Well, It's My Day Off ...

So, of course, I am thinking about work. But being as I work in television and the main topic of this blog is hockey, a concurrence of matters isn't a bad thing.

What is on my mind is the possibility of the NHL picking ESPN to dance with yet again, after spurning it to dance with the ugly new kid in school (Versus). Granted the league is going back on its knees begging, pleading and likely doing more things carnal in nature, it is a good move but there should be some mandated elements to how ESPN can broadcast the game.

First off, hockey broadcasts now are very regimented - open at the top of the hour, commerical breaks soon after the periods' 15 and 5 minute mark (barring delays) and then usually three breaks during the intermission - one going in, one in the middle and one going out. And you know what, that's fine - leave it. Just don't start trying to shoehorn more advertising into the game itself. The score bug doesn't need to include the logo of McDonalds or Michelin or whatever.

And for that matter, the bug should not cover any more than 10% of the screen. Versus had that monstrous bug banner that covered the top, then would plug in lower thirds over score crawls so almost the entire picture was covered with crap that wasn't the game you tuned into (sorry I don't have any pictures but if you watched, you know what I am talking about). Game bugs should have the score and time, and that's it.

As for the actual shots of the game, the standard classic camera is the best. It has worked for all these years so directors with itchy trigger fingers shouldn't feel obligated to show tight shots of defensemen with the puck and then lose the play as he sends a breakout pass up-ice. Goal-cams are great for replays but never, ever should be used for live action. Depth of field is lost and its even harder than normal to follow the puck. Rail cam was a nice experiment but you couldn't really follow the play all that well and it blocked the view of people in the building so toss that away. Its great to have a ton of angles for replays, but don't screw with the game action.

Now for the audio - turn up the mics. The sounds of the game are unique and spectacular. From the scrapes of skates on ice and puck on post to the cursing of the players and the jeers of the crowd, the sounds of the game are unique and spectacular and help give viewers a feeling like they are there and we all know that seeing hockey in person is the quickest way to sell someone on the game. And something I have been advocating is the use of the SAP feature or something of its ilk to allow viewers to just listen to the game and not have to hear the commentary. Most sports should have this ...

To also help get people into the game, ESPN should also be forced to bring back NHL2nite. Versus never properly supported their coverage with nightly highlight shows that package up the magic into a half hour setting. There is no way fans get to see all of the top plays from the games they want in Sportscenter - hockey just isn't the cash cow that football, NASCAR, baseball, basketball is in North America. Plus it would be good to get some opinions and analysis again, rather than just being stuck with Brian Engblom in between periods.

Now some people would advocate for a return of the John Buccigross and Barry Melrose but I don't think so. I want Jeremy Roenick and a straight man who knows something about hockey. Bill Pidto was fine as the original host of the show, why not him again? Bucci is a fan of the game but he inserted himself and his music taste into his work and that was quite annoying. Melrose is a nice guy and at times gives good knowledge but he is very vanilla and I don't care what he has to say about players today - he wasn't the greatest player, he wasn't he greatest coach and he looks the same way he did when Patrick Roy made Gretz his bitch back in '93. Melrose will say whatever the producer tells him to say (I know that for a fact) and rarely steps out on a limb. Roenick is a loose cannon and that makes him exciting. And someone like that paired with a good straight man/foil makes for good tv - look at Hockey Night In Canada.

The league should also require a return of the theme song, which was solid. It stood out and was instantly recognizable, even if a knock off of the greatest. It is all about bringing the brand back and pretending that the lockout never happened (as the owners are already doing, giving these idiotic contracts out left and right - five years to Dustin Penner!).

ESPN has unfortunately become the primary source of sports information in America - beyond the local newspapers and tv stations - and their policy is to promote the hell out of whatever they have their hands in and ignore the rest. When hockey went to Versus they did their best to ignore the league when they couldn't find cause to berate it.

But beyond the huge shadow that the ugly corporate ESPN machine has cast over hockey, we should do our best to get the game back there if only because there were good people there, who did some good work and (occasionally) managed to capture the best the game had to offer, even in the darkest of times:

Yeah Sean!

Well, despite the alleged idiotic mudslinging by Rangers General Manager Glen Sather, New York accepted the ruling of the arbitrator and will keep Sean Avery this season. Avery will get $1.9 mill in a one-year deal, 800,000 grand less than he wanted, and 600,000 more than Sather offered. While he still got a nice raise, Glen definitely caught him with a sucker punch in the arbitration hearings.

