Jack Michaels

[Dorian2]

I don't mind the actual play by play. I think all people really want is Stauffer and Micheals to stop going on a tangent during the play of the game (ie NCAA football, obscure jr hockey reference). Focus on the actual hockey that's being played in front of them and everything would be fine imo.

This is what we don't need. For Example: "Hall pickes up the puck, Hall former Windsor Spitfires superstar who went to two consecutive memorial cups and won MVP both years in 2009 and 2010."

In the time it took him to say this Hall has already passed the puck to someone else, skated up the ice and started cycling in the offensive zone. But you never knew that because our commentators are more concerned with showing off their hockey knowledge rather than describing the play.

IMO, they clean this up they would be a solid crew.

Agreed.

 

[Digger12]

The thing I find with Jack is that when I listen to him when Stauffer has him on Oilers Now for one of their weekly get-togethers, I find that I don't mind listening to what Jack has to say. He seems engaging enough, and every now and then he has some insight to give that I appreciate. In that setting, I don't mind him at all.

But I'm sorry, when it comes to calling a game I literally have to turn it off. It's all the forced "signatures", the clumsy patter between himself and Bob that comes across as something rehearsed rather than something genuine. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if part of his problem is being tethered to Bob...if they gave him a colour commentator that was more about actually giving insight on the game in front of him than trying to flout his obscure sports knowledge, maybe Jack would come along for the ride and up his game?

 

[Raoul Duke]

It's definitely the trivia tangent that's the worst. Missing big chunks of the play seems inexcusable for a play by play guy.
The secret club feel that I am the liquor mentioned is bang on. It's smug and off putting.
"Left to right" is pretty annoying.
Also the pro oiler spin gets old when it's way off base.
I used to listen to every game that I couldn't watch. Now, I try but I can't, rather follow it on Twitter or here.

 

[Digger12]

The secret club feel that I am the liquor mentioned is bang on. It's smug and off putting.

Absolutely true.

I know this is more of a 'Bob' thing than with Jack, but it drove me completely nuts when Stauffer had on Chiarelli for his first on-air interview with him after Chia took the GM/POHO jobs, and at the end of the segment Stauffer threw in an awkward "See you on the plane!"

It was like Bob was worried that his gravy train was on uncertain ground with the MacT/Lowe regime seemingly put to the background, and he threw that line out to test the waters to see if he was still considered one of the "cool" kids. It just made me shake my head.

 

[The Bored Man]

Why does he seem to run out of breath on half his calls?

And why is every hit described like a WWE move? "EBERLE GETS BLASTED INTO THE CORNER! WILL SOMEBODY STOP THE DAMN MATCH?? AS GOD AS MY WITNESS, HE IS BROKEN IN HALF!!"

 

[Pressure]

***Wrong thread***

 

[Stoneman89]

Listened to a few minutes of the game on my way home from work tonight, and the broadcast actually sounded relatively professional. Haven't been able to say that for a long time. Michaels actually seemed to have toned it down a bit and I heard very little silly rhetoric. I was actually able to picture the play happening with no insignificant anecdotes thrown in. Mind you, I have no idea what the other 55 minutes were like.

 

[bzur]

Listened to a few minutes of the game on my way home from work tonight, and the broadcast actually sounded relatively professional. Haven't been able to say that for a long time. Michaels actually seemed to have toned it down a bit and I heard very little silly rhetoric. I was actually able to picture the play happening with no insignificant anecdotes thrown in. Mind you, I have no idea what the other 55 minutes were like.

The worst part is knowing he is the radio announcer not tv play by play.. it's frustrating how many stupid tangents they go on about when on TV but listening on the radio you actually don't know what's happening in the game for large chunks of the game. I swear we could score an overtime goal in game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals but if he were in the middle of a story about a college that a player on the opposing teams cousin's neighbor played at he wouldn't talk about it until he finished his story.

 

[Digger12]

Listened to a few minutes of the game on my way home from work tonight, and the broadcast actually sounded relatively professional. Haven't been able to say that for a long time. Michaels actually seemed to have toned it down a bit and I heard very little silly rhetoric. I was actually able to picture the play happening with no insignificant anecdotes thrown in. Mind you, I have no idea what the other 55 minutes were like.

Yeah, maybe we're both crazy but I thought the same too. "Toned it down a bit" was the first thing that came to my head, like you described.

I didn't hear as much of the "THAOILERS! Radio network!" thing either.

I wonder if someone of influence whispered into his ear that what he was doing was the opposite of bringing in listeners.

 

[hyster110]

I don't mind the actual play by play. I think all people really want is Stauffer and Micheals to stop going on a tangent during the play of the game (ie NCAA football, obscure jr hockey reference). Focus on the actual hockey that's being played in front of them and everything would be fine imo.

This is what we don't need. For Example: "Hall pickes up the puck, Hall former Windsor Spitfires superstar who went to two consecutive memorial cups and won MVP both years in 2009 and 2010."

In the time it took him to say this Hall has already passed the puck to someone else, skated up the ice and started cycling in the offensive zone. But you never knew that because our commentators are more concerned with showing off their hockey knowledge rather than describing the play.

