"Take that Calgary Puck!" — SN960 and Calgary sports media discussion

[colbym72]

My favourite morning radio show is the Dan Patrick Show. Idk what 960 is and isn't allowed to do but that would be great to put in that slot if they want someone national

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

So what is the deal, was this a rare appearance by Rome? Or is it a regular thing now?

The Fan has a contract with CBS Sports Radio for their off-peak content. They still sometimes throw him on live from time to time when The Vancouver folks take the day off or they have a news conference at a weird hour.

I imagine broadcasting the Smack Off is part of their deal, to help juice the numbers for the event.

Not a regular thing, alas.

I can’t imagine the ratings are better with 3 hours of Rintoul and Surman than they would be with three hours of Rome.

As entertainment products, they do not compare.

Here’s another thing. I don’t care what Scott Rintoul thinks of the NFL. Or the NBA. Or baseball. Or any sport, really. He’s not anybody. He’s the guy hosting the show, and more power to him, but there is nothing memorable about what he does.

A few months ago someone called it “soy”. You could also get away with “flavourless”.

It turns out after 17 years of listening to the man, I care what Jim Rome has to say about sports.

[VladtheImpaler]

Some insider info for you... they are going to hire a Deforest replacement to produce the morning show, but they need it to be someone who is capable of being on air when Boomer is on vacation or some such. Apparently Deforest was let go because he could not do air time well.
They realize Surnam is horrible - the voice and pacing are terrible, so not sure what will happen there.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Some insider info for you... they are going to hire a Deforest replacement to produce the morning show, but they need it to be someone who is capable of being on air when Boomer is on vacation or some such. Apparently Deforest was let go because he could not do air time well.
They realize Surnam is horrible - the voice and pacing are terrible, so not sure what will happen there.

Interesting.

The morning piece makes sense considering Boomer, Rhett and Pinder have a lot of time off between them.

When it comes to the Rintoul and Surman I agree it is a weak show. Surman did herself no favors by coming out as an Oilers fan as this station broadcasts in the other big city in Alberta.

Maybe they should consider making that a Van-CGY show in the sense it is Rintoul and someone from Calgary co-hosting. Problem is there is a severe lack of talent on 960 already

[Madman]

I've heard him a couple times here and there, but the Patrick Dumas guy seems to be able to speak like a normal human and doesn't have to string together umms and you knows like the rest of the crew.

[GreenLantern2814]

No Rome also means no Sklars guest hosting in the summer.

[CactusJack]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

No Rome also means no Sklars guest hosting in the summer.

That was the worst part of losing the Rome show!

[Moneyhands23]

Cassie Campbell signed with ESPN so no more Cassie talk in the game thread next year

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

Cassie Campbell signed with ESPN so no more Cassie talk in the game thread next year

You dont think she is doing both?

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Some insider info for you... they are going to hire a Deforest replacement to produce the morning show, but they need it to be someone who is capable of being on air when Boomer is on vacation or some such. Apparently Deforest was let go because he could not do air time well.
They realize Surnam is horrible - the voice and pacing are terrible, so not sure what will happen there.

Pretty sure I've heard Deforest fill in during after hours, and he was articulate and not grating to listen to, which is most certainly better than Nault in the afternoons.

[GS Skier]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

Cassie Campbell signed with ESPN so no more Cassie talk in the game thread next year

My wife doesn't like Cassie Campbell however I actually do.

The men's NHL has dozens of great knowledgeable, articulate and hopefully humorous broadcasters. Still 99% of players suck at it and don't attempt a TV Radio career.

High level women's Hockey really only became a thing when Hayley Wickenheiser came on the scene. There are lots of star female players who really know the game and Campbells one of them. However precious few women's Hockey stars are also articulate and confident enough to hang with the men on HNIC. Campbell can. And at least she laughs when Bieksa speaks or makes fun of her so even if she's not "witty" herself she does have a sense of humor.

BTW Wickenheiser? IMHO the only "generational" women's player to date? Could be wrong but when she showed up the Canadian and US standards had to get better to keep up with her.

I suspect ESPN being US waved a heck of a lot of money at her to get her to jump. I know not everyone likes her but she's among the very few women who can hold her own.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by GS Skier

My wife doesn't like Cassie Campbell however I actually do.

The men's NHL has dozens of great knowledgeable, articulate and hopefully humorous broadcasters. Still 99% of players suck at it and don't attempt a TV Radio career.

High level women's Hockey really only became a thing when Hayley Wickenheiser came on the scene. There are lots of star female players who really know the game and Campbells one of them. However precious few women's Hockey stars are also articulate and confident enough to hang with the men on HNIC. Campbell can. And at least she laughs when Bieksa speaks or makes fun of her so even if she's not "witty" herself she does have a sense of humor.

