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Caz

Worst and Best Commentators

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That's worse than the things people here said about Cooke being nominated for the masterton

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Any Bruins fans notice Jack Edwards has dialed it down a bit this year? He must be taking his meds or something. While I still find his voice and announcing style grating, It seems like there is significantly less "WTF?" Per game than in years past.

Funny I come back in here and see this. Looks like he was off his meds today.

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Rumor has it Ray Shero confronted him after catching wind of his comments. I was watching the game on NHL Network so I heard the whole rant and I couldn't help but laugh at how pathetic it was considering how this week has been for Boston locals.

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He does this all the time, although not to that extent. When John Scott knocked out Shawn Thronton, Jack talked about useless type of player Scott was.

I don't know how any Bruins fan can like him.

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I thankfully don't have to hear him very often except for the rare time NHL Network uses their feed or Center Ice uses it for the HD channel.

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Emerick has always annoyed me. His voice is distracting and he continually uses the passive voice. I like some of the Swedish broadcasts I caught last year. I don't know who it was but they would just call out who had the puck once some flow developed. It felt like they were actually watching and thinking about the play. It felt more like watching a good tennis match where the energy jumps out of the play itself. I wish there were more of that here, and not just in broadcasts from announcers who lack the sufficient processing speed. A lot of what's said otherwise is annoying clear from watching the play.

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There are too many guys who spend too much time talking about what might happen. Last Night, Leafs/Habs. Jim Hughson calls Kessel on a rush that gets down into the corner to the left of Budaj....d-man pressures him and he loses the puck. Hughson says: "If he could have maintained that puck he might have been able to cut in front for a scoring chance"

Really?? It's PLAY BY PLAY...not PLAY BY ANTICPATED PLAY...just describe what's happening. If the Colour/Analyst wants to break it down to show what could have happened let him do it.

Bob Cole is awful for that too...over anticipating plays. The number of times he'll say "Defenseman clears the puck...or does he?" or have to correct himself because he started describing action before it happened is annoying.

And then there's Glenn Healy...did you know he played for the Rangers in '94? Listen to him talk for 5 minutes and you will.

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And then there's Glenn Healy...did you know he played for the Rangers in '94? Listen to him talk for 5 minutes and you will.

He sure doesn't let you forget it, does he?

He also has a massive man-crush on Carey Price. That's all he ever talks about. That was the best part of the last two MTL vs TOR games, I didn't have to listen to Healy babble on about how great Price is all night long.

I'm starting to loathe Healy even more than McGuire - and that's NOT an easy thing to say!

Overall though, I like Hughson. He's a LOT better than some (Emerick...) But Cole is still my all-time favourite.

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And then there's Glenn Healy...did you know he played for the Rangers in '94? Listen to him talk for 5 minutes and you will.

Rarely does he mention that he was under .500 and his save percentage was under .880 that year

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I don't really get the hate for Jack Edwards. Sure he's a homer, but Brick balances him out and it's not like the rest of the crews in the league are exactly impartial. I wanted to throw a brick through my TV during the 2011 Finals because Olzcyk wouldn't shut the hell up about how awesome the Canucks were.

Edit: I will say that it grates on me when Jack complains about composite twigs breaking. And his little tirade about Matt Cooke and Sirhan Sirhan was way over the top and out of line.

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There are some crews that are just way too homey for me to watch: Buffalo, San Jose, LA, Washington (I remember a goal under review, I think because the ref had already blown the whistle and the whistle clearly had blown, almost a 1/2-second before the puck went in, and the color commentator would not give it up, saying how the call was twisted when the sequence was so obvious). Some are less homey and will call out when their team got lucky on a bad call or was burned by a good play. They won't go out and celebrate it, but they'll at least appreciate it. I think Phoenix, and Detroit are pretty good for this. I like Howie Rose for the Islanders for how relaxed his call is (I know, he does baseball too), but Butch Goring is just baffling to listen to.

Watching the TSN rebroadcast of the Sharks - Kings game last night on NHL network and I need to add Cammy Granato's husband to my "do not like" list. He was ok doing intermission work for NBC a couple years ago, but not all game long.

My three favorite Ray Ferraro-Granato moments, in no particular order:

1:

2:

3:

(guilty by association)

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Being a Sharks guy I watch Randy Hahn and Drew Rememda and I think that they are definatly one of the best. I like that they don't take themselves too seriously while also being really easy to listen to.

Bob Miller and Jim Fox of the LA Kings are a close second.

I absolutely cannot stand Jim Hughson's voice.

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Brian Engblom is now my least favorite color man. Not sure if I never noticed it or what, but in last night's Pens-Sens game he couldn't shut up. He was like the Joe Theisman of hockey. He felt it was his job to fill every second that didn't involve live play with commentary, most of it worthless.

