Mike Milbury and Pierre McGuire Need a Divorce, or at Least a Trial Separation

I’m a fan of compelling debate. I enjoy it when two intellectual equals are calmly explaining two divergent points of view in a way that is clearly presented to the viewer or listener. I like a debate where, even when I disagree with the person speaking, I can listen to that person and say that they presented themselves well and that I respect them. I’m not someone who’s afraid of a point of view different from mine, I would just like it presented to me in a way that doesn’t make me feel like I’m being spoken to like a five-year old. On NBC Sunday, I felt like I was watching FOX News, or at worst, a slap fight between those two guys you wish would just stop hanging out together.

You won’t hear any complaints from me about anything else in the NBC production from Sunday’s Game of the Week debut between the Flyers and Blackhawks, as I’ve really run out of things to say about it. I can’t blame NBC for maintaining what is largely the status quo. Emrick and Olczyk work just fine together, McGuire is a bit annoying between the benches, but does come up with legitimately interesting information. His observation of how the Flyers were going with what he called an “0-5″ system of defense, where they literally abandoned forechecking, changed the way I watched the game. Overall, there’s little worth changing about the in-game production.

But, my goodness, the intermission show is a mess. Separate McGuire and his sparring partner Mike Milbury before one of them literally gets a contact high from their own drama. It is not only sickening to watch these two grown men not only yell at and over each other, but almost worth turning off the television altogether, as I did for the second intermission. I’m sorry I couldn’t be compelled to hear their thoughts on the All-Star Game, but the fact is, they’ve become a reason to just switch over to whatever movie’s on TNT for the 27th time.

Let’s instead set the scene for their first intermission debate. Milbury and McGuire are going to debate head shots. Fine! It’s the hottest topic in the league, and it has been covered by every network – American and Canadian – in the past two weeks, it certainly belongs on the NHL’s national broadcast partner in the States. They even have an interesting idea about preventing some of these head shots, elbowing in particular. They bring out ways you can use less potentially harm-causing pads. Again, reasonable.

From here, the two men do something which is almost inconceivable to me: they point out the other’s likely debate position (Milbury will be against what he calls the “babyproofing” the league while McGuire will lean more towards safety) and then begin yelling at each other over it, to the point where the director clearly told one of them to go to commercial, as Milbury said they were going to at the end of the screechfest.

Think about this. Not only are these men yelling at one another incomprehensibly, they’re both totally aware of the fact that they’re going to, and what they’re going to say to one another. This is entirely ridiculous! They have become self-aware of their own self-parody! It has gotten to the point where I don’t want to waste another word on these two men, who are reduced to clowns during these segments. Regardless, what are our solutions here?

There don’t seem to be any coming. Bob Costas, Al Michaels and Dan Patrick don’t seem interested in hosting the intermission show on a week-to-week basis. Why not try Eddie Olczyk in there with Pierre for a couple weeks, as he’ll at least be a little more reasoned and polite. Why not just let Doc Emrick introduce some throwaway features about various players around the league, I’m sure the NHL has a load of them.

The fact that I have to call for an NHL intermission report to be more polite is a sad one. This isn’t FOX News, this isn’t MSNBC, and it isn’t a schoolyard argument over who took somebody’s lunch money. These are two grown men debating a topic that is going to affect some of the men on the ice’s lives. There’s a good chance that one of the players playing in that game – or any game – will suffer from a head shot, sooner rather than later, and it’ll cause some permanent damage that will leave a black mark on a league that could’ve done something to stop it. I think a debate about this, regardless of your position on the subject, is above this sort of babbling. Milbury and McGuire should be too.

What We Learned From Two Weeks of Studio Shows

I’ve found it very difficult to synthesize my thoughts about these shows from the two weeks (technically eight days of episodes) I spent watching both of them, comparing and contrasting certain things. I learned one thing for sure: that both of these shows have a ways to go before they’d be what I consider “appointment hockey television.” You know, stuff we wouldn’t just watch because there’s nothing better. It is very clear to see that there are good things that each show has tried during the time that I’ve been watching, while it is equally clear to see that there are some flaws.

Below, some positives and negatives for both shows, individually, as I think it’d be unfair to just say which you should watch and which you shouldn’t. The simple answer is you should check out both from time to time, you wouldn’t regret it.

