John Michael (born 1972) is an American

sports broadcaster In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present tense. There are two main types of sports broadcast ...

who is currently the TV

play by play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

announcer for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). From the 2011–12 to 2018–19 seasons, he served as the team's radio play by play announcer.Cavs Press Release
Cavs.com (accessed November 18, 2013)

Early life and education

Michael attended high school at

Sewickley Academy Sewickley Academy is a private, independent, coeducation, college-preparatory academy located in Sewickley, Pennsylvania in the United States. The Academy educates 594 students, from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. It is a member of the Nation ...

. He graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

with degrees in mechanical engineering, law, and business administration. After earning his J.D. degree, Michael worked as a trial lawyer for five years in construction law for

K&L Gates K&L Gates LLP is an American multinational corporation law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the firm was formed in 2007 by the ...

.Notre Dame Article
und.com (accessed November 18, 2013)

Career

Inspired by hearing radio broadcasts of high school football games, Michael began broadcasting high school and college sports part-time in

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the Unite ...

in 2000, while continuing to work full-time as a trial lawyer. In 2003, he was hired as the play-by-play broadcaster for the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A (baseball), Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They pl ...

, then the Class-A affiliate of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. Michael went on to broadcast for several minor league ice hockey teams, including two seasons each with the

Johnstown Chiefs The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now ECHL) when th ...

, the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

, and the

Lake Erie Monsters A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

. In the 2004-05 ECHL season, while working for the Chiefs, he was named the ECHL Broadcaster of the Year, and was selected to call the 2005 ECHL All-Star Game on NHL Radio. In 2009, Michael was hired by the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

to host pregame and postgame shows, serve as a rinkside reporter, and conduct interviews. Before starting the job,

director of broadcasting Dave Dombrowski (not to be confused with the baseball executive of the same name) had Michael record several demo tapes of Cavaliers games, which the organization kept. On October 6, 2011, the Cavaliers announced that they had hired Michael as the play-by-play announcer for game broadcasts on the

Cavaliers AudioVerse The Cavaliers AudioVerse is an American radio network composed of 20 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Cleveland sister ...

.Cleveland Plain Dealer
cleveland.com (accessed November 18, 2013) On September 23, 2019, the Cavaliers announced that Michael had been named the play-by-play broadcaster for Cavaliers television broadcasts on Fox Sports Ohio (now

FanDuel Sports Network Ohio FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (formerly Bally Sports Ohio) is an American regional sports network owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) as part of the FanDuel Sports Network chain. The channel broadcasts regional cover ...

). He replaced former broadcaster Fred McLeod, who had died two weeks prior.

Personal life

Michael is married to Julie Maund. They met while attending college at Notre Dame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael, John NBA broadcasters People from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania Living people National Hockey League broadcasters Minor League Baseball broadcasters American Hockey League broadcasters 1972 births University of Notre Dame alumni Cleveland Cavaliers announcers