Courtesy Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

(February 17, 2009) If blog posts are representative, some Milwaukee Brewers fans are not willing to forgive new team broadcaster Cory Provus for at least two sins they think he has committed, which he really has not.

First, he grew up in Highland Park, Ill., and followed the Cubs. Horrors. Then he went on to work for the Cubs the last two seasons on WGN Radio broadcasts. Double horrors.

The fact is, had he not worked for the Cubs, Provus would not have been the broadcaster WTMJ Radio announced Monday as the replacement for Jim Powell, who left to join the Atlanta Braves.

Provus, 30, will work Brewers games on radio with Bob Uecker.

Fans being fans, they think Provus' heart and soul is owned by the rival Cubs. They ignore the notion that WTMJ and the Brewers hired a broadcast professional, not a fan.

The same complaint was heard when the voice of the Chicago Bears, Wayne Larrivee, was hired to become the voice of the Green Bay Packers. After a time, what really was a non-issue became a forgotten non-issue.

"I've been through something like this before," Provus said Monday, referring to taking a job with another team's rival.

Provus said his first broadcasting job after finishing at Syracuse University was with Virginia Tech, one of Syracuse's rivals, particularly in football.

"I was kind of worried a bit about that," Provus said. "At that time I was 22. But the Hokie community quickly embraced me. They realized that's where I was in the past. They realized that's where I went to school. But I'm a professional broadcaster.

"Now I'm a Brewer. If I really thought that was going to be a problem, I would not have applied for the job. I understand that people are going to feel that way. I understand completely. It's my job to kind of prove myself. That's a responsibility I take on, a challenge I take on. I want the Brewers to win. I'm here now."

Provus has had a range of broadcasting experience. Besides his work at Syracuse and Virginia Tech, he handled play-by-play of Alabama-Birmingham football, basketball and baseball games.

Provus' duties with WGN Radio included doing pre- and post-game Cubs shows and working play-by-play on Cubs games for one inning, spelling regular Cubs announcer Pat Hughes in the fifth inning.

Steve Wexler, the Journal Broadcast Group executive vice president of television and radio operations, said in a release that the station "considered hundreds of candidates" for the job.

"Cory came out on top," Wexler said. "His enthusiasm for baseball, his strong work ethic and his play-by-play skills will make him an excellent addition to our staff."

Provus said he would have a presence on WTMJ Radio during the Brewers' offseason. He said he might be used on WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) on occasion as well. His exact role in both those areas has not been worked out.

Provus said on Feb. 2 that he had dinner with Uecker in Scottsdale, Ariz., and it went on for three hours.

"We maybe talked shop for 5 minutes, and the rest was me laughing at his stories," Provus said.

"It was as pleasant and as nice as I could have hoped for," Provus said. "I got to know Bob a little the last two years, but this was the first time I really had a chance to talk to him."

Provus said he did not view his dinner with Uecker as a kind of interview, at which he had to pass Uecker's inspection.

"I really didn't look at it that way," Provus said. "Maybe others did.

"I wanted to make sure Bob was going to be comfortable with me personally, more than just my baseball background and how I call a game. It was just a conversation between two guys to let him know who I am away from baseball."

Provus and Uecker will call their first game together on Wednesday, Feb. 25, when the host Brewers play the Oakland A's at Maryvale Baseball Park.

There are 36 Brewers spring training games, with 19 of them on radio and three on television. The rest will be carried as a Webcast on MLB.com.