NHL Overtime

The Good: They’re continuously trying to get better. You can tell that NHL Overtime is aware that it is providing a service to the cable owner without NHL Network, or someone bored by On the Fly in general. VERSUS’ graphics and studio set blow NHL Network out of the water, and I’m pretty sure they haven’t changed anything other than the color backdrop in about half a decade (yes, VERSUS has been around this long).

Part of not really having a formula down yet is that you’re willing to try some things that haven’t really been seen on NHL TV shows in awhile. The writers roundtable on Wednesday of last week was a revelation, and hopefully, an example of what VERSUS can do to out-work NHL Network. Featuring writers both in studio and on remote locations, it was the closes American TV has come to producing something as occasionally sublime, but always watchable as The Hotstove on Hockey Night in Canada. Please, make it a weekly thing, with a rotating cast of writers.

Also, it is truly nice to see that VERSUS is willing to front-load their talent on the show some nights. I was quite surprised when they brought in both Eddie Olczyk and Mike Milbury for various shows, and both brought a lot (some good and some bad) to the show. Billy Jaffe has become the NHL TV star I predicted. He is absolutely the closest thing the show has to a dynamic presence. Not tethered to any NHL team since losing his gig with the Islanders (gee, remember when that was their biggest PR problem?) he seems a man renewed in his work, and the viewers are reaping the results whenever he’s in there.

Speaking of Jaffe, his work – and the entire cast’s – on the teletouch system has been a real revolution for a sport that can often be hard to break down via highlights. I love that thing, even if the cast insists on calling it a “teletubby” because Olczyk said it wrong one night. That joke needs to end immediately. Regardless, on Hockey Central or Overtime, this thing can be used to break down the barriers between casual fans, and even some diehards, and a better understanding of the sport.

The Bad: It’s sad to say, but Greg Wyshynski hit the nail on the head last week when he pointed out that, more often than not, and despite it’s willingness to try things, NHL Overtime feels like a director’s cut of Hockey Central, which can be frightfully dull at only a half an hour. The show will remain uneven until they have a fairly regular cast. While it may be fun to switch things up every night for the simple “Hey! Look, it’s that guy!” factor of who’ll be there, it has led to there being no chemistry on the set.

While I understand that VERSUS threw together the show fairly quickly, it is imperative that they decide one thing: At least decide on a regular host, whether it be Liam McHugh, Bill Pidto, or even Charissa Thompson. It isn’t going to be Bill Patrick, as it’d be unfair to ask him to work all those shows. So decide on someone, and perhaps give McHugh or Pidto the shot based on what I’ve seen. Pidto seems to have the edge in hockey knowledge, but McHugh has a little more enthusiasm for the gig.

Also, NHL Overtime seems intent on following Terry Bradshaw’s annoying footsteps in having analysts narrate the highlights. This is totally ineffective, no matter how well the analyst speaks. They either fall behind the play, sound awkward, or try and do live play-by-play. It’s uncomfortable at times. Let the host describe what happened, bounce off a few weak potential catchphrases, and then let the analyst talk over a replay.

One more problem, as I don’t mean to beat up on the show too much. There are too few highlights at times. The games that receive the least attention on this show tend to have as many clips as the NHL game receiving most attention from ESPN that night. I’m not saying everything needs to be show, but I think VERSUS can make the highlights a little bit longer for each game. For example: Only two of Marian Gaborik’s four goals were shown in the initial highlights. All four of them should have been. There are simple mistakes VERSUS is making at times that would make their continued grasp to find something new and fresh more palatable.

Overall: The show is still incomplete until they find a fairly regular cast of characters, but they are trying, and it is appreciated. Still, there are some things that can just plain work better.

NHL On the Fly

The Good: Kevin Weekes continues to improve by leaps and bounds as lead analyst (or at least, the one who was there most while I watched) and the studio suits him well. Of the hosts I saw during the time I spent watching, Ken Reid impressed me the most with his way with words, quick wit, and ability to keep the show moving. That said, there is no one on NHL Network who is that bad at the job. They’re all perfectly competent.

Another thing I was impressed by was the fact that, while Overtime produced live hits with various NHL stars, On the Fly was able to get players on days when they were making headlines. Eric Staal and Nicklas Lidstrom were on the show the night they were selected as captains for the All-Star Game, and not on NHL Overtime, which had a mere discussion. Having Darren Dreger around every now and then keeps the show relevant with prime NHL issues.

