Smokies Radio Network

Two Wonderful Days at Minute Maid Park Doing games in Arizona was great, but Friday was very special to me because it was the first time I got to broadcast a game in a Major League stadium.  The Cubs faced off against the Astros at Minute Maid Park and I got to fly the charter […]

A Recap of Thursday’s Christina-Taylor Green Game Last Thursday, the Dodgers and Cubs hosted a charity game in Tucson for the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Foundation (which we discussed in our last blog).   It turned out to be a wonderful event, and when I got to Tucson, I realized people weren’t at the game just to […]

A Special Game in Tucson Today I’m making the two-hour trip to Tucson where the Cubs will take on the Dodgers at 4 p.m. EST, in what will be an emotional game for reasons outside of baseball.  The proceeds from today’s game between the two clubs will go towards the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Foundation, which […]

Len & Jim Begin Their Journey This past offseason the Cubs had a position to fill in the broadcast booth when Bob Brenley, color commentator with Len Kasper on the television broadcast, left to take the same position in Arizona.  Len and Bob had been a fantastic duo on the television broadcasts for the past […]

The Flooded Desert One thing stands out here in Arizona that is different from any other placed that I’ve lived: the weather.  It doesn’t rain here very much in the desert, but when it does it’s a good rain and people here have a tough time dealing with it.  The streets and the irrigation aren’t […]

The Inspiring Story of Matt Hicks The past couple of days have been exciting here in Arizona as yesterday, the Cubs played in Mesa against the White Sox and Wednesday faced off against the Texas Rangers in Surprise. I met a guy in Surprise that I really have been looking forward to meeting, and his […]

Every year I make the trip to Mesa for Cubs spring training, I look forward to making the trip to Hohokam stadium.  But I’m looking forward to next year as the Cubs will be making their way to the new Mesa Riverview stadium located only a couple of miles away from Hohokam.  Rumors have swirled […]

One of the tough parts about Spring Training is that you sometimes have games that last longer than normal.  Wednesday’s contest between the Cubs and Dodgers provided such a game.   Our game went nearly four hours yesterday, which about an hour longer than what a normal regular season game would run. However, Len and I […]

By Mick Gillispie / Smokies Radio Network On Monday, the Cubs played the Dodgers.  Surprisingly, I did not hit any traffic and I got to Glendale really early.  I noticed there was a different buzz in the press box.  The Dodgers broadcast engineer came in to talk to me and told me they were doing the game […]

By Mick Gillispie / Smokies Radio Network I am normally at the ballpark by 8 a.m. on game days, but I couldn’t get there because of issues getting my rental car. Add that to the worry of missing my flight yesterday and I was not sure if we were going to have a first broadcast.  It was […]