Awful Celebrity Broadcasts – from Best to Worst in the Booth, Too?

[Faterson]

Bob Miller & Jim Fox used to be the best hockey broadcasts for me. I'm not saying Faust is outright bad, although the cheerfulness displayed between him & Fox seems staged.

That can be stomached. What I find awful is the new habit this season to invite some celebrities into the booth while the game is ongoing and let them attempt play-by-play – ineptly, of course, as shown by Snoop Dogg last night. The Ellen producer was similarly bad. Ellen DeGeneres herself is pretty much a non-entity for Europeans, her name would draw a blank stare from most, let alone her producer. Stick to your job(s), please.

Would Bob Miller have put up with any of this? I can't recall this degree of disruption of game coverage in the 15+ years I've been following the Kings.

The Kings' broadcast product currently matches the Kings' on-ice product, unfortunately. I've always found O'Neal annoying, but there was at least O'Donnell to counterbalance him. Now O'Donnell is gone, too, and Stoll is no match for him. Nor is Carrlyn Bathe, or previously Alex Curry, for Heidi Androl, speaking of supporting cast. I at least enjoy listening to Jesse Cohen's All the Kings Men hockey podcasts, they're pretty in-depth.

Is there an end in sight for this celebrity craze? Is this season a scheduled aberration in the Kings' broadcast booth, and do we get back to standard hockey play-by-play anytime soon? I don't want to end up like that fellow Kings fan who mentioned in some other thread he now always watches the opposing team's broadcast to escape all this.

In the past, whenever a Kings game was shown on NBCSN instead of Fox Sports West, that made me unhappy. Nowadays, it's almost a relief. When the Kings played the Sharks in San Jose and the play-by-play was provided by the Sharks' Randy Hahn, with Jim Fox between the benches, that felt more satisfactory to listen to than Faust & Fox. There's no replacement for broadcasting experience and professionalism.

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[GoldenBearHockey]

I dunno, all of you guys getting up in arms over a broadcast is funnier than hell to me,

If you need Alex Faust to tell you who passed to who, then you have more things to worry about than Snoop Dogg in the broadcast, who by the way, was absolutely hilarious.

In the end, it's a fun bit that most people on here take WAY too seriously.

 

[Legionnaire]

Those two are an absolute shit show of a broadcast. I would rather hear two cats humping for 3 hours instead of having to listen those two Muppets from the balcony ramble incessantly about nothing and ruin the show.

 

[yankeeking]

What was good about snoop was when we entered the zone a couple of times even he noticed that NO one was willing to shoot, he called it going for the money, but he noticed one of our biggest problems in that our higher skilled guys defer way too much , if a very novice guy spots it right away it's pretty obvious

 

[Faterson]

Snoop Dogg in the broadcast [...] was absolutely hilarious.

Our ideas of "hilarious" couldn't be more disparate, apparently. It was cringeworthy all the way through, so painful I could scream. I suspect (and hope) Fox & Faust wanted to dispose of that "celebrity chore" as soon as possible, and they said good-bye to him rather promptly (it wasn't dragging on quite as endlessly as with that Ellen producer guy)... but right then Kings got awarded a power-play, and Snoop Dogg decided to stay on and ruin that portion of the game, too!

I also wonder if the three guys in the intermission were truly as amused by all of that as they appeared to (pretended to?) be, or if it was just because it's in their job description to always be upbeat, even in the face of the Kings' horrendous performances this season. The broadcasts this season struggle too hard to sound upbeat all of the time for it to come across as credible, in my opinion.

(That's another thing I appreciate about Jesse Cohen's All the Kings Men podcast: quite a few times this season, Jesse admitted: "Sorry, Kings fans, I just can't fully state what I really think about this, because I'm on the Kings' payroll." Sigh. You get hired by a corporation – bye-bye, freedom of expression.)