BTW Wickenheiser? IMHO the only "generational" women's player to date? Could be wrong but when she showed up the Canadian and US standards had to get better to keep up with her.

I suspect ESPN being US waved a heck of a lot of money at her to get her to jump. I know not everyone likes her but she's among the very few women who can hold her own.

I think a lot of networks will be looking for more female representation. Since there are so few of them compared to the men they’ll probably be able to write their own tickets. Will probably be a lot of poaching too.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by GS Skier

My wife doesn't like Cassie Campbell however I actually do.

The men's NHL has dozens of great knowledgeable, articulate and hopefully humorous broadcasters. Still 99% of players suck at it and don't attempt a TV Radio career.

High level women's Hockey really only became a thing when Hayley Wickenheiser came on the scene. There are lots of star female players who really know the game and Campbells one of them. However precious few women's Hockey stars are also articulate and confident enough to hang with the men on HNIC. Campbell can. And at least she laughs when Bieksa speaks or makes fun of her so even if she's not "witty" herself she does have a sense of humor.

BTW Wickenheiser? IMHO the only "generational" women's player to date? Could be wrong but when she showed up the Canadian and US standards had to get better to keep up with her.

I suspect ESPN being US waved a heck of a lot of money at her to get her to jump. I know not everyone likes her but she's among the very few women who can hold her own.

I agree she can be really good on the intermission and pre-game panels. No question. Articulate and breaks the game down well when she has time to prepare. Certainly knows more about the game than 99% of her audience.

But for so long they were getting her to do color on broadcasts and that could best be described as square peg/round hole. Terrible timing as to when to speak and when to stay silent and was constantly talking over the pbp (Rick Ball normally) guy. Good color requires to be able to instantly vocalize whats happening and in few words. She does not have that capability. It was a clusterfata.

Those two things are entirely different skill sets and good for SN in figuring that out and getting her on the national stage between periods.

I expect her to blossom on ESPN as well as she gets more and more experience and confidence. This is a woman used to achieving great things. No reason this will be any different.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Terrible timing as to when to speak and when to stay silent and was constantly talking over the pbp (Rick Ball normally) guy.

On the subject of the PBP/colour dynamic.

The PBP should be the only one to talk during play. Hockey is too fast and too fluid for the broadcasters to have a conversation while the game is going on.

John Bartlett and Gary Galley had this figured out. When the play was moving, Bartlett called the game and only the game.

You never heard him say anything about Barzal’s time in junior or how many goals he’s scored on the shift after he gets his blades replaced, nothing - first and foremost, nobody cares. It’s superfluous information that is tantamount to jibber jabber.

Second, that’s Galley’s job. When the play stopped, Galley would break it down uninterrupted, Bartlett would say something like “Right you are, Gary” and back to the action.

Calling a hockey game is a performance. It is a three hour song, and Bartlett can sing. He reacts to the emotion of the moment, from the perspective of the person who made the play. And communicating the emotion is vastly more important than describing the physical act.

Broadcasters that would rather talk hockey than call the game in front of them should start a podcast.

[troutman]

I assume PBP and Colour signal each other when they are about to talk or stop talking?

[mikeecho]

I still think it's weird that Sportsnet was re-organizing their staff and starting a VAN-CGY combo show and didn't use Andrew Walker (straight talker) to host it considering he worked in both markets, has the ability to get your blood boiling enough to become invested and is a good broadcaster. Instead, they filled the show with the radio version of oatmeal.



I'm guessing Walker made too much money and needed to be off the books or pissed off his bosses because talent wise he would have been an easy choice to pull that off.

[GreenLantern2814]

^^^because it’s not about being good or interesting or knowledgeable.

It’s about being cheap and filling air time with enough bull#### to get them to the next car dealership commercial.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by troutman

I assume PBP and Colour signal each other when they are about to talk or stop talking?

No. Don't be silly. They're either psychic or have communicators implanted in their brains.

I saw a clip one time about the play by play crew for some team and I recall them touching each other on the elbow or forearm when they were about to talk.

[rayne008]

I know that Leah Hextall sign with ESPN to do PxP. Did Cassie sign with ESPN as well?
Congrats to Leah, she will kill it.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by rayne008

I know that Leah Hextall sign with ESPN to do PxP. Did Cassie sign with ESPN as well?
Congrats to Leah, she will kill it.

Yes, Cassie will be an analyst on ESPN's broadcasts next season.

At this point, it's unclear if that will impact her ability to work on Flames broadcasts/HNIC going forward. Ray Ferraro was also announced as one of ESPN's analysts and he has said that he will continue to work Leafs games and the World Jrs on TSN.

It's possible that Cassie's deal could have her working mid-week for ESPN and still be available to Sportsnet on the weekends.