One more thing, if you’re going to narrate highlights with studio talent, at least they do it correctly. I mentioned what bugs me about Overtime before, but here’s what On the Fly does: the host acts as the play-by-play man, telling you what happened on a certain play, then the analyst analyzes it. This is so much easier than having analysts who sometimes aren’t used to having to do this sort of thing on TV try and do both.

The Bad: I understand they’re trying to do things a little differently, but I dislike the fact that they have narration over many game highlights now. Since there’s a show that deals exclusively in that, I’d go back to letting the announcers speak for the game 100% of the time, unless it’s a night where doing so would leave you without being able to say everything needed to say. That said, I’ve found few nights where doing so has made it that way.

The show can tend to be a little bit bland as well. While there is no forced debate, which gains points, there is no real debate at all. Analysts just make their points about the game and we move along. There is no attempt to stir things up whatsoever, to the point where a lot of the commentary can come off as neutered. While I don’t want a simple highlight show turning into Pardon the Interruption, it’d be nice if we got something quoteworthy from these guys once in awhile.

In general though, the show still looks a little stale. The attempt to freshen up the studio a year ago was nice, but I’m still not blown away with the production values the way I am when I watch MLB Network or NFL Network. We’re getting closer to the all-style, no substance of NBA TV, but I’d prefer the NHL have a network as good as the fans who crave it’s wall-to-wall hockey programming.

Overall: This show is playing it safe, and overall, succeeds. I think there are little things, however, that the show can do to improve while we await another studio revamp for a few years.

Marty Turco is Not a Pierre McGuire Fan

Your Announcers and Open Thread For Flyers/Blackhawks

Philadelphia vs. Chicago, 12:30 PM ET, NBC
Play by Play: Mike Emrick
Color: Eddie Olczyk
Inside the Glass: Pierre McGuire

VERSUS To Air Tons of Studio Programming, Past All-Star Games Next Week

While VERSUS mentioned that they will be super-serving hockey fans with coverage of NHL All-Star Weekend as well as new technology to present it in, the network’s commitment to the sport will reach a new high, with extra re-runs of studio coverage and re-airings of the prior two All-Star celebrations.

It all begins on Thursday, January 28th, the final night of play before the All-Star break, when VERSUS airs a marathon of the 2008 All-Star Game from Atlanta and the 2009 All-Star Game from Montreal, beginning at 5:00 PM ET. This will be followed up by a new episode of NHL Overtime, in its’ regular 11:00 PM ET timeslot.

Friday night, as has been mentioned before, the network will air the first ever NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft live from 8:00-9:30 PM ET. It is unclear whether TSN or VERSUS is handling the original production. After the draft, VERSUS will re-air the show in it’s entirety, followed by an encore presentation of the 2009 All-Star Game at 11:00 PM ET.

Saturday has the All-Star Super-Skills competition, and VERSUS will have you completely covered. The network has a full day of sports action, with a Mountain West basketball game airing at 4:00 PM ET (BYU vs. New Mexico). At 7:00 PM ET, the NHL All-Star Superskills Competition airs live from Raleigh. VERSUS continues it’s sports night with PBR action at 9:30 PM ET, and the NBA D-League Slam Dunk/3-Point contest at Midnight ET.

Sunday afternoon, January 30th, VERSUS is live again for the big day. The 2010 NHL All-Star Game airs live on VERSUS at 4:00 PM ET. Usually in the past, VERSUS has used the All-Star Game to lead-in to a UFC event, but instead the network will merely air the Skills Competition after the game at 7:00 PM ET and a re-run of NHL Overtime at 9:30 PM ET.

Monday night, January 31st, while the NHL takes one more day off to get ready for the second half of the season (lazy!) VERSUS will get you caught up with the weekend if you had work and maybe missed all of it. The network will re-air the skills competition at 4:30 PM ET. This will be followed up by a re-run of NHL Overtime at 7:00 PM ET. The 58th NHL All-Star Game will re-air one more time at 8:00 PM ET, followed by a re-run of the Overtime from earlier in the night at 11:00 PM ET.

The NHL regular season finally returns to VERSUS on Tuesday, February 1st wil a double-header. Hockey Central airs at 7:00 PM ET to tee up Penguins/Rangers at 7:30 PM ET, followed up by Coyotes/Sharks at 10:00 PM ET. Hockey Central follows the game and serves as the lead-in for NHL Overtime in a special 1:00 AM ET slot. For a complete schedule, head after the jump.

