http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/co ... olumn.html

Few notes:
1) He has cerebral palsy and he can still get to 1st faster than Konerko ever could.
2) He's only 32
3) He's from Homewood and grew up a Sox fan

He will be calling games for the White Sox from now until he dies or retires. We will all get to know him well.

The Will To Walk

btw I think he's gonna be pretty good.

Much like the McKnight hire, its an upgrade..It be near impossible to find somebody worse than Rongey-Squawk Harrelson.

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Here is the article courtesy of Apple News:

Jason Benetti has an interesting choice for a YouTube link on his Twitter page. The video is a classic Monty Python bit called, "The Ministry of Silly Walks." It is wonderfully absurd with John Cleese and others strutting around in ridiculous ways.

"Hilarious," Benetti said.

Now it would be horribly cruel to say Benetti walks silly. However, as a result of suffering from cerebral palsy, he has what best can be described as an awkward gait. His walk can look so labored that he often is asked if he needs a wheelchair while at an airport.

Benetti knows people's first impressions come from seeing his walk. Posting the Python video not only shows his self-deprecating side, it also is a subtle way of saying there's much more to him than how he gets around.

"It's a wry nod to myself," Benetti said. "How I walk is part of my life. I do get different responses than people who walk, let's say, more common. That's fine. I just have this hope we all can say, 'Let's look a bit deeper.' "

White Sox fans soon will get to know Benetti. The team is set to announce Wednesday that he will be its new TV play-by-play voice for almost all of the home games at U.S. Cellular Field in 2016.

Ken Harrelson will be working a reduced schedule. With a few exceptions, the 74-year-old announcer will be calling the Sox road games, saving him the 180-mile, round-trip grind of commuting to games at U.S. Cellular Field from his home in South Bend, Ind. Analyst Steve Stone will be back, working with Harrelson and Benetti.

The Sox chose Benetti, 32, after an extensive search. A graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School who grew up in Homewood as a Sox fan, Benetti has been doing play-by-play on college football and basketball for ESPN since 2011. He was on the call Thursday for the network's coverage of the Illinois-Michigan State game. On the baseball side, Benetti, who attended Syracuse, did five years of play-by-play for the Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, through 2014.

Benetti has compelling storylines as a young man from this area who has cerebral palsy. However, the Sox insist those aren't the reasons he got the job.

"He got the job because he's really a good broadcaster, not because of the side stories," Brooks Boyer, the White Sox chief marketing officer, said. "What stands out is his ability to broadcast a game."

Benetti has a strong advocate in Len Kasper. When Boyer called the Cubs TV voice looking for input on candidates, Benetti was at the top of Kasper's list.

"I told Brooks, 'You better grab this guy before someone else does,' " Kasper said. "When I strongly suggest somebody, that means I think (the person) is going to be great. You know the 'it' factor? It's hard to describe, but Jason has 'it.' "

Benetti admits landing his "dream job" still seems surreal. During a photo shoot Monday, he sat in the TV booth at U.S. Cellular Field for the first time.

"I'm used to sitting out there," said Benetti, pointing to the outfield seats. "This is going to be my office. It's hard to wrap my head about it."

The story is even more unlikely given the challenges Benetti has faced. The only child of Rob and Sue Benetti, Jason was born 10 weeks premature. After being diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a condition that primarily affects body movement and muscle coordination and often is caused by damage to the brain before or at birth, he went through three extensive surgeries that left him in casts from the waist down. Benetti spent part of first grade in a wheelchair and eventually had to wear braces on his legs.

His parents, who now live in Mokena, say they never focused on any limitations with Jason.

"If anything, having cerebral palsy made him work harder to excel," Rob Benetti said. "We're beaming with pride. He has been my idol for a long time."

Looking back, Sue recalls his broadcast roots started at an early age.

"We always heard him calling video games in his room," said Sue, a lifelong Sox fan.

Benetti got his first experience working for the radio station at Homewood-Flossmoor. He said it proved to be a transformative moment for a teenager who knew he was different.

