Matt McConnell the New Voice in Phoenix

GLENDALE, ARIZONA—- Phoenix Coyotes Chief Operating Office Mike Nealy announced today that the Coyotes have named Matt McConnell as the club’s new television play-by-play announcer.

 

“We are very excited to bring in a broadcaster with the talent and experience of Matt McConnell,” said Nealy. “Matt has 15 seasons of NHL play-by-play experience and we are confident that he and his partner Tyson Nash will provide our fans with an entertaining and informative broadcast. We look forward to watching them on FOX Sports Arizona all season long.”

 

For the last two seasons (2009-2011), McConnell has been the TV voice of the Atlanta Thrashers. McConnell also called all the TV play-by-play for the Thrashers from 1999 (their inaugural season in the NHL) through 2003 before moving on to the Minnesota Wild where he called NHL action for two seasons (2003-2005).

 

“Matt will join FOX Sports Arizona’s well-respected NHL production team that Phoenix Coyotes fans have been enjoying for years,” said Mike Connelly, FOX Sports Arizona Sr Vice President & General Manager. “Adding him to a mix that includes Tyson Nash and Todd Walsh will allow us to follow through on our goal of entertaining and educating hockey fans in Arizona and New Mexico.”

 

McConnell got his start in the NHL in 1993 when he was named as the radio voice of the expansion Anaheim Mighty Ducks. He worked with the Ducks through 1996 when he became the radio play-by-play announcer for the Pittsburgh Penguins for three seasons (1996-1999).

 

“I am extremely excited about joining the Phoenix Coyotes broadcast team,” said McConnell. “I look forward to working with Tyson and Todd and know we will all work towards the common goal of making Coyotes broadcasts among the best in the NHL.”

 

McConnell has also covered the NHL playoffs for NHL Radio and Westwood One, the Stanley Cup Final for NHL International and the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship for the NHL Network.

 

McConnell’s broadcasting resume also includes four seasons as the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS College Sports’ hockey broadcasts from 2005-06 to 2008-09. During this time, he also called college basketball, football and lacrosse for the network and hosted their coverage of the NCAA lacrosse championships. He also played the role of fill-in broadcaster for the NBA on TNT in 2001.

 

McConnell’s accolades in the broadcasting industry include a pair of regional sports Emmys involving his work on Thrashers telecasts in 2002 and 2003, his nomination for a regional sports Emmy in 2010, and his nomination for 1994 Broadcaster of the Year by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association while he was working with the Ducks.

 

McConnell is a graduate of Michigan State University where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication with major emphasis in Economics. He and his wife Jennifer have a daughter named Zoe.

REMINDER: NBC Sports Talk Debuts Tonight

NEW YORK (September 7, 2011) – VERSUS’ new live weeknight studio show, NBC SportsTalk, debuts tonight at 6 ET with the inaugural show focusing on the biggest news of the day – NFL Kickoff between the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints from historic Lambeau Field (NBC at 8:30 p.m. ET).

 

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com will join host Russ Thaler in-studio and the pair will be joined via satellite from Green Bay by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth and Football Night in America analysts Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison and Peter King (also from Sports Illustrated). The show will cover not only the first game of the season, but also all the news in and around the NFL.

 

The NBC Sports Group last week announced the block of new live studio shows for VERSUS airing on weeknights from 6-7 p.m. ET under the banner of NBC SportsTalk, NBC’s successful digital franchise on NBCSports.com that includes ProFootballTalk, HardballTalk, ProBasketballTalk, ProHockeyTalk, CollegeFootballTalk, InsidetheIrish and ProGolfTalk.

 

In addition to the new 6 p.m. shows, VERSUS, which will be re-branded the NBC Sports Network on January 2, will also launch a sports-business show with CNBC’s Darren Rovell, titled CNBC Sports Biz: Game On, on Friday nights at 7 p.m. ET, beginning on September 9.

