Your Announcers and Open Thread For Night 21 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Washington vs. Tampa Bay, Game 3, 6:30 p.m. ET

National TV (US): VERSUS
Play by Play: Dave Strader
Color: Brian Engblom
Inside the Glass: Darren Pang

National TV (Canada): TSN
Play by Play: Gord Miller
Inside the Glass: Pierre McGuire

Vancouver vs. Nashville, Game 3, 9:00 p.m. ET

National TV (US): VERSUS

National TV (Canada): CBC
Play by Play: Jim Hughson
Color: Craig Simpson
Inside the Glass: Glenn Healy
Reporter: Scott Oake

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NBC Sports Group Misses Out on Pac-12 Deal

One would think that NBC would re-focus it’s commitment to the Olympics at this point. They need to add something else within the next couple of years. From Richard Sandomir of the New York Times:

The Pacific-10 Conference will start its own network on cable television in 2012 but will also sell most of its marquee football and basketball games to Fox and ESPN for about $3 billion over 12 years, more than quadrupling what the two companies have been paying.

It is the richest conference deal ever. The Pac-10, which is expected to announce the agreements Wednesday, is following the media model of the Big Ten Conference, which in 2007 created its own network and negotiated a 10-year, $1 billion deal with ESPN.

But a critical difference between the conferences’ deals is that the Pac-10 will retain full ownership of its network. Fox Cable Networks owns 49 percent of the Big Ten channel. Another recently created college channel, the Longhorn Network, which will focus on University of Texas sports, culture and academics, is owned by ESPN as a result of a 20-year, $300 million payment.

“We didn’t feel we had to give equity to get the broadcast and cable packages we got,” Larry Scott, the Pac-10’s commissioner, said in a telephone interview.

He said the size of the TV package was a result of the conference’s rights being previously undervalued; the size of its markets; the pooling of media rights that had been scattered among its schools; the presence of two programs, Oregon and Stanford, in B.C.S bowls last season; and the competitiveness among ESPN, Fox and Comcast, which also bid.

NHL Network Press Release on Game 4 of Caps/Bolts

NEW YORK (May 3, 2011) – NHL Network U.S. will telecast Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series between the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning from the St. Pete Times Forum tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. ET.*

The teams will meet tonight in Tampa in Game 3 of the series that began with two Lightning victories in Washington.

The Lightning rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, thereby advancing to Conference Semifinals for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2004. The Capitals eliminated the New York Rangers in five games in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal and are seeking to advance to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 1998.

For both U.S. and Canadian audiences, live programming on the NHL Network each weekday begins with the new NHL® Live™, now at 4 p.m. ET, followed by NHL On The Fly Pre-Game at 6 p.m. ET and NHL On the Fly immediately following. With more content that fans crave, this schedule of daily live programming will feature the use of current and former NHL players as guest analysts and provide on-site coverage from arena via webcams, team cameras and content from local television rightsholders.

*Local blackout restrictions apply. Locally in Washington, viewers will be able to see the game on CSN-DC. Locally in Tampa, viewers will be able to see the game on SUN Sports. The game is available in Canada on TSN. All broadcasts are available in HD.

Mike Emrick Wins the NHL’s First Ever Sports Play-by-Play Emmy

I’m fully aware that it’s often a target of parody for this blog, but Mike Emrick remains my favorite hockey play-by-play man of all time an, other than my parents and Martin Brodeur, likely the person most responsible for my hockey fandom.

So it’s with great pleasure that the first item of the day is an announcement that Emrick received his first ever National Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play at the awards ceremony in New York City last night. Emrick was victorious for his work with NBC over Joe Buck, Jim Nantz, Bob Costas, Al Michaels and Verne Lundqvist. Those are the heavy hitters, and it was reported over Twitter by attendees of the event that Doc received a standing ovation from those in attendance.

Hockey has a bit of a checkered history with the major awards. Of the big trophies given out, hockey has only won once – 1994’s Stanley Cup Final winning ESPN Outstanding Sports Special – and though promos have won some minor awards in recent years, this seems like big news, that a hockey play-by-play man beat out all those names.

Here’s NBC’s press release:

NEW YORK – May 2, 2011 – The NBC Sports Group won nine Sports Emmy Awards, the most of any network, including five for its coverage of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games; “Sunday Night Football” won its third consecutive award for Outstanding Live Sports Series; Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth and Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick were all honored in their respective categories; and “Sunday Night Football” play-by-play voice Al Michaels was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award tonight at the 32nd Annual Sports Emmy Awards, presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Michaels, who has served as the play-by-play voice for the NFL’s premier primetime package for 25 years (“Sunday Night Football” 2006-2010, “Monday Night Football” 1986-2005), was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by his “Sunday Night Football” colleague Cris Collinsworth and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

“No one has more appreciation, no one has contributed more to the growth of our game in the last 25 years than Al Michaels,” said Jones. “If it’s on Sunday Night Football, I know there’s going to be one professional who can do it as well as it can be done.”

“There have been some really tremendous figures who have received this award, but there’s never been anyone who has been better at his craft than Al is at play by play,” said Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Sports Group.

NBC’s coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games won five Emmy Awards in the following categories:

Outstanding Open/Tease

Outstanding Technical Team Studio

Outstanding Graphic Design

Outstanding New Approaches Sports Programming

Outstanding New Approaches Sports Programming-Short Format

For the third consecutive year, NBC Sports won Outstanding Live Sports Series for “Sunday Night Football.” NBC Sports has now won the award in four of the last five years, also winning in 2007 for its NASCAR coverage.

Bob Costas was awarded his 22nd career Emmy and third consecutive for Outstanding Sports Personality-Studio Host. Costas hosted NBC’s Vancouver Winter Olympic coverage as well as the network’s NFL studio program, “Football Night in America.” He won the Emmy in the same category for his work at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.

Cris Collinsworth was awarded his third consecutive Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality-Sports Event Analyst. It was Collinsworth’s 12th career Emmy, which includes wins in 2007 and 2008 in the Studio Analyst category for work on NBC’s “Football Night in America.”

Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, The Voice of NBC’s NHL and Olympic hockey coverage, won his first career Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality-Play-by-Play.

The NHL also saw itself a part of one other winner last night. 24/7: Penguins/Capitals – Road to the Winter Classic won Outstanding Edited Sports Special. Congratulations to the folks from HBO, for putting together a fantastic display of everything that is terrific about hockey. And congrats, of course, to Doc, for being one of those things that is so great about hockey. Glad to see it get recognized outside of our little world here.