Report: Cavs Announce Fred McLeod’s Replacement for Upcoming 2019-20 Season

Two weeks after the sudden death of Cleveland Cavaliers play-by-play announcer Fred McLeod, the team announced his replacement on Monday.

John Michael will move from his same role calling Cavs games on the radio to announcing contests on Fox Sports Ohio telecasts this season.

Replacing Michael on play-by-play for radio broadcasts will be Tim Alcorn, who has been a part of the Northeast Ohio sports scene for more than three decades.

Tad Carper, Cavaliers Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, explained the decision to hire Michael as McLeod’s replacement in a release issued by the team.

“The loss of Fred McLeod is something that has hurt all of us greatly. Certainly, we will always carry great thoughts and memories of Fred with us forever,” said Carper. “We are fortunate, though, to have John Michael as part of our broadcast family. John is a very talented, dedicated, hard-working and insightful broadcaster who has a great spectrum of experience and perspective to now bring to our TV broadcasts.”

Former Cavalier Austin Carr will join Michael on Fox Sports Ohio, while Carr’s former Cavs teammate, Jim Chones, will team with Alcorn.

The timing of McLeod’s death, coming less than a month before the opening of the Cavaliers’ training camp, necessitated the quick decisions on the team’s broadcasters.