What’s your opinion on the sudden “ OMG PROTECT THE CHILDREN “ pearl clutching from everyone about extending the netting from foul line to foul line ? Do the people who don’t want it opinions count do you think ?

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

White Sox are going to install netting out to the foul poles but that might be to keep shirtless fans from jumping on the field to confer with the opposing team's coaches.

I call the game like the other 200 I call every season. When you watch it every day you see teams win and teams lose and sometimes guys with 6 ERAs pitch well. Sometimes guys with 1 ERAs don't. It's kinda what makes the game so interesting.

I am generally in favor of safety first. I love great sightlines, especially for TV cameras. But it's not worth people being in harm's way.

We probably should find a better way to get them to the ballpark . Driving can be pretty dangerous .

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Len, I enjoy your interviews with the 7th inning stretch guest conductors. My favorite has always been Joe Mantegna. He seems like a sincere and genuine guy not at all jaded by fame. I was wondering who your favorite interview has been and why? Thank you.

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

Occasionally when their is a nationally televised game you make yourself available for the radio broadcast. Is this part of your contract? Do you just like staying involved in each game or other?

Joe is awesome. Most singers who are Cub fans are great -- Garlin/Vedder et al.

I like doing every game if I can and I love doing radio and Pat/Ron/Zach/Mitch Rosen at the Score have all been great and generous letting me pitch in. My deal with the station is doing 4 hits a week on the 3 daytime shows plus Len & Lin on XRT and then joining the guys for the non-TV games. It allows me also to be involved in the postseason which I cherish very much.

Len,

Besides 2016, what was your favorite Cubs season to broadcast? The worst?

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Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."

you toke?...sorry , too easy.

Thanks Len.

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Len,

Love the broadcast, but three or four times every home game I hear the same vendor yelling, "HAAAAAAAT DOGS!" Have you met your Greek chorus, and have you ever purchased a hot dog from him?

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"Now comes good sailing. Moose. Indian."

Len, is a hot dog a sandwich?

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Len,

Can you hear Zach Zaidman cackling his head off at Pat's "comedy"? Can you make it stop?

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'Your AT&T Universal Card has arrived'? Oh God, Kick-fucking-ass, I got a Master Card! I don't believe it, man. Life is kinda cool sometimes.

Yeah... he sounds like a first time stoned 10th grader.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Len, was curious if you collect any baseball memorabilia and if so what?

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

Here's an honest question, Len.
What would you think of taking a picture of your scorecard after the game and posting it to your Twitter and here? I have Pat's game 7 WS that he posted and honestly it sounds stupid but I printed it and framed it for my dad and he friggin loves it.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I did the same thing, Darkside! It is absolutely not stupid and I second the question. It's a great piece of memorabilia that old school mindsets appreciate. Pat making that available was absolutely fantastic!

In this electronic and digital world, tangible scorecards and lineup cards are a piece of the game that rank right up there with actual tickets.

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

Interesting rumor. From today’s DH.

Will Kasper, Deshaies be marquee enough for Cubs?

THE MOST EARTHSHAKING CHANGE ever in the Cubs TV booth began as a whisper.
With the Cubs’ dicey Marquee Network set to launch next winter, the same kind of whistling wind is now beginning to gain resonance regarding the future of Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies as the team’s TV play-by-play tandem.

Are they marquee enough?

History: It was the summer of 1981.
MLB players were in the midst of a 49-day strike.
The Tribune Company’s ownership of the Wigglies was less than two months old.
A tip reached The Daily Herald that Harry Caray was pursuing clandestine talks with the ballclub, a potential betrothal allegedly being brokered by a major Chicago businessman.
The Daily Herald’s bearded insouciant made all of the requisite phone calls.
Caray — then in the midst of his 12th season with the White Sox but first with Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn — was deflective, saying, “Aw, what are you talking about? I’ve got a job.”
Jack Brickhouse, in his fourth decade of play-by-play with the Cubs, was only slightly more direct: “Well, that’s a good one. Harry and I together would be some act, wouldn’t it?”
So, the story went to press as informed speculation that the Cubs could be pairing Caray and Brickhouse beginning with the 1982 season.

Walter Jacobson — the former Cubs bat boy then in the middle of his great run at WBBM-Channel 2 News — said, “That could wind up being bigger than ‘The Brothers Karamazov.’”
The great Gary Deeb jumped on it and eventually made it clear that something was in the air.
Finally, four months later, Tribco president & CEO Jim Dowdle made the precise announcement as diplomatically as possible:
Caray was in. Brickhouse was out but to remain in some sort of honored role with WGN Sports.
One week after that, with their own dicey SportsVision in launch stage, Reinsdorf and Einhorn countered with a slammer:
Don Drysdale and Hawk Harrelson were on board to bring fresh and instant “big league” to the Sox TV booth.
As if Caray and Jimmy Piersall didn’t.

Back to now, Kasper and Deshaies are in their seventh season as a combo with the Cubs. (Kasper has been with the team since 2005.)
A fair summary of their work would be “competent.”
They are entertaining in much the same way Tim Kaine was entertaining as Hillary Clinton’s running mate three years ago and Maury Povich is entertaining as a talk-show host.
The duo caught a wave and sat on top of the MLB world when the Cubs won the World Series in 2016.
In the wake of that miracle, both were signed to three-year contract extensions, through the end of the current campaign.

At the time, Crane Kenney, Cubs president of business operations, said, “We think Len and J.D. are the best team in baseball.”

This week, they clearly weren’t even the best team in Chicago baseball.
Politely, during the two-game set between North and South, Jason Benetti and Steve Stone pantsed Kasper and Deshaies.

Benetti was tremendous. Kasper was fine.
Stone was very good, although he needs to ditch the Tony Romo-style predict-a-play static. (He’s wrong too often for a fellow at his level; Benetti covers for him very well.)
Deshaies — who is capable of a chatter-chatter bing-bang drollness — was “there,” like Kaine and Povich.

So with the Cubs on the threshold of a chancy new broadcast era, a window when all sizzle possible is going to be needed to push new delivery and mold new mindsets, the big Q. hangs:
Are Kasper and Deshaies “Marquee” enough?
Because cozy ain’t ca-ching.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Benetti and Stone can’t carry Kasper and JD’s jock.

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Len when do the Cubs cut bait on Darvish ? Despite your attempts to tell me how well he’s pitching it’s apparent to anyone who actually isn’t employed by the team that he’s beyond repair and will never be an asset here

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

He is going to retire to save the Cubs the money. Everyone takes less to play for the cubs.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Len, I've been watching the Cubs for over 30 years.. I'm 41. It was always nice to see the best looking broads get shown on the broadcast throughout the game. That seems to have stopped in recent years, on who's directive and why?

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They just did a real Arne Harris shot last inning.

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My Maserati does 186.

Did you see the one at the Brewers game yesterday, with the buxom young lady cheering, and, on-camera, the young lady next to her grabs and "honks" her left breast?

Many years ago, home game, there was a power outage for about 20 minutes. I think it was a Comcast game. The crew zoomed in on every girl eating a popsicle, hotdog, ice cream cone, anything that could get licked or eaten suggestively. I was at a bar, and the whole place was mesmerized.

Was that before your time Len?

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This belongs in the Wisconsin thread.

The woman in yellow is a Wisconsin 10...really cute but with that hint of corn fed.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

The blue haired Brewers fan in the middle appears to be squeezing her own boob.

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You need to get out more. Even in Wisconsin the woman in yellow is a 5.