The White Sox have a new radio home: WGN

It is always a good day when pitchers and catchers report to spring training, but there was additional good news Wednesday for the White Sox and their fans.

WGN-AM 720 has been named the new radio flagship of the Sox. Financial terms were not disclosed, but it is a multiyear deal, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson will remain as the team's radio broadcast pairing. WGN will carry a weekly year-round program showcasing the team, in addition to all Sox regular-season and postseason games, a pregame and postgame show and some spring training games, the Tribune report said.

This is delightful news. The Sox were about to enter into the third year of a six-year agreement with WLS-AM 890, and that deal was not working out.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge put the Sox's rights up for grabs earlier this month at the request of WLS's parent company, Cumulus Media. Cumulus asked the judge to nullify several "extremely unprofitable contracts," including those with both the Chicago Bulls and the Sox.

The judge's decision led the Bulls to jump to WSCR-AM 670, and now the Sox are on the move as well.

The South Siders will be on a much more powerful station, a station with a wider audience, and it's my belief WGN will do its part to grow fan interest in White Sox baseball.

Most people who know me are aware the Sox are my favorite pro sports team, but the Chicago Blackhawks are a close second. And I can tell you that WGN's coverage of the Hawks is quite good and far more extensive than anything WLS was doing for the Sox.

Case in point: I attended a Hawks game last month at the United Center. After the game, I tuned into WGN for the postgame, and the postgame show still was on when we arrived at my girlfriend's house in Arlington Heights, about an hour's drive later. The coverage was thorough and extensive.

In contrast, when I turn on the Sox postgame after leaving Guaranteed Rate Field, the coverage lasts maybe 15 minutes. Sometimes, the Sox coverage on WLS is over before I even get out of the Bridgeport neighborhood. There's no postgame reaction, no calls, no highlights from around the league, nothing. It's like WLS can't wait to get back to the political talk, and when that stuff comes on, it's a cue for me to change the station.

I'm very happy to hear of this change. I think it's a good move for the Sox organization over the long haul, and I look forward to listening to the postgame coverage on WGN when driving home from Guaranteed Rate Field this season.