ESPN has reportedly filled the last vacancy left by Chris Berman‘s semi-retirement.
Sports Illustrated reported Sunday that ESPN college football play-by-play voice Beth Mowins will call the late Week 1 Monday Night Football game (Chargers-Broncos this year), likely working alongside freshly minted ESPN analyst Rex Ryan. As noted in the report, Mowins and Ryan worked the FSU spring football game together last month.
Mowins does not have much NFL play-by-play experience — she has worked the past two seasons as the Raiders’ preseason voice — but neither did predecessors Chris Berman and Mike Greenberg. Greenberg had only called Arena Football League games before getting the late game gig in 2008, and his entire play-by-play career appears to have been an effort to promote Mike and Mike in the Morning (he worked each AFL and NFL game with radio partner Mike Golic). Berman had never worked an NFL game before getting the gig in 2012, a reward for years of service to both ESPN and the league.
In ESPN’s 11 years airing Monday Night Football, only one late game broadcaster has had previous experience working NFL games at a national level — Brad Nessler, who worked games for CBS in the early 1990s.
ESPN has now filled each role Chris Berman held during last season. Trey Wingo replaced him on NFL Draft coverage in April and Samantha Ponder and Suzy Kolber will do so on Sunday NFL and Monday Night Countdown, respectively. He will continue calling MLB Division Series games on ESPN Radio.
(News from SI.com 5.14)
