- Ernie Johnson, Jr.
Ernie Johnson, Jr. (born in 1956 in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin ) is a sports broadcaster for TNT and TBS.Childhood
Johnson went to (M.G.C) or Mother of Good Counsel for his grade school.
Early career
Johnson's career began in 1977 while he was still a student at the
University of Georgia , taking a job as the news and sports director for the radio stationWAGQ-FM inAthens, Georgia . He held that job until 1978, when he graduated from UGA with aBachelor of Arts inJournalism . In 1979, Johnson began his broadcasting career inMacon, Georgia , joiningWMAZ-TV after graduating. He worked there as a news anchor until 1981, when he moved toSpartanburg, South Carolina to work as a news reporter atWSPA-TV . Johnson moved back to Georgia in 1982, this time taking a job in Atlanta atWSB-TV as a general assignment news reporter. He became the station's weekend sports anchor and reporter in 1983. He held those jobs until 1989, when he left to join Turner Sports. From 1993 to 1996, Johnson calledAtlanta Braves baseball games for SportSouth (now FSN South), where he had a unique broadcaster partner — his father, Ernie Johnson Sr., a formerMajor League Baseball pitcher and Braves play-by-play announcer.Turner Sports
"The NBA on TNT"
At TNT, Johnson is also known as "E.J.", works as the studio host for the network's coverage of the NBA, working pregame and halftime shows, as well as hosting the network's famous studio show that airs after each NBA doubleheader, "
Inside the NBA ". At the end of each broadcast, Ernie presents "E.J.'s Neat-o-Stat of the Night," which has become a popular part of the show but is sponsored by no one, hence the sign that says "Your logo here"; This changed in May 2007 whenvitaminwater stepped in as a sponsor for the segment. It should be noted that for the 2005-2006 season, his segments were sponsored by Intel Centrino and most recentlySuzuki . In the2008 NBA Playoffs , his segments were presented byGeico andvitaminwater . For all NBA-related shows, Johnson is joined by former NBA starsKenny Smith andCharles Barkley , and, on occasion,Magic Johnson ,Chris Webber , and/orReggie Miller .Non-NBA assignments
In addition to working basketball, Johnson is also the
play-by-play announcer for TNT'sPGA Tour coverage. At TBS, Johnson works as the studio host for their coverage ofcollege football . In 2002, Johnson was co-winner of the Sports Emmy forOutstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host , tying withBob Costas ofNBC and HBO. It was the first time Johnson had been nominated for a Sports Emmy. In 2006, Johnson won the award again, this time on his own, snapping Costas' six-year stranglehold on it, including the year the two shared the honor. Since October 2007, Johnson has worked as the studio host alongsideCal Ripken, Jr. for TBS's coverage ofMajor League Baseball .Past TNT assignments
Johnson's past work at TNT included roles as studio host for
The Championships, Wimbledon from 2000 to 2002, studio host for itsNational Football League coverage from 1990 to 1997, and various duties at the 1994, 1998, and 2001Goodwill Games , as well as the1992 Winter Olympics inAlbertville, France and the1994 Winter Olympics inLillehammer . He also co-hosted Barkley's now-defunct talk show, "Listen Up!" Past work at TBS also included working as studio host for their NBA coverage. Johnson also calledweightlifting for NBC's coverage of the2000 Summer Olympics inSydney .Personal
Johnson Jr. and his wife, Cheryl, a licensed professional counselor, live in Atlanta and have two biological children (one son, named Eric, and one daughter, named Maggie) and two adopted children (one with a disability, named Michael, and one daughter, named Carmen). He became a
Christian following his episode with cancer.Cancer
In 2003, Johnson was diagnosed with
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma , but continued his work through June 2006, when he began treatment.Due to his cancer, Johnson Jr. missed TNT's coverage of the British Open and
PGA Championship , the last twogolf major tournaments in 2006.Mike Tirico replaced him in the British Open, andVerne Lundquist in the PGA Championship.Johnson returned to "Inside the NBA" on October 31, 2006, while continuing his
chemotherapy treatments. He had lost his hair due to chemotherapy.External links
* [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nba/stories/2002-05-09-ernie-johnson-focus.htm "Ernie Johnson takes his star turn"] -article from the May 9, 2002 issue of "
USA Today "
* [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2006-02-22-tnt-johnson_x.htm Ernie Johnson has cancer]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=ud-b8iCm2oE Video → Ernie Johnson shares his cancer story (8 minutes)]
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