Much mashing of teeth has commenced since it was recently announced that basketball radio announcer Bruce Johnson will be replaced by WFAN's Chris Carlin.
Neither is going to win any awards any time soon. It's always tough though to say goodbye to an old friend:
"It's sad to see a chapter of my life end after a 23-year association with Rutgers basketball, especially at a time when Fred Hill is turning the corner in basketball. I would have liked to have been there when they do something again," Johnson said.
Johnson said he was not angry, but called the decision "abrupt."
"It's hard to say now what I'm going to do," said Johnson, the sports director at WCTC radio in New Brunswick. "It affects me economically. Where do I go from here? It's not simple to find another play-by-play job. When you're a family man and 54 it's not easy to just pick up and move. I'll have to let the dust settle and see what happens."
Johnson said he understood the reason for the change: Carlin, who hosts an hour-long weekday morning show on WFAN radio and co-hosts two shows on SNY, gives Rutgers more of a New York presence. Rutgers sports are also carried on WOR (710 AM) which is located in New York.
Carlin, the former producer of WFAN's Mike & The Mad Dog, contributor to Imus in the Morning, contributor to Boomer and Carton, and co-host of SNY's Loudmouths, undoubtedly has a chance to help raise the profile of Rutgers basketball in the New York media, right when Fred Hill is hopefully poised to turn the long-dormant program around. Indeed, along with Bruce Beck, Anthony Fucilli, Bruce Feldman, and others, Carlin is one of the biggest media friends that Rutgers athletics has.
I'm not a huge fan of work from the limited amount that I've seen. However, I have limitless respect for what Carlin has done, and will continue to do, for Rutgers athletics. May we soon see the day when every single person in the metropolitan area bleeds scarlet.