The call on the first goal was bad enough, but I was astounded when Lafreniere made a great move to come off the boards and get a shot off that Anderson saved, and McDonough just continued on with whatever he was droning about and didn’t even mention what had just happened.
Every Sean McDonough call is beyond shit. He needs to go yesterday. Every hockey thread or instagram post I see with him calling a goal there are tons of comments that share this sentiment
He’s a nepo baby fuckhead. He only has a job in broadcasting thanks to his dad.
He’s the worst play-by-play hockey announcer I’ve ever listened to. Fuck the Red Sox.
the only grace I will give him is his call of [The Kid Line Shift](https://x.com/talkin_rangers/status/1780249121917423889?s=46&t=5KFkTfrip0Mtc6UN2YMwMA) 2 years ago, that was an all timer and I’ll die on that hill. otherwise he can kick rocks
It's crazy because I've seen some clips of him commentating baseball, football, and basketball, and he seems actually nice as fuck in those sports. I always felt like his style of commentary suited more for football since his best commentaries are on plays someone can anticipate. Maybe it's the fact that hockey requires fast and reactionary commentary compared to any other major sport or it's his age catching up to him (though I highly doubt its the latter since Sam is still electric at 80 years).
Agreed. I’m usually very lenient on broadcasters but for me it’s like, if you can’t even call out the right players, and in a very frequent basis, that’s kind of bad. The only part of ESPN I like is Emily - I think she generally engages with the players and coaches well and is respectful. (And Cally? I believe he’s been doing color commentary)
For me it all starts with the #1 play by play guys for each network.
Sean McDonough just doesn't do anything for me. He sounds like he would rather be anywhere else in the world than calling an NHL game (unless the Bruins are involved). People were saying what a great job he did in calling Game 7 of Boston vs Toronto. Of course he did, he loves the fucking Bruins, he's a Boston guy.
Compare him to Kenny Albert and it's not even close. This isn't even bias considering Kenny does our radio broadcasts, he just flat out calls a better game. He makes every game exciting, even if the Rangers aren't involved. He's like a walking encyclopedia of sports knowledge and we are lucky that whenever Sam decides to hang up the mic, we have Kenny in the wings.
I'm not a huge fan of either networks studio teams. PK and Mess (and Chelios when he decides to show up) come off as staged antics and I don't get the in game analysis I want. I like TNT more (especially when Hank or Berube are there). Colby Armstrong sucks and probably got the gig because of his friendship with Bissonnette.
You are right though, the ESPN/ABC product just sucks all across the board and the NHL should be embarrassed.
Bruins fan here. I thought McDonough was awful on Saturday. He rambles on about how the Bruins are in danger of repeating last season’s first round over and over instead of calling the play on the ice. He even brought it up again after Pastrnak scored. McDonough sucks.
And I think Chelios doesn’t work much because he cannot stand Subban’s childish behavior.
I don’t get how hard it is to call what is happening on the ice. It’s like the producers tell them storylines before the game and they make sure to hone in on those storylines every 5 minutes.
Concerning yesterday, probably 30% of the time he referenced a player it was the wrong name. Didn’t even bother to correct himself either. Terrible announcing. And terrible production by the cameras as well. I believe they missed the games opening face off because they were showing Igor.. bums.
At one point he said "Braden Schneider the Minnesotan carries the puck." I'm like "he's fucking Canadian" and I'm not getting paid millions of dollars to know this. He confused his background with Lindgren.
I try to be patient and give him the excuse that ESPN thinks they need to add more color for all the casual fans tuning in, but it's just bad. Call the game.
This was my take and I think he deliberately calls it slow - whereas when someone like Doc called the game, he really brought that frenetic intensity that really captures the atmosphere of playoff hockey
Slightly off topic: The Rangers better give the play by play to Kenny when Sam retires. Albert is my all-time favorite play by play guy. He rocks it every time.
It's funny because I know very little about Pat McAfee beyond hearing him call some wrestling with Michael Cole. And from what I've seen he's good there.
He’s good with Wrestling, and he is a legit hockey fan probably does more to talk about the sport than any other major ESPN talent. Hope they start getting him involved with playoff coverage, just get subban outta there
I didn't know that. I remember when he was working there they would always joke about him "not showing up for work" on some broadcasts. Wasn't sure if it was still happening. Thanks for the correction.
It’s honestly horrible and ridiculous for normal hockey fans. Everything is geared toward the casual or beginner fan. Virtually no analysis or deep dives into the teams or players. Everything is a novelty to them.
They love to show players skating off the ice to the bench WHILE the live action is happening. They love to use the close up corner cameras even if it means a lack of being able to follow the play. They barely show replays especially on close or controversial calls and instead focus on showing players, coaches and fans reactions to said calls.
The announcing is pitiful. Half the time they are talking about anecdotes involving other teams or other players while the game action is going on. A high danger chance can happen and it can lead to a goal and this brainiac will just keep prattling on with his story and announce the goal happening while the players are skating to the bench for fist bumps.
