The Booth

As a sports fan I listen and watch my fair share of sporting events. Sadly most broadcasts are lacking in quality. There are still some good ones out there but they are becoming drowned out by the boring, vanilla Columbia School of Broadcasting graduates, who dominate sports television. These rubes all look and sound the same. They never criticize and are about as exciting as a baked potato. We are lucky in Chicago to have some decent announcers. Here I will grade our local broadcast teams in town. I will not grade the Blackhawks as I haven’t listened or watched a Hawks game in years.

Chicago Cubs

TV: Len Kasper and Bob Brenly – Kasper and Brenly had a huge task in trying to replace Stone and Caray. Steve Stone was the absolute best I had ever seen doing analysis in any sport. Brenly, while no Stone isn’t that bad in his own right. He calls players out and offers his insight and knowledge of the game. Len Kasper, while being a tad bland is no worse or no better then most of his ilk. As time as gone on he has gotten more comfortable and more of his likeable personality has come out. Hopefully this continues as he seems to have a decent sense of humor. Grade B+

Radio: Pat Hughes and Ron Santo – Ah, the Pat and Ron show. The chemistry these two have in the booth is unmatched. If you are looking for a detailed account of the games going on, you are not going to get it. If you want to be entertained with a little baseball thrown in, well this is the show to get that. Pat Hughes is extremely underrated for the job he does as the Cubs radio voice. As much as I love Santo he is not the best analyst in the world leaving Hughes to do both jobs. Hughes does both and sets up Ronnie perfectly. His dry sense of humor and knowledge of the game are un-matched. Santo is like the old senile Uncle. He butchers names and stories but, at his heart he is the real deal. You can’t help but love Ronnie and root for him. Say what you want about the broadcast, but you can’t say it isn’t entertaining. Grade A-

Chicago White Sox

TV: Ken Harrelson and Darin Jackson – As a Cub fan I may be a little biased here, but I can not stand either one of these guys. Harrelson is a fool’s fool. He has more annoying personality traits then Paris Hilton. His out-dated lame catch phrases are tiresome. Grab some bench was cute in 1990, now not so much. I don’t mind being a homer but if something bad happens to the Sox he just stays silent. It is annoying as all hell. Plus he is such a Sox fan that he lets that cloud his judgment. Every Sox prospect is going to the Hall of Fame. Darin Jackson has gotten better over the years and might be tolerable if not for Harrelson. Still the broadcast is so dominated by the narcissist Harrelson that it is difficult to judge Jackson. Grade D

Radio: Ed Farmer and Chris Singleton – As I stated I am a Cubs fan. However, when Farmer was with John Rooney I would listen to the games on the radio because I thought they were really good at what they did. Sadly, with Rooney’s departure the White Sox radio broadcast has become a train wreck befitting of a single A ballclub. Ed Farmer as a play by play man is miscast. He was a great analyst but that is what he should be doing. By sticking him with his current role you basically neuter him. He tries but no one could make Chris Singleton listenable. This guy does not offer anything to a broadcast. Green beyond belief, Singleton never showed improvement. Stumbling over words, not being able to verbalize his thoughts, he was an embarrassment. It is sad when a Steve Stone can’t collect a regular check in this business and this guy can. Grade F

Chicago Bears

Radio: Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer – This quietly has become a really solid partnership. When Hub Arkush was in the booth with them it was cumbersome. Ever since they made it a two man broadcast, it has been quite enjoyable. Joniak has grown and become a very solid broadcaster. His calling of the game strikes the perfect balance. He is definitely a fan but he doesn’t scream. He gets excited when the team does well and calls them out when they deserve it. Thayer has been solid ever since he got the gig. He passes his knowledge of the game onto the listeners in a way that even the most novice fan can understand the most difficult of football concepts. He is extremely knowledgeable and personable and together they make a great team. Grade A

Chicago Bulls

TV: Tom Dore and Johnny “Red” Kerr – They have been around awhile and gotten into a nice groove. Tom Dore, is a solid broadcaster who is somewhat underappreciated in this town. He has been doing a very good job for years. Johnny “Red” Kerr has gotten a little long in the tooth, but that doesn’t mean that he is bad. Back in the day he was a very good analyst. Nowadays, he shows his age a little and is a little slow in trying to verbalize his thoughts. Which makes the job Dore does all the much better. Grade B

Radio: Neil Funk and Bill Wennington – Funk and Wennington are a very nice team. Neil Funk has a voice made for radio and is one of the best in describing the goings on in a basketball game. About as solid of a play by play man as there is in the business. Wennington has made the transition from player to broadcaster look seamless. Big Bill knows a lot about the game and that comes through in his broadcast. He will tell you how it is and not sugarcoat it for you. This broadcast has really become quite good over the last couple of years. Grade A-