Puck the Media’s NHL Tournament of Announcers, Championship Match: Bob Miller vs. Mike Emrick

 

 

 

 

 

So here we are.  After what seems like years of voting, we come to the championship.  I’m comfortable saying that I will be proud of our champion regardless, as here we have two legends in their own time.  Voting will go until Friday at 5:30.  Good luck!

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Oh, We Knew Jack Edwards Wouldn’t Let Us Down on National TV

We thought for a while on Tuesday night that maybe Jack Edwards was going to corral himself in from saying such things like “Matty Niskanen’s not gonna’ be a pretty boy anymore”.  Fortunately, Tim Thomas went nuts and decided to cross check Andre Kostitsyn up high, and… well… let’s just give the mic over to Mr. Edwards:

I love Andy Brickley’s reaction.  It felt like “Well, there goes Jack, might as well keep myself calm and focused on the game.”  We love Jack Edwards for the unique brand of craziness he brings to the game, and he certainly delivered for what was a great game last night.

NHL Net’s All-Star Coverage: Inside Access, Classic Games

 

NHL Network

Lots of NHL Network stuff so far this week.  The network has promised to double it’s distribution, and launched a talk show starring Dave Hodge.  They certainly are chugging along as far as new info and development goes.

The All-Star weekend, as you obviously know, is coming up and it’s one of those signature NHL events that NHL Network covers extremely well.  They usually immerse you at ice-level with player interviews and commentary during practices and show other fantastic stuff.

This year is no different, here’s what NHL Network is presenting for the 2009 All-Star Game:

Local TV News: Panthers Re-Sign with FSN, Blues Go All-Cable, Could Sharks Make Strange Move?

The Florida Panthers only have 66 games on local television this season.  In our opinion, every club should have every game on the tube, but most franchises should aim to at least be at the 75-game level.  Well, the Panthers have re-upped their deal with FS Florida, and it looks as if they’ll be inching closer to that goal:

 Sunrise Sports & Entertainment announced today that FOX Sports Florida has signed a multi-year extension with the Florida Panthers as the official television rights holder for Panthers hockey. As part of the agreement, FOX Sports Florida will increase its number of regular season broadcasts to over 70 games in 2009-10 in addition to select playoff games.

As part of the partnership, the Panthers will take a lead role in sponsorship development for Panthers game coverage, as well as shoulder programming, on FOX Sports Florida. In addition, the hockey club will have the opportunity to develop additional Panthers programming with more details on this partnership to be announced in the coming months. 

At least it appears that TV situation for Florida is stable for the next few years.

Moving on, after the jump, we have news about the St. Louis Blues spurning broadcast TV and a bit of an odd story about what the Sharks may be doing with their regional TV set-up as soon as next season.

VERSUS Launches NHL All-Star Microsite… Not Bad

It’s less than two weeks until the All-Star Game, and VERSUS has begun to promote the heck out of it, because… well, what else do they have to promote.  They’ve been using NBA-esque sappy videos, like this one:

VERSUS has also launched it’s own NHL All-Star Game micro-site, which doesn’t feature failed attempts at baseball-style shootout attempts.  Check it out here.  It’s not bad for a VERSUS website.  You can play trivia games and win prizes, as well as find out fun facts about the ASG and the Habs’ history.

There’s rumored to be a revamp for VERSUS’ NHL site sometime soon.  This is a start, but it’s certainly not going to be hailed as anywhere near as good as ESPN’s NHL site.  Sorry, VERSUS.  But, you know… your improving.

The NHL TV Set, Part 2: Two Network Split, Because the Baseball Network Worked So Well

Editor’s Note: This is part two of our four-part series, The NHL TV Set, in which we speculate on alternate scenarios for the National Hocke League on broadcast television, where we believe the league can thrive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NBC is probably in between FOX and ABC on the list of “Best NHL Network partners”, because they show more games than ABC, and show more playoff games than FOX did, but they don’t promote the spot with any of the ferocity that FOX did, so they finish a close second.

My only other real beef with the Peacock network is that the games aren’t shown with the consistency necessary to keep the NHL visible in the eyes of the public.  So this is my suggestion today: Use a two-network system, between CBS and NBC, to keep the NHL on every week from January until the Stanley Cup Finals, giving the league and their partners a chance to tell a story throughout the games each week.

CBS, having little going on on weekends after football season, would mix in hockey games on Saturdays and Sundays with it’s college basketball coverage.  Show off how the rivalries in hockey are comparable to many college battles throughout the nation, and maybe a few extra folks will flock to it.  NBC keeps it’s Sunday “Game of the Week” package with six games beginning in March.