Basher Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Love him or hate him, this is definitely the end of an era in Raptors basketball. I shudder when I think about who may step in. Bulls shake up broadcast teams Bulls shake up broadcast teamsBy Ed ShermanTribune reporterMay 6, 2008, 1:33 PM CDTThe Bulls have done a major shake-up in their television and radio booths.Out are Wayne Larrivee, the play-by-play voice for the games on WGN-Ch. 9, and Tom Dore, the voice for the games on Comcast Sports Net.Also, long-time analyst Johnny Kerr will have a much reduced roll, working the pre-game and halftime shows for home games.The Bulls have decided to move radio voice Neil Funk to handle the call on television. Former WGN-Ch. 9 sports personality Chuck Swirsky will return to town to call play-by-play on radio. Currently, Swirsky holds a similar post for the Toronto Raptors.According to sources, the Bulls will make a formal announcement later this afternoon.The move involving Kerr doesn't come as a surprise. The rigors of the travel were getting to be too much for the veteran announcer.However, the ouster of Larrivee and Dore was not expected. They had been in their positions since the early 1990s. Copyright © 2008, ChicagoSports.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 (edited) Nooooooooooo!!! Chuck! All honesty, I havent listened to his radio show in over a year, but man, was that guy whacko. Seriously, absolutely nuts. Not in the cool way either, mostly in the innocent, embarassing way. He'll be a tough void to fill on the airwaves, thats for sure.At the very least though, Toronto will forever have an ambassador in Chicago. He will never say a bad thing about the city, thats for sure.Wow. Sad news. In a way. Edited May 6, 2008 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 There's no talk of this on The Fan right now. I know the news is still fresh, but he's under contract and a new Canadian citizen, whatever all this means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted May 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 At the end of his show today he announced it.It's official. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchoulia Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 And I got an email from him telling me the news... I'm really sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted May 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Chuck is a super-nice guy. I've had the pleasure of meeting him several times. He even got Stoned Phillips and me tickets to a Raps game in Detroit. Needless to say, I think we'll be visiting him in Chicago next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 It's good for Chuck - he loves Chicago. The Bears are his favorite team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 (edited) I dont doubt Chuck is a super nice guy, as much as hes a goof, hes a lovable goof. Its cool that you guys know him too. Ive alway wanted to meet him. I missed my chance though Edited May 6, 2008 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted May 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Well, in his announcement he made it pretty clear that it was due to personal matters, and that he had always considered himself a Raptor for life. He said that this is a step back in his career, going from TV to radio, and that he is leaving $$ on the table here.He was choking up on the air, and asked for fans to respect his privacy in this matter.Clearly this is not a "better gig" for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Wow, thats rough when you look at it that way. Wonder if the Fan/Rogers kinda forced him into it? My first thought was that it was obviously for more money, but now that you mention it, that IS sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted May 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Yeah, it is. He wasn't let go - he resigned. He said he was contact by the Bulls last week and offered the job, and that based on personal matters accepted it.I am sure he will talk about it in his blog on Raptors.com tomorrow. Or maybe Friday - he said he is off tomorrow for a root canal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 We should buy him a blizzard and send it to him. He'd like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-towns Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 I never knew how he got so pumped up for such a mediocre team, but he sure gave the raps some life on the airwaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 I'd wager his wife had a big say in all of this. Living in Brampton ain't no Chicago, or Toronto for that matter.I like Chuck as a basketball play-by-play man. If you had problems with their broadcasts, just wait to you get a load of a tandem of Raptors radio play-by-play voice Eric Smith (a likely candidate) and Leo Rautins. They ain't no Chuck and Jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakis Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 he lives in burlington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 he lives in burlington.I got my B's mixed-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakis Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 haha its not much better. too bad he's leaving i think he was a great ambassador for toronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchoulia Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 He told me he'd be at the Fan for 3 more months, so he'll still be around for a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 I pray to god that they don't move Mike Hogan into his time slot. He's bad enough as a lead-in to Chuck's show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afro poppa Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Who are they gonna get to PBP? Either way its not gonna be the same... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I pray to god that they don't move Mike Hogan into his time slot. He's bad enough as a lead-in to Chuck's show.Really? Hogan is one of the best ones on the air! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I pray to god that they don't move Mike Hogan into his time slot. He's bad enough as a lead-in to Chuck's show.Really? Hogan is one of the best ones on the air!You are insane. The only thing that saved his sagging ratings was adding Mike Toth, and he's almost as annoying as Hogan himself - he has one of the lowest, if not the lowest time-slots on The Fan. At least I don't have to listen to the tandem of Hogan/Sean McCormick or Hogan/R.J. Broadhead anymore. Sportsnet corners the market on hack announcers. Don't you find Hogan's overly forced laugh maddening? He's actually a pretty knowledgeable guy, but he's got one of those personalities that can get under your skin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothedShredder Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Mike Toth rules! That guy is a treasure. As far as Swirsky goes... he'll be missed. He was a quality guy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I pray to god that they don't move Mike Hogan into his time slot. He's bad enough as a lead-in to Chuck's show. Really? Hogan is one of the best ones on the air! You are insane. The only thing that saved his sagging ratings was adding Mike Toth' date=' and he's almost as annoying as Hogan himself - he has one of the lowest, if not the lowest time-slots on The Fan. At least I don't have to listen to the tandem of Hogan/Sean McCormick or Hogan/R.J. Broadhead anymore. Sportsnet corners the market on hack announcers. Don't you find Hogan's overly forced laugh maddening? He's actually a pretty knowledgeable guy, but he's got one of those personalities that can get under your skin.[/quote'] That's funny, cuxz of ALL the guys on the fan i always found Hogans personality to be the most "normal." He always just seemed like "one of the guys" to me. Then again, im not surprised you and I would feel differnetly on this either, what with the 3 times we've ever agreed with each other over the years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I've actually met Hogan and co-presented an award with him for the Radio and Television awards show back in the mid 90's. He's a nice guy, but he can drive me crazy on-air. Bobcat is a notable and notorious bastard, but he has by far the most compelling sports show on any broadcasting format in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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