Category Archives: NHL

Cowherd’s incredibly wrong take on hockey writers; calls them young, work for cheap

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I almost drove off the road listening to Colin Cowherd during his ESPN radio show today. He basically blamed a “young,” “work cheap” crop of hockey writers as the reason for New York Rangers’ coach John Tortorella’s terse press conference last night.

Credit goes to the guys at Awfulannouncing.com for capturing the clip.

Here are some of the sound bites:

(Newspapers) are getting a lot of young, cheap people to cover hockey. It’s not like newspapers are sending their best people to cover hockey.

And…

Fox News doesn’t send Bill O’Reilly to a speedbump proposal in his hometown. He goes to a presidential election.

And..

Hockey doesn’t get the cream of the crop in our business…What do you think I’m giving the kid out of Fordham? The New York Islanders. He’s cheap, he’s bright, and his brother used to play hockey.

And finally..

The guy covering the Florida Panthers, he was at a floral show early in the week.

At that point, I’m yelling at the radio, which had to look pretty weird to the person in the car next to me.

Not to stereotype as Cowherd does, but this is what happens with somebody who grows up in the Northwest and doesn’t have a clue about hockey. In my hometown of Chicago and in Detroit, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, and other cities, they aren’t handing the hockey beat to some kid just off the bus.

As somebody who used to work for a major newspaper, I can tell you the beat is hugely important, and the hockey writers are well known among their passionate fan bases.

In Chicago, I was inspired to become a sportswriter in part because of the work Bob Verdi did as the Blackhawks writer for the Chicago Tribune in the 1970s. Verds set the bar high, and the current crop (old pals Tim Sassone, Chris Kuc, Jesse Rogers, Tim Cronin and the rest) are highly-respected members of the fraternity.

By the way, where is Cowherd basing his information? When was the last time he attended a hockey game or sat in the press box? At a Hartford Whalers game?

Before Cowherd goes into another rant about hockey, somebody should tell him the Whalers moved out of Hartford a long time ago.

 

 

 

 

 

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Ultimate in stupid: CBC announcer brings up 9/11 in hockey open

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Ladies and gentleman, it’s only May, but we have a winner for the stupidest statement made by a sports announcer in 2012.

CBC’s Ron MacLean actually evoked the image of 9/11 during his open to Wednesday’s New York Rangers-Washington Capitals game.

Yahoo’s PuckDaddy has the complete text. It feels even worse when you read it:

From the capital of the U.S. of A., it’s New York and Washington. The economic and political engines of America, united in the birth of the country, they’re also linked in tragedy. They were the twin targets of the coordinated attacks on 9/11. It’s crazy to compare what the emergency responders did during that time, but a spirit has to start somewhere. And as you enjoy this series between the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals — Game 6 comin’ up, 3-2 New York — you can’t help but be struck by the players and the way they’ve played these games.

They are like police officers. They are like firefighters. You can’t fight fire with ego. Brad [Richards] knows that. The pain these men have faced. The price they keep on paying. The hearts they keep on lifting. It’s been through and through, five games in. You see the commitment, they’re ready to go again this evening in Game 6 at Verizon Center in Washington.

We all know about the firefighters. Our worst day is their every day. Been a joy to watch.

All I can say is, NO, NO, a thousand times NO! No announcer ever should bring up 9/11 in the context of a game.

Really, nothing more needs to be said.

 

 

 

 

 

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Sweep: Nasty word for NHL, NBA playoffs

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The ultimate buzzkill for the network: a sweep in a playoff series.

The NHL got hit with the bug with the Los Angeles-St. Louis series. The Kings’ four-game run concluded with NBC doing a 1.0 overnight rating for Sunday’s finale, by far the lowest rating for a playoff game on NBC this year. The previous low was 1.5. In fact, it was the worst rating for a playoff game on NBC since 2009.

Meanwhile, the NBA has had two first-round sweeps. USA Today’s Michael Hiestand reports:

Here’s what happens when you gets lopsided playoff series, in any sport: You lose TV viewer eyeballs.

In weekend NBA action on ABC, TNT and ESPN, nine games got lower overnight ratings than comparable TV coverage last year. Just one game — ABC’s Miami-New York game Sunday — topped last year’s levels.

The only thing worse than a sweep is a five-game series. There’s a good chance all six remaining first-round series could be closed out in game 5.

The NBA and its TV partners obviously are hoping for better luck in the second round.

 

 

ESPN late SportsCenter chooses NBA first round over Rangers-Caps thriller

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Not to beat a dead horse here, but…

I found it interesting that the late version of ESPN’s SportsCenter led with the NBA over the NHL Tuesday morning.

My son, Matt, who knows what I have been writing about ESPN’s hockey coverage (or lack thereof), called it to my attention. An avid hockey fan, he said, “I can’t believe they’re starting off with Memphis-Clippers.”

