NBC Good for NHL, But…

NHL, NBC extension

It’s really good for the NHL to have a presence on NBC. Period.

Sports as a whole are slowly going away from broadcast TV stations and moving on to cable. Cable shouldn’t give you the same bad vibe as it would 10 years ago. Every day, more people are watching brand new, highly rated shows on cable TV.

But that said, anytime you can be on broadcast TV, it’s better. Broadcast TV offers up a more broad audience. The hit cable TV shows Jon and Kate Plus Eight and Cake Boss work great on TCL, but wouldn’t on NBC or CBS.

I think some of the negative vibes the NHL on NBC gets is because the Peacock ignores hockey. Running promos during golf, bull riding and poker events are one thing, but I think we can count on one hand how times a player or team official appeared on Today (NBC’s morning show), one of the Late Night shows, or even one of their hit TV shows (I know, insert joke here).

I know… There have been some NHL appearances on NBC’s Monday through Friday shows, but not enough to make a significant impact.

I’m glad to see NBC and the NHL have agreed to two more years. But let’s see if NBC can boost the cross-promotional tools that are at their disposal. That will really help ratings and be great for the NHL.

Potvin Dropped by Panthers

Islanders Hall of Fame Defenseman Denis Potvin has been dropped as the TV Analyst of the Florida Panthers.

The Miami Herald has the story here.

Discuss this post at IslanderMania.com

Jiggs Recalled on an Emergency Basis

Howie Rose will be on NY Mets duty this week and Islanders fans will have the pleasure of (Hockey Hall of Famer and all around great guy) Jiggs McDonald partnering up with Billy Jaffe in the TV booth for the next three games.

The original plan was to have Howie call the Mets' season opener in Cincinnati today for WFAN 660 AM and then have him fly to Carolina on Tuesday for the Islanders game on MSG-Plus (it's an off-day in the Mets-Reds series). He was then supposed to fly back to Cincinnati for the remainder of the series. Jiggs was prevously scheduled to call the games for MSG at Pittsburgh and home versus Philadelphia. Howie would then rejoin the telecast for the season finale.

However, heavy rain in the forecast puts today's Mets-Reds game in doubt. If and when the game gets rained out, Howie would have to stay in Cincinnati to call the make-up game tomorrow. Instead of playing it by ear, MSG made the call yesterday to let Howie stay in Cincinnati regardless tomorrow and fly Jiggs in a game early.

Howie will rejoin Billy in booth on Sunday versus Boston.

Discuss this post at IslanderMania.com

Islanders Bedeviled to MSG Plus 2

With the return of Martin Brodeur, MSG Plus 2 (or the Ocho) will carry the Islander/Toronto game tomorrow night. The Devils have been switched over to MSG Plus 1.

CJ Papa nor Iceburgh, the Penguins mascot, had any influence on this decision. But the picture was taken tonight prior to CJ's first intermission interview with Trent Hunter.

Discuss this post at IslanderMania.com

Don’t Adjust Your TV Set

Part 1

Some internet banter on Islander Mania is correct. There is a different center ice logo at the Coliseum for the second half of the season.

The logo (left) is the third jersey logo… royal blue and with a fourth stripe on the stick of the “NY”. The new NHL logos are also new. A few teams in the NHL have incorporated the League’s shield in their center ice logo and the rumor is that the NHL will make it mandatory next season.

It’s a nice touch for the ice at the Coliseum.


Part 2

From this Sportsnet.ca report:

Altitude Sports & Entertainment announced that it will broadcast the second period of the Montreal Canadiens' visit to Pepsi Center on February 13th in black and white with an "old time" coverage style. The telecast changes are in celebration of the Canadiens’ 100th season playing in the NHL and will give viewers a flashback to what it was like when hockey was first shown on TV.

"Friday night’s old time hockey coverage is a way for us to celebrate the rich history of the NHL and to remind fans of the evolution of live sports television coverage," said Matt Hutchings, Altitude’s EVP/COO. "We hope that fans will enjoy the special broadcast and celebrate this history with us."

Also, a very cool idea.


Conclusion: Retro is “in” these days. From the NBA to the NFL and certainly to the NHL.

