So, it’s media day for the Bulls and so far the biggest news comes from the media side of the team. Longtime play-by-play man for the Bulls, Neil Funk, will be cutting back his broadcasting duties for the 2018-19 season.
Funk, 71, joined the Bulls in 1991, as the radio play-by-play announcer and in 2008 he took over the play-by-play job on TV. Now, he’ll be cutting 20 road games for this season’s schedule.
The Bulls announced that Funk will be cutting 20 Bulls road games from his schedule this season. He will, however, be on the call for every preseason game and every home game for the Bulls this season.
“I’m thrilled to be back for another year calling Bulls games,” Funk said in a press release. “The Bulls are such a terrific organization both on and off the court. I want to thank both Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf for their understanding and for allowing me to take a small step back in my broadcasting schedule after all these years.”
So, Stacey King will have someone else next to him for 20 games, however Funk’s replacement or replacements have not yet been revealed.
In the 20 games Funk will be absent, the Bulls plan to slot various play-by-play announcers alongside Funk’s partner, Stacey King. Who those announcers will be is not finalized just yet.
The easiest thing to do would be to have radio play-by-play man Chuck Swirsky fill in for Funk.
My suggestion? Thanks for asking. How about White Sox play-by-play man Jason Benetti?
He’s not just a baseball announcer, as Benetti also broadcasts college football and college basketball games for ESPN. However, it might be difficult for Benetti to also do Bulls games because he has an extremely busy schedule with his ESPN responsibilities.
But hey, Benetti would be a familiar voice for Bulls fans and he’s pretty damn good at this whole sports broadcasting thing.
We’ll eventually find out who the fill-in announcer will be, but it’s pretty obvious that Funk’s time is starting to come to an end with the Bulls.