Indeed, ESPN’s producers decided Game 4 of a first round NBA series was more newsworthy than Game 5 of a second-round NHL series. And that game featured an incredible finish with the New York Rangers scoring the tying goal with six seconds remaining and then beating Washington in overtime.

Indeed, not only did ESPN begin with the Clippers game (admittedly an exciting overtime game), but it went to the San Antonio-Utah game next with extended highlights and interviews. Then, SportsCenter finally turned to Rangers-Caps.

OK, maybe ESPN opted for the Clippers out of the box because it finished late. Most viewers in the East went to bed without knowing the outcome. Also, the late SportsCenter is geared to a West Coast audience, especially in LA.

However, we still can ask the question: Would ESPN have made the same news decision if the network had the NHL rights? Given the finish and the fact that this was a pivotal game in a second-round series, wasn’t the Rangers victory more important?

Where’s that dead horse…?

 

 

 

Hockey fans respond to ESPN Doria’s coverage comments

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Nothing like some comments questioning hockey’s popularity to get its fans to throw down the gloves.

Yesterday, I did a post on Vince Doria, senior VP and director of news, insisting ESPN doesn’t hate hockey. However, the network, which no longer has the rights, doesn’t like it much. Prior to the playoffs, you’d be hard-pressed to find much NHL coverage during SportsCenter.

Doria’s views generated an interesting response. Deadspin dinged him for saying hockey “doesn’t transfer much to a national discussion.”

Wrote Patrick Burns:

It’s always funny when ESPN executives innocently talk about “national discussions,” as if national discussions happen apart from ESPN—as if they rise organically out the soil in New York and Deer Isle and Des Moines and Tupelo and San Bernardino. ESPN is the national discussion; if ESPN doesn’t discuss hockey, the nation doesn’t, either.

Meanwhile, I received plenty of comments on my site.

Reilly wrote:

ESPN, stop being a joke. Stop ramming down our throats Tebow, Lebron, Baseball and actually cover a sport like a real journalist would. I could give two SH!TS about Tebow right now or the draft, i don’t care about game three of the Heat/Knicks which the heat should win, I care about a triple OT game in the second round of the playoffs… and I know a lot of people not in NY or WAS did to!

From DRBEAR:

Well of course there isn’t demand. It is as if McDonald’s used to carry hamburgers, then dropped most of them from the menu and just carried one type at lunch. Then they say “of course we don’t carry many different kinds of hamburgers, there isn’t the interest.” To my mind, an all-sports network should cover all sports. If it doesn’t, it’s not doing its job.

LegendofVT chimed in:

Doria is delusional if he thinks that asking the producers of SportsCenter, Around The Horn, and PTI to add more hockey content during the playoffs, after ignoring the sport during the regular season, is enough to bring hockey fans back. There’s plenty of lip service, but nothing that indicates that they’re willing to repair their relationship with us.

Doria, though, did have somebody who agreed with him. Kaz said:

I agree. As a die-hard fan, I almost prefer to read/watch something very home-team-centric. Maybe I am a bit of a homer and only want to here good stuff, but the bad stuff is interesting, too. I have the Center Ice package, but never watch a game other than my favorite team…

NBC, NHL will be rooting hard for Rangers

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Gary Bettman and Mark Lazarus shouldn’t even try to remain impartial. The NHL Commissioner and NBC Sports chairman should be allowed to go to Madison Square Garden tonight in full New York Rangers gear. Perhaps even get a few Rangers tattoos on the way to the arena.

Both the NHL and NBC need the Rangers to prevail in Game 7 over Ottawa. Talk about a must-win situation.

Here’s why: Game 6 attracted 315,000 viewers in New York on MSG. The ratings figure to be even higher for Thursday’s game.

If the Rangers advance, all of those New York ratings move over to NBC and the NBC Sports Network. Both outlets have exclusive coverage for the remainder of the Stanley Cup.

NBC Sports Network is averaging 699,000 viewers for the first 13 days of its playoff coverage, up 18 percent. Think about how much a New York audience could inflate that number for round 2 and beyond.

If Ottawa wins. Well, not so much. I bet a lot of people think Ottawa is a city in Iowa.

I know the New Jersey Devils also have a game 7 in Florida Thursday, but they aren’t the Rangers in New York or nationally.

NBC and NBC Sports Network already took a huge hit with Chicago losing to Phoenix in the first round. Game 6 pulled in 363,000 households on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The network would have loved an even larger slice of that for round 2.

As for Phoenix. Again, not so much.

Also, Detroit, another hockey hotbed, is out. The Red Wings lost to Nashville, not a hockey hotbed.

And also, also, Boston, the defending Stanley Cup champions with its avid following, went to sleep Wednesday night. However, the defeat wasn’t a complete washout since Washington will be a solid national draw with Alex Ovechkin. Stars move the meter.

For all the ratings momentum that has been built in the first round, it’ll evaporate quickly if the “right teams” don’t make it to the finish line. The NHL’s worst nightmare has to be a Stanley Cup between Ottawa and Phoenix. Or how about Florida-Nashville?

