- Brian Williams (sportscaster)
Brian Williams (born
1946 inWinnipeg ,Manitoba and raised inHamilton, Ontario cite press release| title = Celebrity High: Westdale Secondary Alumni (Brian Williams)| publisher = The Hamilton Spectator| date =2006-05-19 | url = http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1147989017565&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1014656511815| accessdate = 2006-07-17] ) is a Canadiansportscaster who is best known for his coverage of theOlympic Games .Biography
Williams was long associated with the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 's sports coverage since joining the network in1974 , after radio employment at Toronto's CFRB and CHUM.Career at CBC
Williams served as the studio host for the CBC's CFL coverage for many years and formerly announced
Toronto Blue Jays baseball games for the network. Along withTerry Leibel andRon MacLean , he was a regular studio anchor for CBC'sOlympic Games coverage, and will serve a similar role at CTV in 2010, which will be held within Canadian borders, inVancouver , and 2012, but will be limited to hosting TSN's cable coverage, at most, in 2008. He also covered the2002 FIFA World Cup for CBC.Williams also worked with
Peter Mansbridge during "CBC 2000 Today ", CBC's coverage of the millennium. He also currently co-hosts "Don Cherry's Grapeline ", along with Don Cherry.Unique quirks
His unique voice and quirks such as frequently announcing the time, sometimes in several different
time zones at once, has made him one of Canada's most distinctive broadcasters. He is a frequent subject of parody on Canadian comedy shows such as "Royal Canadian Air Farce ".Departure from CBC
On
June 5 ,2006 , he announced plans to move to rival CTV, and its sports network TSN, in December 2006. However, onJune 8 ,2006 , the CBC fired Williams, thereby clearing him to join CTV/TSN effective immediately, and will initially serve as on-site host of TSN'sCanadian Football League coverage. (This position should not be confused with the "studio host" position that remains held byDave Randorf .) [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060610.WILLIAMS10/TPStory/TPSports/OtherSports/ globeandmail.com ] ]References
External links
Multimedia
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-116-1403-8808/1980s/1989/ CBC archives] - Brian hosting the opening of SkyDome in Toronto.
* [http://www.fan590.com/features/grapeline.jsp Grapeline archives] - Brian co-hosts Grapeline with Don Cherry.Websites
* [http://www.tsn.ca/tsn_talent/bio/?fid=79 TSN profile]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/ns/agalley/williams.html The Brian Williams Satire Page]
* [http://www.speakers.ca/williams_brian.aspx Speakers' Spotlight: Brian Williams]
* [http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2006/05/c9891.html CTV PR: "Going For Gold. Brian Williams To Join CTV, TSN"]
* [http://www.ctvmedia.ca/tsn/releases/release.asp?id=8741&yyyy=2006 TSN PR (June 9): "Brian Williams Makes CTV/TSN Debut June 16 During CFL Season Opener"]
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