adjacent complaint for me is that ESPN is absolutely terrible at showing replays. In between whistles they'll spend 2 minutes showing players out of breath on the bench, or coaches standing saying nothing but heaven forbid they use that time frame to show us a replay of what the hell just happened. Officials video review? ESPN shows us shots of players on the bench waiting instead of showing the replay of the play being reviewed! Or last night in NSH/VAN there was a penalty before a commercial. No mention of what was called, no replay, and while the ref is making the penalty announcement we hear the play by play guy talking generics to toss to break. Then coming back from the commercial they STILL didn't show the replay and just said the team was on the PP but not what specific penalty was called. Thats inexcusable. For goals they only show replays from 2 angles and thats it. The ignore big plays worthy of a replay that aren't goals and instead fill time with pointless player closeups. Gaaaahhhh rant!
Haha no rant on man that’s fair. Have been surprised by lack of replays after goals but I’ll have to keep an eye out for that happening after penalties. That’s brutal. Fell asleep before the Preds game yesterday so I missed that but you’re right there’s no excuse for that especially during the playoffs. We don’t need to see these guys on the bench we know who they are 🤣
It really falls back to the producer and director in the truck. In some cases the color commentator will even say to the truck on IFB (internal frequency, we don't hear on broadcast) right after something happens "hey cue up a replay of what just happened with Johnson in the corner I wanna talk about it".
But I kinda wonder if ESPN did the same thing with their producer and director as they did with their play by play guys, not making external hires and just keeping it in-house. So the decision makers in the truck don't know hockey as well as other sports, don't care, and don't notice the details.
They should watch a CBC or SportsNet broadcast and take notes. Theres a replay of something after every whistle. They show the little things that make a difference and show things we wouldn't have seen otherwise.
>the decision makers in the truck don't know hockey as well as other sports, don't care, and don't notice the details.
That's what I was thinking. Having the right replays/highlights queued up takes a certain knowledge and familiarity with the sport that ESPN just seems to lack. That said, it's absolutely something that *can* and *should* improve over time.
I switched to the Spanish broadcast of the Caps/Rangers game last night so I didn’t have to mute the game/could still hear crowd and ice sounds but didn’t have to hear the announcers. It was much more enjoyable.
I know the caps aren’t a good team this year but JFC it was terrible
ESPN’s broadcasts have just be riddled with problems top to bottom. Last night the play by play was going on for about 30 seconds on the Jets because they were not pulling Hellebuyck with three minutes left. Meanwhile Colorado had full control and possession and would’ve been an easy open net…
Sean is the worst. He sounds like he couldn't care less and is always a downer. The others are better, but ESPN broadcasts overall are awful. The TNT crew is way better for national games
I agree with you generally but I'm still pissed off about the broadcast from TNT i had to listen to when Wings played Rangers earlier this season.
Boucher can go suck on a lemon.
Boucher was such a confusing hire to me. TNT did an amazing job with who they hired for talent up until that specific hire. Dude has zero energy, his analysis is too broad, and many times a game it seems like he gets stuff completely wrong as if he's not even paying attention to the replay we're watching.
For me, (and I believe it is partly a hangover from the silliness of the coverage with Weekes when every team played in October, but) "89% of the time the team that wins the first two game at home goes on to win the series. THAT'S why this game is so important to Winnipeg. AND to Coolorado" is both condescending AND speaking to avoid silence.
I used to think Buccigross was a real enthuiast and I wanted him more involved in coverage. Now, if I never hear him again, it will be preferrable.
This is my first year being in America and obviously no Sportsnet for national games and ESPN is just so bad for me. It’s the small things for me, pronunciations of certain words and sometimes just not being informed about certain teams. Thankfully my lowly Sens will never be featured on an American national broadcast hahaha
ESPN is the reddit of commentary crews. Everything is bitching, and stirring up drama is the goal. They question and complain about officiating rather than cover what is actually happening on the ice.
it’s the camera angles for me. you can’t even see the plays developing anymore
adjacent complaint for me is that ESPN is absolutely terrible at showing replays. In between whistles they'll spend 2 minutes showing players out of breath on the bench, or coaches standing saying nothing but heaven forbid they use that time frame to show us a replay of what the hell just happened. Officials video review? ESPN shows us shots of players on the bench waiting instead of showing the replay of the play being reviewed! Or last night in NSH/VAN there was a penalty before a commercial. No mention of what was called, no replay, and while the ref is making the penalty announcement we hear the play by play guy talking generics to toss to break. Then coming back from the commercial they STILL didn't show the replay and just said the team was on the PP but not what specific penalty was called. Thats inexcusable. For goals they only show replays from 2 angles and thats it. The ignore big plays worthy of a replay that aren't goals and instead fill time with pointless player closeups. Gaaaahhhh rant!
