BlackCats101 wrote:3) What network is this being shown on? we have a non-descript one-I thought the commentators were ok, but I wondered which corporation it was.
These games were on OLN, the network owned by Comcast cable. It was a deal put together in late August since ESPN officially gambled on there being no 2004 season and cut off their responsibilities completely before the stoppage.
So as it was they did a fairly good job pulling it all together though their first month or so of shows was basically just a bit above Local Access cable. By the end they've done fairly well with the tech side and their pre/post games have been fairly good. They'll be doing so again next year in the September renaming of the network to Versus (they've been just using the initials while before it used to stand for Outdoor Life Network)
I've come to appreciate at least that it is their priority and Bull Riding, the Tour de France and fishing and hunting shows aren't going to bump the NHL from coverage any time soon as Basketball and Baseball were doing frequently when ESPN bumped all but a handful of games to ESPN2 while showing more and more of every other sport.
Mike Emerik has been the play-by-play guy and John Davidson has blundered along with Color duty as he has for the Rangers broadcasts for several years. Emerick is steady if unspectacular if you don't let his continually calling the net "the cage" get on your nerves. Davison is a bit too in love with his own voice and declaring himself the Ultimate Authority on everything and feeling it's his job to emphatically "fill" with color before actually thinking or understanding what he's supposed to be commenting on. He'll carry on about a play and have five replays with his insisting and further explaining that one thing happened before finally being proven that he'd talking out his ass and he'll then retract. I of course will be yelling at the TV telling him he's a dumbass
He sometimes doesn't realize/admit his obvious mistakes until we get back to replays before the next period... one too many pucks to the head I guess as he was an NHL goaltender.
The latest example was his difinitively stating that Weight's goal would be waved off because he kicked it in; while not noticing that Weight was telling the ref he got it with his stick or seeing on any of six or seven replays that the puck deflected flat off his skate blade and then when getting near his stick somehow started flipping end over end. "See he clearly is nowhere near getting it with his stick so this one's going to be called back." Even after they called it good he kept on that it was the wrong call until "the booth" showed an angle at the next stoppage that showed the clear skate to stick to the back of the net progression "Oh that's why he was saying he got it with his stick to the ref he got it after it was off his skate which is of course total legal so that's a good goal."
Earlier on (and now I'm forgettign the player even) he had them show the replay of how clean the hit against the boards was by some player and how there certainly shouldn't have been a call on that and that the crowd shouldn't be booing; never once pointing out (until after the game) that maybe it wasn't so legit given that the hit was against the boards near the blue line and at the time the puck was behind the net... "See? Nothing wrong with that one, just a good clean hit!" After the game upon seeing the replay again "Well, actually the puck is back behind the net at the time so yeah it could have been interference but it was a clean hit."
In comparison with other hockey commentators they are on the whole pretty good though.
Believe me, they have a fantastic and devoted fan base that have definitely caught on to hockey; actually that could safely be said as of several years ago when they last made their playoff run. 
They we also within a few hundred of being the top drawing team on the road...
Are you sure thats... accurate?
wOOt!
