Can't watch ESPN 2/3 in Canada, but found a live stream nonetheless. I think from now on I'll listen to it on mute. Melrose and Levy are awful; can't remember which one it was but he kept commenting on how neither team forechecked and would burst out laughing.
It was Melrose, the color analyst, who kept saying that there was no forechecking (as if hockey fans would pay big money to watch someone forecheck), no body contact, no shot blocking - just boring hockey (even though ESPN is charging their commercial sponsors tens of thousands of dollars to run commercials). Its all the stereotypical anti-Russian and anti-European stuff all in one.
I don't think they'll be doing any of the ESPN 3 broadcasts. Tonight was likely a one-off special for them, which is probably why they didn't take it quite seriously and came in seemingly unprepared, knowing little about the teams, players, and coaches. BTW I tweeted Barry Melrose at https://twitter.com/NHLBarryMelrose to let him know about the true state of affairs regarding all the Juraj Mikus's. I think the play-by-play guy for ESPN 3 will be someone else with an Italian last name.
Ah, if you're passionate about hockey, 4 a.m. is a great time to watch! I'm an LA Kings fan and I like their regular home games starting time, which is 4:30 a.m. for us here in Europe. It's much worse with the American East Coast games, because all those games start at 1 a.m. for us.
They are professionals. Professional KHL haters without ever watching it.
I would say, that a professional knows, how the game depends on the difference of the ice rink size. Nobody says that our hockey is better/worse, but if you are a commentator, you should put your opinion aside, because not everybody agrees with it. If Melrose cant understand, why the game in Europe is softer, then he is no professional. If he can uderstand it, yet he makes such statements, he is an *******.
I don't think they'll be doing any of the ESPN 3 broadcasts. Tonight was likely a one-off special for them [...]. I think the play-by-play guy for ESPN 3 will be someone else with an Italian last name.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yakushev72
Allesandro Dello Sorro?
Aargh, I misremembered that... actually a "Russian"-sounding last name. It's Paul Romanuk & Aaron Murphy, as you can read here. Well, Romanuk at the very least should have no trouble telling which of the 2 Juraj Mikus's from Lev played 3 seasons for Toronto Marlies, as he's a former Toronto Marlies play-by-play guy!
Aargh, I misremembered that... actually a "Russian"-sounding last name. It's Paul Romanuk & Aaron Murphy, as you can read here. Well, Romanuk at the very least should have no trouble telling which of the 2 Juraj Mikus's from Lev played 3 seasons for Toronto Marlies, as he's a former Toronto Marlies play-by-play guy!
He did Marlies games? I remember him as the voice of the NHL on TSN. He also used to call the Worlds, his call of the 1994 World Championship was the best and to the point. It.....is......over! I still think he is the best hockey commentator of all. I wouldn't expect any nonsense from him during this.
Not that I would know! But it says so in his Wikipedia profile -- 3 seasons of Toronto Marlies radio play-by-play in the early 1980s. Looking forward to listening to his calls on ESPN 3; he seems to be a true expert well-versed in world hockey!
I don't think they're KHL haters, just dumb fans of North American hockey who aren't familiar with the European game. Their comments read as inflammatory but it's really just ignorance.
Just different set of ideals, but you'll see them give players credit who play the way they think it should be (even if they make jokes about the names as they do it). Melrose was actually good when talking about a player he knew, unfortunately for today's game that was really only Erik Christensen.
What does ESPN know about the KHL? We all know this answer, so why would we expect a former hockey pro and journalist hired by them to be prepared.
Melrose's most memorable rant for me was him complaining about NHLers playing in Europe. To think these guys are just mouthpieces for the NHL is to miss the shots they'll be taking at a company in the business who just turned them down recently.
Barry Melrose is still with the NHL, though. He has his own online show at nhl.com, was video-blogging about the most recent NHL play-offs on a daily basis ("Melrose Place"), etc.