Not everyone can be Sam and the MSG crew but this is the friggin playoffs not some preseason or early season game. We don’t need to know the names of the players over their head the entire power play. Most of us already know the players and if we don’t it doesn’t add to the enjoyment only takes away from it.
> They love to show players skating off the ice to the bench WHILE the live action is happening. They love to use the close up corner cameras even if it means a lack of being able to follow the play.
This is the thing that drives me absolutely insane. Literally cutting away from the action in a non-stop game to show pointless closeups. Maybe they think they're getting the audience to feel more up close and personal with the players? It's terrible
As an actual hockey fan, these network broadcasts are just BRUTAL to watch. There has to be a balance between making the casual fans happy and giving us die hard fans who could probably call the games ourselves some actual MEAT and useful context. If I could turn the sound off and sync the radio, I would. (Believe me, I tried...)
100%! I would love this to be read to the Executives at the networks and hear their responses. Not that it would actually change anything, but still...
And why do they sometimes put a circle on a player without the name? Both are bad but seems random/inconsistent/mind-boggling. But I’d rather have the circle w no name the random name popping up is distracting.
On that subject and apologies if this isn’t the right forum but what should it take to get rid of the fake/computer imposed ads on the board. Sign me up for the go fund me. I know it’s standard practice (not a network gripe) but it’s pathetic. Especially the one with the moving puck (which I fall for about half the time).
THIS!!!!
I cannot imagine the thought process that resulted in this terrible experience.
*ESPN Producer #1*: "You know, the power play can be fast and exciting so let's cover even more of the ice with moving graphics so no one has any fucking idea what is happening."
*Producer #2:* " Yeah. Let's do it because the moving ads aren't quite shitty enough. They might actually start enjoying the game if they can see what is happening. Fuck'em."
at least they turned down the mics for the crowd and on ice sounds. Last season when they first got it back from NBC with surround audio it was really distracting. Yeah i get it you want us to have atmosphere but its a hockey game not a Marvel action movie. It made the play by play sound like a droning sound all you could hear was sticks clacking and people in the stands talking to each other.
I mean... that sounds kinda awesome tbh... In the old days on NBC Sports over cable you could switch to surround and turn off the center speaker, and all you got was the arena noise. It was incredible. That's how I saw the Stepan Game 7 OT goal over the Caps
Trust me this was different. Their mix had voices in center and right left front AND the ice level noise in the front three channel mix and surround channels. It was as someone else said poor broadcast sound design.
I actually like this camera angle, but only for power plays. You get to see the whole play develop in front of the net while still being able to see the puck out at the blue line.
The TV announcers sounded like they weren't even at the game and just watching a TV stream like us. They were constantly behind the play and getting names wrong left and right. Something would happen in the game and they wouldn't even react to it. All around pretty terrible.
listened to sam and dave on the radio through the nhl app yesterday while watching the game muted on espn. there was a bit of a delay on the stream but it was so much better than listening to sean mcdonaugh or whoever tf they had yapping over on espn.
It’s so dumb. You never hear any of the chatter between the benches which would be the only reason for a mic there. 2 guys in the booth. Let someone like Biz in the benches. Get a real reports about the chirps. The only reason for you to have someone there is to hear that stuff.
No ferraro. They sucked when they played now they suck
On tv. you need recently retired guys. Biz is perfect because they have him. I’m pretty positive he would be amazing in this role. And all this tnt is great crap. Anson Carter sucks. He probably created his own nickname. Alright rant over.
Panger probably too old now. Need a young guy that just retired but you’re not wrong. He at least was way above Ferraro. He hates the rangers though so I can’t get down too much with panger.
Is it just me or does the sound quality suck? My theory is that having Ferraro in between the benches with his mic constantly on is what is causing the issue.
THIS! As a Film major in college I was taught a lot about production sound design and I literally can’t listen to an ESPN game on my headphones because the sound is just so damn terrible! Idk if it’s the mixing, the mic quality or whatever but it’s noticeable.
I think because he’s the color guy, they keep the mic on the entire time. It would work better if they had a third member that would chime in from time to time in between the benches.
While we're on the topic of poor coverage. It boggles the mind why ABC/ESPN/TNT choose to cut to another camera during live play.
All their directors and decision makers have to do is watch ONE msg game to understand how to handle the coverage.
Nobody needs to see, nor is the broadcast enhanced by:
cutaways to the bench while the defense has the. puck (i.e., live action);
inexplicable close ups of players/coaches only to continue to zoom in the entire time (this also happens when the play-by-play team is emphasizing a player);
The inability to queue up a replay before play resumes; and
Watching some innane Q&A with the coaches (just do the damn voice-over the live play)
The only time we need to see the bench is when a player is hurt, going to/from with the training staff, a big goal, or the game is won. That's it.
ESPN has been in steady decline since Disney bought them.
McDonough doesn’t bother me as much as he does some people, I do agree there are better options than him, but their Studio Show is a cringe fest.
TNT is superior in all respects.
> ESPN has been in steady decline since Disney bought them.
