Almost every male working in hockey is hired because they're within the bubble of hockey and that's just normal.
She does suck at commentary and it's fine to say that, but it's only with Leah Hextall that people wanna fight nepotism, it seems like.
Again, she sucks, but so do the studio shows where Bissonnette, Messier, and Chelios give me CTE by proxy.
It’s not only her, but it’s more acknowledged consistently for her because plenty of people can and will tune out of Messier and Chelios’ bland ass intermissions, whereas the in game commentators and game sounds typically add to the game (incidentally I think she’d be a great addition to the studio if they expanded the desk. She or someone personable like her might bring the more loose, fun side of those guys out like Biz does with Tocc and Gretz). They’ve been acknowledged to only be there because of their names.
If Jack Edwards or the old Sabres guy got a prime pbp job where you had to watch them to watch a certain game you wanted to see, they would get way more complaints than they already do/did
I think Hextall being so much more annoying, because her position is the most prominent of the hockey broadcast and pbp voice part sets the tone of the game, makes people even more resentful of how she got that job than other avoidable guys.
Also with her, her being personable has gotten better but it’s both her voice and the awkward pauses and or sounding lost making us wonder if she’s actually following the game.
Edwards is a jackass, but at least his loud voice and energy fits the role better and I can tolerate him for a game. The bias is something I can just tolerate as I get that’s basically his job as the local guy
Can agree to disagree on lumping Biz with messier and Chelios. They bring a completely different approach to their desk and I think way more people appreciate the fairly unique (to hockey broadcasts) “vibe” or whatever he’s helped foster. Either way, their studio show is just as avoidable as ESPNs if you want to only see the game