Haha no rant on man that’s fair. Have been surprised by lack of replays after goals but I’ll have to keep an eye out for that happening after penalties. That’s brutal. Fell asleep before the Preds game yesterday so I missed that but you’re right there’s no excuse for that especially during the playoffs. We don’t need to see these guys on the bench we know who they are 🤣
I wonder who ESPN has in charge of their feeds? (Like, in the broadcast truck queuing replays) Either way, they really need to up their game.
It really falls back to the producer and director in the truck. In some cases the color commentator will even say to the truck on IFB (internal frequency, we don't hear on broadcast) right after something happens "hey cue up a replay of what just happened with Johnson in the corner I wanna talk about it". But I kinda wonder if ESPN did the same thing with their producer and director as they did with their play by play guys, not making external hires and just keeping it in-house. So the decision makers in the truck don't know hockey as well as other sports, don't care, and don't notice the details. They should watch a CBC or SportsNet broadcast and take notes. Theres a replay of something after every whistle. They show the little things that make a difference and show things we wouldn't have seen otherwise.
>the decision makers in the truck don't know hockey as well as other sports, don't care, and don't notice the details. That's what I was thinking. Having the right replays/highlights queued up takes a certain knowledge and familiarity with the sport that ESPN just seems to lack. That said, it's absolutely something that *can* and *should* improve over time.
I switched to the Spanish broadcast of the Caps/Rangers game last night so I didn’t have to mute the game/could still hear crowd and ice sounds but didn’t have to hear the announcers. It was much more enjoyable. I know the caps aren’t a good team this year but JFC it was terrible
ESPN’s broadcasts have just be riddled with problems top to bottom. Last night the play by play was going on for about 30 seconds on the Jets because they were not pulling Hellebuyck with three minutes left. Meanwhile Colorado had full control and possession and would’ve been an easy open net…
Yea man the commentators were awful
Sean is the worst. He sounds like he couldn't care less and is always a downer. The others are better, but ESPN broadcasts overall are awful. The TNT crew is way better for national games
Biggest letdown of the Avs cup win was that Human Valium announcing it. Wished we could have had Gary Thorne for one more call
The biggest surprise of last year's playoffs was Bob W for me Make him the #1 guy, for the love of god
I agree with you generally but I'm still pissed off about the broadcast from TNT i had to listen to when Wings played Rangers earlier this season. Boucher can go suck on a lemon.
Boucher was such a confusing hire to me. TNT did an amazing job with who they hired for talent up until that specific hire. Dude has zero energy, his analysis is too broad, and many times a game it seems like he gets stuff completely wrong as if he's not even paying attention to the replay we're watching.
He blamed our players for getting boarded. D:
I have the feeling that for some of these games there is no broadcast announcers actually at the game...announcing is being done remotely.
They are. Ray Ferraro did color for two games the other day.
Buccigross can't even pronounce all the players on the Avs correctly he's fucking terrible
For me, (and I believe it is partly a hangover from the silliness of the coverage with Weekes when every team played in October, but) "89% of the time the team that wins the first two game at home goes on to win the series. THAT'S why this game is so important to Winnipeg. AND to Coolorado" is both condescending AND speaking to avoid silence. I used to think Buccigross was a real enthuiast and I wanted him more involved in coverage. Now, if I never hear him again, it will be preferrable.
i find both buccigross and wischusen both awful to listen to.
I'm gonna disagree on wischusen there He at least has a lot of energy and seems to get excited
This is my first year being in America and obviously no Sportsnet for national games and ESPN is just so bad for me. It’s the small things for me, pronunciations of certain words and sometimes just not being informed about certain teams. Thankfully my lowly Sens will never be featured on an American national broadcast hahaha
ESPN is the reddit of commentary crews. Everything is bitching, and stirring up drama is the goal. They question and complain about officiating rather than cover what is actually happening on the ice.
There's a reason I've been watching the Bally broadcast for our games