 

The live block of shows will focus on the sports world’s most relevant topics each night and will include NBC Sports Group talent who will not only report on sports news, but will break down the significance of that news for viewers. Mondays (ProFootballTalk with Mike Florio) and Fridays (Peter King and Mike Florio) at 6 p.m. will be devoted to football, while the rest of the shows during the week will focus on the most topical sports stories.

ESPN To Cover Today’s Crosby Press Conference

This struck me as interesting, considering it is the middle of September and it’s the NHL and it’s ESPN. This comes via a tweet by friend of the site John Buccigross, which he further confirmed to me via e-mail (because, let’s face it, we all have such thick skins about ESPN and hockey that an innocent bystander could have seen this as sarcasm):

Sidney Crosby live news conference coverage on Sportscenter Wed aft.. Melrose too.

ROOT Sports in Pittsburgh and Rogers Sportsnet in Canada will also cover the press conference by the young star, who has been out of action since January as he suffers from post-concussion syndrome. No word yet (as of this writing, which is taking place in the wee hours of Wednesday morning) whether or not NHL Network or anyone else will cover it, but I’ll pass it along if they do. It is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. ET.

New York Area Friends of the Site: Help Out Jake Wisniewski at Tuesday Night’s Fundraiser in the City

I’m headed to an event tomorrow night, and I thought I’d post this to see if anyone was interested.

Jake Wisniewski is the graphics coordinator on MSG Plus’ New Jersey Devils telecasts, which obviously hold great value to me because the Devils are my favorite team, but I always like to think I’d be a fan of even if I didn’t love the Devils.

According to this website, Jake is 24, and in June received a life-saving double lung transplant to aid in his fight against cystic fibrosis. The medical costs stand at $100,000, but $70,000 has already been raised through numerous donations. Tuesday night is “A Night for Jake,” a fundraiser (via silent auction) that will be held between 7-10 p.m. at the Local West Beer Garden in Manhattan on Eighth Avenue and 33rd Street. In attendance will be current NHLers such as Zach Parise, Matt Moulson, Michael Grabner, Brandon Prust and Johan Hedberg, among others. Also attending is Hockey Hall of Famer Brian Leetch, former NHLers Butch Goring and Ken Daneyko, and area broadcasters such as Steve Cangialosi, John Giannone, Deb Placey, Dave Maloney and many more.

As previously mentioned, there will be a silent auction at the event (as well as an open bar) which will feature these great prizes, as posted in Devils beat writer Tom Gulitti’s blog:

LIVE AUCTION ITEMS

Hockey

**Devils VIP Package: Four tickets to a Devils’ home game, visit to broadcast booth, signed game-used Martin Brodeur stick

**Rangers VIP Package: Two tickets to a Rangers’ home game, ice-side suite tour with Al Trautwig and after-game photo on ice

**Islanders VIP Package: Four tickets to an Islanders’ home game, signed (white) team jersey, access to “High Five” area where you can interact with players

Basketball

**Walt “Clyde” Frazier Package: Signed piece of championship floor, signed ball, two tickets to a Knicks’ home game and meet and greet with Clyde

**College Basketball Package: Two tickets to St. John’s-Syracuse game at the Garden and son or daughter will be ball kid for the afternoon on the court with the team

Boxing

**MSG Boxing Package: Two tickets to Michael Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight on Dec. 3, passes for post-fight press conference and watch fight with former champion John Duddy