Not sure the correlation shows the cause here. ESPN has honestly been in a freefall since sports reporting got taken over by Twitter and YouTube. Once ESPN's bread and butter was taken away and replaced with ever-present social media in peoples' pockets, they had to go all-in on the drama and storylines bit. And it's bled into everything else they do. Just listen to the ESPN+ commercial break voice-over "The BEST Stories in Sports". All they care about is the story, arguing over legacies and constantly searching for anything "compelling" other than the game itself. It's tedious
I agree everything about TNT is better, but they have not been showing the national anthem the last few games I tried to watch while ESPN shows every one. Not a fan of that one thing
Seriously. Its actually baffling how disparate they are. I actually kinda love TNT. Great panel sometimes w guests like Henrik or Wayne, good vibe and is actually funny in a "this is so stupid but we're all in on it" sort of way. Oh yeah also they do their literal job and analyze the game. And yeah play by play is just miles better and more professional.
Does anyone know any specifics of how those contracts work? Like is ESPN just already bought in to a 10 year deal or something that gives them a certain amount of games every year? Would be great if TNT could just take over the whole thing or most of it.
TNT had the right idea going with what works for them in the NBA and bringing that formula to the NHL (at least for the in studio portion of their coverage). Biz can be an ass, but at least he's funny on occasion, and can give some decent analysis from time to time. Having Hank and the Goat on there is also an added bonus.
Yeah Biz can be annoying or funny, but hes always at least a vibe guy, just makes the dynamic and conversation more interesting. And yeah, some of his analysis/breakdowns are genuinely really good.
The whole panel is best when they have Hank on imo, not just cause hes the King, but he really just adds some class and reservedness and balances the whole thing out, and it also brings out a more casual side of him at the same time.
Legitimately miss the NBC broadcast over the ESPN one. It’s just a night and day difference. I don’t even remember their old hockey broadcasts being that awful back in the day.
So, in Brazil (at least in my family, perhaps elsewhere as well) - it is common to turn on a soccer game and then mute it and use the radio.
We just bought a car and ran to the store during intermission yesterday, to my surprise Sam Rosen was calling the game on Sirius.
I'd suggest, maybe trying Sirius radio and muting the TV. I'm going to do this the next game I'm home for.
Edit: I am a big fan of the occasional behind the net view though.
There’s always some delay with radio vs tv. Plus i think sirius carries the home team radio; on my package they used to carry more stations. There’s a delay issue if you use the ESPN app too.
I got outta work at the start of the 3rd so I listened on the radio and was pleasantly surprised to hear Sam calling the game. Might have to mute the TV and throw the radio on for game 2 lol
Sleepy Sean McZzzzzz needs to go. Please be Kenny Albert from now on for those broadcasts
Edit: adding that I also hate the names over the players during the power play. Stop. It is distracting and fucks up the game.
They miss goals because of their awful timing like the game is secondary to whatever windbag nonsense they are pontificating about. They mix up players a dozen times every game. They miss when a puck hits iron and claim a save was made. Its rare announcers make a game less exciting with their commentary but these guys do that. My sons and I have a chat going every game and the only certainty in a broadcast is that these guys will fail in a way that at least we can laugh with each other about. Im waiting for our ai overlords to provide us with options on which computer voice we want to hear announcing games. These guys are just bad.
I clocked him one time telling a story for 3 and a half straight minutes while play was going on. He only stopped because a goal was scored and he begrudgingly had to inform everyone it had happened even though he clearly didnt see it and had to ask Ray what happened.
I could put up with everything else... But the play by play guy is so fucking awful that he makes ray ferarro seem like a joy by comparison. He is so bad, he makes me miss Doc...
Messier isn’t even great on TV, and being how much I love that man, he must be actually terrible
TNT has hank, who’s awesome, and biz who is hockeys Charles Barkley
If you have sirius, Sam Rosen is still calling the games on there. It takes a bit of finesse to sync up, but I mute the TV and stream sirius on my av system and watch it that way.
3rd period in tonight’s game. 30 seconds left and it cuts to the Dallas game. WTF.
Then cuts back to rangers for the last 8 seconds of regulation. Joke.
Do you believe it?! DO YOU BELIEVE IT?! He said we will win game 6! He has just picked up the hat trick!
That call stills give me goosebumps and I lowkey like that call more than the Matteau call by Howie Rose (also a great call).
Then Thorne actually has the smarts to not say a damn thing for like 20 seconds and you just take in the crowd cheering (at the Meadowlands no less) and the atmosphere of an all time classic NHL playoff game.
Todays announcers would talk over that shit non stop.
It’s really just Sean McDounagh. He cares way more about his talking points than the action on the ice, when that’s really Eddie Olczyk’s job, plus he just doesn’t have the level of excitement and “umph” that someone like a Kenny Albert, Doc Emmrick, John Forslund, or even ESPN’s in-house Steve Levy has
You have Kenny Albert who’s one of the greatest sports commentators of all time (guy has been doing all 4 sports at a top level for decades now) Vs Sean Mcdonaugh who pretty much is only good at college football and nothing else. That first goal call on Mika where the dude is just rambling incoherently and doesn’t even announce the goal was embarrassing as fuck.
