A new contender for worst broadcaster of all time (Leah Hextall)

[thefutures]

Bulls***...so we're ignoring the recurring Jack Edwards flame fest threads?

You mean after he calls a pro athlete fat? Atleast this lady trys to do the actual job. JE should just stick to the script like everyone else. When the female sucks it's a problem but when the white man sucks at his job he's a victim lol

 

[Cant Kick On 1 Foot]

I’d like to hear her. While not PbP, I used to like Hrudey, but now he acts way too grandfatherly, and always “thinks this is what happened”…. Loubardious is something on another level, with sentences always ending in higher pitch tones. Just annoying voice to me. Though give him credit for hockey knowledge.

Rick Ball with SN is a good PbP in my opinion though.

 

[BigTomBomber]

There are a number of shitty male announcers/color guys in the league and apart from the ones who say controversial stuff (Edwards for example) you barely hear a peep from anyone about them.

One bad female announcer and there's a 27 page thread. I mean come on.

I have never heard Jack Edwards call a full game since he is primarily an announcer for a single team’s local broadcast. I have seen a clip or two of him being an idiot though

Nearly every team’s (all team’s…?) fanbase has been subjected to at least one game on the national broadcast. That’s the difference. If she was the Duck’s local broadcast, 90% of NHL fans would’ve never heard of her and this thread would be on Anaheim’s page

 

[Pancakes]

I have never heard Jack Edwards call a full game since he is primarily an announcer for a single team’s local broadcast. I have seen a clip or two of him being an idiot though

Nearly every team’s (all team’s…?) fanbase has been subjected to at least one game on the national broadcast. That’s the difference. If she was the Duck’s local broadcast, 90% of NHL fans would’ve never heard of her and this thread would be on Anaheim’s page

Edzo has been garbage for like 15 years. His only comment is that [player] should have shot the puck instead of making a play. Never seen a thread on him

 

[Chips]

Edzo has been garbage for like 15 years. His only comment is that [player] should have shot the puck instead of making a play. Never seen a thread on him

He’s pretty commonly, at least as often as he’s on games anymore maybe more so when he was getting the big national NBC games, gotten comments in GDTs and such for years. Certainly Pierre McGuire, he got the meme treatment it was that common.

Also there’s a “worst broadcasters/PBP/etc in the league?” thread every year, but as many have pointed out it’s usually local guys who don’t have much appeal outside (occasionally inside, but not often) their market who typically don’t get national jobs for that reason.


Much of this threads persistence isn’t simply Hextall, it’s people’s natural inclination to defend themselves when they’re accused of this or that and the fact that a few people are inclined to dismiss anyone’s criticism of a woman as “it’s just because she’s a woman”

 

[Hockeyfan2390]

There are a number of shitty male announcers/color guys in the league and apart from the ones who say controversial stuff (Edwards for example) you barely hear a peep from anyone about them.

One bad female announcer and there's a 27 page thread. I mean come on.

Because she's terrible.

 

[ScaredStreit]

Hextall is awful at her job, she doesn't play off of her co-workers, there are tons of gaps of silence, and it's awkward. I'm sure she has some potential-but to be calling NHL games on ESPN? She's not ready for that.

 

[The Panther]

I watched the ESPN Edmonton-Seattle broadcast last week, with Leah Hextall on play-by-play and Ray Ferraro on 'color'. It's the first time I've watched an actual game with Hextall calling it.

As far as the language / syntax / grammar / description / tone of her call went, I thought she was great. She did better at calling the action fairly and accurately than 90% of people I've heard do it recently.

The issue I would have with her (if I were in charge of hiring these positions) is not her ability to call the games, but rather the timbre of her voice, which is rather shrill in exciting moments. It's really the ability to call these exciting moments that makes a great sports broadcaster, and, as I hear it, Hextall fails badly at this. It's not her 'fault', per se; it's just that her voice doesn't carry well in the high register and she isn't able to convey excitement convincingly as a result. (In this, she is not alone -- there has never been anyone worse at it than, say, Paul Romanuk.)

What was funny was that her 'excited high school girl (or boy)' shrill tones were matched with Ray "Mr. Intensity" Ferraro, who always makes analysis of an offside replay sound like he's detailing key battles of World War II.

Hextall is awful at her job, she doesn't play off of her co-workers, there are tons of gaps of silence, and it's awkward. I'm sure she has some potential-but to be calling NHL games on ESPN? She's not ready for that.

Well, none of what you're describing occurred in the Edmonton-Seattle broadcast I watched. Hextall "played off" her co-broadcaster just fine, and there were no awkward silences.

 

[Xanlet]

As far as the language / syntax / grammar / description / tone of her call went, I thought she was great. She did better at calling the action fairly and accurately than 90% of people I've heard do it recently.

Now, I did not watch that broadcast, so I won't argue that game, but surely you saw the clip of the shootout she called where she was literally unaware that one team had just won the game? That level of error should never happen in an official NHL broadcast. What's worse, there is such a culture of promoting individuals for reasons unrelated to hockey and condemning any and all criticism of them to the point where neither her co-broadcaster (Cassie Campbell), nor her producer saw fit to interject and correct her. If you listen to male broadcasters, if they even make a small error their co-broadcaster will immediately correct them or they will mention later that their producer is telling them the correction. With Leah, there is such a persistent insistence on positivity that it is actually damaging her as a broadcaster.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Oh my god who cares

People have this need to whine about anything that really isn’t an issue. You’d think she said dumb shit like Jack Edwards or something. But no, just her voice.

 

[Steve Zissou]

There are a number of shitty male announcers/color guys in the league and apart from the ones who say controversial stuff (Edwards for example) you barely hear a peep from anyone about them.

