Chris Berman ready to call the U.S. Open

06.15.2009

It was a prospective culture clash so jarring it echoed from the anarchic blogosphere to genteel Augusta National:

Chris Berman at the Masters? Boomer in Butler Cabin? The Swami amid the azaleas?

Traditionalists were all but saying prayers in Amen Corner as ESPN prepared to televise the Masters for the first time last year.

False alarm. ESPN used Mike Tirico, not Berman, to host, a role Tirico also filled this April.

The network said then and Berman reiterated last week that the decision primarily was schedule-driven, because he was preparing to host the NFL Draft. He said it is a perennial conflict, which is why he never covered the Masters even before ESPN secured rights to televise it.

Still, the notion he did not belong there even in ESPN's very limited hosting role at the Masters stung, because he considers himself a knowledgeable, passionate golf announcer, fan and player. > View article