The Final Night of HockeyHighlightDome: Overtime vs. On the Fly

Monday morning, I’ll put all this stuff together and post my findings, if anything interesting shows up.

Night 8, Thursday, January 20

NHL Overtime, 11:00 PM ET, VERSUS

Host: A plot twist! We have ourselves a first-time host this evening, in VERSUS lead reporter Charissa Thompson. Nicely done on my final night of recapping these things, NHL Overtime.

Thompson was given a rough night by some things that were completely out of her control. The Flyers/Senators game was, according to her, supposed to begin with a flashback, but instead went straight into the highlights. Then, heading into the first commercial break, they had her read script or teleprompter that was clearly lifted from Monday, as it teased Panthers/Thrashers and Bruins/Hurricanes highlight. Thompson is certainly not at fault for this, and you have to wonder if someone was playing a prank on her for her first night on the show.

Analysts: Billy Jaffe and Aaron Ward are in tonight, thankfully giving me only one person to judge for the evening. Jaffe seems to think the song is called “Friday Night’s Alright For Fighting.” Also, nice Major League reference, Aaron Ward.

Lead Story: The Evgeni Nabakov signing was the right way to start of the show, as it was the first story talked about by the hodgepodge panel. I totally hope the Devils make the Red Wings give us Datsyuk for free in exchange for claiming Nabakov and putting him on waivers again. That’d be fun.

Lead Highlights: How about Tampa Bay/Atlanta? *checks standings* Yeah, let’s do Tampa Bay/Atlanta. I think this is the first time I can recall a Southeast Division game being picked at the top of the show, though I only really remember eight of them. Thank goodness for this league that the Southeast is now a better division than the Northeast. That was a threshold that needed to be cleared at some point.

Another interesting thing to note from the highlights is that VERSUS is able to get HD feeds of MSG or MSG Plus games, which NHL Network doesn’t.

Non-Highlight Footage: The Lightning’s dominance of the Thrashers so far this season, followed by an immediate look at the Southeast Division standings, which probably could’ve waited until after the Washington game that night before showing it, but I suppose it isn’t really a problem.

Following Flyers/Senators, we got the post-game presser with Chris Pronger, plus a break-down of a goal he assisted on, complete with fancy technological X’s and O’s. Their ability to do this with any game is a big win for me. This has probably been my favorite discovery of the show over the past two weeks.

Holy cow, is Jacques Lemaire a boring press conference when you show his against a bunch of others, including Bruce Boudreau’s for Capitals/Islanders (or John Tortorella for Rangers/Hurricanes). Also, both of these games got the teletouch treatment. Enough with the teletubby stuff, guys. There were some technical miscues with this as well, not a banner night technically.

Interviews: No time for that tonight.

Time Spent on Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin: Crosby and Malkin’s injuries were both a focal point of the Penguins/Devils highlight, and of course, Ovechkin’s performance was a big part of the Islanders/Capitals. They were also a feature in the nightly VERSUS.com poll. Overall, the worst two weeks to have focuses on attention paid to Crosby and Ovie.

Spreading the Love (West Coast Coverage): Only two of the 12 games in the NHL tonight went past VERSUS’ bedtime, didn’t see any Western Conference teams until 25 minutes in for the Detroit/St. Louis game.

Features: Ugh, finally we’ve reached an end with the Guardian Project! Also, we’re finally starting to get a look at classic All-Star moments in preparation for the upcoming All-Star Game.

Controversial Material: Again, no time!

NHL On the Fly, 1:00 AM ET, NHL Network

Host: Good lord, we have another new voice in the host seat for these shows. Ken Reid is in the big chair tonight. I believe I’ve seen him before. He’s got a pleasant voice, and he’s totally into the gig and has a solid, crisp delivery. He might be my favorite host of the two weeks, and he’s only done this one show. Congratulations to him, I suppose, for the nonexistant honor.

Analysts: Thank you, Kevin Weekes, for your fourth straight night as analyst so I don’t have to do another write-up. Also, the man can wear a suit.

Lead Story: Avalanche forward Tomas Fleischmann’s crazy-scary blood disorder that’s going to put him out for the rest of the season. Would love to have a legit doctor’s opinion on what you have to do to care of something like this. Good luck to him, because just hearing the title of that scared the hell out of me.

