Gus Johnson's departure from CBS Sports may not happen, according to the NY Daily News. While he does have an offer from Fox to cover the NFL and the Pac-12, his agents have yet to present the terms to CBS to see if they will match it. That is expected to come next week, which will then give CBS a week to counter the offer.
With the Pac-12's new media deal announced on Wednesday, adding a signature broadcaster in Johnson would be a huge move, and Bruins Nation and CougCenter, our UCLA and Wazzu blogs, likely express the sentiment most Pac-12 fans have right now: Get Johnson now!
But MMA and boxing fans would be relieved if the earlier report on Johnson holds true. Bloody Elbow, covering MMA, acknowledged his college basketball and NFL announcing prowess, but offers criticism of how he handled other events:
Johnson is likely most famous (or infamous) to MMA fans for his over-the-top call of the Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli fight, and his offhand statements during the brawl at Strikeforce: Nashville between Cesar Gracie's team and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.
Scott Christ at Bad Left Hook understands fans will miss Johnson's calls in other sports, but he believes this helps out boxing:
So look, yes I'm happy that Gus isn't going to be, in my opinion, weighing down the Showtime boxing broadcasts anymore. I felt he never really meshed with the sport, and that despite it seeming to be on paper a good mix, it just never worked out. But he's one of the most well-known sports broadcasters in America, and I'm sure he'll have a new job before you can even get used to his absence in his old haunts.
And that new job may just be the same as the old one--only time will tell.