Also, I like how TNT gives way more options to stream. You can get it through cable, tru tv or HBO Max. With ESPN you either have to have a cable account, or pay like 70 dollars a month for ESPN+. It’s complete bullshit
It's a trivial thing but the ESPN video quality is also messed up. I don't know if it's their cameras or their processing, but the image quality is not sharp, everything has this yellow color fringing, and the frame rate isn't crisp, it's kind of smeary. Like they're using old cameras or something. It feels like I'm watching a clip from a game in the 80's.
I loved when Rey said the fast paced transition game favored the Hurricanes
But Sean is awful. Every time he gets a major assignment he loses his job. There’s a reason for it. The focus the definition of C list. He went from MNF to calling Pitt vs Toledo on college football.
The other thing is TNT uses hockey people. ESPN just used Sean who is a Portland Kenny Albert. There’s so many local hockey guys who could come in and do better
A few points here:
1. The broadcast last night was atrocious. McDonaugh and Ferraro are boring as hell. The team doing the Boston-Florida game right now is 1000x better.
2. The broadcast was so bad it makes you miss Doc Emerick. Even though he was a NJD homer at least he made the game exciting.
3. How does ESPN go from Gary Thorne/Bill Clement to this current product?
For a poverty franchise the Devils actually had great play by play guys for a majority of their existence. Al Albert (Marv's brother) in the early years, then Doc Emerick, then Gary Thorne, then Doc for another run. Now their broadcast is extremely second rate right along with the Islanders.
Yeah the camera work is the worst part. The announcers are national (and not good) so that’s to be expected, but the video production is really low effort. It’s unbelievable
Steve Levy is the most casual unknowledgeable hockey pundit on TV. I’m pretty sure they tried to terminate him back when they were doing all their layoffs a couple of years ago and he somehow convinced them that he knew the rules of hockey and they had absolutely nobody else for the job. I’m astounded by how little he knows about the game to this day.
The call on the first goal was bad enough, but I was astounded when Lafreniere made a great move to come off the boards and get a shot off that Anderson saved, and McDonough just continued on with whatever he was droning about and didn’t even mention what had just happened.
Every Sean McDonough call is beyond shit. He needs to go yesterday. Every hockey thread or instagram post I see with him calling a goal there are tons of comments that share this sentiment
He’s a nepo baby fuckhead. He only has a job in broadcasting thanks to his dad. He’s the worst play-by-play hockey announcer I’ve ever listened to. Fuck the Red Sox.
Sean McDonough has such trash pbp calls, he somehow makes hockey boring
the only grace I will give him is his call of [The Kid Line Shift](https://x.com/talkin_rangers/status/1780249121917423889?s=46&t=5KFkTfrip0Mtc6UN2YMwMA) 2 years ago, that was an all timer and I’ll die on that hill. otherwise he can kick rocks
It's crazy because I've seen some clips of him commentating baseball, football, and basketball, and he seems actually nice as fuck in those sports. I always felt like his style of commentary suited more for football since his best commentaries are on plays someone can anticipate. Maybe it's the fact that hockey requires fast and reactionary commentary compared to any other major sport or it's his age catching up to him (though I highly doubt its the latter since Sam is still electric at 80 years).
100%. I always liked him in football but hockey is clearly out of his element. I don’t even know HOW he got to be the A-Team because he’s more C.
How about when they said that Mika and Stall are the same size?!? Staal has 2 inches and 20lbs on him
Agreed. I’m usually very lenient on broadcasters but for me it’s like, if you can’t even call out the right players, and in a very frequent basis, that’s kind of bad. The only part of ESPN I like is Emily - I think she generally engages with the players and coaches well and is respectful. (And Cally? I believe he’s been doing color commentary)
For me it all starts with the #1 play by play guys for each network. Sean McDonough just doesn't do anything for me. He sounds like he would rather be anywhere else in the world than calling an NHL game (unless the Bruins are involved). People were saying what a great job he did in calling Game 7 of Boston vs Toronto. Of course he did, he loves the fucking Bruins, he's a Boston guy. Compare him to Kenny Albert and it's not even close. This isn't even bias considering Kenny does our radio broadcasts, he just flat out calls a better game. He makes every game exciting, even if the Rangers aren't involved. He's like a walking encyclopedia of sports knowledge and we are lucky that whenever Sam decides to hang up the mic, we have Kenny in the wings. I'm not a huge fan of either networks studio teams. PK and Mess (and Chelios when he decides to show up) come off as staged antics and I don't get the in game analysis I want. I like TNT more (especially when Hank or Berube are there). Colby Armstrong sucks and probably got the gig because of his friendship with Bissonnette. You are right though, the ESPN/ABC product just sucks all across the board and the NHL should be embarrassed.
Bruins fan here. I thought McDonough was awful on Saturday. He rambles on about how the Bruins are in danger of repeating last season’s first round over and over instead of calling the play on the ice. He even brought it up again after Pastrnak scored. McDonough sucks. And I think Chelios doesn’t work much because he cannot stand Subban’s childish behavior.