"I didn't know it at the time, but put me behind a microphone, and some of the inhibitions are gone," Benetti said. "I ended up knowing I could be very useful in some area. That I have a skill to do this thing."

Benetti did pursue a backup plan, completing his law degree at Wake Forest in 2011. However, he never took the bar exam, as his career took off at ESPN. Benetti will continue to work for the network during the baseball offseason.

Benetti, who now walks without braces, doesn't see himself as being disabled.

"I have no physical limitations, other than I probably won't beat you in a footrace," he said.

From a broadcast standpoint, cerebral palsy has left him with what he calls "a drifting eye." As a result, he can appear as if he isn't looking into the camera. He has received tweets from people saying, "Hey, look over here."

That's why Benetti is eager to work regularly on Sox games.

"That's the awesome thing about this situation," Benetti said. "White Sox fans will get to know me. They'll get used to whatever quirks come with me."

Benetti believes after the initial announcement of his Sox hiring, his cerebral palsy quickly will be a non-story. However, working in a local market, where the viewer connections run deeper compared to national telecasts, he likely will be seen even more as a symbol of what is possible for people facing similar situations.

Benetti works with the Cerebral Palsy Association and has met with individuals with disabilities. Yet he doesn't want to be defined as someone who has cerebral palsy, saying "it's a small part of who I am."

"Do I see myself as an example?" said Benetti, repeating the question. "I don't wake up and say I want to inspire today. I wake up and say I want to do a really great job. If people can derive some hope from what I do, that means I am doing my job the right way."

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I thought Jerry only wanted former athletes in the booth?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

The beginning of the end for the Hawk era. It was/is inevitable, but its still sad. Hawk will be sorely missed, and many Sox fans will not know what they have/had until he is gone for good. For all of Hawk's faults, he is one of the few remaining characters in the game.

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After graduating from SyracuseBenetti enrolled at Wake Forest University where he attended for three years. Benetti would graduate Wake Forest with a law degree,

any thought GD ...JORR?

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No wonder Bernstein is sucking him off already.

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I don't know anything about that guy. I'm not a big Hawk fan, but it will be strange when he's gone.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

it's not , so a giant improvement

No shit. He was the worst.


Steve, why does the shortstop stand on the left side of the infield? Steve, why do pitchers throw breaking balls?

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Pro: better pay and job for life
Con: smaller audience than AAA gig and worse team

if Blair's cousin could have CP and be a comic, I have no doubt someone with the affliction will do fine in the Sox booth

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

As if Hawk could ever be replaced

Farmio gonna be pissed losing his status as the only handicapped announcer the Sox have.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

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

It's going to be awesome when we discover that Jason Benetti hates umpires more than Hawk.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Good luck Jason, I look forward to hearing your call.

He has a law degree. He should be a Cub executive.

I know nothing about the guy or his work. I do know he went to Homewood Flossmore so that Sir will be claiming him as part of his broadcasting tree.

I always question the sanity of people who go to law school without any intention of practicing. He's probably from a wealthy Flossmore family who allowed him to explore his interests. Not to stereotype but a south side Italian sounds like a backround that will work in the booth.

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

I for one like hearing stories about the players from the 50's and 60's. The guys Hawk grew up watching . There are fewer and fewer announcers left who saw those guys play and can speak about them. I'll miss Hawk a lot when he fully retires.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

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

Don't care.

Sign Justin Upton.

His family is connected in Da Heights for sure. That's why this guy none of us ever heard of got this job.

How long before JORR claims he is really a Cub fan?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Hasn't Syracuse provided a string of great broadcasters?

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Elections have consequences.

