Tag Archives: NHL

Sunday books: How Gary Bettman changed hockey

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With Gary Bettman into another major work stoppage, and hopefully not his second cancelled season, it seems to be an appropriate time to evaluate the tenure of the NHL commissioner.

Jonathan Gatehouse took on the task in a new book: The Instigator: How Gary Bettman Remade the NHL and Changed the Game Forever.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News did a recent interview with Gatehouse. Here are some of the excerpts.

Q: What prompted the idea to do a bio on Bettman? I imagine the process starting a year or so earlier, knowing there’d be a labor issue approaching and he’d be a targeted person again? Was that the thinking?

A: The idea came about initially because it dawned on me that this winter will mark Bettman’s 20th anniversary as NHL commissioner and nobody had really taken a step back and tried to evaluate the impact he has had on pro hockey. And when you think about it, it’s not hard to conclude that he’s become the most influential–and powerful–figure the game has ever known. But at the time I started researching the book, more than 18 months ago, it wasn’t so clear that a lockout was looming. At that point, Bettman was still talking about “tweaking” the current arrangement with the players, not blowing it up. The timing just ended up being great for me, and lousy for the fans.

Q: What caused the word ‘instigator’ to come up as the title to describe him? That’s really eye-drawing.

A: It just seemed to fit. He’s instigated so many changes to the league during his time as commissioner–on and off the ice. And in that very specific hockey sense of the word, he’s the guy who gets paid by the owners to drop the gloves and start the fights.

Q: Going forward, does he seem to be the right guy to “carry on” and lead the league another 20 years?

A: Listen, if Gary Bettman wins this lockout — which I’m convinced he will–he’s emperor for life. Whether he’s the right guy to carry on will be immaterial. The owners respect money, and he’s made them plenty.

NBC Sports Network will feel pain of NHL lockout starting tonight; forced to air old DeNiro flick instead of hockey

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If you’re a fan of old classic sports movies, you’re going to love the NHL lockout.

Tonight, instead of airing the scheduled hockey doubleheader that would have kicked off the season, NBC Sports Network will show The Fan, starring Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes. Not once, but twice.

Hey, wouldn’t Slap Shot have been more appropriate for what was supposed to be the NHL’s opening night?

In upcoming weeks, expect to see The Natural, Rocky, Rudy, and whatever else NBCSN can dig up in its vault.

The NHL stoppage (Note: Illustraton by Nate Beeler of Columbus Dispatch) couldn’t come at a worse time for NBCSN. After enjoying a terrific run during the Olympics, the network has had a dearth of live programming from Monday through Friday.

That would have changed with hockey starting. NBCSN is supposed to air games on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with Wednesday being exclusive. A Sunday night package returns after Jan. 1.

All told, NBC and NBCSN were scheduled to air more than 100 regular-season games. Obviously, that’s not going to be the case with the current labor situation.

How is NBCSN going to fill the void? Here’s the official comment:

“It’s unfortunate that the lockout is causing the cancellation of games from our schedule. In the interim, we have a large amount of quality live-event programming, including soccer, boxing, college hockey and college basketball, that will air in place of NHL games. We look forward to presenting the NHL to its fans as soon as the labor situation is resolved.”

Indeed, you can get your Pierre McGuire fix on Friday night. He and Dave Strader will be on call for the Ice Breaker Tournament in Kansas City Friday and Saturday. It features Notre Dame, Maine, Army and Nebraska-Omaha.

Technically, it’s hockey, but it’s not the same as what was on tap for Friday night: New York Rangers at Los Angeles, with the Stanley Cup banner being raised in the Staples Center.

The post-Olympics period hasn’t been kind to the NBCSN. John Ourand of Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal reports ratings have hit “historic lows.” An August airing of Costas Live attracted only 40,000 viewers. Hard to believe.

NBCSN also failed to land a portion of the new Major League Baseball TV deal. Regardless of the costs, I thought the network needed baseball to boost its profile.

Usually, NBCSN could count on its old pal hockey, beginning in October. But thanks to Gary Bettman, owners and players, that window is closed for now.

While it has some replacement programming in place, it hardly has enough to fill the huge void.

For instance, instead of hockey on Monday, NBCSN will show highlights from the women’s gymastics team competition at the Olympics. On tape, naturally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just like Scully, all praise for beloved Mike Emrick; Even Mushnick likes him

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It’s official: Mike Emrick is the Vin Scully of hockey.