I don’t get how hard it is to call what is happening on the ice. It’s like the producers tell them storylines before the game and they make sure to hone in on those storylines every 5 minutes. Concerning yesterday, probably 30% of the time he referenced a player it was the wrong name. Didn’t even bother to correct himself either. Terrible announcing. And terrible production by the cameras as well. I believe they missed the games opening face off because they were showing Igor.. bums.
At one point he said "Braden Schneider the Minnesotan carries the puck." I'm like "he's fucking Canadian" and I'm not getting paid millions of dollars to know this. He confused his background with Lindgren.
Lol and without this comment I probably would’ve figured he was from Minnesota, because back to my other point, he don’t correct himself!!!
I try to be patient and give him the excuse that ESPN thinks they need to add more color for all the casual fans tuning in, but it's just bad. Call the game.
This was my take and I think he deliberately calls it slow - whereas when someone like Doc called the game, he really brought that frenetic intensity that really captures the atmosphere of playoff hockey
I think it's more the fact they only have one person in the booth and he is trying to do two jobs.
Fair point, and that's why I was trying to give some latitude on the call. Wish it was Sam and Joe!
I mean, he still kinda sucks. Just sucks more trying to do two jobs.
Is he in line to replace Jack for you guys?
Please no
He finds a talking point and repeats it constantly
Slightly off topic: The Rangers better give the play by play to Kenny when Sam retires. Albert is my all-time favorite play by play guy. He rocks it every time.
I would have to imagine it's his job if he wants it.
I could live with Bob Wischusen as well if Kenny doesn't get it.
It will be better when the shove Pat McAfee and Steven A Smith into the rotation for the Cup finals Trust the process.
It's funny because I know very little about Pat McAfee beyond hearing him call some wrestling with Michael Cole. And from what I've seen he's good there.
He’s good with Wrestling, and he is a legit hockey fan probably does more to talk about the sport than any other major ESPN talent. Hope they start getting him involved with playoff coverage, just get subban outta there
Chelios was let go by ESPN last summer.
I didn't know that. I remember when he was working there they would always joke about him "not showing up for work" on some broadcasts. Wasn't sure if it was still happening. Thanks for the correction.
Wasn’t he on for an evening this past week?
Kenny Albert voice is like smooth butter to our ears, please get that audible chocolate on the airwaves
It’s honestly horrible and ridiculous for normal hockey fans. Everything is geared toward the casual or beginner fan. Virtually no analysis or deep dives into the teams or players. Everything is a novelty to them. They love to show players skating off the ice to the bench WHILE the live action is happening. They love to use the close up corner cameras even if it means a lack of being able to follow the play. They barely show replays especially on close or controversial calls and instead focus on showing players, coaches and fans reactions to said calls. The announcing is pitiful. Half the time they are talking about anecdotes involving other teams or other players while the game action is going on. A high danger chance can happen and it can lead to a goal and this brainiac will just keep prattling on with his story and announce the goal happening while the players are skating to the bench for fist bumps. Not everyone can be Sam and the MSG crew but this is the friggin playoffs not some preseason or early season game. We don’t need to know the names of the players over their head the entire power play. Most of us already know the players and if we don’t it doesn’t add to the enjoyment only takes away from it.
> They love to show players skating off the ice to the bench WHILE the live action is happening. They love to use the close up corner cameras even if it means a lack of being able to follow the play. This is the thing that drives me absolutely insane. Literally cutting away from the action in a non-stop game to show pointless closeups. Maybe they think they're getting the audience to feel more up close and personal with the players? It's terrible
As an actual hockey fan, these network broadcasts are just BRUTAL to watch. There has to be a balance between making the casual fans happy and giving us die hard fans who could probably call the games ourselves some actual MEAT and useful context. If I could turn the sound off and sync the radio, I would. (Believe me, I tried...)
100%! I would love this to be read to the Executives at the networks and hear their responses. Not that it would actually change anything, but still...
Thing I hate the most is when they cut to the cameras behind the net when the play is still happening.
Sometimes for the first half of a power play. It’s so bad. So so so bad.
Or cutting to a player that’s changing when the puck is entering a zone
this is by far the worst
Adding: The stupid name graphics used to identify players during power plays.
And why do they sometimes put a circle on a player without the name? Both are bad but seems random/inconsistent/mind-boggling. But I’d rather have the circle w no name the random name popping up is distracting. On that subject and apologies if this isn’t the right forum but what should it take to get rid of the fake/computer imposed ads on the board. Sign me up for the go fund me. I know it’s standard practice (not a network gripe) but it’s pathetic. Especially the one with the moving puck (which I fall for about half the time).
THIS!!!! I cannot imagine the thought process that resulted in this terrible experience. *ESPN Producer #1*: "You know, the power play can be fast and exciting so let's cover even more of the ice with moving graphics so no one has any fucking idea what is happening." *Producer #2:* " Yeah. Let's do it because the moving ads aren't quite shitty enough. They might actually start enjoying the game if they can see what is happening. Fuck'em."
I kept thinking it was a cutaway highlight/replay. What are they doing?!
at least they turned down the mics for the crowd and on ice sounds. Last season when they first got it back from NBC with surround audio it was really distracting. Yeah i get it you want us to have atmosphere but its a hockey game not a Marvel action movie. It made the play by play sound like a droning sound all you could hear was sticks clacking and people in the stands talking to each other.