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Doc Emrick already has the Lester Patrick Trophy, the Foster Hewitt Memorial award, and the Sports Emmy award, so I guess it is not surprising and only appropriate that he will receive the Vin Scully award later this year:

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/13045020/mike-emrick-voice-hockey-receive-vin-scully-award

I'm grateful that he hasn't hung up the microphone yet. There is no American play by play guy in any sport who could replace him. I hope, when the time comes, NBC dips into the Canadian talent they occasionally feature.

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Yea, I can't stand Doc.

I'm not sure what sport he's watching, but as far as I know there are no knives, disks, cages or elevators in hockey.

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Emrick is terrible. He treats the game as a backdrop for his stories, useless information, and to exercise his vocabulary. He doesn't care if a word is appropriate or descriptive of what's happening, just that it's one more different word. Give me a play-by-play guy who doesn't babble like a frustrated writer, and simply and accurately describes what's going on. Give me a guy who understands that he's not the show, he's narrating the show, and that he's best when his presence fades into the background and doesn't call attention to himself.

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Don't like Doc. Gets hyped up over routine passes and saves. Worst IMO is Jeanneret.

My favorite is Sam Rosen. Gives credit where and when it is due regardless of team.

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I would also take Strader any day of the week over Emrick. Perhaps its just because I grew up listening to him, have talked with him a few times, etc, but I just think he calls a very solid, not over the top game and it helps me focus on the action more than wondering when he will say someone Falafelled the puck. I was bummed when Strader left PASS for ESPN, but try to watch games he's calling whenever I can.

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Emrick is terrible. He treats the game as a backdrop for his stories, useless information, and to exercise his vocabulary. He doesn't care if a word is appropriate or descriptive of what's happening, just that it's one more different word. Give me a play-by-play guy who doesn't babble like a frustrated writer, and simply and accurately describes what's going on. Give me a guy who understands that he's not the show, he's narrating the show, and that he's best when his presence fades into the background and doesn't call attention to himself.

It seems there isn't much love for Emrick on this board, and that is fine. Taste in announcing is certainly subjective. I don't mind Rosen and enjoy Strader, but other than Doc, I think I'd take just about any Canadian play-by-play and color team over the American options.

Someone mentioned Jeanerette as the worst, and there I would agree, with Edwards a very close second. I understand that local announcers are tied to teams, but their home team affiliations completely dominate their calls and I think that is a terrible injustice to their viewers and the game, itself. It can really undermine the way one sees a game and it becomes virulent--weakening one's love for the game as team affiliation becomes primary and making them blind to the beauty and athleticism of the game and what the visitors bring to the event.

The complaints about Emrick's vocabulary mystify me. The man has a Ph.D and hockey draws a more affluent and educated crowd. If there is any viewing audience who might enjoy a verbal range, one would think it would be a hockey audience. Not to mention that it is a way to differentiate hockey from its big brother, football, which seems to relish in gawking at cheerleaders and introducing segments with cartoons of robots firing lasers out of their eyes--I suppose, though, one has to cut the NFL slack since it has 14 minutes of the ball in play for each 3.5 hour broadcast and has to come up with a lot of empty filler, and they, above all, know how to do and sell time without content.

What I most respect for Emrick is that he truly knows the game, its players, its coaches, and even the on-ice officials. And his love for the game is so evident. Yet, he seems to be egoless. This is where your criticism, Wranger, confuses me. More than any other broadcaster, Emrick knows he's knot the show. He's devoted to the game on the ice and lets it speak for itself better than anyone in any sport that I can recall. Your claim about Emrick not fading into the background is contradicted by Emrick's call of last year's Cup clinching game. What a short memory you have. Emrick didn't speak for nearly two straight minutes as the game (a most tense, double overtime, I'll add) wrapped:

"Here are some numbers that add to Emrick’s legacy: 1:55.

Early Saturday morning, after the point at which the Stanley Cup was won — deep in the second OT on a rebound ripper by the Kings’ Alec Martinez — one minute and 55 seconds passed before Emrick said another word.

Choosing not to intrude or to try to improve upon the self-evident — and TV’s stand-alone purpose — Emrick allowed a series of pictures to tell the story, speak for all of us.

Numbers? Before Emrick again spoke, NBC cut to 28 shots, significantly and wisely only one that showed the crowd doing what all crowds do when their team suddenly wins it all. NBC swept the ice and the benches in a series of compelling close-ups and broader shots — while Emrick said nothing.

It’s the mark of the man. These moments didn’t belong to Emrick, so he chose not to mess with them, not to attach himself to what wasn’t his, no matter how many times the future could feature him hollering this or that as part of recorded NHL history.

Not that anyone should be surprised."

http://nypost.com/2014/06/15/docs-rx-emricks-silence-lets-cup-finish-speak-for-itself/

Sounds like, based on your criteria, Emrick is just the guy you're looking for, Wranger.

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Probably because the producer was in his ear, "Don't say a word, not a goddamn word."

One anecdote won't change my opinion. If you want to hear a true genius in the art of hockey announcing then find some clips of the Bruins when Fred Cusick was the announcer. Or better yet, make sure you watch the next time the NHL Network replays Tugnutt's 70 save effort in a tie with Boston. It is a gem.

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