In an era of rip, rip and then rip some more, Emrick finds himself buried by an avalanche of bouquets during the Stanley Cup playoffs. The only other person in broadcasting who receives such universal praise and adoration is the living legend in the Dodgers’ booth.

Richard Sandomir evoked operatic terms in today’s piece in the New York Times:

They are Emrick’s arias: dramatic tales of passes, shots, checks, crashes into boards, saves, interceptions, goals and line changes accentuated by the sound — “OhhhhHHHHHHH!” — of his internal thermostat rapidly heating up, as if close to exploding. He hits his highest note with variations on a single word: “SCORES!”

Richard Deitsch of SI.com came out with his media power list this week. One guess at who is No. 1:

I call him NBC’s Bard of Spring. With NBC airing every NHL playoff game  nationally since the second round, Emrick has been a welcome visitor in homes  for weeks, and at 65, he’s never been better at his craft.

And here’s the ultimate barometer of Emrick’s appeal. Even Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wrote nice things about him in a column this week, and he doesn’t like anybody. Mushnick writes:

Beyond that, if there were ever a play-by-player who should be encouraged to  speak as much as often as possible, it’s Emrick. Imagine hiring Emrick and  telling him to speak half as much. Would you ask DeNiro, Sinatra, Einstein,  Pele, Magellan, Sonny and/or Cher to give it less than all they’ve got?

“Hey, you, Michelangelo! Get down off that scaffold! You wanna kill  yourself? Paint something down here!”

Wow, opera and Michelangelo references for a hockey announcer. Has to be a first.

It’s great to see Emrick get the recognition. He’s really benefitted by the new playoff format in which every game has aired on NBC’s various networks.

Like Scully, the man clearly has a way with words. Earlier this week on an NBC teleconference, he got everyone fired up with this opening:

This is our best time of year. How’s that for an understatement? …You see bearded people, you see people with goatees, because that’s a part of our tradition. You see smiles on every face because of the anticipation of living up to a lifetime dream – and that’s getting your name on a trophy that you can’t keep, and getting a ring that’s too big to wear, and having the experience, and to be referred to as a Stanley Cup Champion for the rest of your life.

Here’s hoping we all get to hear Emrick call seven games in the Final.

 

 

 

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…?

 

 

 

Who needs ESPN? NHL exec: Playoffs validate choice of NBC Sports Network

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ESPN’s Vince Doria definitely stirred the ire of hockey fans last week. In an interview with this site, he attributed hockey’s limited presence on SportsCenter to the sport not generating “a national discussion.”

When I asked John Collins about the comment Monday, the NHL’s COO and Commissioner Gary Bettman’s right-hand man for business and media, took it in stride.

“The national discussion definitely is increasing around the Stanley Cup,” Collins said.

Indeed, Collins and the NHL have reason to feel bullish about the first year of their long-term deal with NBC Universal. The move to televise every playoff game on either NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC and the NHL Network has produced dramatic results. Ratings soared with more than a combined 60 million viewers tuning in to watch first-round games on either national or local outlets.

NBC Sports Network averaged 744,000 viewers for first-round games, up 16 percent. Those are the highest numbers for hockey on cable since 2001, when ESPN’s first round coverage averaged 745,000 viewers.

The multi-network platform had an NCAA basketball tournament feel, with viewers switching from game to game. The NCAA comparison went even deeper with numerous overtime games producing buzzer beaters. It happened again last night with the New York Rangers winning an overtime thriller against Washington.

Would it have been the same if the NHL went with ESPN? Probably not. With MLB and NBA games, and the NFL draft on ESPN, the playoffs likely would have been relegated to ESPN2 on several nights, leaving the notion of being second class.

Yep, not hearing so much that the NHL needs to be on ESPN anymore.

Indeed, the NHL made the right move with potential for future growth. Yet Doria, who was ridiculed for his comment, hardly is off base. With the Blackhawks out, there has been zero discussion about the Stanley Cup playoffs on sports talk radio here in Chicago. You’ll be hard-pressed to find NHL discussion outside of cities that still have teams in the hunt. It’s not that way for the NBA.

Also, the league is faced with the likely prospect of having a non-traditional hockey team in Phoenix or the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Kings in the finals. Not exactly the same drawing power as recent West winners: Detroit (2008, 2009), Chicago (2010), and despite being a Canadian team, Vancouver, with its stars and stories, had significant U.S. appeal in 2011. Los Angeles might be big market, but the Kings aren’t the Lakers.

I addressed those issues and more in a Q/A with Collins.

Given what’s transpired, how does the NHL feel about its decision to go with NBC and the NBC Sports Network?

