[ricebondsmntna2young]

Update: I did a little research and found out that the offending crew was Jim Hughson of all people (along with Craig Simpson and Glenn Healy). Whit Carson, a blogger from Ontario, said:

"As entertaining as the product was on the ice [during the Canucks v. Sharks WCF], unfortunately the same cannot be said for the broadcast put forth by the CBC, or as I now call them the “Canucks Broadcast Corporation”. Hughson has never been shy in expressing his fondness for the Canucks over the years and thus has affected the way he calls the games he is working. It is unprofessional and takes away from the game being watched by the fans, unless the broadcast team is strictly covering that specific club regionally, I find it hard to understand how a network airing the games nationally has let it’s on air talent carrying such a tone throughout?" (Canucks Broadcasting Corporation)

I'll say that as a Sharks fan watching the game on TV in Canada, I felt alienated by the coverage. The HNIC is the iconic and storied television program representing all of Canadian hockey. Its crew is supposed to be the best there is...the Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth of their trade. Hughson may be a Canucks fan but if you're carrying the mantle of all of Canadian hockey on its flagship channel, I believe you ought to exhibit more professionalism. Listen to Vin Scully and let me know if you can tell that he's an employee of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Won't happen. You also won't be able to tell that he grew up a New York (now San Francisco) baseball Giants fan. Michaels and Collinsworth are each surely fans of an NFL team, but could you ever guess which? I expected better from the center of the hockey universe.

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Not an announcer, but I can not listen to Pierre McGuire.

I have Center Ice and listen to majority of the Flyers games on the oppositions channel and I literally muted the entire Devils broadcast because I couldn't stand the homerism of their color guy. Every comment was beyond awful. Even penalties called against the Flyers; the guy would try to argue why it wasn't a penalty and just had no hockey sense to it at all.


Side note. Here are some Pierre quotes about Crosby from last night:


10. "When he played for Team Canada at World Juniors as a 16 year old in Helsinki Finland where it's dark 23 out of 24 hours, he was carrying the stick bag and it was minus 40 degrees."

8. "Everybody in the League better shake their head! This guy's for real and this team's for real!"

7. "He does it sooo many different ways."

5. "He's Peter Forsberg(notes), for those who remember the great Peter Forsberg, Sidney Crosby's Peter Forsberg with more pure finishing ability than Peter Forsberg had."

4. "You talk about the all-around superstar that Sidney Crosby is, it's been a Crosby-palooza tonight."

2. "Don't lose the smile keep havin' fun Sid."

1. "They wanna see a little 87 magic. They got a little taste, they want a little more."

Haha, I remember almost all of these from Captain Obvious. He's not exactly enlightening, but man he is just the doormat it seems like.

I wish I'd heard this one though: 3. "The pictures don't lie. So just digest the pictures and the artistry." I needed a laugh.

[iluvladies5015]

I can't stand Jack Edwards for the Bruins on NESN. If I hear spanks it down the ice, dangles over the blue line when there is no dangle or fungo's the puck out of the air I'm going to lose my mind.

As for Joe Buck. He sucks. I can't watch football on FOX if he is calling the game. Anytime he does a Bostons sports team he is all for the other team. He hates Boston and it shows.