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Our ideas of "hilarious" couldn't be more disparate, apparently. It was cringeworthy all the way through, so painful I could scream. I suspect (and hope) Fox & Faust wanted to dispose of that "celebrity chore" as soon as possible, and they said good-bye to him rather promptly (it wasn't dragging on quite as endlessly as with that Ellen producer guy)... but right then Kings got awarded a power-play, and Snoop Dogg decided to stay on and ruin that portion of the game, too!

I also wonder if the three guys in the intermission were truly as amused by all of that as they appeared to (pretended to?) be, or if it was just because it's in their job description to always be upbeat, even in the face of the Kings' horrendous performances this season. The broadcasts this season struggle too hard to sound upbeat all of the time for it to come across as credible, in my opinion.

(That's another thing I appreciate about Jesse Cohen's All the Kings Men podcast: quite a few times this season, Jesse admitted: "Sorry, Kings fans, I just can't fully state what I really think about this, because I'm on the Kings' payroll." Sigh. You get hired by a corporation – bye-bye, freedom of expression.)

Possibly,I thought it was hilarious that they said bye and a PP and he said, naw, I ain't leaving....

I don't get bothered by minute stuff like that, a broadcast to me is extra...I like hearing the stories...not that Fox and Faust tell many, but in general. I like hearing behind the scenes background, I don't care if they don't keep up with the play, I have eyes, I can see what's going on I don't need to be told it was an indirect pass etc.

 

[Telos]

I've gotten used to Alex, and I think he has a nice flow to his broadcast. Obviously, he is not a perfect match with Foxy, but he sounds good, is pretty professional, and I like that he doesn't explain every detail on the ice which is a perk for veteran viewers. Of course, everyone misses Bob Miller. If we could reincarnate Bob back into the booth it would have been done. I was critical of hiring Faust, mainly because I missed Miller so no one was going to fill those shoes; however, Faust has held his own and he is hanging in there.

As for the celebrities, I don't think I have a strong opinion for or against as long as it is kept to a minimum and it depends on the celebrity. Snoop's celebrity is ubiquitous and unique. It was fun for a few minutes hearing him goof off in the booth. Obviously, throwing random people without much fame in the booth will go the other way or having the celebrity best stay in the booth for a half a period saying stupid things then it will go downhill fast. But very few games, for a very brief stint, and with extremely well-known celebrities, doesn't really bother me or raise alarms enough to complain about.

 

[Butch 19]

I'll like to see Will Ferrell and Mr T give it a shot.

er ..... not as a team though, but that may work out as well, who knows?

 

[tomd]

When one of these "celebrity" guests comes on, the sound on my TV goes off. It's just embarassing for the organ-eye-zation to continue these interviews.

 

[Schmooley]

Its complete nonsense. It doesnt really matter that they do it. But it makes about as much sense as kopitar joining snoop dog on stage at his next gig for a song or 2.

 

[kingsboy11]

Personally not a fan of the celebrity in the booth gimic that they introduced this year. If they did it during intermission/pre/post game I'd be fine with it, but having them in the booth I feel distracts from the game itself.

Setting that aside I don't have a problem with the general broadcast itself. Alex has a good voice that is easy to listen too and I think the Fox criticism is overblown. I do think where the broadcast falls flat is the forced attempted humor/banter between the two. Faust is 29 and Fox is double his age so I think its a little bit harder to develop that kind of chemistry when there's that large of gap in age. And Faust is going to give in to Fox because Faust is just so young and Fox has been with this particular this job for over 25 years.

I think with this kind of partnership it takes time. Its certainly not a perfect broadcast and no one will ever touch Bob Miller, but I do see potential with Faust.

 

[tny760]

i mean it's pretty simple, i watch hockey to watch hockey, not to see the latest b- or c-list celebrity

if i'm watching a hockey telecast, i want to hear the hockey call..

do all the BS you want during the intermissions, i couldn't care less cause i'm not watching them anyway

 

[johnjm22]

Every guest has made me cringe.

I'll say it again. The Kings broadcast is the worst it's ever been, and probably one of the worst in the NHL.

