M88K
irreverent
- May 24, 2014
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no she's only an ESPN+ exclusives, thankfully. If she was on all of them, we'd have to kill ourselves, or at the very least destroy our eardrums
A new contender for worst broadcaster of all time (Leah Hextall)
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bsu
"I have no idea what I am doing" -Pat VerBleak
- Sep 27, 2017
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Chips
Registered User
- Aug 19, 2015
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You don’t hear the small pauses / dead air, the quiet mellow voice or the delay between the goal and her actually yelling? Regular features of her play by play
She’s all around awkward sounding, her small voice and style
CantHaveTkachev
Cap Space > NHL players
cringy...she simply doesn't have the voice for play-by-play
and that's ok, not everyone does..but find someone else
and that's ok, not everyone does..but find someone else
kerrabria
Registered User
- May 3, 2018
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I wouldn't even go that far. We don't know what her normal voice sounds like because she goes so over the top with the shrieking in response to action. Also, how she only uses the same handful of verbs to describe play and exclusively refers to the puck as "it."
If she spoke like a normal person and expanded her vocabulary she might be fine. It's her style that is egregious, which is a choice.
The Real JT
The crowd called out for more
oconnor9sean
Registered User
Wyatt “Johnson”
Jason “Robinson”
Among others.
And that’s not even taking the shrill goal call into the equation.
Let tonight be another example that Leah Hextall isn’t hated because she’s a woman in sports. She’s hated because she’s an atrocious play by play commenter.
Jason “Robinson”
Among others.
And that’s not even taking the shrill goal call into the equation.
Let tonight be another example that Leah Hextall isn’t hated because she’s a woman in sports. She’s hated because she’s an atrocious play by play commenter.
hairylikebear
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Does anyone watch hockey with people who aren't hardcore fans like the majority of this site? I'm curious what those people think of her commentary - does she help them understand the flow of the game?
Hockey commentary isn't really for us. If you know the players by number and you've been following the sport for a while you don't need anyone telling you what's happening.
Hockey commentary isn't really for us. If you know the players by number and you've been following the sport for a while you don't need anyone telling you what's happening.
hirawl
Used Register
- Dec 27, 2010
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The amount of hate she gets is in no way in proportion to anything she does in her profession. Just a fact. A sickening one.
She is a play by play announcer who cannot articulate what is happening. Her job is to literally describe what is happening. She can’t do that.
Chips
Registered User
- Aug 19, 2015
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I’m sure her frequent pauses, occasionally quiet voice and messing up names helps the casual fans follow.
Good commentators also convey the energy of the moment with some style. That crowd effect you get in person you can’t get on your couch, it’s like the laugh track effect. A great play by play person helps you follow and adds something. Some people might like a quiet game with nothing. Personally I don’t get that, there’s literally YouTube videos with great goal call compilations
eg Doc made every little play in the dying minutes of a game or even period sound intense. Dude was crazy good
yada
move 2 dallas 4 work
Mike emerick was the absolute worst announcer to me. I cant stand him his voice, his quips and the way he called games waa terrible.
If he called as few games as leah hextall i certainly wouldn't have hated him nearly as much.
Small pauses and dead air means shes certainly not as good as others but it doesnt mean it was the worst call of all time. Those criticism would certainly be along the lines as shes not as good, talented, or as experienced as other announcers.
Chips
Registered User
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Not an unheard of opinion, but not the most common lol. A lot of people see him as iconic, one of the few good things about NBC coverage.
His voice is gonna come down to just preference beyond basic stuff like volume and “fullness” which he had, but definitely “distinct” too. I never minded it and even liked it, as well as his basically catch phrases
I’ll always miss “WAHFFLEBOARDED!” haha. How much some people disliked that vocabulary, or for that matter Pierre filling air time between play (really, there’s only so much they can say, they all fill space. Pierre was just really passionate and specific lol) with players youth hockey background, always seemed really weird and nitpicky to get worked up about.
I think his sweet goofy grandpa vibes helped sell it to people. His humor and chemistry with most of the other commentators came off well too, and his expansive vocabulary and eloquent speech moments. He was really good and around a lot longer than I had realized when I was younger. Only hockey broadcaster to get a national Emmy for his work and he got several; hockey hall of fame; Lester Patrick Award; etc
I also got a kick out of this from his wiki:
“Emrick is a founding member, and still president, of the NHL Pronunciation Guide, which is used as a guide for all NHL broadcasters for some of hockey's most difficult names.”
Another area where Leah just doesn’t compare lol. Maybe she can get lessons, or some flash cards at least.
Idk, everyone is entitled to their opinion certainly when it comes to just looking at the man himself, but I can’t help chuckling when I’ve seen the odd comment here or there in these threads comparing Hextall to Doc like she’s even remotely close to him in any sense. She might make the Hall one day for the same reason she got hired
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Pavels Dog
Registered User
Not a great call but kind of unfair to compare an away goal to a home goal.
serp
Registered User
- Jan 17, 2016
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It wasn't the Nashville home crew. It was the ESPN national television crew.
And it's not just the Johnston/Johnson thing
The fact they didn't even get the name of the Stars best player who scored 40 goals last season right and who doesn't even have a difficult name is just well it's bad.
Pavels Dog
Registered User
I just mean the Peterka call isn't exactly amazing. What makes it is the crowd noise and goal horn and all of that excitement. One of the hardest things a a play-by-play person has to do is call goals for the away team, because there's none of that excitement in the arena to play off.
Yes, she's bad at getting names right.
Sheppy
Registered User
Before people come with pitchforks...
If you're bad at your job, you're bad at your job. I don't care if you're a man, woman or identify as a microwave. It is what it is,
If you're bad at your job, you're bad at your job. I don't care if you're a man, woman or identify as a microwave. It is what it is,
That's actually not hard *at all* for professional broadcasters.
Perhaps it is just me, but, in general, I prefer the tone and deeper voices of a male play by play announcer. If there was a male announcer with a shrill and shrieking voice, I would not like that selection either.
kook10
Registered User
- Jun 27, 2011
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I tend to agree, but that may also be due to lack of experience and simple mic control. Most mics have a proximity effect get more bass and generally get beefier when you get right up on them (thats how you get "radio voice"). The sound crew should be able to help and over time people learn how to listen to themselves and adjust accordingly. That clearly hasn't happened yet.
WaitingForThatCab
Iconic.
- Mar 11, 2017
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Hextall broadcasts will continue until morale improves.
hockeyfan666
Registered User
- Jun 25, 2022
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PLEASE STOP !!
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Don't you dare compare her to Jar Jar....... he doesn't deserve that !
ElysiumAB
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- Sep 12, 2013
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