I'm back for another edition of The TV News. This week, I discuss some of the problems with NBC's coverage of the Olympic ice hockey tournament.
Archive for February, 2010
February 22nd, 2010
Updated Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Odds
Just got a note from the folks at Bodog.com with the latest odds on the Men's Ice Hockey tournment in Vancouver. As a reminder, here's the post on the original odds we shared back on January 29.
As always, these numbers are for recreational purposes only. Even after last night's setback, Canada is still the favorite.
Odds to Win the 2010 Olympic Ice Hockey Championship (on 2/22/10)
Canada 9/5
Russia 11/4
USA 7/2
Sweden 5/1
Finland 11/1
Czech Republic 12/1
Slovakia 25/1
Switzerland 125/1
Belarus 500/1
Germany 500/1
Latvia 950/1
Norway 950/1
February 20th, 2010
Hershey Bears Weekend
If you follow me on Facebook, you already know that I'll be headed to Hershey, Pennsylvania later today to join a group of Washington and Baltimore area hockey bloggers to attend a pair of Hershey Bears home games. If you'd like to follow along, just join our Hershey Bears Weekend fan page on Facebook.
February 19th, 2010
My Debut on The TV News
As I mentioned earlier this week, I've joined The TV News as their sports television correspondent. I made my debut this morning. Please be kind.
February 16th, 2010
A Simple Reminder for Jacques Rogge and the IOC
The opening round of the men's side of the Olympic ice hockey tournament begins tomorrow, but the functionaries at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the same folks who caved under pressure from China when it came to censoring Internet access in Beijing two years ago, just couldn't leave well enough alone when it came to U.S. goalie Jonathan Quick's helmet:
U.S. netminder Jonathan Quick will be ordered to remove the slogan 'Support Our Troops' from his helmet for contravening Olympic rules on political propaganda, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) said on Monday.Netminder Ryan Miller, Quick's team mate, has also been told to remove the slogan 'Miller Time' from his helmet while the third American netminder Tim Thomas had already placed a sticker over a slogan on his mask during training on Monday.
"We will inform the American team and their equipment managers that this is a violation of IOC rules," IIHF spokesman Szymon Szemberg told Reuters. "According to IOC rule 51, no political propaganda or advertisements are allowed on equipment.
"It the players don't agree with the interpretation they can ask the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) to petition the IOC."
I can't quite believe that somebody at the IOC actually has the time to make such decisions, but there you have it.
While IOC rules are clear, the IIHF was not so certain whether the slogan on Quick's helmet was political propaganda or simply offering moral support.
"If we go too hard on that we could be seen as insensitive," said Szemberg.
Wow, do you think so? For those of you who might have forgotten, the man in charge at the IOC is Jacques Rogge. He's from Belgium, and I've got a photo I'd like him to see.
American soldiers massacred by the Nazis at Malmedy, Belgium, Dec. 1944.
For those of you who might not be familiar with the history:
On December 16, 1944, the German Army began the Ardennes offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge. On December 17, 113 American soldiers surrendered to a German armored column under the command of SS Colonel Joachim Piper. After the American prisoners were disarmed, they were assembled in a field near Malmedy, Belgium, and shot.
The answer to the IOC from Quick and USA Hockey General Manager Brian Burke on this question ought to be swift and to the point: Nuts!
February 8th, 2010
What Did Mike Milbury Say Yesterday?
I'm sure by now most fans of the Washington Capitals have heard about an incident that occurred just off of press row yesterday afternoon in the immediate aftermath of a thrilling 5-4 OT victory by the Caps over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The thumbnail sketch is that Mike Milbury of NBC Sports got into a confrontation with Phil Van Der Vossen, a blogger for Capitals Outsider and the owner of Gunaxin.com.
I've done some digging into the issue overnight, and I'll have some thoughts on it later. However, for now, I'm going to concentrate on exactly what Milbury said that kicked off the incident, and no doubt has some folks around town a little perturbed.
During the first intermission, after the Penguins had taken a 2-0 lead over Washington on a pair of goals by Sidney Crosby, NBC threw their coverage to the in-arena studio where Pierre McGuire and Milbury were reviewing the highlights from the first period -- a period that was more or less dominated by Pittsburgh thanks to some sloppy defensive play by Washington.
In any case, here's what Milbury said when he was narrating the video from the first period. The following was obtained from a video monitoring service that I subscribe to. After I retrieved the transcript, I checked it against an actual clip, one that I can't share with you because it would violate the terms of service:
What a play. What a move. Quick hands. 1-0, sets the tone. Watch the move there. Good head fake on a great pass by Malkin. Passing, shooting, scoring. He's really matured into what everybody thought he was in the draft year, the complete player. To come here and say, hey, Ovie, I'm still your Daddy here. That's special.
To say that Milbury is operating with a short leash with Caps fans is not an understatement. Given his track record and the role he's asked to play by his bosses at NBC Sports, the above crack is hardly out of the ordinary for him. Still, when you add it all together, it's not hard to understand that a significant slice of the fan base doesn't exactly have warm feelings for Milbury.
Now, does that justify what apparently took place after the game? That's another question entirely. More later.
February 2nd, 2010
Thank You, Comcast
Anyone who has been paying attention to my Twitter feed this season knows that I've been highly critical of CSNDC and their telecasts of Caps games on CSN+. Well, because that's been the case thus far this season, I only think it's fair to say thanks now that the RSN has decided to flip Friday night's Caps-Panthers game from CSN+ back to CSN-HD with Wizards-Magic.
From a note passed along by Paul Rovnak of Caps PR:
Comcast SportsNet has revised the programming schedule for their live game coverage of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards on Friday, Feb. 5. The Capitals game against the Atlanta Thrashers at Verizon Center (7pm) – previously scheduled for Comcast SportsNet Plus – will now air on Comcast SportsNet in HD. The Wizards game against the Magic in Orlando (7pm) will now be available to viewers on Comcast SportsNet Plus.Again, thank you.
