of the original membershost of their program ''[[The NFL Today]]'' and is credited with coining the phrase "[[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament#March Madness|March Madness]]" to describe the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament]] while covering the [[List of NCAA Men's Final Four broadcasters|Final Four]]. While at CBS, Musburger also covered the [[List of Super Bowl broadcasters|Super Bowl]], [[List of NBA Finals broadcasters|NBA Finals]], the [[List of World Series broadcasters|World Series]], [[TennisUS onOpen CBS(tennis)|U.S. Open tennis]], and [[List of PGA Tour on CBS commentators|The Masters]].

Joining [[ESPN]] and [[ABC Sports]] in 1990, Musburger continued to cover the NBA Finals, as well as hosting [[Monday Night Football]] and providing play-by-play for [[Saturday Night Football]] and the [[SEC Network]]. He covered the [[List of Indianapolis 500]] broadcasters|Indianapolismotor 500]]race, [[List of U.S. Open (golf) broadcasters|U.S. Open]] and [[List of The Open Championship broadcasters|British Open]] golf, the [[FIFA World Cup]] in soccer, the [[List of Belmont Stakes]] broadcasters|Belmontin Stakes]]horse racing, and the [[BCS National Championship Game|College Football national championship]] among other big events. In January 2017, he left the [[ESPN]] and [[ESPN on ABC|ABC]] television networks after 27 years, briefly retiring from play-by-play of live sports before returning as the play-by-play voice of the [[Las Vegas Raiders]] from 2018 until 2022.

Raised in [[Billings, Montana]], he is a member of the Montana Broadcaster's Association Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brent Musburger (1939 – )|url=http://www.mtbroadcasters.org/hall-of-fame/brent-musburger/|publisher=Montana Broadcasters Association|access-date=August 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909042440/http://www.mtbroadcasters.org/hall-of-fame/brent-musburger/#|archive-date=September 9, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

By [[1975 NFL season|1975]] at [[CBS]], Musburger went from doing NFL play-by-play (and other items, mostly on CBS' ''Sports Saturday/Sunday'' programs) to rising to prominence as the host of the network's [[National Football League]] studio show, ''[[The NFL Today]]''. Suddenly, Musburger began to cover many assignments for CBS Sports. Among the other events he covered, either as studio host or [[play-by-play]] announcer, were [[SEC on CBS|college football]] and [[College Basketball on CBS|basketball]], the [[NBA on CBS|National Basketball Association]], [[horse racing]], the [[U.S. Open (tennis)]] tournament, and [[Masters Tournament|The Masters]] golf tournament.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.golfdigest.com/story/remembering-brent-musburgers-infamous-stint-with-the-masters-and-golf-coverage|title=Remembering Brent Musburger's infamous stint with the Masters and golf coverage|last=Beall|first=Joel |date=January 25, 2017|website=Golf Digest}}</ref> golf tournament. He would even lend his talents to weekend afternoon fare such as [[The World's Strongest Man]] contests and the like. Musburger also called [[Major League Baseball]] games for [[Major League Baseball on CBS Radio|CBS Radio]].

At the time of his firing (which he originally thought was an [[April Fools]] joke), Musburger had been set to handle play-by-play duties for [[Major League Baseball on CBS|CBS's television coverage of Major League Baseball]] later that month; he was replaced by [[Jack Buck]] in that capacity.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rusnak|first=Jeff|date=April 6, 1990|title=Buck In Brent At Cbs|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1990-04-06/sports/9001010646_1_ted-shaker-two-cbs-executives-brent-musburger|newspaper=Sun Sentinel|access-date=January 26, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202025751/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1990-04-06/sports/9001010646_1_ted-shaker-two-cbs-executives-brent-musburger|url-status=dead}}</ref> in that capacity. His position at ''The NFL Today'' was filled by [[Greg Gumbel]]. His position as the lead play-by-play announcer for college basketball was filled by [[Jim Nantz]].

