Chicago sports fans have a connection with their teams’ announcers that’s built on a kindred spirit of “We’re in this together.”
But over the years, our local announcers have become national voices. With Marquee Sports Network hiring Jon Sciambi last week, the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks all have a TV announcer working for a national network, too. (The Bears only have local preseason broadcasts because of the NFL’s TV deals.)
Sciambi will continue to call the MLB playoffs and college basketball for ESPN, in addition to some regular-season baseball games. Sox voice Jason Benetti calls college basketball and football for ESPN.