IMO, they clean this up they would be a solid crew.

exactly this is the major issue i have with jack and bob. they both feed off each other with their tangents. i couldnt listen to the radio games last year because of that.

i watched the game tonight and it was still staggering how many times they would sidetrack while the play was still going on. also side note little things like broadcast left, saying what colour the teams are wearing just annoy me. why would anyone need to know that. just talk about the darn play going on..

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

Why does he seem to run out of breath on half his calls?

And why is every hit described like a WWE move? "EBERLE GETS BLASTED INTO THE CORNER! WILL SOMEBODY STOP THE DAMN MATCH?? AS GOD AS MY WITNESS, HE IS BROKEN IN HALF!!"

GOOD GOD OH MIGHTY,GOOD GOD OH MIGHTY,THE'VE KILLED HIM!

 

[guymez]

exactly this is the major issue i have with jack and bob. they both feed off each other with their tangents. i couldnt listen to the radio games last year because of that.

i watched the game tonight and it was still staggering how many times they would sidetrack while the play was still going on. also side note little things like broadcast left, saying what colour the teams are wearing just annoy me. why would anyone need to know that. just talk about the darn play going on..

Completely agree and its refreshing to see it articulated without the harshness that myself and others have used to describe the shortcomings of the broadcast.

 

[Evilsports]

Watching the game online with a buddy tonight who happens to be a Flames fan. Half way through the first period he looked at me and asked me if this was the normal announcing crew. I told him that they were the radio announcers. He said that he wouldn't be able to watch an entire game if he had to listen to them talk.

 

[The Human Torch]

I can't get games on TV here and internet streams are usually awful, but when I do get a chance to listen to an Oilers game over streaming radio I'll usually find the other team's radio feed and listen to that. Michaels and Stauffer together are just that god-awful.

 

[rboomercat90]

Last night was the first game of the preseason that I actually tried to watch. I usually try to start watching during the prospect tournament and just give up midway during the first period of the first game due to the frustration of the streaming quality. Then I end up just waiting for the regular season to start. Last nights production was actually really good so I watched all of the first two periods until I got pulled away to do something else.

What I noticed last night was that Jack is better than he used to be about keeping the listener informed of the score and the time remaining in the period. This was my number one complaint about him going back to his first year. What I also discovered was how much of the game he misses because he's more interested in talking about random crap. He spends HALF his time describing the play and HALF his time talking about stuff unrelated to the actual game. You can't really get a sense of how much you're missing from his broadcasts on the radio until you see the play on TV at the same time. With the radio broadcasts you can assume the talking is done in between the play. When he's on TV you can actually see for yourself how much he's actually missing.

I wonder if he's modeled himself after Vin Scully a bit. Vin will talk forever about stuff not related to the baseball game he's calling. Only difference is that baseball is a game with many lulls in the action. You can go several minutes without any action. Hockey is a free flowing game where plays can last for several minutes and the action during that time can be non stop. Michaels is not suited for calling hockey games, especially on the radio. He should have tried baseball instead.

On a side note. I'm not much of a fan of Stauffer. Hard to blame these awful broadcasts on him, though. What I noticed last night was he hardly speaks. Michaels was the guy carrying and providing the off topic conversation last night during the play. Bob had trouble getting any words in.

 

[Stoneman89]

Last night was the first game of the preseason that I actually tried to watch. I usually try to start watching during the prospect tournament and just give up midway during the first period of the first game due to the frustration of the streaming quality. Then I end up just waiting for the regular season to start. Last nights production was actually really good so I watched all of the first two periods until I got pulled away to do something else.

What I noticed last night was that Jack is better than he used to be about keeping the listener informed of the score and the time remaining in the period. This was my number one complaint about him going back to his first year. What I also discovered was how much of the game he misses because he's more interested in talking about random crap. He spends HALF his time describing the play and HALF his time talking about stuff unrelated to the actual game. You can't really get a sense of how much you're missing from his broadcasts on the radio until you see the play on TV at the same time. With the radio broadcasts you can assume the talking is done in between the play. When he's on TV you can actually see for yourself how much he's actually missing.

I wonder if he's modeled himself after Vin Scully a bit. Vin will talk forever about stuff not related to the baseball game he's calling. Only difference is that baseball is a game with many lulls in the action. You can go several minutes without any action. Hockey is a free flowing game where plays can last for several minutes and the action during that time can be non stop. Michaels is not suited for calling hockey games, especially on the radio. He should have tried baseball instead.

On a side note. I'm not much of a fan of Stauffer. Hard to blame these awful broadcasts on him, though. What I noticed last night was he hardly speaks. Michaels was the guy carrying and providing the off topic conversation last night during the play. Bob had trouble getting any words in.