**Heavyweight Championship Package: Boxing gloves signed by Joe Frazier and Lennox Lewis

SILENT AUCTION ITEMS

Hockey**

**Lunch with Devils announcers Chico Resch and Ken Daneyko

**Two tickets to a Devils’ home game and booth visit with Devils’ television announcers

**Two tickets to a Rangers’ home game, booth visit with announcers and photo on ice

**Zach Parise autographed replica Devils’ jersey

**Islanders autographed team jersey (small)

**Henrik Lundqvist jersey

**Ryan Callahan stick and puck

**Mark Staal stick and puck

**Brian Leetch autographed replica Rangers’ jersey (to be signed Tuesday night)

**Islanders autographed team jersey (white)

**Mark Streit autographed Islanders’ jersey (blue)

Baseball

**Keith Hernandez bat and autographed scorecard from 2011 Mets’ game

**Phil Rizzuto autographed 8X10 photo with certificate of authenticity

MSG

**50 Greatest Moments at MSG poster autographed by Joe Frazier, Mark Messier, Mike Richter, Walt Frazier and Willis Reed

RAFFLE ITEMS

Hockey

**Martin Brodeur autographed game program from Game 1 of 1997 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. Montreal (game in which Brodeur scored a goal)

**Two tickets to a Devils’ home game

**Two tickets to Red Hot Hockey: Boston University vs. Cornell at MSG on Nov. 26

**Four tickets to an Islanders’ home game

Baseball

**Bucky Dent, Gary Carter and Davey Johnson autographed ball

**MLB Network Package: Harold Reynolds autographed ball, Mitch Williams autographed ball, hat and shirt

**Paul O’Neill autographed baseball (two)

**Mike Stanton autographed baseball

Soccer

**Red Bulls autographed team jersey

**Four tickets to Red Bulls’ home game (except Galaxy)

Football

**Two tickets to Jets-Bills game

**Harry Carson autographed book: “Harry Carson, Captain for Life…”

Basketball

**Four tickets to a Nets’ home game

**Walt “Clyde” Frazier autographed basketball

**Larry Johnson autographed basketball

**John Starks autographed basketball

**Earl Monroe autographed basketball

If you can’t attend, I strongly urge that you go to this website and help out. I’m planning to go tomorrow night, and I hope to see some of you there. Have a great day.

VERSUS To Air Four NHL Pre-Season Games

In what may be a first for the United States, NHL pre-season games are coming to network television.

VERSUS, which will become NBC Sports Network on January 2nd, will air four pre-season games starting on September 21st (Toronto vs. Philadelphia), something that I cannot remember any other network doing in the history of hockey on television. The only example of this I can find goes way back to SportsChannel America televising Washington Capitals and Calgary Flames games during a tour of Europe prior to the 1989 season. Prior to this year, only NHL Network aired broadcasts of pre-season games to the rest of the country.

All four of VERSUS’ telecasts will likely be simulcasts of Comcast’s regional sports networks. Three of them are Flyers games, already scheduled to be telecast in the Philadelphia market, which makes it appear that the games will be blacked out in the participating markets if they’re already being televised there. For example, the Rangers-Flyers game on September 26th is already being broadcast to both New York and Philadelphia.

It is not yet known if VERSUS will be using their own studio show for the telecasts, a practice that occurred throughout the 2010-11 season and through every playoff year when VERSUS had used simulcasts.

Around North America, it appears viewers in both countries will be getting a lot of pre-season action. CBC will air five games, including two doubleheaders, and the annual Kraft Hockeyville featuring Winnipeg and Ottawa. TSN will air four games, showcasing five (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal) of the seven Canadian teams. NHL Network will likely pick up some games of its own to broadcast to viewers in the United States, but none have been announced so far.

2011 NHL Pre-Season National TV Schedule

Sept. 21, 7:00 p.m. – Toronto vs. Philadelphia (VERSUS)
Sept. 22, 9:00 p.m. – Vancouver vs. Edmonton (TSN)
Sept. 24, 7:00 p.m. – Buffalo vs. Toronto (CBC)
Sept. 24, 10:00 p.m. – Anaheim vs. Vancouver (CBC)
Sept. 26, 4:00 p.m. – Winnipeg vs. Ottawa (CBC)
Sept. 26, 7:00 p.m. – NY Rangers vs. Philadelphia (VERSUS)
Sept. 27, 9:00 p.m. – NY Islanders vs. Calgary (TSN)
Sept. 28, 8:30 p.m. – Detroit vs. Chicago (VERSUS)
Sept. 28, 8:30 p.m. – Carolina vs. Winnipeg (TSN)
Sept. 29, 7:00 p.m. – New Jersey vs. Philadelphia (VERSUS)
Sept. 29, 7:00 p.m. – Tampa Bay vs. Montreal (TSN)
Oct. 1, 7:00 p.m. – Detroit vs. Toronto (CBC)
Oct. 1, 10:00 p.m. – Edmonton vs. Vancouver (CBC)

