Quote:Did Marquee have a shot or no shot at signing The Kapman?



The games will be the star of this channel. But David Kaplan is a uniquely Chicago character passionate, polarizing and generous with his time and insight who could have brought his megaphone and nonstop energy to Marquees Clark Street studio next season.



That would have marked Kaplans 26th year hosting Cubs pre- and postgame shows on radio or TV, according to the Sun-Times. After months of speculation, Kaplan recently decided to extend his contract with NBC Sports instead of jumping to a start-up network that is still assembling its leadership structure.



Sinclairs pursuit of the 21 Fox regional sports networks in a $10 billion deal with Disney may have slowed down Marquees process in this case.



I dont think the Sinclair/Fox transaction effected that, Kenney said. We had reached out to Kap to see if he was interested. And, listen, I dont know if I said this publicly, but I know I said it to him in a phone call when they called to say he was going to (stay with NBC): Its a great move for the network and its a great move for Kap.



Hes obviously been so linked to our team. A lot of people say hes the natural person to come over. But hes also the natural person to stay because theyre going to need to heavy-up their Cubs coverage without the games, so hes the perfect person to be the voice of the Cubs when you dont (have the games). Like most of the networks that dont have the Bears, they heavy-up on former Bears players and everyone has their Bears show.



The Cubs and Sinclair are still planning to keep play-by-play man Len Kasper and analyst Jim Deshaies together in the Wrigley Field booth. McCarthy has a proven ability to identify TV talent. Chicago figures to be a destination market for some current employees within those 21 Fox regional sports networks.



Marquee can also try to draw upon existing connections to the team: NBC Sports Chicago sideline reporter Kelly Crull; Cubs special assistant/MLB Network personality Ryan Dempster; ex-Cub/multimedia analyst Doug Glanville; Double-A Tennessee broadcaster Mick Gillispie (who already calls games on Cubs.com with Kasper in spring training).



Kap does an amazing job, Kenney said. Were thrilled that our fans will be able to see Kap talking about our team, I believe, on NBC. Thats awesome. Its a win-win. He got a nice deal. The network continues to have their connection to us. And then well have to build a new talent around our pre- and postgame with Len and J.D. doing the games themselves.

Quote:Luis is the only one from that group that I can tolerate. Danny Rocket is one strange dude.

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Marquee is still in the process of finalizing deals with Kasper and Deshaies, two smart, low-maintenance broadcasters who diligently prepare, maintain good relationships in the clubhouse, treat behind-the-scenes people well and never embarrass the organization with tone-deaf commentary about modern players and the modern game.

McCarthy echoed what Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney said when the team announced the Sinclair partnership in February, emphasizing there is “no doubt” that Kasper and Deshaies will be in the Wrigley Field broadcast booth next year.

“They are coming back, for sure,” McCarthy said. “They are going to be the play-by-play and color guy here. And everything else we’re talking about is enhancing that reality.”