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James Brown (TV personality)
Encyclopedia
James Brown commonly called "J.B.", is an American sports announcer known for being the host of The NFL Today
on CBS
and Inside the NFL
on Showtime. He is the former host of the FOX network
's NFL
pregame show
, Fox NFL Sunday
.
to John and Maryann Brown. Brown attended high school at DeMatha Catholic High School
. Brown graduated from Harvard University
with a degree in American Government. A standout on the basketball court, he received All-Ivy League
honors in his last three seasons at Harvard University and captained the team in his senior year.
His roommate at Harvard was the later Princeton University
professor/philosopher/activist Cornel West
.
's Atlanta Hawks
in the mid 1970s, 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
television broadcasts. He later moved on to an anchor position at WDVM-TV (later WUSA
) in Washington and to some work at CBS Sports
. Brown first joined CBS Sports in 1984 where he served as play-by-play announcer for the network's NFL
and college basketball
coverage, as well as reporter for the NBA Finals
. He also was host of the afternoon show from the 1992 Winter Olympics
in Albertville, France and the 1994 Winter Olympics
in Lillehammer, Norway. While at CBS he also was co-host of CBS Sports Saturday/Sunday
, a weekend anthology series.
, Brown 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
and former coach Jimmy Johnson. Cris Collinsworth
and Ronnie Lott
have also appeared on the program during Brown's time there.
From 1994–1998, Brown was the lead studio host for FOX NHL Saturday. He appeared in a similar capacity in the EA Sports
video game NHL '97, which used full-motion video.
Following the 2005 NFL season
, Brown left Fox in order to rejoin CBS Sports. Brown cited a desire to remain closer to his home in Maryland, an opportunity that existed at CBS, which broadcasts The NFL Today out of New York City. Fox NFL Sunday is produced in Los Angeles
.
Brown was removed from college basketball coverage for CBS after a one year stint in 2007.
(the Fox network's counterpart of America's Funniest Home Videos
), Coast to Coast
(a syndicated radio show
formerly hosted by Bob Costas
), and served as a correspondent for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
. Brown appeared on an episode of Married...with Children in a November 24, 1996 episode titled "A Bundy Thanksgiving".
Aside from his Showtime 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. He has since, returned to Sporting News Radio with Arnie Spanier
.
Brown regularly appeared on the syndicated radio program, The Don and Mike Show.
In March 2009, James Brown was named the Community Ambassador for AARP
.
On Aug. 10, 2009, Brown interviewed NFL quarterback Michael Vick
for a segment that aired on 60 Minutes
Aug. 16.
in Bethesda, MD, his town of birth, with his wife Dorothy and daughter Katrina. He formerly had a second residence in Century City, California, when working on FOX as their NFL program was based in Los Angeles. He was also named one of the 100 most influential student athletes by the NCAA
. He has three granddaughters, born to his daughter, Katrina and her husband John.
On May 3, , Brown became a minority owner of the Washington Nationals
Major League Baseball
team. Brown was one of a handful of investors in the group led by Washington, D.C.
real estate developer Ted Lerner
.
The NFL Today
The NFL Today is an American sports series that precedes the American football program The NFL on CBS on CBS Sports. The program usually airs at noon on Sundays of the National Football League regular season...
on CBS
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
and Inside the NFL
Inside the NFL
Inside the NFL is a weekly cable television sports show that focuses on the National Football League. It originally aired on HBO from 1977 through 2008...
on Showtime. He is the former host of the FOX network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
pregame show
Pre-game show
A pre-game show or pregame show is a TV or radio presentation that occurs immediately before the live broadcast of a major sporting event.Contents may include:http://miniunis.com/pregame* replayed highlights of each teams previous games....
, Fox NFL Sunday
FOX NFL Sunday
Fox NFL Sunday is the pregame show for the TV show NFL on Fox. The program is broadcast on Fox television affiliates nationwide. The audio portion of the show is broadcast over the Fox Sports Radio network, distributed by Premiere Radio Networks...
.
Early life
Born on February 25, 1951 in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to John and Maryann Brown. Brown attended high school at DeMatha Catholic High School
DeMatha Catholic High School
DeMatha Catholic High School, named after Saint John of Matha, is a four-year Catholic high school for young men located in Hyattsville, Maryland, USA. DeMatha is known for academic achievement, music, arts, service and athletics...
. Brown graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
with a degree in American Government. A standout on the basketball court, he received All-Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
honors in his last three seasons at Harvard University and captained the team in his senior year.
His roommate at Harvard was the later Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
professor/philosopher/activist Cornel West
Cornel West
Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America....
.
CBS
After failing to make a roster spot when he tried out for the NBANational Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
in the mid 1970s, Brown entered the corporate world, working for such companies as Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
and Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
. Brown went into sports broadcasting in 1984 when he was offered a job doing Washington Bullets
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
television broadcasts. He later moved on to an anchor position at WDVM-TV (later WUSA
WUSA (TV)
WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington, D.C.. Owned by the Gannett Company, WUSA is an affiliate of the CBS television network, and the longest-tenured affiliate of that network...
) in Washington and to some work at CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
. Brown first joined CBS Sports in 1984 where he served as play-by-play announcer for the network's NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
coverage, as well as reporter for the NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
. He also was host of the afternoon show from the 1992 Winter Olympics
1992 Winter Olympics
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...
in Albertville, France and the 1994 Winter Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
in Lillehammer, Norway. While at CBS he also was co-host of CBS Sports Saturday/Sunday
CBS Sports Spectacular
CBS Sports Spectacular is a sports anthology program produced by CBS Sports. The series began on January 3, 1960 as The CBS Sports Spectacular, and has been known under many different names, including CBS Sports Saturday, CBS Sports Sunday, Eye on Sports and The CBS Sports Show.The program...
