Making the rounds:
Small time: Usually, a final featuring the New York market and Los Angeles is the ultimate. But not for this Stanley Cup final.
New Jersey Devils-Los Angeles Kings may have big market demographics, but this final could play out like a small market series for NBC and the NHL. The Devils, seeking their fourth Cup since 1995, are the San Antonio Spurs of hockey. Despite their success, they have little appeal beyond New Jersey, and that includes the folks in Manhattan. They weren’t featured once on one of NBC’s telecasts this year.
Now the New York Rangers, that would have been a different story.
As for the Los Angeles Kings, all most people know about the franchise is that Wayne Gretzky once played for them. They do have a passionate fan base in LA, but it is very narrow in scope compared to the Lakers and Dodgers.
This marks the first time the NHL hasn’t had one of its ratings-grabber teams in the finals since 2007: Detroit-Pittsburgh (2008 and 2009); Chicago-Philadelphia (2010); and Boston-Vancouver (2011). It has triggered a steady and strong increase in ratings for the Stanley Cup finals. Last year’s Game 7 did an all-time best 5.7 rating.
Much of that was fueled by a staggering 43.7 rating in Boston. Neither Los Angeles nor New Jersey will come close to producing those kind of numbers in their hometowns this year.
I’d be surprised if the NBC and NHL PR machines will be churning out releases about strong ratings for this final.
Under fire: Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News was the latest to call out NBC’s Pierre McGuire for hitting the mute button during a John Tortorella-Peter DeBoer shouting match in game 4 of the Rangers-Devils series.
While that’s lame, taking it upon himself to hit the mute button on his microphone, so viewers could not hear what Snorts and DeBoer were saying, is even worse. McGuire has absolutely no right to dictate what fans can or cannot hear. He’s paid to analyze a hockey game, not to engage in censorship.
And please, spare us from tired lines like: “Oh, he did the right thing. They were cursing. We wouldn’t want kids to hear it.” That’s absolute garbage.
If the NHL and NBC suits gave a darn about the kiddies “well being” they wouldn’t continue to market violence at all hours of the day and night, promoting upcoming games with video of fights replete with blood flowing out a players nose, mouth, or some other body part.
On the move: Good luck to old friends Michael Rosenberg and Randy Harvey. Rosenberg is leaving the Detroit Free-Press to become a senior reporter for Sports Illustrated. Harvey is jumping from the Los Angeles Times to become a columnist for the Houston Chronicle.