Road Trip, Day 9: No Sleep Till… Long Island

Weather on Long Island? Cold, but clear.

Weather in Calgary? Snowy.

But as of 8:30 local time, I’m told this won’t affect our 2,500 mile flight back home to Farmingdale’s Republic Airport. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.

That will bring our total miles traveled on this excursion across North America and back to approximately 7,600 miles.

We’re scheduled to return home at 6:00 AM on Friday. Does that make it a 10-day road trip? If everything goes according to plan tonight, I’ll settle for calling it a nine-dayer, but who’s counting.

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One odd note I want to pass along. Aside from the 24-hour Yule Log channel at the hotel, we also received WPIX 11. Nothing exceptional, just wasn’t expecting it. Typically, Canadian cities and hotels will carry some American channels. Usually they pick up the ones that are in close proximity. For example, in Montreal we got Burlington, VT channels. Usually, there’s in the same time zone. But we got our 7:00 showing of The Family Guy at 5:00 local time.

So Long, Kev

Since 1987 (for the most part), Islanders games that were broadcasted on Sports Channel, FSN NY and MSG have been produced by one man: Kevin Meininger. He falls into the category of people who fans never heard of, but are an integral part of the Islanders extended family.

Meininger received a promotion from MSG two weeks ago and is now the Sr. Coordinating Producer of the NY Knicks, NY Liberty and NY Rangers telecasts on the MSG Network.

Mike Santini, who produced NY Mets broadcasts for MSG, has been named his replacement.

Meininger was one of the reasons that the broadcasts of the Islanders have won multiply NY Emmy’s over the past few years and the organization owes a lot to him for helping promote the team. Over the past few seasons, Kevin became a good friend of mine and he will be missed by many in the organization.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about John McComb passing away. Meininger actually took over producing Islanders games for him in 1987.

Congratulations Kevin. But remember…Now you’re part of the enemy!

R.I.P John McComb

John McComb falls under the category of someone in the extended Islanders family that fans probably never heard of.

For about 30 years, John was involved in Islanders telecasts. From producing games for Sports Channel to directing to stage managing for MSG-Plus, he was at nearly every Islanders home game along with games at the Garden and in New Jersey.

Last month, John suffered a stroke and passed away this past week.

He will be missed by the entire Islanders family.

Mores pics from Bristol

Here are some more pictures of Bill Guerin at the ESPN studios.

VERSUS: Dubie mic’d up

Tonight’s game is being exclusively broadcasted on Versus and fans will be treated to a unique experience. Both back-up goaltenders will be mic’d up for sound. Wade Dubielewicz will be joined by Marty Biron of the Flyers.

Some of the best jabbing from the bench comes from the backup netminders, so this could be fun.

TV: FSN NY HD in NYC

Islanders fans in New York City can now finally watch Islanders games that are broadcast in High Definition in...well… High Definition.

For a while, Time Warner Cable only had the MSG Network HD channel on their programming lineup. But now, FSN NY HD is available. Yup, that’s Howie, Billy, Butch and Deb in H.D. in N.Y.C.

If you ask Kerry Cornils, the Islanders customer service legend, if this complaint was in the top-10 of all time, he would said “YES!”. Complaint resolved.

For those wondering, the FSN NY HD is located on Ch. 748.

Enjoy city Islanders fans.

NYI-NYR Match-Up Earns Top Rating

I know this is a little late to the game, but for those who didn't see this yet it's pretty good stuff.

RANGERS-ISLANDERS GAME EARNS VERSUS ITS TOP N.Y.-AREA NHL RATING

Versus received a 1.8 HH rating in the N.Y. market for its telecast of the Rangers-Islanders game on Wednesday night, making it the best N.Y. market rating ever for an NHL telecast on the network. The game was also up 157% from the same matchup last season on March 5 (Versus).

FOLLOW-UP: That’s Why!

I know this is a hockey blog, but that Rockies-Padres game was unreal. It was a one-game playoff, win and you’re in and both teams left everything on the field. It was just awesome to watch. Great TV and a great sports moment.

THAT’S one change hockey needs to make. Forget about bigger nets!

