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Sometimes these things happen in sports broadcasting.
Gus Johnson, the lead play-by-play announcer and host for the Strikeforce telecasts on SHOWTIME and CBS, was unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension and will be in search of new scenery after 16 years of service on the mic.
Johnson, who made a name for himself as an over-the-top, bombastic and hyperbole-fueled announcer during NCAA Men's College Basketball Championships, made his mixed martial arts announcing debut with Elite XC on CBS back in 2008.
His shtick didn't sit well with most MMA fans, however, especially when he called the Seth Petruzelli knockout of Kimbo Slice "the biggest upset" in the history of the sport shortly after his tenure began.
He'd out-do himself on April 17, 2010, telling a naive nationwide audience on CBS that "these things happen in MMA" when a rare (and ugly) melee erupted between the Diaz brothers and Jason "Mayhem" Miller on live television.
Johnson -- who worked alongside analysts Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo, as well as Pat Miletich on the CBS broadcasts -- called his first event "Shamrock vs. Diaz" on April 11, 2009. He most recently called the "Diaz vs. Daley" event on April 9, 2011, recording almost exactly a two-year stint in the MMA broadcast booth.
The good news is that the Shing Yi Kung Fu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing practitioner has a "Rise and Fire" clothing brand to keep him busy between jobs.
No news on a possible replacement is known at this time, but maybe Michael Schiavello is looking for more work.
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