Rob Kerr

[nik-]

Originally Posted by pylon

There was a point where I thought these threads were OK, and even participated in them, but they are not. There has been 2 PBP guys dismissed from SNET, and this website specifically, and forums like it, has been more instrumental than you may think in making that happen. How do I know this? I just do, and the mods can feel free to PM me on how I know.

These men have families, and responsibilities. And would be just as devastated as any one of us to lose their livelihood or be demoted at their work place as you or I. Complaining is one thing, calling out the guy to be FIRED, is straight up wrong. How would you feel, if you were called out in a public forum by all the customers who's cars you filled, video game you took on trade, car you sold,... whatever it is you do, to be publicly lambasted and piled on, not because you did it poorly, but because they didn't like the way you looked or the way your voice sounds. Kerr has an incredible enthusiasm and mind for the game, and that more than makes up for what may be the odd awkward comment, or voice fluctuation.

I really like Sushi. But if I go to a sushi restaurant, and I don't like the way the chef prepared the Nigiri and he had a mole on his face I found gross, yet the other 4 people in my 5 person party do like it and don't care about the mole, then it is unreasonable for me to stand up, ask for the manager or owner, and ask they fire the chef because I disagree with his preparation technique and looks. That is what this is boiling down to. Superficial BS, not his actual abilities.

Rob Kerr is an incredible hockey mind, an enthusiastic broadcaster, and by all accounts of anyone who has known or met him, a really good man. I am ashamed that a bunch of donkeys on here that think the 5 bucks a month they contribute to their cable bill towards Sportsnet, gives them the right to call for his dismissal. It is downright pathetic.

Give your heads a shake, and get some class.

I find that odd, since approval of Loubardias on this site was consistently on the rise before he was fired. The general mood was disagreement with his firing.

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by pylon

Give your heads a shake, and get some class.

Gonna go ahead and throw you an attaboy for that one Pylon....it has roared right past ridiculous and crashed head on into wetarted.

[AC]

I don't mind Kerr and think he'd be pretty good if he limited the amount of time he spent trying to correct himself when he makes a mistake. If he says someone's name wrong or is wrong about a call, I find he spend 5-10 seconds trying to explain his mistake and justify how it happened.

Instead, just make the correction and move on. Also, Charlie Simmer needs to stop saying "well again _____" and "at that point".

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by nik-

I find that odd, since approval of Loubardias on this site was consistently on the rise before he was fired. The general mood was disagreement with his firing.

Not the actual written down mood....maybe people were thinking it but as usual the torch and pitchfork crowd was the loudest....not even close if I remember correctly.

[devo22]

Threads like this always make me shake my head. As someone who wasn't able to even see a live Flames broadcast for many years, it still amazes me how upset some people get at something like the PBP. I have to agree with the person who said that commentary was way down on his priority list - it's the same for me. It doesn't take away from my joy at all, I'm just happy to see my favourite team. Maybe I don't care that much about it because classic PBP and colour commentary is very, very rare in Europe, especially the part where the PBP guy describes what's happening. I don't really need that because ... well I can see, you know.

I really like Rob Kerr and I'm even a bit disappointed when it's not Sportsnet to broadcast (even though I like TSN as well). I like his enthusiasm and I don't care if it's a bit "goofy" from time to time. Is Rob Kerr the best PBP guy in the league? No. But IMO he's also far from being the worst. I can't even recall all the highlights of the last two years (where is it? (Not in the ne-et!), the gun went off, whirling dervish, or my undisputed favourite: Royal Swedish Snowballs!). He seems like a genuinely good guy and I'll be pissed if he loses his job because of some whining on the internet.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Freeway

Rob got his start calling AJHL games, if I'm not mistaken.

He also called Roughnecks games for a couple seasons.

At any rate, if that tool in Buffalo can be a "legend", Kerr is fine. Not as smooth as most, but not as bad as argued.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by nik-

I find that odd, since approval of Loubardias on this site was consistently on the rise before he was fired. The general mood was disagreement with his firing.

Yeah, but when he started he was trashed beyond recovery, by a lot of people, myself included. And I regret that. It may be a maturity with age thing, I don't know. But I do not think it is fair to go after someones livelihood over superficial BS. If he was horrible at his job, it would be justifiable. But nobody can say Kerr doesn't know what he is doing. They just don't like the way he sounds to them.

If any PBP guy should have been called out for sucking at his job, it was Ed Whalen. Do not get me wrong, I LOVED Ed, and he was the best Flames PBP guy of all time. But his actual hockey knowledge was horrible, he was a brutal homer, and he had trouble keeping up with the play at times. But he had a ton of charisma, and was a loveable guy. So he got a free pass.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by pylon

Yeah, but when he started he was trashed beyond recovery, by a lot of people, myself included. And I regret that. It may be a maturity with age thing, I don't know. But I do not think it is fair to go after someones livelihood over superficial BS. If he was horrible at his job, it would be justifiable. But nobody can say Kerr doesn't know what he is doing. They just don't like the way he sounds to them.