Collins: The thing we felt was lacking from a marketing standpoint was the idea of national scale.

(In 2010), 40 percent of the games in the first two rounds weren’t on national television. None of the Flyers games in the first two rounds were nationally televised. The Flyers were a Cinderella story (going to the finals against Chicago), but nobody knew the stories on a national level. The first time they popped up was in the finals, and frankly at that point, it was too late.

Now we have every game on. We’re able to show the casual fan how unique the Stanley Cup playoffs are. They can see how tough the road is.

It’s been very satisfying. The ratings are up. We attribute that to the way NBC has embraced these playoffs.

Would you have gotten the same kind of treatment from ESPN?

Collins: We spent a lot of time talking to ESPN. There was a lot of interest. One of the deciding factors to go with NBC Universal was that hockey would be the centerpiece of their entire programming (for NBC Sports Network). That’s not to say ESPN wouldn’t have devoted more time to hockey than they did in the past.

But for (the NBC Sports Network), the Stanley Cup playoffs are their focus. They have dedicated all their time to building this platform. They’ve offered us enormous flexibility. They’ve changed their schedule on the fly to accommodate us.

How does the league view Doria’s comments on hockey not generating the national discussion?

Collins: The national discussion around the Stanley Cup definitely is increasing. We hope ESPN will validate it with the amount of coverage for hockey on SportsCenter.

They’ve been pretty good to us in our big moments. They went to the Winter Classic. They’ve been at the last couple of Stanley Cup finals with Steve Levy and Barry Melrose

What we’re working to do is to round out that schedule so that it’s more than the Stanley Cup finals. Now it’s all four rounds of the Stanley Cup.

How does the NHL increase the discussion for hockey on a national level?

Collins: An important step was getting all the playoff games on national television. We checked that one off and go from there.

We’re working to expose fans to our storylines. The power of (HBO’s 24/7 documentaries) is showing fans something they haven’t seen before. Then when you have all the games on, and people discover or re-discover Martin Brodeur or the team aspect of the Rangers. Those stories start to resonate with fans.

Also, we have so many markets where hockey does well locally. In important markets like Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington, hockey does better ratings than basketball. Maybe, that will be the case one day in Chicago. It’s another sign of the potential to have (increased) national discussion.

How does the NHL feel about the prospect of having a non-traditional team in the finals?

Collins: Any sport, whether it’s baseball or basketball, would love to have its big markets (going for) the championship. It doesn’t always work out that way.

A lot of myths got broken last year. The idea that you needed two big U.S. media market teams to get ratings. Boston-Vancouver exploded that myth.

We’re seeing casual fans getting turned on to our stories during the playoffs. There are a lot of healthy signs. At the end of the day, the ratings are ratings. If you look at the first year, the Stanley Cup ratings is not the only metric of success. We’ve made a lot of progress, and it’s only going to get better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NBC Sports Network exec: Patience required; viewers want alternative to ESPN

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To hear all the initial reports, you would think they would be in panic mode at 30 Rock. The reports detail how the newly branded NBC Sports Network is off to a slow, slower, slowest start. It seems viewers would rather watch people shooting at innocent deer than one of its studio shows.

Oh, for the good old days of Versus.

There were several stories bemoaning the dismal ratings during the first quarter. How about this headline in the New York Post:

NBC Sports Network’s ratings take biggest drop in eight years after overhaul

The story reports ratings were off 22 percent with an average audience of 64,000 daily viewers during the first quarter.

And if that wasn’t enough, now there’s word the Fox might enter the fray and launch a new cable sports channel. That only will increase the competition and jack up the rights for properties NBC Sports Network wants to obtain.

All in all, instead of hitting the ground running, it feels more like hitting the ground face first.

Not so fast, says Jon Miller, the president of programming for NBC Sports and the NBC Sports Network. He believes the initial reports aren’t capturing the full picture. He said this isn’t about a three-month snapshot. It’s about setting up the network for the long haul.

Indeed, the network gained some momentum with increased ratings for the NHL playoffs. Through last Thursday, ratings were up 26 percent for the network’s quarterfinal coverage, averaging 676,000 viewers per game. That’s a strong number, considering the NBC Sports Network was competing somewhat against itself in the form of games also airing on CNBC and the NHL Network.

“I’ve been with NBC for 34 years and I’ve been through bad times and good times,” Miller said. “It’s cyclical. The fact of the matter, slow and steady wins this race. You’ve got to be patient. You need to have a mission and not be distracted. It’s very easy to go for the quick hit and quick fix. The long and short of it is that it won’t work. The motto here is: First be best, then be first. Let’s do it the right way.”

