Lions preseason games are going to sound much different this summer. They were moved from CW 50 to WWJ Detroit (CBS) already, and now it appears that change is prompting some other changes.
The Lions will at least sound different in the exhibition season, with a new broadcast crew scheduled to do play-by-play and analysis on local telecasts of the team's four exhibition games on WWJ-TV (Channel 62).
With Frank Beckmann out, his potential replacement could end up being none other than Gus Johnson.
Gus Johnson, a Detroit native who has done NFL games for the CBS network since 1998, is the top candidate for the play-by-play man. An announcement on the full crew is expected soon by Channel 62.
Trey Fabacher, vice-president and general manager of Channel 62, would not confirm the hiring of Johnson, but Lions sources confirmed Johnson has been the No. 1 choice for play-by-play.
For those that aren't familiar with Gus Johnson, he is well known for having so much excitement when he announces. Whether it is an NCAA Tournament game or a regular season NFL contest, the energy level is usually the same. My feeling is that Gus Johnson could probably even make Lions preseason games exciting, no matter how hard that seems like it would be.
We'll have to see if Johnson is in fact hired, but I definitely hope he is. I had nothing against Frank Beckmann, but he just wasn't that great of a TV announcer since he is a radio guy. At the same time, having an announcer like Johnson would probably increase the ratings as he is so highly acclaimed by many.