Following his dismissal from CBS, Musburger considered several offers, including one to return to Chicago and work at [[WGN-TV]], ultimately settling at [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. With [[Al Michaels]] entrenched as ABC's top broadcaster, Musburger focused on [[ESPN College Football on ABC|college football]] and [[ESPN College Basketball on ABC|basketball]]. After his hiring, ABC's merger with [[ESPN]] under the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] umbrella allowed him to work on ESPN as well (increasingly since 2006), including [[ESPN Major League Baseball|Major League Baseball]], [[NBA on ESPN|NBA games]], [[ESPN Radio]], golf tournaments, [[horse racing]], the [[Indianapolis 500]], [[Little League World Series]], soccer games, [[college football]], and even some NFL games (including hosting halftime duties for ''[[Monday Night Football]]'' and Wild Card round games).<ref>{{cite magazine|url=httphttps://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,317495,00.html1990/06/01/brent-bounces-back/|title=Brent bounces back|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=June 1, 1990}}</ref> to work on ESPN as well (increasingly since 2006), including [[ESPN Major League Baseball|Major League Baseball]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sportingnews.com/au/mlb/news/brent-musburger-baseball-announcer-retiring-video-mariners-yankees-1995-alds/14arlwzwhwtlg1mhrb8osn2bos|title=Remember when Brent Musburger called baseball games?|last=Foster|first=Jason|date=January 25, 2017|website=Sporting News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/brent-musburgers-greatest-baseball-call-was-one-for-the-ages-021440813.html|title=Brent Musburger's greatest baseball call was one for the ages|last=Townsend|first=Mark|date=January 25, 2017|website=Big League Stew}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Sandomir|first=Richard|date=October 10, 1995|title=PLAYOFFS 95: TV SPORTS;The Wrong Man in the Baseball Booth|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/10/sports/playoffs-95-tv-sports-the-wrong-man-in-the-baseball-booth.html|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseballessential.com/news/2015/10/07/revisiting-the-1995-division-series/|title=Revisiting the 1995 Division Series|last=Rabinowitz|first=Gershon|date=October 7, 2015|website=Baseball Essential}}</ref> [[NBA on ESPN|NBA games]], [[ESPN Radio]], golf tournaments, [[horse racing]], the [[Indianapolis 500]], [[Little League World Series]], soccer games, [[college football]], and even some NFL games (including hosting halftime duties for ''[[Monday Night Football]]'' and Wild Card round games). Musburger was also the main studio host during ABC's coverage of the [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998 World Cup]] and the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006 World Cup]], was briefly the studio host for [[NASCAR on ESPN|ESPN and ABC's NASCAR coverage]] and has hosted [[Tour de France]] [[Cycling on ABC|coverage]] for ABC.

Musburger's involvement with ''Saturday Night Football'' concluded when he and [[Jesse Palmer]] were named ESPN's lead game commentators for college football coverage on the [[SEC Network]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=httphttps://espnwww.goespn.com/college-football/story/_/id/10594632/brent-musburger-jesse-palmer-lead-announcing-team-sec-network,|title=Musburger, Palmer lead SEC team|date=March 12, 2014 }}</ref> Musburger nevertheless called some games on ESPN and ABC after that time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2016/10/espnabc-college-football-week-8-slate-no-2-ohio-state-abcs-saturday-night-football-two-top-25-sec-matchups-prime-time/|title=ESPN/ABC College Football Week 8 Slate: No. 2 Ohio State on ABC's Saturday Night Football and Two Top 25 SEC Matchups in Prime Time - ESPN MediaZone|website=espnmediazone.com|date=October 17, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcall.com/sports/groller-blog/mc-ncaa-football-bowl-tv-schedule-with-announcers-musburger-back-at-the-rose-bowl-20151231-story.html|title=NCAA Football Bowl TV Schedule with announcers: Brent Musburger back at the Rose Bowl|first=Keith|last=Groller}}</ref>

Later in the same month, Musburger announced that he would retire from play-by-play broadcasting and would call his final game at [[Rupp Arena]] in [[Lexington, Kentucky]], on January 31, 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awfulannouncing.com/2017/the-brent-musburger-timeline.html|title=THE BRENT MUSBURGER TIMELINE|last=Fang|first=Ken|date=January 25, 2017|website=Awful Announcing}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://awfulannouncing.com/2017/brent-musburgers-agent-brother-brent-not-forced-out-at-abcespn-mysterious-new-venture-to-be-fully-disclosed-on-monday.html|title=FORCED OUT AT ABC/ESPN, MYSTERIOUS NEW VENTURE TO BE FULLY DISCLOSED ON MONDAY|last=Weber|first=Jim|date=January 25, 2017|website=Awful Announcing}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://awfulannouncing.com/2017/brent-musburger-is-retiring-next-week.html|title=BRENT MUSBURGER IS RETIRING NEXT WEEK|last=Lucia|first=Joe|date=January 25, 2017|website=Awful Announcing}}</ref> and would call his final game at [[Rupp Arena]] in [[Lexington, Kentucky]], on January 31, 2017.<ref name="WAPO0125172">Cindy Boren, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/01/25/sportscasting-icon-brent-musburger-will-retire-after-jan-31-game/ ESPN official says the network learned that Musburger was thinking of retiring 10 days], ''The Washington Post'', January 25, 2017.</ref>