The Ducks broadcast is better. I never thought I would say that.

None of us would much care if the team was winning, but they're not.

 

[redcard]

If we weren't in last place people wouldn't care about the stupid jokes and banter in the booth because they'd be enjoying the game.

But when the fans are already annoyed with the on ice product, the broadcast becomes unbearable.

 

[deaderhead28]

The only guest I see come on our radically political.I rather not hear their idiotic comments and hear the game called.Luc needs to stick to helping to bring a better product on the ice and less celebrities.

 

[KingLB]

Insert "old men yell at clouds" img here...


(mostly cause I forgot how...)

 

[tonellisghost]

Snoop stunk on ice for me. I mean it was all for fun but if we are going to actually review the guy he should stick to what he does best, smoking weed and spewing out over rated nursery rimes to a drum machine.

AND STAY OFF OF MY LAWN!

 

[Winger23]

I dunno, all of you guys getting up in arms over a broadcast is funnier than hell to me,

If you need Alex Faust to tell you who passed to who, then you have more things to worry about than Snoop Dogg in the broadcast, who by the way, was absolutely hilarious.

In the end, it's a fun bit that most people on here take WAY too seriously.

Actually I do rely on the broadcaster for names on teams I dont follow that close. I couldn't tell you the names of most 4th line or 3rd pairing guys on most of the eastern conference team.

The broadcast is just outright terrible. I really wish nixon liked being on tv....

 

[Hesdeadjim]

There's another great mind that watches the other team's broadcast? Yay!
I can't pinpoint what it is about Faust that grates on my nerves, but if I'm stuck with the Kings broadcast or Faust on NBCSN, the TV goes to mute.

 

[Legionnaire]

Actually I do rely on the broadcaster for names on teams I dont follow that close. I couldn't tell you the names of most 4th line or 3rd pairing guys on most of the eastern conference team.

The broadcast is just outright terrible. I really wish nixon liked being on tv....

Faceoffs are kinda important in fact but we rarely here who because they are still chatting about the last stoppage. There are times where Alex takes these long breaks and then resumes long after a hit or a pass. He loses focus on the game and at times sounds totally disinterested. Sure we may not be thrilling to watch but if announcers in soccer were anything like that no one watch the sport on TV.

I wish both guys the best in their lives but how did we get here? Why was there no fan input on the hiring. Perhaps there was but I certainly don't remember anything giving us the vote to choose the future voice for the Kings. That would have been a good promotion actually but instead it was hamfistedly handled by management.

This is LA. HOLLYWOOD. The best should be on the air like they have throught my lifetime because this is a dream market.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

If you have the iHeartRadio app, the radio feed is actually pretty in tune with the TV feed, and you still can hear the on-ice sounds from the radio broadcast. I've had to succumb to this method of watching and listening to Kings games on a few occasions. The forced attempts at humor from Faust/Fox is just so cringe inducing that it makes watching an already bad on-ice product less tolerable.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Been saying the broadcast has been a disaster since the season started and it’s only been compounded by having celebrity guests on. I don’t mind intermission interviews and talking about the game or players etc.

But it’s crystal clear that this is another thing that Luc has managed to screw up.

 

[Steve Zissou]

It's quite clear that there is no love in here for 'Snoop Lion'...

I'll drink to that!

 

[KingsRule]

I just go out of my way now to sync up the radio broadcast with my tv, so I can hear Nick Nickson and Darryl do the games. I wish to god that he would have taken Bobs place when he retired

 

[Herby]

The Kings have the worst broadcasting duo in the league. There is just zero chemistry at all. I think Fox is better with a veteran guy controlling him a bit like Bob did. Faust would be way better calling games with a younger recently retired guy (like Stoll). I thought with maybe the Cup wins starting to fade a bit that Jim would start to be less homerish, but he hasn't at all. I swear some of the comments this year make me wonder if he's not just trolling us all and getting a laugh to himself.