posted 2007/04/20 at 17:18
Well, a few weeks ago I predicted that the Thrashers would beat the Flames in the Stanley Cup finals, and as an added bonus the team that eliminated the Red Wings would sign away Pavel Datsyuk. Before the season even ended the Red Wings locked Datsyuk into a long-term contract, and the Thrashers got swept out in the first round by the Rangers. Hey, I've still got the Flames to hang on to here, and unless the Red Wings actually start playing like the Red Wings again (which they somehow managed to do in the first two games of the series), they'll at least make it to the next round. Gah.
I have to say that this is one of my favourite times of the year, if only because it's the only time of year there's serious coverage of the NHL in the news. I understand that due to historical and geographical considerations hockey isn't appreciated much beyond the Hockey Belt that Toledo is on the edge of, but I still get sick and tired of people joking about how they didn't even know the NHL season got canceled a couple of years back. Pardon me for a bit of hyperbole here, but it bothers me when sports reporters only barely cover NHL games and scarcely anything about the behind-the-scenes action, and then turn around and 2,000 words a day when a third-string tailback in the NFL gets a hangnail. (Okay, maybe that was more than just a "bit" of hyperbole.)
There are a couple of things about this year's coverage of the playoffs that I'd like to mention here as well. First of all, it kind of surprised me to find out that Versus was actually doing the whole "put a microphone on a player" thing in some of their playoff games. It's not that I don't understand the appeal of those kinds of gimmicks, but at the same time I really think gimmicks like those should be used in the playoffs, particularly as I think a microphone pack becoming detached from a player caused a delay in one of the playoff games I watched earlier. Then again, given that Versus is being brought to us by the same people who killed my beloved TechTV in favour of garbage like repeats of The Man Show, I have to admit that I do kind of look out for excuses to complain about them whenever possible.
Also, at the start of the playoffs the CBC changed their on-screen graphics. CBC had stuck with the old "score in the corner" graphic there long after all the US networks switched to that top/bottom-of-screen bar, and they used a nice, soft colour scheme that was distinctive yet informative. Now they're using a top-of-screen graphic, and not only did they start using a much deeper, harsher blue than before, but they also have all these sharp angles in the graphics. As much as I hate to say it, it looks like a rip-off of the graphics NBC introduced for Sunday Night Football. I understand the whole "follow the pack" mentality when it comes to these sorts of things, but at the same time I think there's something to be said for distinctiveness and originality, and I'm used to seeing more of the latter out of CBC. (Worse yet, they're also using the same new graphics for their curling coverage, where it really seems out of place.
Thanks for the comments on the Rumble blog...more coming soon!
I actually do have that Rumble on tape if you ever wanna hear the music again...it is pretty cool, but I didn't miss it in the DDV version, really...
BTW, just in case you hadn't heard:
http://www.filmcrewonline.com/
Thought you'd wanna know. :)
-Jeff
copyright © 2008 Sean Shannon