Results tagged ‘ WGN Radio ’
1/24 Cubs spring broadcast schedule
Fans who can’t get to Arizona to watch the Cubs’ Spring Training games will be able to keep up either on TV, radio or the internet. The Cubs will televise six Cactus League games (four on WGN TV, two on Comcast SportsNet), broadcast nine on WGN Radio network, and 25 via Internet radio broadcast on Cubs.com. The Cubs webcasts on Cubs.com and MLB.com will be free for fans who register for a log-in account with the website. In total, 36 of the 39 games will be available to Cubs fans.
Two games also have been added to the Cubs’ spring schedule. They will play a World Baseball Classic opponent at HoHoKam Stadium on March 15, plus play the Dodgers in Tucson on March 21 to benefit the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Foundation. The Cubs close out their 2013 spring schedule against the Astros in Houston, March 29-30.
WGN Radio will broadcast Chicago’s first spring game on Feb. 23 against the Angels. The first televised game will be on WGN TV on March 16 when the Cubs play host to the Royals in Mesa, Ariz. Comcast SportsNet’s first game will be March 25 against the Giants.
Cubs TV play-by-play announcer Len Kasper will join Mick Gillispie, radio broadcaster for Double-A Tennessee for most of the Cubs.com broadcasts, presented by United Airlines. The first Cubs.com game with Kasper and Gillispie will be Feb. 24 against the Giants.
All games start at 1:05 p.m. Arizona time unless otherwise noted.
DATE/OPPONENT/SITE/Broadcast Availability
Feb. 23: at Angels, Tempe, WGN Radio
Feb. 24: vs. Giants, Mesa, Cubs.com
Feb. 25: at Dodgers, Glendale, Cubs.com
Feb. 26: vs. Rockies, Mesa, Cubs.com
Feb. 27: vs. Dodgers, Mesa, Cubs.com
Feb. 28: vs. Athletics, Mesa, Cubs.com
March 1: vs. Diamondbacks, Mesa, Cubs.com
March 2: at Giants, Scottsdale, WGN Radio
March 3 (ss): vs. Brewers, Mesa, Cubs.com; vs. Angels, Tempe
March 4: vs. Indians, Mesa, Cubs.com
March 5: at Rockies, Scottsdale, Cubs.com
March 6: at Rangers, Surprise, Cubs.com
March 7: vs. White Sox, Mesa, Cubs.com
March 8: at Reds, Goodyear, Cubs.com (7:05 p.m. MT)
March 9: vs. Indians, Mesa, WGN Radio
March 10: vs. Padres, Mesa, Cubs.com
March 11: at Diamondbacks, Scottsdale, Cubs.com
March 12: Off day
March 13: vs. Rockies, Mesa, Cubs.com
March 14: at Dodgers, Glendale, Cubs.com
March 15 (ss): vs. World Baseball Classic team, Mesa; at White Sox, Glendale, Cubs.com
March 16 (ss): vs. Royals, Mesa, WGN-TV; vs. Rangers, Las Vegas, WGN Radio
March 17 (ss): at Athletics, Phoenix, WGN-TV; vs. Rangers, Las Vegas, WGN Radio
March 18: at Padres, Peoria, Cubs.com
March 19: vs. Rangers, Mesa, Cubs.com
March 20: Off day
March 21 (ss): at Mariners, Peoria, WGN Radio; vs. Dodgers, Tucson
March 22: at Brewers, Maryvale, WGN-TV, Cubs.com
March 23: vs. Angels, Mesa, WGN Radio, WGN-TV
March 24: at Indians, Goodyear, WGN Radio
March 25: vs. Giants, Mesa, Comcast SportsNet, Cubs.com
March 26: vs. Reds, Mesa, Cubs.com (7:05 p.m. MT)
March 27: at Royals, Surprise, WGN Radio (6:05 p.m. MT)
March 28: vs. Mariners, Mesa, Comcast SportsNet, Cubs.com
March 29: at Astros, Houston, Cubs.com (7:05 p.m. CT)
March 30: at Astros, Houston, Cubs.com (1:05 p.m. CT)
– Carrie Muskat
2/6 WGN Radio looking for new Cubs song
Attention all musicians and Cubs fans: WGN Radio is looking for the next great Cubs song, which will be played on-air in conjunction with the station’s Cubs broadcasts and promos this year. To enter, write an original song about the Cubs and email it as an mp3 file attachment to cubssong@wgnradio.com by Feb. 29. The lyrics must mention the Cubs and WGN Radio, but may not mention names of individual players, coaches or Cubs management. Songs longer than four minutes will be disqualified. Include your name, address, daytime phone number, email address and age in the email. Entries on behalf of a group must provide the required information for each member of the group.
