Here is the first piece of my Friday newspaper column.
It's about the fact the NHL, NBC and Versus are quite pleased to have the Red Wings playing the Pens in the Cup finals as opposed to, say, yet another yucky matchup between a Sun Belt squad and a secod-tier Canadian market.
Comments (8)
Neil, you didn't have the space to write "Mike 'Doc' Emrick"?
Lazy MSM ;).
As a hockey fan, I hope they are right, but I think they are wrong. I don't think hockey fans like Crosby the way they loved Gretzky and the series will be really damaged by not only the Pistons, but the fact that you have very compelling matchups in the NBA semis.
Obviously, the ratings for the Finals could only be good in a relative sense, but I don't think people have to like Crosby to want to watch him play.
Of course, I'm just projecting my thoughts on the rest of the population. I can't really stand the guy, but I look forward to watching him and his teams contend for Cups for the next decade and a half.
At least in Detroit viewers can see the CBC broadcast ... but only in SD, as the CBC station in Windsor, ON [yes, south of Detroit] only transmits the old-fashioned way. Get thee to HD and find Versus, if you have to see it that way. But if you want superior coverage, stick with the Canadians.
I watch CBC broadcasts of games online, despite the inferior quality because the total package is so much better than anything Versus or NBC can come up with. Between production and commentary, CBC knows what it is doing and I just wish American executive, cough Dick Ebersol cough, would realize they just don't know how to successfully put together a hockey broadcast and give the reigns to a junior producer with CBC or TSN and the American broadcasts would become so much better.
Mike Milbury is absolutely terrible, Pierre McGuire does very little for the broadcast, I have never seen a worse intermission show than what NBC puts together. The little vignettes do not give much of a story and the viewer is then subjected to those two talking heads giving their bland opinion. Look at Elliote Friedman, he puts together a four minute package and delivers something...AHH I just wish someone with someone with some broadcast journalism chops could get into the NBC hockey broadcast and completely overhaul it.
I'm concerned about Glauber.....
With NBC covering the games this weekend.....will he watch it?
Or surf to a soccer "match" (It's not a game).
Maybe some of you have forgotten but Gretzky did his share of whining and complaining to the refs. With the holiday weekend Saturday night is a terrible night for TV viewership so I don't expect great ratings Sat night, I think Monday night they have a shot at better ratings.
When Mario Lemieux was Sidney Crosby's landlord/housemate/baby sitter he taught Sidney how to dive and whine just as good as he did in his own prime. I never saw a 6'5" 200+ lb. man fall down so hard when he got checked by some little 5'9" 170 lb. punk the way Mario did. He made the soccer players (who dive like they are dead) look really bad.