MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers' flagship radio station has dramatically shortened the list of potential replacements for departed play-by-play man Jim Powell and could be down to a single finalist.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday that the field was down to two -- Chicago's Cory Provus and Arizona's Jeff Munn. Both men host pre- and post-game radio shows and do occasional play-by-play for their club's network of radio affiliates, and would be moving to a higher-profile position as Milwaukee's No. 2 radio voice.

MLB.com subsequently learned that Munn was out, leaving Provus, a 2000 graduate of Syracuse University, as the leading contender to join Bob Uecker in the Brewers' radio booth.

WTMJ director of network operations Carl Moll interviewed both Munn and Provus earlier this week in Milwaukee. At the same time, scores of other applicants received calls informing them they were no longer candidates.

Moll, who is leading Newsradio 620 WTMJ's search, declined to discuss specific candidates when reached on Thursday afternoon.

"We've had no shortage of qualified, good applicants," Moll said. "We thoroughly reviewed many tapes and we were thrilled with the quality of the submissions we received. Now we're working through that process and we're hoping to put a conclusion on it in the near future."

Brewers officials have input in the process but the final decision belongs to the radio station because the new hire, like Powell, will be a WTMJ employee. He is expected to play a larger role than did Powell in non-Brewers coverage on WTMJ.

It's likely that Uecker, the Hall of Fame broadcaster who will be entering his 39th year in the Brewers' broadcast booth, will also have a say in the choice of his new partner.

"[WTMJ] has certainly included us in the process," said Brewers spokesperson Tyler Barnes, who characterized that process as "ongoing for some time."

Andy Masur, the San Diego Padres' No. 2 man on radio who has roots in Illinois, withdrew his name from consideration earlier this week. He worked for WGN in Chicago from 1999-2006 and would have been a strong candidate to replace Powell because he fit WTMJ's top criteria: He has some experience calling Major Legue games.

The Brewers would like to see the decision made quickly because the team plays its first Cactus League game on Feb. 25. The team has not yet announced its Spring Training broadcast schedule, but the Brewers Radio Network will air 19 weekend, weeknight and select mid-week games including the Feb. 25 spring opener against the A's. That's up from an average of 12 on-air radio broadcasts in previous seasons, Moll said.

Typically, the remaining games are available via Webcast at Brewers.com. Television play-by-play man Brian Anderson has handled that call for the past two years.

Provus has worked for WGN Radio in Chicago for the past two seasons in the role previously filled by Masur, and occasionally spells lead play-by-play man Pat Hughes during Cubs broadcasts. Before that, Provus was the voice of University of Alabama-Birmingham athletics, handling play-by-play duties for football, basketball and baseball.

Munn has been with Arizona's broadcast team since 2001 and just finished his third season as pre- and post-game host on the D-backs' Radio Network while continuing in his role as the club's secondary radio play-by-play announcer. He has called games for Arizona State University's baseball and men's and women's basketball teams and also has extensive public address experience. Munn was the original "voice" of Chase Field in Phoenix.

Munn declined to comment about the position when reached by MLB.com. Provus did not immediately respond to an e-mail sent through WGN's Web site.

Powell, a Georgia native, was lured away by the Braves last week after 13 seasons in Milwaukee. He will pair with Hall of Famer -- and former Brewer -- Don Sutton on Atlanta's radio broadcasts.