WGN Radio will select up to 10 finalists and post them at wgnradio.com for listeners to vote. Plus, the winner will have the chance to record the song in a professional studio session at WGN Radio and perform live during Jonathon Brandmeier’s Opening Day broadcast on April 5. For official rules visit www.wgnradio.com/cubssongcontest.
Now, what rhymes with “Wrigley?”
– Carrie Muskat
3/19 Cubs lineup & more
Matt Garza starts Saturday for the Cubs in Peoria against the Padres and will be followed by Braden Looper. The game will be on WGN Radio and WGN TV. Looking ahead, Randy Wells will start Sunday against the Giants at HoHoKam Park and Andrew Cashner will start Monday against the Angels in Tempe. Here’s Saturday’s lineup:
RF Fukudome
2B DeWitt
LF Colvin
C Soto
1B Pena
3B Baker
SS Camp
CF Perez
P Garza
– Carrie Muskat
2/26 Moreland nervous but ready
New Cubs radio analyst Keith Moreland arrived at HoHoKam Park on Saturday to get prepped for his first broadcast on Sunday with partner Pat Hughes. Moreland is taking over for the late Ron Santo.
“There’s excitement, obviously, and sadness, too,” Moreland said. “Ron was a great friend and a major part of this organization for 50 years. I have sadness and excitement all at the same time. You can’t replace Ron and all I can do is be me. It’s nice to have a Hall of Fame type guy sitting beside me because Pat makes you feel so comfortable.”
Moreland remembers when he first met Santo, and Santo told the young third baseman that he liked how he played the game.
“He was self-deprecating,” Moreland said of Santo. “He would pick on himself awful bad. He would pick on himself so much, he made it so much fun to be around him.”
Will it be tough to criticize players?
“The first thing is there is no substitute for hustle,” Moreland said. “Effort is the one thing you can control. The game of baseball is a game you cannot control the outcome. You can hit the ball four times right on the button or make five really good pitches in a row and two could leave the ballpark. You don’t have control sometimes of the outcome but you do have control of your effort. If there is a point that I could be critical of it will be effort.”
Is he nervous?
“Heck, yeah, I’m nervous,” Moreland said. “I just hope people allow me to be me. Again, [Santo] is irreplaceable, and that’s not my intention in any capacity. Because of that, I have some apprehension. I get to turn to my right and look who’s sitting beside me — he’s the best straight man in the world.”
Hughes has said he wants Moreland to shine and be the star.
“All I can do is be me,” Moreland said. “There’s nothing other than that. I can butcher the English language with the best of them and I’m not sure what words mean sometimes. I try my best to get a point across of what’s taking place on the field.”
– Carrie Muskat
2/24 Hughes preps for life without Santo
On Sunday, Pat Hughes will begin his 16th season as the radio play by play voice of the Cubs but for the first time, he’ll have a new partner. Hughes begins his first season without popular color man Ron Santo, who died Dec. 3 at the age of 70. Friday would’ve been Santo’s 71st birthday.
“The reality is hitting me this week,” Hughes said.
Former Cub Keith Moreland takes over for Santo in the WGN Radio booth, and makes his debut on Sunday when the team opens Cactus League play against the Athletics. Hughes has worked with Moreland in the past, including two series last year.
“I said, ‘You be yourself and relax,’” Hughes said Wednesday night of his advice to Moreland, who was broadcasting University of Texas baseball and football. “[I told him] ‘I’ll try to make you a star and make you shine.’”
That’s always been one of Hughes’ strongest characteristics on air. He never tried to top Santo and his passion. He’s been a steady voice, letting the emotional Santo show his displeasure or glee at plays on the field.
Santo played for the Cubs from 1960-73, and joined the WGN Radio team in 1990. The Cubs retired his No. 10 in September 2003, and players this year will wear a No. 10 patch on their uniform sleeve in his honor. The 2011 media guide features a montage of Santo highlights from his days as a player and broadcaster.
Hughes has asked fans to be patient with Moreland. No one can replace Santo.