(Source: NHL.com)

Atlanta To Receive 80 Canes and Preds Games This Season Which is, Ironically, More Than The Thrashers Ever Televised in the Market

From Luke DeCock on Twitter:

Canes and Preds will each get 40 games in Atlanta TV market this year, GM Jim Rutherford said today. Possible preseason game there in 2012.

 

NHL TV Partners Need to Help Explain Player Tragedies

I’ve mostly stayed away from this sort of thing as it has reared its ugly head twice before over the summer. Yet, here the hockey world is again, in the wake of a tragedy. This time, it is Wade Belak, who took his own life at the age of 35 in Toronto yesterday. This is third death of an NHL player, and the second suicide of an NHL player (the first one was of a drug overdose), within a few months. To not have it weigh heavy on your mind would be impossible as someone who watches as much hockey as I do, and as I imagine anyone who reads my website would have to as well.

It is a horrible, incomprehensible tragedy that Belak, as well as Rick Rypien and Derek Boogaard, are gone forever. Other men have spoken about the range of emotions that you have to feel for these players, these human beings, and their families. Greg Wyshynski and Bruce Arthur both wrote words that have touched me and spoke to how I felt about all of this. I am truly at a loss for them, other than to say that my heart is truly in pieces for the families and – in Belak’s most tragic case – young children who will have to carry on in the wake of these men. I cannot even venture to guess how lost they must feel from all this, and how much they have lost.

We all must move on, however, after a few more days in which we will see more tributes to Belak, more words spent recapping the terrible loss that the hockey family has burdened since May, when Boogaard died, and that continued a few weeks ago, when Rypien took his life. Even more will be spent talking about the cause and effect of fighting in the game, how it may have affected the mental state of these men and what they have done. About the punishing sort of game that these three men in particular personified. That’s not what I’m here to talk about at all, however. What this is about is sending a message, publicly, through the league’s easiest connection to its’ fans.

The National Hockey League’s television partners in both the United States and Canada, have a real opportunity here. They have a chance to spark real debate about issues such as head injuries, hitting, fighting, how players should be properly medicated, drug culture, and in the NHLPA’s case, how their athletes transition into life after hockey. Issues such as these should already be regularly bantered about on the numerous chat segments of Hockey Night in Canada and TSN’s panel, but there needs to be expanded debate.

These are just a few of the many issues that need to be – if not debated – at least talked about on CBC, TSN and VERSUS in America. One could forgive the NHL’s own in-house channel from sidestepping this, but NHL Network could be involved in creating debate too, in the vein of the two-hour special the network aired that dealt with race in the modern game. This isn’t something that VERSUS can ignore either. Maybe they will, but they shouldn’t. You’ve got a 10-year contract with the league, now’s the time to discuss some of the more dicey issues and bring something like this to the forefront. Talk to the hardcore hockey fan like adults. We’ve all just been dealt a horrifying summer in which three players died of means that could have prevented. How many more of these do we need to see without more than a brief obituary?

My suggestion is as follows. CBC or TSN, in conjunction with VERSUS or the NHL Network in the states, should hold a two-hour (or one-hour, to accommodate TV) roundtable discussion on these issues – formatted similarly to the one on race from a couple of years ago – that gets out a a message that these topics won’t be swept under the rug for another season. Involve people from the league, commentators, players, medical experts, whomever. Just get into an open, frank talk about what’s happened over the summer and what can be done to turn this around.

