NHL vs. Versus

By Pete McGrath

Just watched the Wings lose to the Avalanche on Versus. While losing is never fun, I really hated having to watching them lose on Versus. The fact that the NHL isn’t on ESPN is one of the most inexplicable blunders of the Bettman reign of terror. While my biggest gripe is of course the fact that ESPN is so widely available, the Versus broadcast itself pisses me off for so many other reasons.

Leading off, the main camera on Versus is always too close to the ice. I realize the rationale in getting closer to the play- easier to see the players and easier to see the puck. However, this makes it hard to see the play develop. It’s hard to catch the precision of the tape to tape cross ice pass with this zoom in effect. In this day and age, most people have pretty nice TVs, so seeing the puck is not the problem people make it out to be. This is not to say I don’t mind the occasional on ice angle shot. With those shots, you get to see up close the speed and violence of the game. In fact I wish all sports showed more of these. It gives you a front row seat in your living room or local bar.

Doc Emrick, the announcer who growls his Rs, drives me up the wall. He’s always like “Lidstrom with a drrrrrrrive from the blue line that sails wide.” So many announcers out there think by growling the Rs it gets people excited. Not me. I suggest the league lets the local guys call the game. I would much rather hear Mickey and Ken call the game than those two clowns, or anyone in the World Series besides Tim McCarver. Also, it would be cool to hear out of town broadcasters call the occasional Wings game. I had MLB TV a few years back to watch the Tigers games while I was away at college, and I always enjoyed hearing the Boston guys or Vin Scully’s take on the game. Could’ve done without Hawk and DJ though.

Lastly, the ‘in studio’ portion of the broadcast leaves much to be desired, although it is much improved from their first year. The set Versus used the first year looked like it was constructed for a public access channel, and made the whole league look second rate. Luckily the NHL was able to side step that land mine by having their games on Versus, so nobody saw it. The set now looks alright, although not as good as TNT’s, CBC’s, or ESPN’s.

Now let’s get to the guys behind the set. Keith Jones always sits somewhat sideways, which is a annoying, and provides serviceable analysis at best. Brian Engblom fails miserably in his attempts to be a poor man’s Barry Melrose, both in his skill as a broadcaster and his pitiful excuse for a mullet. There are so many talented hockey guys over on ESPN, and they need to be the centerpiece of the NHL’s broadcast team. Steve Levy, Linda Cohn, John Buccigross (who writes a kickass column by the way), and Barry Melrose all know the game and are much better personalities on camera.

Lastly, for the love of God, get Don Cherry on TV in America.