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Sportsnet: Geek Hockey

ottomaddox

ottomaddox

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Oct 31, 2017
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The 19-20 season was a terrible season for so many reasons but the biggest set back was the firing of Cherry, Kypreos, and MacLean.

Sportsnet has
essentially replaced all these great hockey personalities with pencil-necked geek hockey bloggers/media broadcasting types. Hockey broadcasting is now going in a direction to attract Librarians, Basement Dwelling Losers, and IT Specialists.

Now
we see and listen to Friedman, Johnston, and Merak. Hockey Central is now extended and disorganized.

No
one cares at all about what goes on between periods of CBC Hockey games. So much fluff, do-goodedness, Tim Hortons sentimentality, etc. I mean do people really tune in to watch Marek, Friedman, and Johnston? Now that there's been no hockey I've had time to listen to Hockey Central at Noon. It's pretty unlistenable. Brian Burke's presence barely creates a balance. Marek is really smarmy for the most part, and Chris Johnston has a very shy/vulnerable thing about him. You end up feeling sorry for him more than you listen to what he has to say about hockey.

All this attention to context seems to just create more questions than answers. It certainly doesn't create anything interesting in terms of hockey discussion.

So why are they there? Do they understand underlying numbers? Wow! Thank goodness. We would have never figured out that Pastrnak is a great player without their knowledge of Analytics.

Thank goodness I started following and appreciating the TSN product. "Overdrive" and other shows have enough balance for my liking. They're funny, experienced, interesting, self-deprecating, and entertaining. You want to tune in. You want to hear their opinion. You are happy to watch what they have in between periods.

I was grateful in the past to have all the hockey culture and broadcasting. I really miss a lot of the personalities that that were part of Sportsnet and CBC hockey. I am really done with the CBC and Sportsnet. I just can't tune in anymore. I really hope Sportsnet/CBC do an overhaul/house cleaning. They can't possibly be doing well with all those uninteresting people running their hockey shows. Let's hope...
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SeaOfBlue

SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
Aug 1, 2013
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The real problem is not that they brought in analytics guys, it is that they brought in guys with very limited or shallow knowledge about analytics to talk about analytics. The stuff they come up with is amateurish but they try to pass it off like they are some kind of expert... So it's too soft for anyone who actually cares or knows about analytics, and too 'geeky' for anyone who doesn't.

If they actually brought in someone with knowledge about analytics and they would talk about things that are actually interesting and insightful, while having a little bit of charisma (they don't need to be a bright personality but you are still working in TV so don't be a total geek), then it would be a lot more effective. At least for people who care about analytics, or want to learn a little bit about them. The problem is that if there was anyone really like that, they'd work for an actual team or an analytics company, and not Sportsnet/TSN.

Of course they would need to still balance it off with non-analytics people, but that is why they have panels.
 
Stigma

Stigma

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May 24, 2015
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No one cares at all about what goes on between periods of CBC Hockey games. So much fluff, do-goodedness, Tim Hortons sentimentality, etc.

I agree with this. Love the term Tim Hortons sentimentality. LOL! Those new segments are truly terrible. I mean, they can put on this type of do-good segment for a weekday game, no problem, but not HNIC.
 
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ottomaddox

ottomaddox

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Oct 31, 2017
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Toronto
Rogue Leader said:
Change is not bad. Let's not forget that those guys had decades of experience. Let's just see how it goes from here.
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I don't disagree. Cherry had such a long run. His retirement or dismissal was long overdue.

If the CBC/Sportsnet decided that their hockey broadcast / hockey shows was too much one way, then I think they swung the other way too much.
 
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ottomaddox

ottomaddox

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Oct 31, 2017
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Toronto
I guess my other problem is that most major sports uses ex pro athletes as their panelists or colour commentators. It seems like Sportsnet has done away with that, or they don't have enough balance in that catagory.
 
Tall Morty

Tall Morty

Visualize the action to actualize the vision
Apr 18, 2017
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ACC1224 said:
With so much information readily available I don't know why anyone watches the intermission especially if they find it so upsetting.
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al secord said:
I'm either in the washroom, at the bar or in the fridge. I don't feel like i'm missing much.
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Exactly. I tend to set a 17 minute timer once the period ends and either play a video game or browse the forums while listening to music or something, personally. Sometimes I think people are just happy in their misery
 
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Joey Hoser

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Jan 8, 2008
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Guelph
Don Cherry was fired because he decided to yell at immigrants during a hockey program, and the other guys were presumably let go because they made a lot of money and Rogers needed to cut costs due to biting off more than they could chew with that NHL deal.

Im guessing it had nothing to do with the jocks vs. nerds argument you have with yourself in the shower.
 
robertmac43

robertmac43

Forever 43!
Mar 31, 2015
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I really thought the team at HNIC had a good thing going once Don left. Obviously it was a tough transition and there were some rocky moments along the way, but overall it has led to more all round broadcasting. Don was also going to need to leave at some point, I only really listened to hi these days for sentimental reasons. He didn't offer much the past couple years.

I also think the loss of Kypreos was not a bad thing. I liked him as a person although I rarely agreed with him and felt he often did not add much to the conversation.
 
ottomaddox

ottomaddox

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Oct 31, 2017
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Toronto
It's hard to express this loss to people who don't want entertainment in their hockey broadcast. I would rather have personalities that know hockey well, as opposed to media/broadcasting types who can pronounce Andreas Athanasiou perfectly.
 
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ottomaddox

ottomaddox

Registered User
Oct 31, 2017
10,592
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Toronto
Jozay said:
Crazy that in 2020 people will call you out for being a morally sound human being.
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I've already stated how I felt about Don Cherry.

I am not going to defend him to the bitter end.

I did appreciate him, but I never shared all of his views. Can't you live with that?
 
Wafflewhipper

Wafflewhipper

Registered User
Jan 18, 2014
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al secord said:
I'm either in the washroom, at the bar or in the fridge. I don't feel like i'm missing much.
Click to expand...
You better get yer bladder checked and a closer fridge. I can get a beer between whistles,cut lime and still have time to yell at the tv for the linesman to just drop the puck ;)

I only watch the game. These guys could be replaced by boxing kangaroos
 
hoglund

hoglund

Registered User
Dec 8, 2013
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I wish that they'd go back to having showdown between periods like in the 70's. All the analysis is mostly opinions I like the interviews with the players, but that's enough.
 
Bluelines

Bluelines

Python FTW!
Nov 17, 2013
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We could always have these two Joe Schmoe's talking about hockey between intermission, my emotions ran from pity, to annoyance, to judgement, to wanting to smack them upside the back of the head ... at one point Joe refers to the Hockey sweater as a jacket... *** insert judging sigh here... ****

Two guys who know nothing about hockey ... talking about what they know about hockey... 336,000 views in 3 days... that man is just printing YouTube money...

 
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