, a weekend anthology series.
FOX, and back to CBS
In 19941994 NFL season
The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
, Brown accepted the position of host of the NFL on Fox
FOX NFL Sunday
Fox NFL Sunday is the pregame show for the TV show NFL on Fox. The program is broadcast on Fox television affiliates nationwide. The audio portion of the show is broadcast over the Fox Sports Radio network, distributed by Premiere Radio Networks...
pregame show. He shared the set with former football players Terry Bradshaw
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
and Howie Long
Howie Long
Howard "Howie" Matthew Moses Long is an American former National Football League defensive end and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000...
and former coach Jimmy Johnson. Cris Collinsworth
Cris Collinsworth
Anthony Cris Collinsworth is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League for eight seasons in the 1980s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played his entire professional career for...
and Ronnie Lott
Ronnie Lott
Ronald Mandel "Ronnie" Lott is a former American football player who starred as a cornerback, free safety, and strong safety in college football and the NFL. He is most well known for his crushing hits on opposing players...
have also appeared on the program during Brown's time there.
From 1994–1998, Brown was the lead studio host for FOX NHL Saturday. He appeared in a similar capacity in the EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
video game NHL '97, which used full-motion video.
Following the 2005 NFL season
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
, Brown left Fox in order to rejoin CBS Sports. Brown cited a desire to remain closer to his home in Maryland, an opportunity that existed at CBS, which broadcasts The NFL Today out of New York City. Fox NFL Sunday is produced in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Brown was removed from college basketball coverage for CBS after a one year stint in 2007.
Other appearances
Brown has also hosted The World's Funniest!The World's Funniest!
The World's Funniest! is an American reality show that aired on Fox in 1997. It was hosted by NFL sportscaster James Brown and announced by Mark Thompson...
(the Fox network's counterpart of America's Funniest Home Videos
America's Funniest Home Videos
America's Funniest Home Videos is an American reality television program on ABC in which viewers are able to send in humorous homemade videotapes. The most common videos usually feature slapstick physical comedy arising from incidents, accidents and mishaps...
), Coast to Coast
Costas on the Radio
Costas on the Radio was an American radio show hosted by Bob Costas. It aired weekly on Premiere Radio Networks...
(a syndicated radio show
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
formerly hosted by Bob Costas
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
), and served as a correspondent for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a monthly sports newsmagazine on HBO that debuted on April 2, 1995. The show was "spawned by the fact that sports have changed dramatically, that it's no longer just fun and games, and that what happens off the field, beyond the scores, is worthy of some serious...
. Brown appeared on an episode of Married...with Children in a November 24, 1996 episode titled "A Bundy Thanksgiving".
Aside from his Showtime and CBS duties, Brown hosted a weekday radio sports talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
that aired weekdays on Sporting News Radio
Sporting News Radio
Yahoo! Sports Radio, formerly Sporting News Radio is a United States sports radio network that broadcasts sports news, talk, scores, and highlights 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On August 1, 2011, it was announced the network would change its name to Yahoo! Sports Radio, effective...
for several years. Brown left the network in April 2006. He has since, returned to Sporting News Radio with Arnie Spanier
Arnie Spanier
Arnie Spanier is an American radio host for KRLD-FM 105.3 in Dallas, Texas. He was previously the weekday evening host on Sporting News Radio.Spanier was born in Bronx, New York and educated at the University of Arizona....
.
Brown regularly appeared on the syndicated radio program, The Don and Mike Show.
In March 2009, James Brown was named the Community Ambassador for AARP
AARP
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a...
.
On Aug. 10, 2009, Brown interviewed NFL quarterback Michael Vick
Michael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League...
for a segment that aired on 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
Aug. 16.
Career timeline
- 1985–1986: College Basketball on CBSCollege Basketball on CBSCollege Basketball on CBS presented by State Farm is a presentation of men's NCAA Division I basketball games on CBS...
- Color Commentator - 1990–1993, 2007: College Basketball on CBSCollege Basketball on CBSCollege Basketball on CBS presented by State Farm is a presentation of men's NCAA Division I basketball games on CBS...
- Play-by-play - 1994–2006: Fox NFL SundayFOX NFL SundayFox NFL Sunday is the pregame show for the TV show NFL on Fox. The program is broadcast on Fox television affiliates nationwide. The audio portion of the show is broadcast over the Fox Sports Radio network, distributed by Premiere Radio Networks...
- Host - 1994–1998: NHL on Fox - Studio host
- 2006–present: The NFL TodayThe NFL TodayThe NFL Today is an American sports series that precedes the American football program The NFL on CBS on CBS Sports. The program usually airs at noon on Sundays of the National Football League regular season...
- Host - 2008–present: Inside the NFLInside the NFLInside the NFL is a weekly cable television sports show that focuses on the National Football League. It originally aired on HBO from 1977 through 2008...
- Host
Personal life
Brown resides outside of Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in Bethesda, MD, his town of birth, with his wife Dorothy and daughter Katrina. He formerly had a second residence in Century City, California, when working on FOX as their NFL program was based in Los Angeles. He was also named one of the 100 most influential student athletes by the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
. He has three granddaughters, born to his daughter, Katrina and her husband John.
On May 3, , Brown became a minority owner of the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
team. Brown was one of a handful of investors in the group led by Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
real estate developer Ted Lerner
Ted Lerner
Theodore N. "Ted" Lerner is an American real estate developer and managing principal owner of the Washington Nationals baseball team. His family business, Lerner Enterprises, is the largest private landowner in the Washington, D.C. region...
.
External links
- Jaffe, Harry. "James Brown: Making Mama Proud", Washingtonian, December 1, 2008.
- 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's Articles on AARP.org