If any PBP guy should have been called out for sucking at his job, it was Ed Whalen. Do not get me wrong, I LOVED Ed, and he was the best Flames PBP guy of all time. But his actual hockey knowledge was horrible, he was a brutal homer, and he had trouble keeping up with the play at times. But he had a ton of charisma, and was a loveable guy. So he got a free pass.

Ed was pretty good at PBP in his prime but he's a case of a guy that stayed working long past his expiry. Channel 7 or what ever it was at the time really wanted him to retire years before he did but out of respect let him make the final call.

[GreenLantern2814]

I just want Rob Kerr back on the radio for four hours and on the drive home. He's a below average PBP guy, and he's now had three years on the job. I'm not going to spend this year getting up in arms about the way he calls the game, because from top to bottom the quality of Sportsnet broadcasts is laughably bad. And ultimately, we shouldn't penalize Rob Kerr because the higher ups at Sportsnet are cheap.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

I just want Rob Kerr back on the radio for four hours and on the drive home. He's a below average PBP guy, and he's now had three years on the job. I'm not going to spend this year getting up in arms about the way he calls the game, because from top to bottom the quality of Sportsnet broadcasts is laughably bad. And ultimately, we shouldn't penalize Rob Kerr because the higher ups at Sportsnet are cheap.

Agreed, I guess what this comes down to a culture of "good enough" at Sportsnet. It's not fair to single out Kerr when in reality they're mailing in the whole network.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by BigFlameDog

Not the actual written down mood....maybe people were thinking it but as usual the torch and pitchfork crowd was the loudest....not even close if I remember correctly.

I don't think it was the comments on CP that were responsible for Loubardias' dismissal. There were louder, more obnoxious calls from other sites that shall not be named.

Kerr isn't bad. But yes, it would serve him well to practice his PBP tempo , and like others have said just forget about whatever mistake he may have made. Nobody really cares if you mixed up two players, it is forgotten in about 3 seconds, but correcting it is a distraction from the game.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

I just want Rob Kerr back on the radio for four hours and on the drive home. He's a below average PBP guy, and he's now had three years on the job. I'm not going to spend this year getting up in arms about the way he calls the game, because from top to bottom the quality of Sportsnet broadcasts is laughably bad. And ultimately, we shouldn't penalize Rob Kerr because the higher ups at Sportsnet are cheap.

That is the bottom line here. Most of us all realize Kerr brings value to covering the Flames but the issue here is Rogers. They gassed Millions out of the blue, then gassed his replacement a few years later only to fill the spot with a guy that was better served in the role he was doing. They are the ones treating these guys like disposable talent.

I find it personally insulting (Pylon deserves negative credit for that post) that posters here are actually trying to pass Loubardias's firing on us fans. Rogers deserves all the blame. All of it as they hired him and fired him. If they paid better money and strived for a more quality broadcast they wouldn't be firing PBP guys every few years. When you take money and responsibility for covering a professional sports franchise then in turn provide a bare minimum service compared to the competition you open yourself up to criticism and unfortunately the PBP and color men are the front lines.

[Table 5]

Personally, I think Rob Kerr would make a better color guy than play-by-play. He comes across much better in interviews and on the Fan, when he is giving his insight into the game or the team. He just needs time to get his thoughts out...which PBP is not always best suited for.

I have a much bigger issue with the audio delay, and just overall audio presentation by SN than I do with Kerr himself. THAT does deserve mockery because they are easily fixed and yet nothing happens.

[Ashasx]

I will always be sour that he replaced Loubardias, who became my voice of the Flames.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

I will always be sour that he replaced Loubardias, who became my voice of the Flames.

Well you only have CP to blame as it's been suggested we influenced his firing.

[nik-]

CP the all powerful

[Tinordi]

With great power comes great responsibility

[nik-]

I prefer with great power comes corruption and megalomania

[Voodooman]

I'll admit, I was piling on Kerr in the 2nd period last night. The game was so f'ing dull that I was actually paying attention to the broadcast, and a couple of goofy Kerrisms sent me around the bend. The dealbreaker was "sandwich stanza", which could be the stupidest phrase ever uttered on a sports broadcast.

I don't doubt Kerr's knowledge or enthusiasm, and as many others have said, he was unbeatable as the host of OT. I just don't think he's well suited to PBP, and I don't see him improving over time. It's a style issue.

Having said that, I wouldn't call for his firing simply because, he's just a piece of what is a dismal network top to bottom. Sportsnet is just laughable, and Rogers is so cheap, they'll never spend any money to make it a professional network that could rival TSN for broadcast quality.

Firing Kerr wouldn't solve anything, because Rogers will never pay for a top PBP guy. So, to me, better the word-inventing devil you know...

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

I just want Rob Kerr back on the radio for four hours and on the drive home. He's a below average PBP guy, and he's now had three years on the job. I'm not going to spend this year getting up in arms about the way he calls the game, because from top to bottom the quality of Sportsnet broadcasts is laughably bad. And ultimately, we shouldn't penalize Rob Kerr because the higher ups at Sportsnet are cheap.

You add up years like my wife counts seconds after she calls me.