David Kaplan

A Skokie native, David Kaplan joined Comcast SportsNet as the primary host of Chicago Tribune Live in 2008 and continues to handle play-by-play duties for a variety of locally produced college football and basketball telecasts on the network. He was also the longtime host of Sports Central on WGN Radio AM 720.Kaplan also worked as a college football and basketball play-by-play commentator for ESPN. Before coming to WGN Radio in 1995, was midday host on WMVP-AM in Chicago after the station adopted an all-sports format in November 1993. He is a former college basketball coach at Northern Illinois University (1982-86) and was a scout for both the Indiana Pacers and the Seattle Supersonics of the NBA. In 1988, Kaplan was the Player Personnel Director for the Chicago Express of the World Basketball League (WBL). His duties included drafting and signing all players, as well as trades and contracts. Kaplan has appeared as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show and appears in the movie Hoop Dreams, which is a story of the dream of two Chicago-area prep stars to reach the NBA. Kaplan attended Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., where he received a Bachelor of Arts in English and played both football and baseball. He also earned the "First Decade" award for the most outstanding performance by a Hamline alum in their first 10 years out of college. Kaplan was also named "Father of the Year" by the Illinois Fatherhood Initiative. Kaplan and his wife Mindy reside in the northern suburbs. He is the father of four teenage boys (son Brett and stepsons Nicholas, Alex and Garret). He is an avid golfer and still plays baseball as a member of the 35-and-over Chicago North Panthers of the Men's Senior Baseball League (MSBL).