Lead Highlights: On cue, Predators/Avalanche is the top of the show, again narrated. I do like that NHL Network, unlike VERSUS, allows the host narrate the highlights instead of the analyst, and lets the analyst stick to, well … analyzing. It makes things much cleaner and steadier. Incidentally, Tampa/Atlanta didn’t get shown until 18 minutes into On the Fly.

Non-Highlight Footage: Examples of great first passes from the Predators/Avalanche blowout. I like that On the Fly will find itself some great, semi-obscure, relevant hockey play to dissect and break-down every night, it’s the type of thing that this show was legitimately made for.

Overall, this show had less emphasis on interviews and more emphasis on talking about obscure moments.

Interviews: Time is precious when there’s 12 games and extensive highlights to show on this program.

Time Spent on Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin: On the Fly also previewed the Pittsburgh/New Jersey game as having no Crosby and Malkin, and they also talked a bit about Ovie in the Caps/Isles game. I kind of wish I hadn’t picked this segment for the whole piece, but whatever.

Spreading the Love (West Coast Coverage): As I previously stated, NHL Net opened up with a Western Conference game in Nashville/Colorado, as opposed to VERSUS, which waited 25 minutes, though they did cover the Evgeni Nabakov story at the top of the show, which NHL Network waited 10 minutes to show, afterwards they got onto Red Wings/Blues highlights.

Features: Very little beyond the standard performer of the night and highlights of the night.

Controversial Material: They didn’t really get into it on the Nabakov signing like I wanted them to, but neither network did.

NBC Picks Caps-Pens for Feb. 6 Game of the Week

NEW YORK (January 20, 2011) –The Sunday, February 6, Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals game has been flexed as NBC Sports’ “Game of the Week” and will be played at Verizon Center at 12:30 p.m. ET, the National Hockey League and NBC Sports announced today. When last seen on the same sheet of ice – and on NBC’s air – the Capitals and Penguins were battling the elements as well as each other in the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field.

 

Washington’s 3-1 victory that evening squared the clubs’ season series at one win apiece heading into their February 6 indoor clash. It also provided a stirring climax to the critically-acclaimed, four-part HBO series “24/7 Penguins-Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic” that took viewers inside what has become one of the NHL’s most celebrated rivalry.

 

Led by a relentless, 25-game, point-scoring streak by their captain, Sidney Crosby, the Penguins went 15 straight games without a loss in regulation to surge to the top of the Eastern Conference standings by mid-December. Having romped to the 2009-10 Presidents’ Trophy, the Capitals battled through unfamiliar early-season adversity, losing eight straight games in early December.

 

However, entering play on Jan. 20, only four points separated the teams in the Eastern Conference standings. They meet again just once in the 2010-11 regular season, on Feb. 21 in Pittsburgh.

 

NBC Sports’ NHL “Game of the Week” begins this Sunday and will feature Mike Richards, Danny Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers taking on Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. (12:30 p.m. ET.)

 

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING

 

At least 13 days prior to the scheduled game, one game is selected for broadcast on NBC. All NBC games will be broadcast on Sundays and all games will be presented in HD. Games not flexed to NBC will be available to the teams’ regional carriers and remain at the originally announced start time. The Feb. 6 match-up was first announced on the Thursday, Jan. 20, edition of “NHL Hour With Commissioner Gary Bettman” on NHL.com and SIRIUS XM Radio airing from 6-7 p.m. ET. All subsequent flexed games will be announced on NHL Hour with Commissioner Gary Bettman.

 

Upcoming 2011 NBC Game of the Week Regular-Season Flexible Schedule

 

Jan. 23 PHILADELPHIA AT CHICAGO 12:30 p.m. ET

Feb. 6 PITTSBURGH AT WASHINGTON 12:30 p.m. ET

Feb. 13 Pittsburgh at NY Rangers OR

Boston at Detroit OR

Los Angeles at Philadelphia OR 12:30 p.m. ET

Feb. 20 HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA

presented by McDonald’s

Washington at Buffalo (regional)

Detroit at Minnesota (regional)

Philadelphia at NY Rangers (regional)

Pittsburgh at Chicago (national) 12 – 6 p.m. ET

Mar. 6 Philadelphia at NY Rangers OR

Buffalo at Minnesota TBD

Mar. 13 Chicago at Washington OR

Los Angeles at Dallas TBD

Mar. 20 NY Rangers at Pittsburgh OR

New Jersey at Columbus TBD

Apr. 3 NY Rangers at Philadelphia OR

Minnesota at Detroit OR

Tampa Bay at Chicago TBD

Apr. 10 Boston at New Jersey OR

Pittsburgh at Atlanta OR

Detroit at Chicago OR

Dallas at Minnesota TBD

 

 

The Game of the Week Returns Sunday

NEW YORK – January 20, 2011 – “NHL Game of the Week” returns with a Stanley Cup rematch when the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks host the Philadelphia Flyers this Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC. NBCSports.com will also stream the game live.