The ridiculous still-alleged comments calling Sean a "detriment to the team" when he was anything but just blows my mind. Yes he was a negative power under Andy Murray's regime in LA, but while in red, white and blue he appeared to mesh with his new teammates and do what he was told by the coaching staff. We will never really know how he was on the practice ice or the locker room but public comments made by Jagr and company were glowing throughout the playoff run, even when Avery was inciting the Sabres. If anyone knows how one negative person can effect a team, it would be Jagr since he personally destroyed the Washington Capitals with his bad attitude. Jags, like all of the Rangers faithful, seemed to enjoy watching Sean infuriate the opposition and do all of the hard battling that no one outside of Ryan Hollweg was willing to do.


So now we have Avery back and he has been insisting on his dedication despite Sather's rudeness so we should be able to see just what he has to offer. With it 90+ degrees out and camp still over a month away, one can only imagine how a line of Brendan Shanahan, Avery and Chris Drury will battle for the tough goals and play the north-south game that is so exciting (and wins championships). It is a sweet thought ... almost as sweet as Elisha's ***! Let's go Girl Next Door! I mean, Let's Go Rangers!

Marcel's Better!

Hahaha, we are bringing back Marcel Hossa. At times better than his brother last season, this is still a silly signing. Hossa was only good playing alongside Jagr and even then for a brief moment before he got hurt. Yes, its good for the team's depth, but seriously Hossa is worthless unless he asserts himself and he too often disappeared. He scored a few big shootout goals, but Marek Malik got one too, and he is garbage.

We rave about the skill of the Rangers prospects and yet block a roster spot with Hossa? Would Nigel Dawes work in that slot? How about former first round pick Lauri Korpikoski? The Rangers claim that they both have a huge upside that Hossa also had, but he still has yet to reach it in 187 career NHL games ... If this keeps Jagr happy then I'm grudgingly for it, but I think the team would be better served giving the slot to other prospects.

A Return To The Great Satan?

The NHL and ESPN are in discussions about bringing the league’s games back to ESPN2 as soon as the 2008-09 season. The full article is here.

Read it, its interesting.

My opinion? Sure, why not. More publicity for the league would be good, right? Although it the NHL was to return to ESPN I might be temped into returning to ESPN to work on the show and lord knows I don't want that. But seriously, having hockey on Versus has been nearly as bad an experiment as Sports Channel was (or so I am told, I was only watching games on MSG back then).

I do know that Versus has put in a half-assed effort from day one. Their studio shows were poor, their game broadcasts left much to be desired and their graphics were abominable. Once Versus lost their bid for NFL games, they collected as much random crap as they could and surrounded the NHL with it - knockoff mixed martial arts, lacrosse, indoor soccer, etc. But the network didn't even treat the NHL as its top product - that remained rodeo, and how can any fan of major sports take that seriously?? So I guess ESPN is the lesser of two evils? *shudder*

On That Panthers Kick ...

Florida unveiled those jerseys at a special game that honoured their 1995-96 Stanley Cup Finalist squad (more on that here), which reminded me of Game 4 of that series. Florida was outclassed from the second they dropped the puck in Game 1, after all they had that defensive system that got them that far and Colorado had a system and a ton of talent - not to mention guys like Joe Sakic. But Game 4 was one of the best games of hockey I have ever seen. It was a goaltending duel between John Vanbiesbrouck and Patrick Roy that went to triple OT before Uwe Krupp scored on a shot from the point. It was the lone goal of the game but there was no lack of excitement. I found a quick clip I had saved on my comp and figured I would share (as there is nothing going on in the hockey world this hot, humid summer day):



Playoff games like that remind us that 1-0 scorelines aren't necessarily the horrible things that Bettman and the current NHL administration make them out to be ...

New Panthers Jerseys

Now I won't post the pictures of what is thought to be the new Rangers jerseys as they are not official yet. Hopefully they won't be too wacky because if the league messes with the classics, there will be hell to pay. As of right now, with the new kits that have been released, the best jersey is the new Caps jerseys that look like their older designs. And are definitely better than the 'leaked' versions that came out. New first, then prototype or fake:

Since I Saw The Simpsons Movie This Morning