MEDIA: MSG, NY to Air Bourne/Hart Piece

Just got word that MSG, NY will air an Islanders piece tonight featuring Bob and Justin Bourne along with Gerry and Jordan Hart from training camp. It was produced by Kevin Meininger and should be a good watch.

MEDIA: MM to TSN

Former Islanders GM Mike Milbury is adding a third TV gig to his 2007-08 resume as he has agreed to be studio analyst for TSN (ESPN’s Canadian cousin). As Islanders fans know, Mike was never one to mince word and it’s really great for hockey with MM back on a national stage. Fans will really enjoy his opinions and banter.

From TSN’s press release: [[[Milbury will appear weekly during the marquee NHL on TSN: Wednesday Night Hockey throughout the regular season and frequently during the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Milbury makes his TSN debut on September 28 during the NHL on TSN Fantasy Draft Special. ]]]

I enjoyed my time working for Mike. He kept everyone on his toes and if you ever went to dinner with him, you certainly were entertained by some great stories.

Now we just need TSN in the States… Not to mention NHL Tonight on ESPN!

GAME: What I Learned From Tonight’s Game

Moncton, NB – Here are some things I learned from tonight’s 3-1 win over Montreal…

1) With increased ice time, Jon Sim will be the best bargain in the NHL.
2) I don’t care what TSN SportsCentre says, our new jerseys are great and certainly not the ugliest in the NHL… Can anyone say Vancouver?
3) The great people of Moncton haven’t realized that Andrew MacDonald and Chris Gaudet were only away from the city for a few days before camp, not the decade they seem to make it out be. But the boys appreciate the “homecoming” attention nevertheless.
4) The Islanders have never seen as special of a player off the ice as Bill Guerin. With the fans or media, he’s a standup guy.
5) Andy Sutton can hit. H.I.T. Can’t wait to see what he brings in the regular season.
6) There’s plenty of heart, grit and character on this team, which will go a long, long way throughout the entire organization.
7) That Ruslan Fedotenko-Mike Comrie-Bill Guerin line might be something worth keeping together for a while.
8) Rick looked sharp in net.
9) Ted loves to coach. And loves to coach in Moncton.
10) Islanders TV continues to set the bar even higher. What a great night for them. Live telecast with Steve Mears and Billy Jaffe from Moncton. They also answered questions from IslandMania and Islanders Country. Great job by Josh Bernstein and his crew as usual.

MEDIA: Congrats, Stan!

Moncton, NB – Just got a nice e-mail from the NHL. Long-time hockey broadcaster Stan Fischler has been named one of four recipients of the 2007 Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. Also receiving the award is: Brian Leetch, Cammi Granato and longtime communications executive and historian John Halligan. The recipients will be honored at the 2007 Lester Patrick Awards Luncheon on November 7th in New York.

The fact that Stan isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame is a shame and hopefully that will change soon. I guess this is a start.

Congratulations, Stan!

NYI: Marketing/Ads

You might see an increase of NYI logo sightings this holiday weekend. That's because, the organization has put it's 07-08 marketing capaign into full gear. Back is the "We're All Islanders", but you'll also see ad-specific marketing.

If you go to Newsday.com, you'll see a big Islanders add on the homepage of the screen. That's just the start. As the pennent races for the Mets and Yankees heat up this weekend, the Christie Brinkley tv spot will air on both SNY and YES.

College football fan? Yup, you'll see that spot on ESPN, too.

Music lover? Check out WMJC 94.3, B103.1, KJoy 98.3 and 1050 ESPN Radio all weekend for NYI prizes.

I also think we're throwing our traditional ads in Newsday also (I mean the actual paper).

We're All Islanders over here, and yup, we're trying to make you one too (if you're not already).

NEWS: LI Native Gets TV Call

Minor news, but anytime a fellow Long Islander does something in hockey, I feel its worth mentioning.

The Florida Panthers have named Brooklyn-native Steve Goldstein as their play-by-play man for FSN Florida. Goldstein previously called the action for the Panthers' radio affiliate.

If the name sounds familiar, Goldstein used to work for WFAN and CBS Radio Network up here. Goldstein replaced Jiggs McDonald when he retired from full-time duty.