In an interview, Miller laid out NBC’s plans for the rebranded network. He addresses whether it is imperative for NBC Sports Network to land Major League Baseball; the need to develop its own personalities or go after others like ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt; and his feeling that sports viewers want an alternative to ESPN, among other items.

There have been several doom and gloom stories about the network. What’s been your reaction?

Miller: We’re still very young. Only 3 months old. We made some good progress. We inherited a channel that was a lot of things to a lot of different people. We weren’t a sticky channel, That’s a big thing in TV. We need to give people a reason to come every day.

The network we took over had a lot of programming, but not a lot of connected programming. It had everything from bullriding to mixed martial arts, sports jobs, NHL, Tour De France, hunting and fishing. While each of those might have had their own dedicated followers, there was no string to that popcorn.

A lot of those programs were empty ratings points. While they might deliver a number, they weren’t really salable.

Really? You can’t sell hunting and fishing shows?

Miller: If we had kept the programming we had. Mixed martial art, the TO show, and 6,000 hours of hunting and fishing, our ratings would be fine. Our sales guys are telling us we can’t get brands, clients, sponsors to embrace this network until you change the look and feel of it.

So what’s the plan?

Miller: The three things we most focused on are live events, news,talk and information, and original programming. We landed the MLS. We think it is undervalued and has tremendous upside.

The Stanley Cup playoffs (are bringing in) viewers. There will be hundreds of hours of the Olympics (and Olympic trials) on the NBC Sports Network. When people want to see the U.S. teams play and see they’re going to be on the NBC Sports Network, that’s going to be great for us.

Original programming is one thing we can control. We’re hitting that at 500 miles per hour. It’s one area where we can make a difference and get awareness. We created Turning Point. It was nominated for an Emmy in its first year. NHL36, MLS 36: Shows that profiles the athlete. We have Costas Tonight. Ross Greenburg is doing documentaries. He’s working on a show with Jack Nicklaus on the 1962 U.S. Open.

We’ve been very busy.

That’s all well and good, but isn’t imperative for NBC Sports Network to land some portion of the new MLB deal (which expires after the 2013 season)?

Miller: We have a healthy appetite to add more programming. It’s all a question of when it becomes available. Quite honestly, our competition (ESPN), which has been around for 33 years, has done a great job at locking up stuff long-term. So you have to sit and wait patiently for the opportunity.

We’re going to be aggressive bidders for whatever quality live content comes out there. Baseball is a property that’s still in the walls at NBC. We did baseball longer, and quite honestly, as well as it ever has been done.  If the opportunity comes along, and it makes sense, we’re going to be players.

We work for a company that’s not afraid to spend money, as evidenced by the fact they just spent $16 billion on (Olympics, NFL, PGA Tour, NHL, etc). They’ve shown for the right properties, they’ll step up.

What if you don’t get baseball? Won’t that be a major blow?

Miller:  There are other properties that are going to be coming up. Baseball is the one right in front of us. But there’s going to be some college football and basketball available in a few years. The BCS is going to be in play. NASCAR, the NBA is going to be up. There’s a lot of product out there. As the NHL guys say: ‘We want you to get us some brothers and sisters,’ and that’s what we’re going to do.

Don’t you need to go out and get somebody like Scott Van Pelt to broaden your base from a personality perspective?

Miller: Everything is on the table. You’re going to talk to everybody. If you have a role for them, they’re going to listen. Scott Van Pelt does a good job. There are a lot of people over at ESPN who are good quality. Not just people there. There are guys at local stations.

How do you view the comparisons to ESPN?

Miller: We’re flattered and somewhat amused. ESPN is 33 years old. And they get $7 per month (per subscriber) and they are in 100 million households. We’re only 3-months old. To compare us with them is really kind of funny. You’ve got to give us a chance to develop and grow.

We do think fans out there really want to see an alternative. There are multiple news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News. We think people want alternatives for sports. They don’t want it all brought to them in one way.

So how should people digest stories about your early ratings?

Miller: The fact of the matter is the ratings aren’t there. Yeah, it’s frustrating. We know there are people out there who would love to see us fail. There’s a lot of incentive from people to see us not be successful. That’s OK. That’s the challenge.

Our feeling is we want to leave this place a lot better than we found it. We want the people who follow in our footsteps to say we set them up long term. NBC Sports Network can live forever. It can be a successful, viable network for this company.

 

 

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.