CSN or WGN?

The Cubs are one of the few teams around that don't really have one dominant TV home.  WGN has been showing Cubs baseball for over 60 years now, a stat that doesn't compare to CSN's five.  Comcast SportsNet Chicago is a young network, taking over for Fox Sports Net Chicago in 2005.  WGN is not, having been around forever.  Both WGN and CSN show something around 77 games a year, evenly splitting the weekends and home games and Sox games and such.  The annoying things for Cub fans like me is that it takes a while to find the Cubbies sometimes.  There are nine possible channels the Cubs could be on: WGN, WCIU (produced by WGN), CSN, CSN+, CSN+2, ESPN, TBS, FOX, or MLB Network.  Usually one of the first five.  Well, I wanted to come up with the better one between WGN and CSN, so I graded them on individual aspects.

Tradition: What history does it have with the Cubs?
Edge: WGN
No-brainer here.  WGN has been covering the Cubs forever, and had Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray on the air.  Most of the big moments in Cubs history from around the 1950s to the 2000s took place on 'GN.  Heck, Steve Goodman even mentions the former Superstation in the celebration song, "Go Cubs Go" played after every home win.  The lyric: "You can catch it all on WGN."  Can't argue with all that.

Stat Analysis: Which is more in the game?
Edge: CSN
Because it is a modern sports network, CSN is more observant to specific stats, the kind that are good for TV.  I'm not talking everyday stats like 11 HR on the road, I'm talking something like 11 HR with runners on and two outs.  This has to do with the next section.

Screen Graphics: Style and Stats?
Edge: CSN
The new style they implemented in 2009 is not as good as the past one in my opinion, but is still cool and now they even show more stats.   It is certainly better suited for sports than the blue stuff WGN has, implemented in 2008.  The blue looks good, but is neither Cubs blue nor a good blue and instead looks like a Royals broadcast.  WGN focuses more on the fans and the pace of play so therefore less on screen graphics and stats.

HD: Available and Clear?
Edge: Even
Both networks broadcast all games in HD, conveniently even on the additional channels (WCIU, CSN+).  Both are crystal clear.

Camera Angles: Unique and Interesting?
Edge: CSN
A very close one here.  As far as game angles and views of players, CSN has a big edge, capturing players from all angles with cameras going beyond the normal shots.  For covering the stadium, fans, and atmosphere, WGN has a slight edge but it isn't big enough to upset CSN.

Extra Coverage: Are there pre- and post-game shows?  Regular coverage on the network?
Edge: CSN
Little doubt on this one.  CSN has pregame and postgame shows with a rotating anchor and Todd Hollandsworth for almost all Cubs game except when an all Chicago sports show like SportsNite is on before, which is no problem because the Cubs are always given extended discussion in those time blocks.  Great analysis is given on these shows.  WGN sometimes does its Lead-Off Man and 10th Inning shows, but those just list obvious stats for 15 minutes that are more commercial than show.  Most of the time the analysis is just three minutes on the WGN News at 10.

WINNER: CSN 4-1

And rightly so.  CSN has really turned itself into a premier network as one of 10 Comcast SportsNet affiliates in the country, the underdog to the regional sports networks of Fox Sports Net.  WGN is just the channel when the syndicated CW shows are shown and runs nightly news that is amongst the least popular of the five main Chicago news channels.  CSN is all sports all the time, even if it means boring Wisconsin outdoors shows.  The three daily sports news programs, SportsRise, SportsDay, and SportsNite do a very good job of covering Chicago sports with great anchors and graphics along with a good story selection.