I don't think they're KHL haters, just dumb fans of North American hockey who aren't familiar with the European game. Their comments read as inflammatory but it's really just ignorance.
Just different set of ideals, but you'll see them give players credit who play the way they think it should be (even if they make jokes about the names as they do it). Melrose was actually good when talking about a player he knew, unfortunately for today's game that was really only Erik Christensen.
What does ESPN know about the KHL? We all know this answer, so why would we expect a former hockey pro and journalist hired by them to be prepared.
Melrose's most memorable rant for me was him complaining about NHLers playing in Europe. To think these guys are just mouthpieces for the NHL is to miss the shots they'll be taking at a company in the business who just turned them down recently.
It was funny how he was ranting about the players. Players who were locked out. the players didn't go on strike which is why any of them should play wherever they want. They have no obligation to not play when they're not the ones who chose not to play in the first place.
Actually its great reffing. Goalies aren't allowed to freeze the puck after going out of the crease to play it, which is exactly what happened, he let the goalie choose penalty or play the puck.
I don't think they're KHL haters, just dumb fans of North American hockey who aren't familiar with the European game. Their comments read as inflammatory but it's really just ignorance.
Just different set of ideals, but you'll see them give players credit who play the way they think it should be (even if they make jokes about the names as they do it). Melrose was actually good when talking about a player he knew, unfortunately for today's game that was really only Erik Christensen.
What does ESPN know about the KHL? We all know this answer, so why would we expect a former hockey pro and journalist hired by them to be prepared.
Melrose's most memorable rant for me was him complaining about NHLers playing in Europe. To think these guys are just mouthpieces for the NHL is to miss the shots they'll be taking at a company in the business who just turned them down recently.
Much of his rant was anti-Union in nature. He tried to sell it as rich players betraying their teammates who aren't good enough to be signed by a European team (he admitted that no European team would have signed him). The problem with the team chemistry argument is that you are playing for Edmonton in September, but then you are traded to the Islanders in December, and the Jets in March. Players move from one team to another all year long, so any sense of "team" is just a temporary, manufactured concept.
I don't find it interesting, just venting of prejudices.
Also, on Twitter, most North American hockey fans are congratulating Melrose & Levy on what a great job they did announcing the game. I suppose there must have been some other feed in addition to the one we were commenting upon here. To me, it seemed like it was mostly NHL/lockout small-talk by Melrose & Levy, from which they were occasionally distracted by the KHL game.
Perhaps that's the attitude expected and appreciated by most North American viewers -- so as not to disrupt their comfort zone. Whereas I thought that an announcer's main job was to draw the viewers into the game, make it exciting for them to watch.
I don't find it interesting, just venting of prejudices.
Also, on Twitter, most North American hockey fans are congratulating Melrose & Levy on what a great job they did announcing the game. I suppose there must have been some other feed in addition to the one we were commenting upon here. To me, it seemed like it was mostly NHL/lockout small-talk by Melrose & Levy, from which they were occasionally distracted by the KHL game.
Perhaps that's the attitude expected and appreciated by most North American viewers -- so as not to disrupt their comfort zone. Whereas I thought that an announcer's main job was to draw the viewers into the game, make it exciting for them to watch.
I remember that before the 1994 football World Cup, there was similar animosity towards soccer in North America, it was not American game thus bad and boring and all that bs. Whitney Houston f.e. said that watching soccer is unpatriotic
This is a thread of Boston Bruins nerds. The discussion is disparaging of European hockey, but that is to be expected. Fans of European hockey don't ask anyone else to come along for the ride, and don't really care if they do. If you don't like it, no one is making you watch it. There are no other live games planned through the end of October, and in November, college hockey starts up in the US. There are few classics in hockey history that can measure up to Lowell vs. Yale. That's the real thing!
I think the play-by-play guy for ESPN 3 will be someone else with an Italian last name.
But it says so in his 