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

I did remove the non-sports people..like Dick Clark.

from Wikipedia:


Marv Albert – sportscaster
David Amber – reporter, ESPN
Damon Amendolara – sportscaster
Gary Apple – sports anchor, SNY
Michael Barkann - Sportscaster, Comcast SportsNet, 94WIP Philadelphia
Len Berman – sportscaster
Matthew Berry – ESPN fantasy sports analyst
Contessa Brewer – broadcast journalist, MSNBC
Samantha Brown – TV host
Steve Bunin – sportscaster, ESPN
Ryan Burr – sportscaster, ESPN & NBC & GolfChannel
Craig Carton – Co-Host, Boomer and Carton in the Morning, WFAN NY
Joe Castiglione – Boston Red Sox radio announcer
Michael Cole – WWE commentator
Ed Coleman – sportscaster, WFAN NY
Bob Costas – sportscaster, NBC Sports and MLB Network
Ian Eagle – sportscaster, CBS and YES
Marty Glickman – sportscaster
Ariel Helwani – MMA journalist
Sean McDonough – sportscaster, ESPN
Greg Papa – sportscaster, Oakland Raiders
Dave Pasch – sportscaster, ESPN
Dan Roche – sportscaster, WBZ-TV, Boston, MA
Dave Ryan – sportscaster, ESPN
Adam Schein – SNY, Sirius XM Satellite radio NFL
Anish Shroff- ESPNews Anchor
Jayson Stark – journalist, sportscaster, ESPN
Dick Stockton – sportscaster
Mike Tirico – sportscaster, ABC
Adam Zucker - sportscaster/anchor, CBS Sports Network

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Here Are Those Tirico Stories We Hinted At Last Week


Last week, while discussing Harold Reynolds' firing from ESPN for sexual harassment, we — in retrospect, somewhat flippantly — pointed out that what Reynolds was accused of paled in comparison to some of the allegations against Mike Tirico in Mike Freeman's 2000 book ESPN: An Uncensored History. We'd read the book, so we assumed the passages about Tirico had entered the general lexicon. We were wrong; you pretty much can't find them anywhere on Google.



So, allow us to change that. The book — which was released in trade paperback by relatively small publishing company Taylor Trade Publishing — is in front of us, and we're summarize some fun passages for you. It's worth noting, by the way, that Tirico, ultimately, comes across positively in the book, as a family man who had a problem and did what he could to help himself get "well." And it still doesn't take down the classic "Gary Miller shaving his ass at a party" story, which is probably unbeatable.

But that doesn't make it any less salacious. After the jump, the book's top Tirico passages.

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The first Tirico story involves him hitting on a woman and stalking her after a house party in fall 1992. The woman was a production assistant and "considered an up-and-coming talent," and Tirico went up to her at the party and said "you're the most beautiful woman in here." She walked away, but he kept following her around the party until she finally snapped, "Why don't you fuck off? Get away from me." As she and friends hopped in their car and pulled out of the party, Tirico stepped in front of the car and made the woman stop. "You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen and I think I'm in love with you," Tirico said. She tried to roll up her window and take off, but Tirico stuck his hand in and tried to wedge it between her thighs. She got away, and the next morning, when they saw each other in the ESPN parking lot, he walked up to her, and she expected him to apologize. Instead, he said, "all I did all day was think about you."

In another story, one female producer — who had been to dinner with Tirico and his fiancee — was startled to receive an email from him saying that he wanted to sleep with her. Later, when the staff went to a bar after a late night covering the NCAA tournament, Tirico approached her and said, "I wish I was single. If I were, I'd throw you on the table right here and fuck your brains out." After she tried to excuse him as drunk, he persisted: "I know you want to screw me. So let's leave." Later, he followed her on the highway and tried to get her to pull over, unsuccessfully.

Tirico was ultimately suspended for three months and is interviewed in the book, where he, like Reynolds, calls the incidents "misunderstandings." He is now doing "Monday Night Football" and is still married.

very tribey

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

He looks like the nerdy guy in a group of teens from the 50's

Like I said, I don't know anything about him. But there are plenty of Cub fans from Homewood and Da Heights.

Anyway, I know you were taking a shot, but I certainly wasn't wrong when I said Mac, North, and bernstein are all Cub fans.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Well hopefully he ends up like some of them.

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Elections have consequences.