 

Mike “Doc” Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) call the action. McGuire will pull double duty, hosting NBC’s studio show alongside analyst Mike Milbury on site at United Center in Chicago. NBC’s NHL coverage is produced by Sam Flood, the son of a hockey coach and former captain of the Williams College hockey team.

 

Last year, the Blackhawks defeated the Flyers in six games to win their first Stanley Cup since 1961. This season, the Flyers are tied for the NHL lead in points with 65 (with Vancouver) and the Blackhawks rank third in the Central with 54 points.

 

OLCZYK, who lives in Chicago: “The excitement in Chicago is at a fever pitch because two gigantic sporting events will be taking place Sunday in a matter of a few hours: the Blackhawks Stanley Cup rematch with the Flyers and the Bears playing the Packers for the right to go to the Super Bowl. The Flyers may feel that they are playing the entire city of Chicago. The excitement from these events is infectious, whether you’re a fan, player or coach. This was already one of the games that people circle on the calendar but because of the Bears-Packers game, it’s turning into more than just a Stanley Cup rematch.”

 

NBCSPORTS.COM: NBCSports.com will stream live all “NHL Game of the Week” broadcasts this season, including Flyers-Blackhawks. It will again offer “Star-cam,” which follows a marquee player in the game. Following the game, NBCSports.com will present bonus material, including “Star-cam” and “Net-cam” and bonus analysis from NBC Sports commentators.

 

2010 STANLEY CUP VIEWERSHIP: The 2010 Stanley Cup Final Game 6 between the Blackhawks and Flyers on NBC was the most-watched and highest-rated NHL game in 36 years.

 

The game – which saw the Blackhawks defeated the Flyers, 4-3, on a goal by Patrick Kane 4:06 into overtime to give Chicago its first Stanley Cup since 1961 and end the NHL’s longest championship drought – was watched by 8.28 million viewers, the most since 1974 (8.29 million viewers, Boston-Philadelphia, Game 3 on NBC), 43 percent higher than 2009’s Game 6 (5.8 million viewers) and four percent higher than 2009’s Game 7 (8.0 million).

 

HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA: The NHL and NBC Sports will celebrate America’s passion for hockey with the inaugural “Hockey Day in America” presented by McDonald’s on Sunday, February 20.

 

With six hours of coverage (Noon-6 p.m. ET) – which will include four NHL games – hosted from McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Chicago’s Millennium Park, NBC Sports will tell the stories that demonstrate this country’s affinity for hockey – from hockey parents who chauffeur pee wees to practice before sunrise to the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships in Minnesota, played by amateurs amidst arctic temperatures, to ‘celebrity’ hockey played by actors and producers in Los Angeles to inner-city hockey in Washington, D.C. that has made a difference in the lives of countless children and young adults.

 

NBC Sports will broadcast four NHL games featuring eight teams from some of the most avid U.S. hockey markets. The first three games will be broadcast regionally with staggered starts. All viewers will begin the day with the same game before some viewers are taken to their regional game. The staggered starts allow for live look-ins of the other regionalized games during intermissions. The fourth game, Pittsburgh at Chicago, will be broadcast nationally. All games will be streamed live on NBCSports.com.

 

The three regional games are Detroit at Minnesota, Philadelphia at New York Rangers, and Washington at Buffalo. Exact start times and commentators for the regional games will be announced at a later date.

 

“Hockey Day in America” schedule (all times ET):

 

Noon “Hockey Day in America” coverage begins

 

12:35 p.m. First regional game begins

 

12:40 p.m. Second regional game begins

 

12:45 p.m. Third regional game begins

 

3:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Chicago (national)

 

 

 

FLEX SCHEDULING & CONSISTENT 12:30 PM ET START TIME: Again this year, “Game of the Week” broadcasts will consistently start at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sundays (except for “Hockey Day in America” on Sunday, February 20, Noon-6 p.m. ET).

