In Defense of Deadline Broadcasts

While the Trade Deadline was pretty much a dud except to the last hour, I have to say something that was more annoying than the lack of movement was the people complaining about the over-covering of the deadline, knowing that it'd be very slow.

Even with it being very slow, what does it matter-- it leaves more time for things to breathe and more people to actually talk rather than a select few and then having to cut them off to get reactions from management or the traded players themselves. Hell, the all-star casts that both TSN and Sportsnet had was something to keep me tuned in, even if some of the things they had were very inane and unnecessary on a day like this.

Granted, having a show that goes from 8 AM Eastern Time until 5 PM is a bit insane, regardless of how busy the day might possibly become. Notwithstanding, you have to realize that sometimes the tradition is hard to actually kill off or actually tone down. With sponsors and analysts and all kinds of special people going into the studios to give their two cents to the situations, you almost need all that time in order to justify their presence or just travelling them up there in the first place.

If the show was truncated to 1 PM to 5 PM, it would be too short for some people. While that would have been the perfect timing for this year, you can't always predict it and you can't change something on a dime like that when you have sold the advertising space and actually got in-show sponsors to give up their money in order to present the show and have their brand all over the place-- like Tim Horton's mugs everywhere on the TSN set.

The best part about having the coverage as it is has to be the fact you can see the person on the TV and have them rely true or false information. With Twitter being the crapshoot as it is, many have been duped by fake accounts of real people, fake insider accounts, and just other craptasticness on the internet. With those talking heads actually being accessible for an extent amount of time on the TV, they can almost instantaneously shoot down the false information or confirm it was actually them saying it.

Despite the coverage being overkill and going to some things way more than they should have with way more people than a company should have had up there-- it was a success for both sides of the ball. Many tried-and-true people stuck with TSN, as it seems to the gold standard for shows like this with their connected insiders and cast of analysts; but Sportsnet did have a solid panel with their Strategy Room being another great gimmick, as well as the inclusion of Greg Wyshynski to break up the monotony of serious and sometimes hypothetical talk about what possible trades could come.

There's definitely something for improvement when it comes to timing and how much air-time should actually be given in times like this-- but the more hockey that is on TV, game-play or otherwise, is never a bad thing and it engages some people into discussions and situations they may not have thought of when socially networking with others online.

McGuire May Be Minnesota's Monster

Reports out of St. Paul have the Wild short-listing for their possible replacement for their GM position and it seems that TSN analyst, color-blind advocate, and all around annoyance for some people, Pierre McGuire seems to be the front runner for this position.

Now, say what you will about this man, but he has a decent hockey mind and could take over in this position and flourish. He may be loud, obnoxious, and hated by many who can't deal with his shrill voice and commentary, but when you stop to listen to what he says; it actually makes sense. You have to remember, he did help coach the Penguins to a Stanley Cup as a scout and assistant coach in '91 and '92, so he has the ability to go into a deeper role and have an eye for talent and knows what will work with the line-up out there.

Other non-factors that may or may not work into his favor for getting this job-- his real first name is "Regis", he was born in New Jersey, and he's got TV savvy. Thanks to Wikipedia for the first two.

The fact of the matter is that many may rejoice about him being off the TSN and NBC broadcast, and they could be right in doing so; yet I think this could help out the Wild or anyone else looking to fill a GM position. While he's crazy, kooky, and at times insane and beligerent-- he has a mind for hockey, which could be priceless to have someone that available with that much knowledge on the game and knows the players well from his time as a broadcaster and getting to know them more. With those connections, it could prove invaluable to when it comes to trades and free agencies......or not.

The only downside to this is that during TSN's Trade Deadline show, Darren Dutchyshen won't have McGuire uncomfortably close to him again in the studio.......you know, that may be the best for everyone.

Not All Players Are Broadcasting Material

I'll preface this by saying I respect Brad May and his playing abilities, I respect the tenure he has given to the NHL, and I think he's an upstanding citizen-- however, I'd liked to respectfully ask TSN to get Mr. May off the broadcasts, please.

There's a certain type of player who is cut out for a broadcasting position when their careers are done. Most goaltenders are cut out for this (IE: Darren Pang, John Davidson, Chich Resch), as well as players who were big yappers on the ice (IE: Ray Ferraro, Nick Kypreos); but it seems that most of the agitators aren't very big on this whole concept. We saw that the Tie Domi experiment with TSN didn't go as planned, as he went from the desk at intermission to his own two minute segment pre-game, then went into oblivion...and I don't mean Sportsnet.

It's hard to watch May out there on the broadcast because of the fact he was never into broadcasting schools or never seemed to be one for the whole big post-game quotable you'll find plastered all over the news. This was probably a chance given out by TSN and he just figured, "Ah, what the hell, how bad can it be??" When I watch him, it's very cringe inducing, especially when you figure that they probably told him right before he went out he'd be on-air to most of Canada and those with the Center Ice package and it make him look like a deer-in-headlights.

Yet, unless you are used to that kind of broadcast pressure everyday, no one can be prepared for it and will probably freeze up, I know I would and I've been doing my amateur gig for almost eight years now (08.08.01 was our first show). And I while I envy the exposure that May is receiving, the thing I don't envy is that he has to go out there cold and try to be entertaining. I only did some public access TV and I was scared out of my gourd. It's not an easy thing to do and kudos to May for having the balls to do something like that, but know it's hard to watch at all times because he's out of his element.

One thing I will say is that May is starting to turn a corner and get better with it all, trying to find his niche. If he can settle down before the end of the first round, then I may change my mind, but it could be time to cut his losses and maybe take a hack at it next year, much like a young, inexperienced playoff team would do after a quick exit. Definitely, the redeeming quality to all of this is that he hasn't pulled a Roger Millions type gaff.