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Cubs fill TV booth with Kasper

 

 

Saturday, November 20, 2004

 

 

 

 

By Jeff Vorva

Staff writer

 

 

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It looks as if Len Kasper will have no trouble calling Cubs games and pitching in to sing during the seventh-inning stretch.

It also looks as if Kasper will have no trouble calling a Cubs game at Wrigley Field in the afternoon, walking across the street and singing some tunes at the Cubby Bear or Cabaret Metro at night, if he so desires.

 

Friday, the 33-year-old Kasper agreed to a multiyear deal with the Cubs, WGN-TV and Comcast SportsNet Chicago to become the team's TV play-by-play man. He replaces Chip Caray, who joined the Atlanta Braves broadcast team after the 2004 season ended.

 

Kasper spent the last three seasons as the play-by-play man for the Florida Marlins

 

During a lengthy broadcasting tour of duty in Wisconsin, Kasper had time for some side work. He was the lead singer for a pair of rock bands ? Your Intended Servants and the Knowledge ? in the Milwaukee area. Your Intended Servants even recorded a CD, "Serf's Up," which included a power pop cover of ABBA's "Does Your Mother Know?"

 

Most Cubs fans are more concerned as to how Kasper calls a game rather than his singing exploits.

 

Kasper and new color analyst Bob Brenly have their work cut out for them. They will have to win over Cubs fans who have been used to the Harry Caray-Steve Stone and Chip Caray-Stone combinations for much of the past 20 years.

 

"I understand that because the Cubs have had so many great broadcasters," Kasper said late Friday night. "But I feel like working with Bob Brenly is going to make me better. He's been a catcher, a coach and a World Series manager. He's kind of done everything and it will be great working alongside him."

 

If past performance in winning people over counts, Kasper should be in good shape. Some in Wisconsin loved his work and personality so much that they created a fan club ? and nickname ? for him. They call him "Lenny Ballgame" on their Len Kasper Fan Club Web site.

 

Kasper seemed to be a hit in Florida as well. When news reached Miami that he was no longer going to be calling games for the Marlins, reaction on one Marlins fans Web site was mostly of frustration.

 

"Noooooooooo!" was one reaction.

 

"Why??????????" was another.

 

"Can the Marlins hold on to anyone?" one Web poster wondered. "Next thing you know the Mermaids and Billy the Marlin will sign with the Red Sox for 6-year, $54-million deals."

Kasper, ESPN's Dave O'Brien and San Diego Padres broadcaster Matt Vasgersian were finalists for the Cubs position. Earlier in the week, O'Brien was reportedly offered the job and had to turn it down when ESPN would not let him out of the final year of his contract.

 

Kasper had replaced O'Brien in the Marlins broadcast booth in 2002. Kasper also served as an occasional fill-in for Vasgersian for three years with the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

Raised in Michigan, Kasper was a fan of legendary Detroit Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell. Kasper graduated from Marquette University in 1993 and served as a morning anchor for WTMJ radio in Milwaukee shortly after that. He was also a pregame and halftime host on the Green Bay Packers Radio Network.

 

He worked part-time as the Brewers' play-by-play voice (1999-2001) before heading to Florida.

 

"Len is a talented young broadcaster who brings strong experience to the booth," Cubs senior vice president of marketing and broadcasting, John McDonough said. "We're thrilled to have him with us."

 

Because of network rights to postseason games, Kasper did not call the 2003 National League Championship Series between the Cubs and Marlins. He was doing pre- and postgame radio work for the Marlins, and was at Wrigley Field during Game 6, in which the Cubs were five outs away from a World Series berth before the Marlins scored eight runs in the eighth inning to win 8-3. The Marlins went on to win the next night to advance to the World Series.

 

"I'll never forget the feeling at Wrigley Field (before the Cubs' eighth-inning collapse)," Kasper said. "You could feel the excitement in the park. The Cubs were going to the World Series. Then things changed in about three minutes.

 

"That's something I will never forget. But now I hope I can be a part of a Cubs team that makes it to the World Series and wins it."

 

Funny how they don't mention the part about why it had to be the Cubs, which I believe was part of that post. Oh well, good to know that people check here for reaction to Marlins related news though.

Holy s***. Thats hilarious. They included a direct quote from our site. LMAO

Fritz is famous. :o

 

The whole point of that was probably to laugh at our misfortune, but its still kew.

That is beyond cool

That's pretty awesome!

I will presume that new member we had last night named, "Cub Fan" was the writer of this story.

That is awesome!

 

:thumbup

They quoeted my "Nooooooooo".

That is so tight!! :lol

props to jeff vorva for doing something our big south florida newspapers are incapable of doing...researching this site for reaction.

Nice. :thumbup

Thats freakin awesome

By far one of the best things i've seen all day.

wow, thats friggin awsome. dont let the fame go to your heads!

nice!

shweeet...

wow, how cool!

That's beyond awesomeness.

That's awesome, but damn they should have mentioned that the quotes were from users on www.marlinsbaseball.com rather than "Marlins Fan Site." But it's all good, because if you go onto Google and type in "Marlins Fan Site" MB.com pops right up at the top .

 

I wonder if Le Batard reads MB.com :lol

wow, thats friggin awsome. dont let the fame go to your heads!

618333[/snapback]

:lol

Admin's re-doing his resume as we speak......

 

 

Job Experience

1994 to now

Creator of Internationally known and frequently quoted sports website

 

 

I hear VH1 is developing an "I love MarlinsBaseball.com" series for the Fall.