Veteran Play-By-Play Announcer and Long-Time Fire Analyst Team Up for Locally Televised Fire Matches
CHICAGO, IL (March 24, 2010) – The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced today that Dan Kelly and Chris Doran will become the official voice of the Chicago Fire for all regionally televised Fire matches during the 2010 MLS season. The Fire will announce their official broadcast partners for the 2010 MLS season at a later date. Kelly and Doran’s first night in the booth will be the Fire’s Opening Night at TOYOTA PARK against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, April 10 at 7:30 PM CT.
“We are excited to have Dan and Chris as part of the Fire family,” said Fire President Dave Greeley. “Dan will provide Fire fans with an authentic voice and understanding of the action on the field, while Chris offers fans an inside perspective of the Fire’s history and winning tradition. We look forward to having these two represent the Chicago Fire as we grow our fan base on a local and national level.”
In addition to announcing Fire games on regional television, Kelly and Doran will host the Fire Post Game Show for all evening games (6:00 PM CT start time or later) and contribute to other Chicago Fire media platforms.
Kelly returns to the Chicago sports scene after two seasons as the Denver University men’s hockey play-by-play announcer. Prior to his time with DU, Kelly was the play-by-play announcer for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks on Comcast SportsNet Chicago from 2006-08 and for MLS games on HDNet in 2005. From 2000-2004, Kelly served as the television play-by-play announcer for the Columbus Blue Jackets and as the radio announcer for the St. Louis Blues from 1997-2000. Kelly comes from a family of well-established play-by-play broadcasters. His father, the late Dan Kelly, Sr., was the legendary voice of the St. Louis Blues for 21 seasons and his brother, John Kelly, is the current voice of the Blues.
In his ninth consecutive season as a member of the Fire broadcast team, Doran returns to provide prospective on the beautiful game. He was the Fire’s first English radio play-by-play host, he then transitioned to sideline reporter and to his current spot as analyst in 2008. Doran’s provided soccer coverage for Fox Soccer Channel, Soccer United Marketing, the Big Ten Network and CSTV. He’s been the radio voice of Indiana University soccer since 1995 and is an accomplished club and high school coach.
Chicago Fire Waive Goalkeeper Jon Busch
2008 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Started Every MLS Game for the Fire in 2008 and 2009
CHICAGO, IL (March 22, 2010) – The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced today that the club has waived goalkeeper Jon Busch. The Albany, NY product joined the club in March 2007 after being picked up through waivers. Serving as the understudy to Matt Pickens his first year in Chicago, Busch went on to appear in 66 straight MLS regular season and playoff matches, playing every minute from 2008-09. The 2008 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year manned the Fire net 79 times in all competitions during his three seasons in Chicago, going 31-25-23 while earning 27 shutouts. He helped lead the club to back-to-back Eastern Conference finals as well as the 2009 SuperLiga final.
“We want to thank Jon for all his contributions to the club, both on and off the pitch,” said Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas. “We wish him nothing but the very best moving forward.”
Busch began his professional career in the USISL after going undrafted by MLS clubs in 1997. From 1997-01, the UNC-Charlotte product plied his trade in the minor leagues, playing for the Carolina Dynamo, Worcester Wildfire, Hampton Roads Mariners and Hershey Wildcats, leading the latter to the A-League Championship match, en route to being named Goalkeeper of the year in 2001.
Busch made the jump to Major League Soccer in 2002 with the Columbus Crew, where he helped backstop the club to their first ever trophy that year, winning the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 1-0 over the L.A. Galaxy.
Having played in 147 MLS regular season matches Busch is 60-43-42 over the course of his MLS career. He sits in the Top 10 all-time for all league goalkeeping categories, and is currently number one in all-time saves percentage at 75.9%. He has a career goals against average of 1.20, which stands for fifth all-time.
2010 CHICAGO FIRE KICKOFF LUNCHEON SOLD OUT
The Chicago Fire Foundation announced today that today’s 2010 Chicago Fire Season Kickoff Luncheon at the Swissotel Chicago sold out. The annual event benefits the Chicago Fire Foundation, the charitable sector of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club.
Prominent Chicago sports anchor Jim Rose moderated a Fire Side Chat with Fire forward Brian McBride, Head Coach Carlos de los Cobos and Technical Director Frank Klopas. Fans and media in attendance met the team ahead of the 2010 MLS season (which kicks off Saturday night), and participated in a “wine lottery” and silent auction, with the proceeds being donated to the Chicago Fire Foundation.