Paul Keels, a Cincinnati native who has become one of Ohio's top sportscasters broadcasters, was named today to join Bengals great Anthony Munoz in the broadcast booth for telecasts in 2000 on the Bengals Preseason Television Network.
For the 12th time in the past 13 years, Cincinnati's WKRC-TV (Channel 12) will be the flagship station of the network. Also on the network are WDTN-TV (Channel 2) in Dayton and WBNS-TV (Channel 10) in Columbus.
The first broadcast of the preseason will be Aug. 4 from Buffalo. Keels and Munoz will call the Bengals at Atlanta game on Aug. 11, and do the first game broadcast from Paul Brown Stadium when the Bengals christen their new home on Aug. 19 vs. Chicago. The final preseason telecast, also from Paul Brown Stadium, will be on Aug. 25 vs. Detroit.
Keels will do play-by-play, and Munoz will the analyst.
Keels is currently the voice of the Ohio State Buckeyes for football and basketball. He was the University of Cincinnati's primary football and basketball broadcaster over a period from 1989-98, and was the Bengals' play-by-play voice on radio in 1996.
Keels earned excellent reviews for his work as the Bengals' radio voice in 1996, but he was unable to continue in the position due to a reassignment of the team's rights to another company for 1997.
It feels great for me to get back to an association with the NFL team I grew up rooting for," said Keels, a product of Xavier University. "On top of that, it's very exciting to know I'll be calling the first game the Bengals play at Paul Brown Stadium."
Munoz, Bengals Hall of Fame offensive tackle for a career that spanned 1980-92, will be in his fourth season as analyst on the preseason TV games. Munoz and Keels anticipate being able to quickly form a smooth team, because they worked with one another in 1996.
During that year, when Keels was the Bengals' radio voice, Munoz did extensive work on the pregame and postgame radio shows.
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When I heard Paul was going to be my partner, I was thrilled," Munoz said. "He's one of the best in the business, and hopefully I'll hold up my end of it."
Munoz has experience as an analyst on network television as well as with the Bengals.
It's something I enjoy doing, and with 13 years experience as a player, I think I have some insight I can give people," Munoz said. "I want to teach a few things about football, answer questions that people are curious about, and do it in an entertaining way."
Veteran Bengals TV producer/director Lou Rainone returns this season to coordinate the broadcasts, which are produced by the Club.
Major sponsors of Bengals Television include Chevrolet, HealthSouth, McDonald's, Ohio Lottery and Provident Bank.