 

For the fourth straight season, the NHL and NBC Sports will utilize flex scheduling and will be able to select from up to four games on Sunday afternoons. At least 13 days prior to the scheduled games, the NHL and NBC Sports will announce one of those games as the “Game of the Week” to be broadcast during the NBC Sports window. The other games will remain available to the teams’ regional carrier but will not be televised during NBC Sports’ broadcast window.

 

2011 NHL GAME OF THE WEEK REGULAR-SEASON FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE

 

(All Games Announced At Least 13 Days Prior)

 

Sunday, Feb. 6, 12:30 p.m. ET

 

Pittsburgh @ Washington

 

St. Louis @ Tampa Bay

 

Sunday, Feb. 13, 12:30 p.m. ET

 

Boston @ Detroit

 

Pittsburgh @ N.Y. Rangers

 

Los Angeles @ Philadelphia

 

Sunday, Feb. 20, Noon-6 p.m. ET

 

“Hockey Day in America”

 

Washington @ Buffalo (regional)

 

Detroit @ Minnesota (regional)

 

Philadelphia @ N.Y. Rangers (regional)

 

Pittsburgh @ Chicago (national)

 

Sunday, Mar. 6, 12:30 p.m. ET

 

Philadelphia @ N.Y. Rangers

 

Buffalo @ Minnesota

 

Sunday, Mar. 13, 12:30 p.m. ET

 

Chicago @ Washington

 

Los Angeles @ Dallas

 

Sunday, Mar. 20, 12:30 p.m. ET

 

N.Y. Rangers @ Pittsburgh

 

New Jersey @ Columbus

 

Sunday, Apr. 3, 12:30 p.m. ET

 

N.Y. Rangers @ Philadelphia

 

Minnesota @ Detroit

 

Tampa Bay @ Chicago

 

Sunday, Apr. 10, 12:30 p.m. ET

 

Detroit @ Chicago

 

Boston @ New Jersey

 

Dallas @ Minnesota

 

Pittsburgh @ Atlanta

 

Penguins Bring Another Big Audience to VERSUS

The Penguins continue to be the NHL’s undisputed top draw in the United States.

The VERSUS telecast of the Penguins Monday, January 10th game against the Boston Bruins scored 523,000 viewers, the network’s third highest number of the season so far, and well more than double the audience for VERSUS on Monday nights so far this season (approx. 205,000 viewers over 11 games).

The top three most-watched VERSUS games this season have featured the Penguins. The prior game showing Pittsburgh to a national audience set an all-time VERSUS record for a regular season game, with 750,000 tuning into Penguins/Flyers on December 14th. The same match-up drew 730,000 viewers on opening night, October 7th. The Penguins show up another seven times on VERSUS the rest of the season, so expect a lot more perky nights like this, with the needle crawling upwards.

Penguins remaining games on VERSUS

Feb. 1, 7:30 PM ET – at NY Rangers
Feb. 2, 7:00 PM ET – vs. NY Islanders*
Feb. 21, 7:30 PM ET – vs. Washington
Feb. 23, 7:30 PM ET – vs. San Jose*
Mar. 2, 7:00 PM ET – at Toronto*
Mar. 21, 7:30 PM ET – at Detroit
Apr. 5, 7:30 PM ET – vs. New Jersey

10 Suggestions For Hockey Day in America That NBC Hasn’t Mentioned Yet

I’m sure you’ve seen me ramble on about this before, but I’m looking forward to Hockey Day in America in a very big way. I hope were able to do some big things with it here at the site, and I hope American hockey fans tune in, as well as casual fans who may be uninterested in the Daytona 500. The best thing we can hope for is a rain delay down there for a second consecutive year.

Anyway, here are 10 things I’d like to see NBC do that I haven’t seen thought up yet:

1. Make sure the three regional early games are available on NHL Game Center and Center Ice. One of the most fun aspects of the old regionalization in the ABC and the first two years of NBC eras were that you could watch any game you wanted if you had the NHL Center Ice package. If you were, like me, bored of seeing the Rangers in every national window, you could flip to the two other channels and see a game from the west coast, or featuring Detroit or Colorado. While I think Philly/Rangers will be a great game for my area this year, as both teams are hugely competitive, it’d be a great benefit if the three games were all available to out-of-market viewers, to see what’s going on in Minnesota or Buffalo.