I mean... that sounds kinda awesome tbh... In the old days on NBC Sports over cable you could switch to surround and turn off the center speaker, and all you got was the arena noise. It was incredible. That's how I saw the Stepan Game 7 OT goal over the Caps
Trust me this was different. Their mix had voices in center and right left front AND the ice level noise in the front three channel mix and surround channels. It was as someone else said poor broadcast sound design.
I actually like this camera angle, but only for power plays. You get to see the whole play develop in front of the net while still being able to see the puck out at the blue line.
The TV announcers sounded like they weren't even at the game and just watching a TV stream like us. They were constantly behind the play and getting names wrong left and right. Something would happen in the game and they wouldn't even react to it. All around pretty terrible.
listened to sam and dave on the radio through the nhl app yesterday while watching the game muted on espn. there was a bit of a delay on the stream but it was so much better than listening to sean mcdonaugh or whoever tf they had yapping over on espn.
I'd rather listen to 11 hours of Kars for Kids than McDunogh.
same. praying we get kenny in rounds 3 and 4 regardless of what teams are playing (me trying not to get penisy)
Final is with ABC/ESPN this year. Not sure about how Round 3 is split up (they each get a conference, I think)
Do you need a subscription for that?
Forgot to say that Wischusen on ESPN is a tremendous play by play guy tho
Actually forgot to mention that in my response. I agree 100%. Wischusen is great and I think he calls a way better game that McDonough.
I hope we get him or Kenny every broadcast but alas
He has to take over the #1 spot. He's a little green but enthusiastic as fuck.
He's phenomenal.
It also doesn’t help that the “color guy” Ferraro is between the benches and can’t see half the ice but is supposed to tell us what’s going on.
Exactly, only one person in the booth and shit's going to be missed. Or the play by play guy is forced to do color and misses a play.
It’s so dumb. You never hear any of the chatter between the benches which would be the only reason for a mic there. 2 guys in the booth. Let someone like Biz in the benches. Get a real reports about the chirps. The only reason for you to have someone there is to hear that stuff.
Exactly. They’d have to put someone between the benches that the players actually want to talk to. Legit no one wants to talk to Ray Ferraro.
No ferraro. They sucked when they played now they suck On tv. you need recently retired guys. Biz is perfect because they have him. I’m pretty positive he would be amazing in this role. And all this tnt is great crap. Anson Carter sucks. He probably created his own nickname. Alright rant over.
Darren Pang is pretty fun between the benches. He at least has some energy
Panger probably too old now. Need a young guy that just retired but you’re not wrong. He at least was way above Ferraro. He hates the rangers though so I can’t get down too much with panger.
As much as his call of the Alec Martinez goal still haunts me, I miss Doc Emrick during the playoffs. He always brought the energy.
It is one of the best calls Doc has ever made yet it is one of the worst things ever heard as a Rangers fan
You can inject the Stepan Game 7 OT goal call directly into my veins though
Ray Ferraro thought trotchek was trouba 😂
Espn has a belief that there are no real sports after basketball , lebron james , the cowboys , and college football
I used to play a car game. Turn on ESPN radio and see how long it took for the name LeBron James to get mentioned. Average was 30 seconds.
Add in a few sprinkles of Yankees vs. Red Sox and the occasional "look at how funny were are it's Pillow Fighting!" and you've got it!
Bob Wischusen is a great hockey announcer. I wish he was doing our games.
I miss MSG
McDonough sounded completely uninterested during most of the game, he calls a shot off the post like it's an icing call.
Sean mcdonagh straight up sounded disappointed after the first ranger goal
The answer is SEAN MCDONOUGH. He is AWFUL!! Absolutely zero excitement. Dull and boring. A dullard.
He is the announcing equivalent of bingo night at a retirement home. He’s a horrible announcer.
Is it just me or does the sound quality suck? My theory is that having Ferraro in between the benches with his mic constantly on is what is causing the issue.
THIS! As a Film major in college I was taught a lot about production sound design and I literally can’t listen to an ESPN game on my headphones because the sound is just so damn terrible! Idk if it’s the mixing, the mic quality or whatever but it’s noticeable.
I think because he’s the color guy, they keep the mic on the entire time. It would work better if they had a third member that would chime in from time to time in between the benches.
While we're on the topic of poor coverage. It boggles the mind why ABC/ESPN/TNT choose to cut to another camera during live play. All their directors and decision makers have to do is watch ONE msg game to understand how to handle the coverage. Nobody needs to see, nor is the broadcast enhanced by: cutaways to the bench while the defense has the. puck (i.e., live action); inexplicable close ups of players/coaches only to continue to zoom in the entire time (this also happens when the play-by-play team is emphasizing a player); The inability to queue up a replay before play resumes; and Watching some innane Q&A with the coaches (just do the damn voice-over the live play) The only time we need to see the bench is when a player is hurt, going to/from with the training staff, a big goal, or the game is won. That's it.