Sorry if I scared you, Mr. Bettman. Go Rangers, eh?

 

 

 

Grantland’s Simmons right to complain about denied Blues credential

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Bill Simmons is right. For a league striving to grow its profile, it doesn’t make sense for an NHL team to deny a credential to a reporter from a national site.

In this case, the site is Grantland.com, and the reporter is Katie Baker. According to a tweet posted by Simmons, Grantland’s editor, the St. Louis Blues refused to give Baker a seat in the press box last week.

He tweets:

Still laughing that the Blues denied @katiebakes for a media credential last week. The NHL is the best. DON’T COVER US!!! STAY AWAY!

Baker writes about hockey for Grantland. On Monday, she did a post about her trip to Nashville to cover the Predators and a wrap-up of the playoffs over the weekend. I dare say it was about as long a piece as you’ll find anywhere on hockey.

I’m not sure why the Blues wouldn’t credential Baker. Rule No. 1: If a national site wants to attend one of your games, especially one under the ESPN umbrella, you get that person in the arena. Even if the press box is full, you find a way. My goodness, this was St. Louis-San Jose in the first round, not the Stanley Cup finals.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing said this was another case of Simmons being “petulant.” Previously, Simmons complained about Duke not giving a credential to Grantland.

Lucia writes:

I’m just wondering which league or team Simmons is going to start whining about not credentialing next. Maybe it will be the Olympics, since Grantland has spent so much time talking about Olympic sports in recent months. Maybe the PGA won’t credential Grantland for the US Open, and Simmons will start a crusade against golf. All I really know at the end of the day is that Simmons is managing to come off really, really bad by sniping at various teams for not giving credentials to his writers that barely cover the teams on his site.

Sorry to disagree, Joe, but the NHL can’t afford to be ticking off a site like Grantland, and especially its editor, who has a fairly powerful voice in the sports media world. You want Grantland to writing more about hockey, not less.

Think of it this way: Simmons’ tweet went out to his 1.685 million followers. It’s probably the most attention the Blues have received on a national level all year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mayhem ruining good story for NHL playoffs

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The storyline is being hijacked for the NHL.

Instead of talking about exciting series leading to strong increases in the ratings for NBC and the NBC Sports Network, the story is about a continuing string of brutal, vicious hits making hockey out to be the sport of thugs.

Another one occurred in the Chicago-Phoenix series last night. Watch how Phoenix’s Raffi Torres takes out Marian Hossa.

This is the NBC Sports Network call. I was watching the local telecast on Comcast Sports Net in Chicago. Pat Foley and Ed Olczyk were going crazy. Olczyk, who handles color for the Hawks along with his network duties, called for Torres, a repeat offender, to receive a 10-game suspension.

Amazingly, Torres didn’t even get a penalty for the hit which had Hossa being carried off the ice in a stretcher. Wonder what game they were watching.

All in all, it was another black mark for the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman, who was at the game. Stu Hackel ripped into the league at SI.com.

After watching too much go too far during the last five days, I think it should be obvious to anyone who has any sense of proportion that the Stanley Cup playoffs are out of control. There have been head-rammings, sucker punches, maulings and ambushes, all of which is apart from the more commonplace vendettas, elbows, crosschecks, spearing, charging, knee-to-knee shots and line brawls that we’ve come to expect each spring.

This isn’t just hard hockey. It is, as one of the sport’s prominent personages called it during the first phone call I got on Monday morning, “a disgrace.”

I began watching the NHL 50 years ago and I can’t recall ever seeing anything like this, not even in the game’s darkest days of the mid-1970s. In more games than not, the play has degenerated into open warfare.

The NHL is ruining its chance to build some serious momentum during the playoffs. This twitter feed from a fan following the Hossa hit should get the league’s full attention.

I almost don’t even care about this game right now. That was one of the most sickening headshots I’ve ever seen in my life. NHL, NFL, MMA.

NHL scores with every game playoff coverage

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I’m a fairly avid Blackhawks fan. I watch most of their games. But otherwise, I’d consider myself to be a casual hockey fan.

So the new playoff TV format is geared to snaring fans like me, the casual hockey fan. And it has worked, big time.

Airing all the games on NBC, CNBC, and the NHL Network is exactly what hockey needed. Opening night had an NCAA Basketball tournament feel to it. I watched the end of the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia overtime game on the NBC Sports Network and then quickly turned to the exciting climax of the Detroit-Nashville game on CNBC. Then I even went back to NBCSN to watch the beginning of the Los Angeles-Vancouver game. I haven’t watched that much hockey in one night for a long time, and I continued to do it throughout the weekend.

Funny thing: At one point, my 16-year old Matt cried out, “Dad, what channel is CNBC on?” He wasn’t looking to watch James Cramer.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told SI’s Richard Deitsch:

“This has been the partnership we envisioned and we could not be more pleased  with how they have worked with us.

Yes, indeed. The ratings were strong for the opening two nights. I’ll have an update from the weekend later.