David Kaplan (radio)

For other people of the same name, see David Kaplan (disambiguation).
David Kaplan
Born November 19, 1960
Chicago, IL
Show Chicago Tribune Live
Sports Night
Station(s) WGN Radio, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, WMVP
Spouse(s) Mindy[1]
Children Brett, Nicholas, Alex, Garret[1]
Website [http://www.csnchicago.com/pages/the_kapman

David Kaplan is an American columnist, radio and television personality who hosted the radio program Sports Central on WGN Radio in Chicago. He is also the host of Chicago Tribune Live: a daily sports roundtable discussion show on Comcast SportsNet in Chicago. In addition, he co-authored the award winning "Around Town" column in the Chicago Tribune with longtime writer Fred Mitchell from 2009-2011. Kaplan is also the pre and postgame host for CSN's Chicago Cubs broadcasts where he partners with former Chicago Cubs outfielder and 1996 National League Rookie of the Year Todd Hollandsworth. Kaplan is now the co-host of WGN Radio's highly rated evening talk show "Sports NIght" which is a nightly talk show that airs weeknights from 7-10 p.m. His on air partners are former comedian Brian "The Big Funny" Noonan and well respected news anchor Andrea "The Petite Pepper Pot" Darlas and the show has received tremendous praise for their ability to cover sports and other topics outside the sports world in a very entertaining manner. He has also appeared as a guest on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and he was in the highly acclaimed documentary "Hoop Dreams" during his basketball scouting days.[2]

Kaplan grew up in Skokie, Illinois and is a graduate of Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he received a bachelor's degree in English.[1][3] He formerly was a basketball coach at Northern Illinois University, and a scout for two NBA teams: the Indiana Pacers and the Seattle SuperSonics.[1] Kaplan worked at Chicago sports radio station WMVP-AM before joining WGN (AM)'s sports staff as a reporter in 1995.[1][3][4]

He became the host of Sports Central at WGN in 95' and it quickly became Chicago radio's #1 rated sports talk show. He and former Chicago Bears star Tom Waddle co-hosted the show for just over 10 years which at the time was the longest on air sports talk duo in Chicago radio history. After Waddle left to join ESPN Radio in February 2007 Kaplan hosted the show on a solo basis until March, 2010. It was the longest-running sports talk show in Chicago (began in 1982), until March, 2010 when the former Program Director Kevin Metheny, who was characterized in the Howard Stern movie Private Parts as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton opted to replace the program with a non-sports oriented talk show.[3][4][5][6] In December 2010, Kaplan signed a new long term contract to stay at WGN Radio as the primary host of a new evening talk show called WGN Sports Night. He is the only broadcaster in Chicago TV or radio history to host a daily radio show, a daily TV show, and write a regular column in a major newspaper all at the same time.[7]

In January 2008, Kaplan was named the host of Chicago Tribune Live on Comcast SportsNet.[8] “CTL” airs live Monday-Friday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and is a roundtable discussion of the hot stories in the sports world featuring Kaplan and a panel of guests including writers from the Chicago Tribune. In November 2009 he and the staff of Chicago Tribune Live were awarded the prestigious Emmy Award for Best Interview Program for their work on CTL.[9] Kaplan signed a long-term agreement with Comcast on December 15, 2010. The new contract calls for him to also host the Chicago Cubs pre-and post game Comcast shows and to receive his own space for news reporting and a blog on the Comcast SportsNet Chicago website called "The Kap Man".[3][10]

Currently, Kaplan also calls college basketball and football games for various conferences and he has been the announcer for the Chicago professional lacrosse team: the Chicago Machine; he was also the announcer for the Chicago Shamrox.[8] In 2011 Kaplan played a prominent role in the highly acclaimed ESPN documentary "Catching Hell" which chronicled the story of the 2003 Chicago Cubs and fan Steve Bartman who was thrust into the spotlight when the Cubs failed to win Game 6 of the National League Championship Series after leading 3-0 in the 8th inning at Wrigley Field.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "David Kaplan Bio". WGN Radio. http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/sportscentral/wgnam-sportscentral-information,0,1106767.story. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 
  2. ^ Kaplan, David, Mitchell, Fred (8 November 2010). "Around Town". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-08/sports/ct-spt-1109-around-town--20101108_1_emmys-award-winners-honor-roll. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 
  3. ^ a b c d Larz (15 December 2010). "David Kaplan Signs Long-Term Contract Extension With Comcast SportsNet Chicago". http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/1259-david-kaplan-signs-long-tern-contract-extension-with-comcast-sportsnet-chicago. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 
  4. ^ a b Feder, Robert (5 April 2010). "Kaplan leaves 'Sports Central' with classy farewell". WBEZ. http://www.wbez.org/feder/2010/04/kaplan-leaves-sports-central-with-classy-farewell/19781. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 
  5. ^ Rosenthal, Phil (25 March 2010). "WGN-AM recasts Kaplan, gives Laski 'Sports Central' slot". Chicago Tribune. http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2010/03/wgn-cubs-sports-central-david-kaplan-jim-laski-show.html. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 
  6. ^ Feder, Robert (12 November 2010). "‘Pig Virus’ quarantined: Metheny, Laski driven out from WGN". WBEZ. http://www.wbez.org/blog/robert-feder/%E2%80%98pig-virus%E2%80%99-quarantined-metheny-laski-driven-out-wgn. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 
  7. ^ "Sports Central". WGN Radio. http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/sportscentralweekend/wgnam-sports-central-weekend-about,0,6444828.htmlstory. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 
  8. ^ a b "Anchors". CSNChicago. http://www.csnchicago.com/pages/talent_anchors. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 
  9. ^ Greenfield, Jimmy (9 November 2010). "Congratulations to ChicagoNow's Emmy winners!". Chicago Now. http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/staff-blog/2009/11/congratulations-to-chicagonows-emmy-winners.html. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 
  10. ^ Rosenthal, Phil (15 December 2010). "David Kaplan gets new deal at CSN Chicago". Chicago Tribune. http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2010/12/david-kaplan-gets-new-deal-at-csn-chicago-.html. Retrieved 19 December 2010.