Musburger has a reputation for pointing out attractive women in the crowds of the games he calls; among those who later rose to fame include [[Busty Heart|Susan “Busty Heart” Sykes]],<ref name=bostonbio>{{cite web|url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2012/12/03/busty-heart-boston-super-fan/|title=The Ballad of Busty Heart, Boston's Super Fan - Boston Magazine}}</ref> [[CJ Perry]],<ref name="LostLettermen">{{cite web|url=http://www.lostlettermen.com/article/florida-state-cowgirls-where-are-they-now|title=Florida St.'s Cowgirls: Where Are They Now?|work=[[Lost Lettermen]]|date=September 11, 2013|access-date=December 30, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231115025/http://www.lostlettermen.com/article/florida-state-cowgirls-where-are-they-now|archive-date=December 31, 2013}}</ref> [[Jenn Sterger]],<ref name="Hoppes">{{cite news | first = Lynn | last = Hoppes | title = Catching up with: Jenn Sterger | date = November 17, 2009 | url = httphttps://sportswww.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hoppes/091117 | work = [[ESPN.com]] | access-date = October 12, 2010}}</ref> and [[Katherine Webb|Katherine Webb McCarron]].<ref name="Pilon">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/sports/ncaafootball/brent-musburger-criticized-for-remarks-about-miss-alabama.html|title=Musburger Criticized for Remarks About Star's Girlfriend During Title Game|last=Pilon|first=Mary|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 8, 2013|access-date=January 9, 2013}}</ref>

Musburger was a reporter in ''[[Rocky II]]'' and had his role immortalized in a 2006 action figure.<ref>{{cite web|url=httphttps://frontrow.espnwww.goespnfrontrow.com/2011/06/musburger-animates-cars-2/|title=Musburger animates Cars 2 - ESPN Front Row|date=June 24, 2011}}</ref> He also played the right leg of the fictional monster Scuzzlebutt on an [[City on the Edge of Forever (South Park)|episode]] of ''[[South Park]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://southpark.cc.com/video-clips/1034511euah4/south-park-scuzzlebutt|title=Scuzzlebutt|date=June 18, 1998 }}</ref> He also made cameo appearances in ''[[The Main Event (1979 film)|The Main Event]]'' and ''[[The Waterboy]]''. In ''[[Cars 2]]'' and ''[[Planes (film)|Planes]],'' he played Brent Mustangburger, a fictionalized version of himself. He appeared as himself in the episode "[[Happy Endings (season 2)#ep6|Lying Around]]" on the ABC sitcom ''[[Happy Endings (TV series)|Happy Endings]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brent Musburger makes cameo on ABC's 'Happy Endings' |url=http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college/2011/11/brent-musburger-make-cameo-on-abcs-happy-endings.html |work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=November 3, 2011 |first=Matt |last=Murschel |access-date=December 14, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127162507/http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college/2011/11/brent-musburger-make-cameo-on-abcs-happy-endings.html |archive-date=November 27, 2012 }}</ref>

Musburger is portrayed by John Dellaporta and has a voice cameo as himself in the HBO series ''[[Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10244600/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm|title=Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty - Full Cast & Crew - IMDB|website=[[IMDb]] |date=April 18, 2022}}</ref> He was also parodied by [[Kevin Nealon]] on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/sports/2021/2/18/22288881/jim-nantz-cbs-contract-brent-musburger-tony-romo|title=Jim Nantz Knows What Life After CBS Looks Like|date=February 18, 2021}}</ref>

* 1975–89: ''[[The NFL Today]]'' studio host<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/abcsports/bcs/columns/musburger_brent/bio.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001018190619/http://espn.go.com/abcsports/bcs/columns/musburger_brent/bio.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 18, 2000|title=Bowl Championship Series - Musburger, Brent|website=espn.go.com[[ESPN]]}}</ref>

* 1983–88: ''[[Masters Tournament|The Masters]]'' studio host<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite magazine| url=httphttps://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,317495,00.html1990/06/01/brent-bounces-back/ | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | first=Craig | last=Reiss | title=Brent bounces back | date=June 1, 1990}}</ref>

* 2017–present: Vegas Stats & Information Network<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brent Musburger Sports Betting Articles |url=https://vsin.com/author/brent-musburger/ |website=VSiN|date=February 7, 2024 }}</ref>

{{Succession box| before=[[Terry Gannon]]| title=Lead play-by-play,<br>[[List of Little League World Series broadcasters|Little League World Series]] | years=[[2000 Little League World Series|2000]]–[[2011 Little League World Series|2011]] | after=[[Karl Ravech]]}}

[[Category:Golf writers and broadcasterscommentators]]