“I really do think we’ll be OK,” Hughes said.
He joked that the pressure really is on Cubs manager Mike Quade and the players.
“The best [Moreland] and I can hope for is a winning team,” Hughes said. “If we’re winning, people will think we’re doing a better job than we are.”
– Carrie Muskat
2/16 Moreland to join Hughes at WGN Radio
WGN Radio Wednesday announced Keith Moreland is the new analyst for Cubs radio broadcasts, taking over for the late Ron Santo. Moreland replaces Ron Santo, who died in December.
“I’m elated,” Moreland said Wednesday. “That’s the only word I can use. I hate to be sitting in this seat because nobody can replace Ron Santo. He was a great friend and a tremendous Cub fan. I can’t do anything but try to be myself.”
Moreland played for the Cubs from 1982-87, as well as the Phillies, Padres, Tigers and Orioles. A native of Dallas, he was a catcher, third baseman and outfielder. The Cubs are special to him and said his favorite game in 1984 was the “Sandberg Game” when Ryne Sandberg hit two game-tying homers off the Cardinals’ Bruce Sutter.
“When you go back and look at your career, it was such an incredible place to be a part of,” Moreland said.
The first WGN Radio broadcast will be Feb. 27, when the Cubs open Cactus League play.
Moreland is optimistic, just like all Cubs fans.
“Before my lifetime is over, we’re going to win a World Series, I’m a firm believer of that,” Moreland said.
– Carrie Muskat
2/9 Hughes waits for new radio partner
The first WGN Radio broadcast of a Cubs’ Spring Training game will be Feb. 27, but the wait continues for the station and the team to announce a new broadcaster to succeed Ron Santo. Pat Hughes will begin his 16th season as the Cubs’ play-by-play man, but first without Santo, who died Dec. 3. Keith Moreland and Dave Otto were reportedly the finalists for the job.
“It’s going to be a different atmosphere and call,” Hughes told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I still miss [Santo], and I will every day for the rest of my life. He was a big part of my life and my family’s life.”
WGN Radio officials have stated the obvious — that they will name someone before the first game, which is the Cubs’ Cactus League opener. Hughes does have a message for devoted followers of the Pat and Ron Show.
“Please, please give the new guy a chance and let us grow as a team,” Hughes said. “It’s almost like it will be for new manager Mike Quade. In my mind, it’s the same. Let them have a chance to be themselves. They’ll make mistakes — we all do. But give them a chance.”
– Carrie Muskat
1/12 Cubs radio update
The Cubs and WGN Radio will not announce Ron Santo’s replacement as color analyst at the weekend Cubs Convention. Interviews are currently being conducted and an announcement was expected sometime before Spring Training games begin.
Santo died Dec. 3 at the age of 70. The Cubs will celebrate him during the Convention in a seminar called “Remembering Ronnie,” to be held Saturday at the Hilton Chicago. Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins plus Glenn Beckert, Randy Hundley, Milt Pappas and Jose Cardenal will share some of stories about their teammate.
Who will take over for Santo? It most likely will not be Mark Grace or Rick Sutcliffe, two fan favorites. Grace is currently an analyst for the Diamondbacks and does work for FOX TV, while Sutcliffe signed a new contract with ESPN. The Cubs and WGN Radio are looking for a former Cubs player to do the job, but they want someone who can commit to the full 162-game schedule.
– Carrie Muskat
12/23 Cubs search for Santo replacement
The Cubs and WGN Radio have begun their search to find a new analyst to partner with play-by-play man Pat Hughes and fill Ron Santo’s seat in the booth. Santo died Dec. 3. He was 70.
“We wanted to do this as respectfully as we could,” WGN-AM 720 sports director Dave Eanet told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s not something we wanted to plunge right into. But we’re not too far from Spring Training and there is a vacant seat in the booth. Having said that, we know we’re not going to replace Ron Santo.”
The Cubs and WGN will work together in the search. Hughes, who received a five-year extension through the 2015 season on Monday, has been consulted. Eanet said they hope to have a decision in time for the Cubs Convention, Jan. 14-16 at the Hilton Chicago.
The job description on the Tribune Co.’s website says the preferred candidate will have played with the Cubs or have played Major League baseball with previous broadcast experience as a game analyst. Eanet said it’s not a prerequisite that Santo’s replacement be a former Cubs player.
Who would you like to hear on the radio?
– Carrie Muskat
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