It isn’t just that these are hockey players. These are men with a unique influence on fans of this game, especially young children. Whether we like it or not, one of the appeals of hockey to young fans is that players are allowed to spontaneously fight each other. Some kids have lost their heroes this summer, even aside from the obvious tragic loss to their families. Enforcers, or “goons,” hold a special place in many fans’ hearts. How do we deal with the fact that three of them have died, that two have taken their own lives? Television, at it’s very best, can help us steer the conversation towards making real change.

NHL Markets Change in Size For 2012

The numbers are according to Nielsen, via The 506. The link will lead you to the entire list. Nielsen research released the number of television homes in each of the major markets in the United States. What follows is each National Hockey League markets ranking and TV homes, and the change from last year to this year. Enjoy.

1. New York (Rangers, Islanders, Devils)
Last Year’s Ranking: 1
TV Homes: 7,387,810 (7,515,330 in 2011)
Change: -1.7%

2. Los Angeles (Kings, Ducks)
Last Year’s Ranking: 2
TV Homes: 5,569,780 (5,666,900 in 2011)
Change: -1.8%

3. Chicago (Blackhawks)
Last Year’s Ranking: 3
TV Homes: 3,493,480 (3,502,610 in 2011)
Change: -0.3%

4. Philadelphia (Flyers)
Last Year’s Ranking: 4
TV Homes: 2,993,370 (3,015,820 in 2011)
Change: -0.8%

5. Dallas-Ft. Worth (Stars)
Last Year’s Ranking: 5
TV Homes: 2,571,310 (2,594,630 in 2011)
Change: -0.9%

6. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (Sharks)
Last Year’s Ranking: 6
TV Homes: 2,506,510 (2,523,520 in 2011)
Change: -0.7%

7. Boston (Manchester) (Bruins)
Last Year’s Ranking: 7
TV Homes: 2,379,690 (2,460,290 in 2011)
Change: -3.3%

8. Washington, DC (Hagerstown) (Capitals)
Last Year’s Ranking: 9
TV Homes: 2,360,180 (2,389,710 in 2011)
Change: -1.3%

11. Detroit (Red Wings)
Last Year’s Ranking: 11
TV Homes: 1,842,650 (1,883,840 in 2011)
Change: -2.2%

13. Phoenix (Coyotes)
Last Year’s Ranking: 12
TV Homes: 1,811,330 (1,881,310 in 2011)
Change: -3.8%

14. Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg (Sarasota) (Lightning)
Last Year’s Ranking: 14
TV Homes: 1,788,240 (1,795,200 in 2011)
Change: -0.4%

15. Minneapolis-St. Paul (Wild)
Last Year’s Ranking: 15
TV Homes: 1,721,940 (1,753,780 in 2011)
Change: -1.9%

16. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (Panthers)
Last Year’s Ranking: 16
TV Homes: 1,583,800 (1,580,580 in 2011)
Change: +0.3%

17. Denver (Avalanche)
Last Year’s Ranking: 17
TV Homes: 1,548,570 (1,572,740 in 2011)
Change: -1.6%

21. St. Louis (Blues)
Last Year’s Ranking: 21
TV Homes: 1,253,920 (1,258,580 in 2011)
Change: -0.4%

23. Pittsburgh (Penguins)
Last Year’s Ranking: 24
TV Homes: 1,171,490 (1,160,820 in 2011)
Change: +1.0%

24. Raleigh-Durham (Hurricanes)
Last Year’s Ranking: 25
TV Homes: 1,143,420 (1,131,310 in 2011)
Change: +1.1%

29. Nashville (Predators)
Last Year’s Ranking: 29
TV Homes: 1,024,560 (1,039,430 in 2011)
Change: -1.5%

32. Columbus (Blue Jackets)
Last Year’s Ranking: 34
TV Homes: 932,680 (915,950 in 2011)
Change: +1.8%

51. Buffalo (Sabres)
Last Year’s Ranking: 51
TV Homes: 645,190 (636,320 in 2011)
Change: +1.4%