Brent Musburger, the primary voice of CBS Sports in the 1980s, was fired by the network Sunday after negotiations on a new contract broke down. The network announced that the broadcast of Monday's college basketball championship will be the last CBS assignment for Musburger, who had been scheduled to cover major-league baseball this summer. ``I was surprised, but it was a great run and I have a million memories, and I leave behind a lot of good friends,'' Musburger said in a statement read by Jimmy Tubbs, his personal assistant. ``At this time, I'm going to take an extended vacation, and I'll be working again someday, somewhere.'' Ted Shaker, executive producer of CBS Sports, said network officials believed Musburger's workload was too heavy, but that the broadcaster resisted attempts by CBS in contract talks to have him cut down. ``It's a difficult decision,'' said CBS Sports President Neal H. Pilson. ``It's never easy to deal with individuals with whom you have personal or business relationships.'' Musburger has been reported to earn between $1.6 million and $2 million per year from CBS. Pilson said he wouldn't describe the negotiations as ``a squabble over money,'' but refused to say what was in dispute. Pilson said negotiations for a new contract had been going on for several months between the network and Todd Musburger, who represents his brother. He said the Musburgers had asked for a decision by Sunday. Both Musburgers were unavailable Sunday but Tubbs, Musburger's assistant for 5{ years, said it had been apparent for several days that talks weren't going well. ``It wasn't right out of the blue,'' Tubbs said. ``Negotiations had been going on and they just broke off.'' Broadcasting the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball game between Duke and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, will be the final CBS assignment for Musburger, the network said in announcing the decision. Musburger's 5{-year contract was to expire in July. Musburger is in his sixth season as lead play-by-play man for the NCAA basketball tournament and has been host of ``The NFL Today'' since 1975. He has anchored the Masters golf tournament, the NBA finals, the Pan American Games and late-night coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Musburger, who has been with CBS Sports since 1975, was scheduled to become the main voice for CBS' baseball coverage, which begins April 14. He also was in line to host the network's coverage of the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. Industry speculation on a possible baseball replacement for Musburger centered on Al Michaels, said to be unhappy with his status at ABC. Michaels was unavailable to comment Sunday.