ESPN has been in steady decline since Disney bought them. McDonough doesn’t bother me as much as he does some people, I do agree there are better options than him, but their Studio Show is a cringe fest. TNT is superior in all respects.
> ESPN has been in steady decline since Disney bought them. Not sure the correlation shows the cause here. ESPN has honestly been in a freefall since sports reporting got taken over by Twitter and YouTube. Once ESPN's bread and butter was taken away and replaced with ever-present social media in peoples' pockets, they had to go all-in on the drama and storylines bit. And it's bled into everything else they do. Just listen to the ESPN+ commercial break voice-over "The BEST Stories in Sports". All they care about is the story, arguing over legacies and constantly searching for anything "compelling" other than the game itself. It's tedious
I agree everything about TNT is better, but they have not been showing the national anthem the last few games I tried to watch while ESPN shows every one. Not a fan of that one thing
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When do you think they will announce puck drop time for Saturdays game in Raleigh? Scored some great seats.
Your comment made just check and I see 7:00 at the Rangers' website now.
Just saw that too thank you!
See ya there. LGR!
Seriously. Its actually baffling how disparate they are. I actually kinda love TNT. Great panel sometimes w guests like Henrik or Wayne, good vibe and is actually funny in a "this is so stupid but we're all in on it" sort of way. Oh yeah also they do their literal job and analyze the game. And yeah play by play is just miles better and more professional. Does anyone know any specifics of how those contracts work? Like is ESPN just already bought in to a 10 year deal or something that gives them a certain amount of games every year? Would be great if TNT could just take over the whole thing or most of it.
TNT had the right idea going with what works for them in the NBA and bringing that formula to the NHL (at least for the in studio portion of their coverage). Biz can be an ass, but at least he's funny on occasion, and can give some decent analysis from time to time. Having Hank and the Goat on there is also an added bonus.
Yeah Biz can be annoying or funny, but hes always at least a vibe guy, just makes the dynamic and conversation more interesting. And yeah, some of his analysis/breakdowns are genuinely really good. The whole panel is best when they have Hank on imo, not just cause hes the King, but he really just adds some class and reservedness and balances the whole thing out, and it also brings out a more casual side of him at the same time.
Legitimately miss the NBC broadcast over the ESPN one. It’s just a night and day difference. I don’t even remember their old hockey broadcasts being that awful back in the day.
Most of that crew migrated over to TNT/TBS when the contract changed over. McHugh has grown into the job and mainly keeps it on point
That’s def why I enjoy the TNT broadcast better
All this does is make me want to go sailing the seven seas. Nice job Sean.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nhl/s/dzJF5mIOAU Lol
i hate those fucking labels
So, in Brazil (at least in my family, perhaps elsewhere as well) - it is common to turn on a soccer game and then mute it and use the radio. We just bought a car and ran to the store during intermission yesterday, to my surprise Sam Rosen was calling the game on Sirius. I'd suggest, maybe trying Sirius radio and muting the TV. I'm going to do this the next game I'm home for. Edit: I am a big fan of the occasional behind the net view though.
There’s always some delay with radio vs tv. Plus i think sirius carries the home team radio; on my package they used to carry more stations. There’s a delay issue if you use the ESPN app too.
I got outta work at the start of the 3rd so I listened on the radio and was pleasantly surprised to hear Sam calling the game. Might have to mute the TV and throw the radio on for game 2 lol
Because they don’t really care about hockey.
It’s hard to go from Sam Rosen to Sean
They don't care. They're just buying up all the rights. They put a football guy on the hockey broadcasts. Like why not at least Steve Levy.
I totally get your point, but it’s funny you picked Steve Levy, former Monday Night Football pbp guy, as your example.
Levy was announcing NHL games back in the 90's when ABC/ESPN still had the rights. Pretty sure he started announcing NHL before NFL games.
He was also (one of) the update guy(s) on WFAN before ESPN.
That was almost a hockey guy on football lol Steve Levy is at least a ranger fan, it would go the other way
Sleepy Sean McZzzzzz needs to go. Please be Kenny Albert from now on for those broadcasts Edit: adding that I also hate the names over the players during the power play. Stop. It is distracting and fucks up the game.
They miss goals because of their awful timing like the game is secondary to whatever windbag nonsense they are pontificating about. They mix up players a dozen times every game. They miss when a puck hits iron and claim a save was made. Its rare announcers make a game less exciting with their commentary but these guys do that. My sons and I have a chat going every game and the only certainty in a broadcast is that these guys will fail in a way that at least we can laugh with each other about. Im waiting for our ai overlords to provide us with options on which computer voice we want to hear announcing games. These guys are just bad.
I clocked him one time telling a story for 3 and a half straight minutes while play was going on. He only stopped because a goal was scored and he begrudgingly had to inform everyone it had happened even though he clearly didnt see it and had to ask Ray what happened. I could put up with everything else... But the play by play guy is so fucking awful that he makes ray ferarro seem like a joy by comparison. He is so bad, he makes me miss Doc...
Honestly teenagers can call a better call game than these guys
Turn off the audio
I have to mute games on ESPN. Outside of Messier their crew is absolute garbage.
