The Marquee Sports Network will debut in February and despite Steve Stone throwing out the possibility that he might go back to doing Cubs games on TV, The Athletic is reporting that Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies will return as the Cubs TV duo next season.
Via The Athletic.
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.
“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.”
Kasper has been the Cubs play-by-play man since 2005, with Deshaies joining him in the TV booth at the start of the 2013 season.
Mike Santini has been hired away from MLB Network to be Marquee’s head of programming and production and he might bring some on-air talent from MLB Network over to Marquee.
Industry sources have identified MLB Network personalities Ryan Dempster, Mark DeRosa and Dan Plesac as logical fits somewhere on Marquee’s programming. Ex-Cub Doug Glanville has also gotten good reviews for his multimedia work (including with The Athletic), which blends his Ivy League education and nine years of experience as a big-league outfielder.
“Nothing’s off the table,” Santini said. “We’re looking at a lot of different things. I would say ‘stay tuned’ on that. We’re really lucky that we have Jim Deshaies and Len. But our booth’s going to be special. I think there’s going to be some fun little surprises that we’ll make people aware of in the next couple months.”
Ooooh, surprises!
Anyway, give this a read, as it includes a lot more info on Marquee.