Also, it has to be commended that all three games were extremely well chosen, as seven of the teams involved are in the playoff race (i.e. in their Conference’s Top 9 as of this writing) and the eighth, Buffalo, features likely the biggest American-born star to emerge from the Olympics in Ryan Miller.

2. Make sure American players are emphasized when on the ice. I’ve run into many a casual fan in my day, and some of them honestly don’t know which players are Canadian and which are American. NBC announcer Mike Emrick is very good at telling you where the players are from, but make it must that you emphasize which players are from which parts of our country.

3. Show where various American players came from. Show me the path of how a Patrick Kane, or a Ryan Callahan, or Brian Rafalski, or Ryan Miller got to the NHL, all the way from youth hockey to juniors or college to the big show. NBC has six intermission slots, a 35-minute pre-game and natural breaks in action to fill. I imagine we’ll see a lot of this, but it is a good idea, just to show kids and parents who may be unaware of the road to the NHL.

4. Have one of the network heavy hitters, preferably Al Michaels, host it. Come on, if someone hasn’t already begged the man to go to Chicago and do this, I’d be surprised. He’s as synonymous with U.S. hockey as anyone else, and did a great job with the Olympics last year. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him and Jeremy Roenick anchoring things from the rink at Millenium Park.

5. Unlike the Winter Classic, make sure you keep tabs on what’s going on in the NHL. This can be as simple as having an occasional update bug on the screen during the regional telecasts. However, my main gripe with the Winter Classic broadcast is that it should be used, at times, to bring the casual viewer who’s been clinging to the NFL until now up to speed with what’s going on in the sport. By mid-February these playoff races will be serious, keep people informed that these games matter.

6. Mix in some legendary broadcasters. Why not have Mike Lange call a period of Penguins-Blackhawks? Or Pat Foley? How about putting Sam Rosen or Rick Jeanneret on duty for their teams? I’m sure Dave Strader and Darren Pang, NBC substitute regulars, will be involved with the regional broadcasts, but it’d be fun to mix in some of the great names of American hockey announcing (though Jeanneret is Canadian) in on the fun. Or at least to allow them to have some role throughout the game. Gotta have inside-the-glass folks for every game, right? Anyway, here’s my complete guess – for no other reason but fun – on who will cover each game. Using a little bit of former NBC logic, and a little bit of “VERSUS and NBC are now under the same umbrella” logic. Remember, just guessing.

Detroit/Minnesota – Dave Strader, Andy Brickley, Darren Pang
Philadelphia/NY Rangers – Chris Cuthbert, Keith Jones, Joe Micheletti 
Buffalo/Washington – Joe Beninati, Darren Eliot, Billy Jaffe

Again, it could look completely different, but I’d imagine Strader and Pang are pretty safe bets for at least one game.

7. Promote as hard as you do for the Winter Classic. This goes on both sides. Come up with promos that evoke a love of the game mixed with some of the special American moments that have helped make it great. Produce tons of merch, including stuff that proclaims Chicago as the first host of the event. Sell stuff at the game sites too, with all the logos of the teams involved and whatnot. Have the teams wear Hockey Day patches.

8. Retro Jerseys. Have the Rangers, Sabres, Flyers, Capitals, Penguins and Blackhawks in their typical or third jerseys (in the Caps case, the Winter Classic threads) to emphasize the specialness and history going into the preparation of the day. I guess either the home or alternate Minnesota jersey works, and the Red Wing logo is always a classic.

9. Make it known that this is a tradition, heck, name next year’s site before the first one even happens. This could become one of those big events that NHL cities bid on to to be a part of. For example, the Rangers could host next year’s event in Central Park, or Washington at that outdoor rink in Chevy Chase, or New Jersey at the outdoor rink at Englewood Field Club … there are limitless iconic (or even non-iconic) settings you could have this event, even at any place where there could be a rink built. Have Dan Craig and that fancy portable ice truck from the Winter Classic come into some town and give them a rink for the day. It’d be a massive surprise and great TV. But make sure you announce your intention to do this annually.

10. Just don’t force anything. While starting traditions is nice, make sure this stays organic and true to it’s intended nature, to spotlight some of the great elements of American hockey and grow the game at the grassroots level. There is very little that could be done to screw up a day like this.