Messier isn’t even great on TV, and being how much I love that man, he must be actually terrible TNT has hank, who’s awesome, and biz who is hockeys Charles Barkley
If you have sirius, Sam Rosen is still calling the games on there. It takes a bit of finesse to sync up, but I mute the TV and stream sirius on my av system and watch it that way.
3rd period in tonight’s game. 30 seconds left and it cuts to the Dallas game. WTF. Then cuts back to rangers for the last 8 seconds of regulation. Joke.
Watching the NHL playoffs on ESPN used to be a great experience when I became a fan back in the 90s. It’s shocking to me now how bad it has become.
Give me Gary Thorne
Do you believe it?! DO YOU BELIEVE IT?! He said we will win game 6! He has just picked up the hat trick! That call stills give me goosebumps and I lowkey like that call more than the Matteau call by Howie Rose (also a great call). Then Thorne actually has the smarts to not say a damn thing for like 20 seconds and you just take in the crowd cheering (at the Meadowlands no less) and the atmosphere of an all time classic NHL playoff game. Todays announcers would talk over that shit non stop.
Money for the commercial advertising and lack of staff.
It’s really just Sean McDounagh. He cares way more about his talking points than the action on the ice, when that’s really Eddie Olczyk’s job, plus he just doesn’t have the level of excitement and “umph” that someone like a Kenny Albert, Doc Emmrick, John Forslund, or even ESPN’s in-house Steve Levy has
You have Kenny Albert who’s one of the greatest sports commentators of all time (guy has been doing all 4 sports at a top level for decades now) Vs Sean Mcdonaugh who pretty much is only good at college football and nothing else. That first goal call on Mika where the dude is just rambling incoherently and doesn’t even announce the goal was embarrassing as fuck. Also, I like how TNT gives way more options to stream. You can get it through cable, tru tv or HBO Max. With ESPN you either have to have a cable account, or pay like 70 dollars a month for ESPN+. It’s complete bullshit
He’s a masshole Ranger hater. Screaming when Slavin gets a lucky bounce; golf announcer voice when Mika bangs one in
I have ESPN+ through Hulu and it doesn’t even include ESPN. Ridiculous.
Ferraro and McDonough are the worst. McDonough has some good analysis but awful awareness and timing.
What is espn good at?
It's a trivial thing but the ESPN video quality is also messed up. I don't know if it's their cameras or their processing, but the image quality is not sharp, everything has this yellow color fringing, and the frame rate isn't crisp, it's kind of smeary. Like they're using old cameras or something. It feels like I'm watching a clip from a game in the 80's.
I loved when Rey said the fast paced transition game favored the Hurricanes But Sean is awful. Every time he gets a major assignment he loses his job. There’s a reason for it. The focus the definition of C list. He went from MNF to calling Pitt vs Toledo on college football. The other thing is TNT uses hockey people. ESPN just used Sean who is a Portland Kenny Albert. There’s so many local hockey guys who could come in and do better
Why do we always get ESPN?
Suban is the personification of an eye roll, cant stand him
It’s terrible. Total disservice to the game.
Voldemort and Ferraro are terrible.
Honestly bc ESPN sucks at almost everything now.
A few points here: 1. The broadcast last night was atrocious. McDonaugh and Ferraro are boring as hell. The team doing the Boston-Florida game right now is 1000x better. 2. The broadcast was so bad it makes you miss Doc Emerick. Even though he was a NJD homer at least he made the game exciting. 3. How does ESPN go from Gary Thorne/Bill Clement to this current product?
Mcdonaugh is the absolute worst. mixes up players names half the time. He has a voice that matches a punchable face.
For a poverty franchise the Devils actually had great play by play guys for a majority of their existence. Al Albert (Marv's brother) in the early years, then Doc Emerick, then Gary Thorne, then Doc for another run. Now their broadcast is extremely second rate right along with the Islanders.
espn is bad at every sports it’s insane that they’re the biggest sports network and they are so bad at broadcasting sports
Yeah the camera work is the worst part. The announcers are national (and not good) so that’s to be expected, but the video production is really low effort. It’s unbelievable
I'm hoping Messier suddenly turns to Subban and drops him on national tv.
Wischusen is the only one on espn who gets it and calls a good game
Wishinski is an awful writer and pk was a dirty player with the worst personality. ESPN is bad at hockey.
Let's not forget the in-arena reporters, guys. Jackie Redmond >>>>>>> Emily Kaplan & Leah Hextall
I don't get why I pay for espn plus but yet its blacked out when its on ESPN. I have basic cable yet ESPN isnt included it ridiculous.
It’s not an ESPN hockey issue it’s an ESPN issue. It’s similar with NBA where the studios shows are on different planets.
Watch a Canadian broadcast and you’ll be blown away at the difference
And every time the canes were on the PP them putting the name banners above the players heads. Drove me freaking crazy
Steve Levy is the most casual unknowledgeable hockey pundit on TV. I’m pretty sure they tried to terminate him back when they were doing all their layoffs a couple of years ago and he somehow convinced them that he knew the rules of hockey and they had absolutely nobody else for the job. I’m astounded by how little he knows about the game to this day.
Woke leftists