Good report and solid viewpoint. You're right, he would be perfect for baseball. Or curling. Like they're pounding a square peg into a round hole. It makes me wonder if any of his bosses have ever come up to him and speak to him about these issues, or they just bury their head in the sand and look away. People love their hockey and Oilers in particular in this town and surrounding area, as witnessed by the continued sellouts during dark times. So it comes as no surprise that the radio ratings are likely decent despite the quality of the announcers.
And it really does bother me to speak ill of him, because in every other thing I've seen about him, he really seems like a genuinely nice guy who has a lot of fun and lives life to the fullest. But this is a business, and a high level one at that, so we should expect a much better product. Not everyone agrees, but I think it's safe to say the majority on here and those who I've spoken with about the subject, say that there is a problem with the announcing end of things, for the very reasons you stated.
And this has nothing to do with Rod Phillips. He was great for sure, and I never expected a clone. The next guy has to make his own mark. But I don't like the mark this guy is leaving.

 

[Ninety7]

Why does he seem to run out of breath on half his calls?

And why is every hit described like a WWE move? "EBERLE GETS BLASTED INTO THE CORNER! WILL SOMEBODY STOP THE DAMN MATCH?? AS GOD AS MY WITNESS, HE IS BROKEN IN HALF!!"

This is my beef as well. He will say stuff like "Stapled" or "blasted" when in reality the hit was nothing but average.

Also, what's up with the fast and accented OILERSradionetwork?!

 

[JetsOilersfan]

OP nailed it.

Goes on about useless tidbits during play, as if the game is secondary to his rambling nonsense.

Ridiculous hire.

Sounds like Brian Hall when he did Eskimo games. He was too busy doing commercials. I still can't get over how Eskie fans love that guy. Had some old guys in front of me for years who hated me for ragging on Hall - problem was I grew up in Wpg listening to the best play by play football guy in Canada - Bob Irving. He's terrific. No commercials - always tells you where the ball is (what yard line), what hash, always told you the line up on the field for both O and D, if a blitz was on, etc. You could close your eyes and picture it. And if anyone watches CFL and Grey Cup classics - then you heard him cause Mr. Irving does a lot of those games.

Back then we used to have Ken "the Friar" Nicholson and Kurt Keilback as his side kick for WPg Jet games. Ken had to retire and passed away not long after, Kurt took over.

Both of those guys were terrific.

Good thing too - back then most games were on the radio.

Now, I don't listen anymore as games are all televised. It's pretty obvious to me why the radio guys (not all but a lot of them) are so poor right now.

 

[McDavidMcCup]

Re-watching the Phoenix-Oilers preseason game. First time I have watched a game and listened to Michaels at the same time. I agree with a poster earlier in the thread: You don't realize just how much you are missing out on when Michaels goes on a rant of useless information. It is simply stunning. How did this man get the position and, more importantly, how does he still have a job??

When he finally describes the play, I agree again, the WWE style has no place (IMO) in the NHL. "In OVVVEEERRTIIMME" Dear...Lord...Above.

How can we start a petition to fire him? In all honesty, do we have a mechanism?

 

[McDavidMcCup]

"Withstands the check and that's important to know at 6'2" 218 he and Draisaitl will be contending...." meanwhile Phoenix rushes into Oilers zone for a shot attempt.

 

[The Bored Man]

"And the Oilers break out for a 2-on-1! This seems like a great time to talk about board games again, Bob."

So happy I don't have to listen to him again until next preseason.

 

[Dorian2]

Good report and solid viewpoint. You're right, he would be perfect for baseball. Or curling. Like they're pounding a square peg into a round hole. It makes me wonder if any of his bosses have ever come up to him and speak to him about these issues, or they just bury their head in the sand and look away. People love their hockey and Oilers in particular in this town and surrounding area, as witnessed by the continued sellouts during dark times. So it comes as no surprise that the radio ratings are likely decent despite the quality of the announcers.
And it really does bother me to speak ill of him, because in every other thing I've seen about him, he really seems like a genuinely nice guy who has a lot of fun and lives life to the fullest. But this is a business, and a high level one at that, so we should expect a much better product. Not everyone agrees, but I think it's safe to say the majority on here and those who I've spoken with about the subject, say that there is a problem with the announcing end of things, for the very reasons you stated.
And this has nothing to do with Rod Phillips. He was great for sure, and I never expected a clone. The next guy has to make his own mark. But I don't like the mark this guy is leaving.

What? You don't like skid marks?

 

[Stoneman89]

What? You don't like skid marks?

Lol. Only my own.

 

[abootzky]

Sounds like Brian Hall when he did Eskimo games. He was too busy doing commercials. I still can't get over how Eskie fans love that guy. Had some old guys in front of me for years who hated me for ragging on Hall...

Trust me, you can get over it. 99.9% of Eskimos fans thought that Bryan Hall was about 35 years past his prime when he was finally pried from the pbp booth after the 2009 season. The commercials were one small issue. A much bigger one was his almost complete inability to coherently describe the action on the field.

Michaels is pretty bad but not even close to being Hallsy bad. In fact, JM might be an okay choice to call games on TV for some team- just not on radio and not alongside a partner with whom he can play dueling trivia during the games.

 

[guymez]

Managed to catch some PBP by Corey Graham...what an improvement.

Graham calls major junior but he is a major upgrade on Michaels IMO.