One bad female announcer and there's a 27 page thread. I mean come on.

You've been here since 2011 but didn't know we do a yearly color + commentator praise/bashing thread here on the mains? Girl what flipping rock you been living under!?

Like Thanksgiving Day with your racist Uncle it's like a damn HF Boards tradition at this point! P.S. Be a doll and pass me the gravy.

Just a few of the recents...
The Athletic ranks the NHL local TV broadcasters - Carolina #1 - Boston #31
Your most hated commentator lines
New Jack Edwards Controversy
Is There a Worse Announcer Than Cassie Campbell?
The most biased color comentators in the league
Who is your favorite active commentator?
How Has Gretz Been As An Analyst/Commentator?

 

[JonathnTaylorTavares]

People have this need to whine about anything that really isn’t an issue. You’d think she said dumb shit like Jack Edwards or something. But no, just her voice.

Her voice is the job

 

[Asinine]

People have this need to whine about anything that really isn’t an issue. You’d think she said dumb shit like Jack Edwards or something. But no, just her voice.

You're literally whining about people whining.

 

[Buck Naked]

Her voice is the job

Yet Rick Jeanerett could sound like someone was farting in the mic for the last few years of his career without anyone complaining.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Edzo has been garbage for like 15 years. His only comment is that [player] should have shot the puck instead of making a play. Never seen a thread on him

Did the player turn his bottom hand over though?

 

[MuckOG]

People have this need to whine about anything that really isn’t an issue. You’d think she said dumb shit like Jack Edwards or something. But no, just her voice.

Not just her voice, but also her complete lack of situational awareness. She just isn't ready for prime time. Most announcers cut their teeth and refine their craft by spending years in junior/minor hockey before calling games in the NHL. She basically went from calling a handful of women's games in the CWHL to getting the top chair just because of her gender and who she is related to.

...and, as well, she just doesn't have the voice for it. I don't think that there is anything she can do to fix that. That's not a rip on her gender, most people (men and women) don't have the right voice and tone to call professional sports.

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

Yet Rick Jeanerett could sound like someone was farting in the mic for the last few years of his career without anyone complaining.

HIs career already ended, so i don't get the relevance of your potshot.

 

[Captain97]

Haven't heard a game with her this year but this isn't an HF thing or a she's a woman thing, her voice isn't suited for play by play. My girlfriend watches maybe 10 full games a year with me and one of the games Hextal was casting and my girlfriend proceeded to understand why I was annoyed quickly. She isn't pleasant to listen to.

She could be good between the benches but I saw some people were saying she's been blatantly wrong a few times which is concerning.

 

[Buck Naked]

HIs career already ended, so i don't get the relevance of your potshot.

Yes, on HF Boards we sure only compare things to current event.

 

[Giotrapani91]

Not just her voice, but also her complete lack of situational awareness. She just isn't ready for prime time. Most announcers cut their teeth and refine their craft by spending years in junior/minor hockey before calling games in the NHL. She basically went from calling a handful of women's games in the CWHL to getting the top chair just because of her gender and who she is related to.

...and, as well, she just doesn't have the voice for it. I don't think that there is anything she can do to fix that. That's not a rip on her gender, most people (men and women) don't have the right voice and tone to call professional sports.

I watched the game Seattle against the Islanders she was doing play by play for and she was awful.

 

[Seattle King]

I have very low standards for broadcasters these days. The quality has declined over the last few decades due to massive dilution via expansion of opportunities. So many more games on in so many more sports. People arent just watching Wide World of Sports and ESPN like back in the day.
Hextall's voice is the problem. Sure she's not a good game caller as far as knowledge and pace, but there are many broadcasters like that so its not a deal-breaker. The voice is just not endurable. I dont know why they cant filter it with all the tech they have in the booth, modulate it somehow. But I cant listen to it as it is. It is grating and annoying. I do not know why, I am not an audio engineer. Apparently in this case you cannot polish a turd.

 

[Chips]

Who’s the oilers guy who sounds borderline WWE?

One of my main preference reasons I dislike her is her inconsistent energy and often sounding super calm and soothing, as well as that freaking upwards inflection thing she’ll end consecutive sentences with sometimes, which is less than ideal for hockey. I mean a legit boring slow game is one thing but it’s weird/doesn’t maximize a fast energetic games.


I feel like if she did an impression of that Oilers guy, just full on energy and enthusiasm the whole time it’d be pretty good (if you like that guy in the first place anyway. I know people are mixed feelings on him)

 

[Chips]

Yet Rick Jeanerett could sound like someone was farting in the mic for the last few years of his career without anyone complaining.

People keep saying stuff like this but I distinctly remember reading the names coming up.


Jeanerett had throat cancer or something I’m fairly certain affected him as well as old age. I think most people agree he should have left sooner and I definitely saw plenty of complaints, but he was legit a really good announcer at least to a lot of people when he was younger. One of the more storied guys and I think that plus the cancer, nobody wanted to force him out. But yea there were def complaints


And Craig Laughlin of the caps is another. Again there’s yearly “worst announcer?” Threads as well as comments in GDTs if anyone’s actually in the thread particularly for big national games and playoffs

 

[timorous me]

I think it's also worth noting in these conversations that play-by-play announcers typically have a much bigger impact over the quality/listenability of a broadcast than a color commentator. So while Edzo has his annoying aspects, I would argue that it's much easier to tune him out and simply not have him affect the viewer's experience too much. (There are exceptions to this, most notably Pierre, I suppose, who talked a lot and was so over-the-top in some ways that it was hard to ignore.)

With a play-by-play announcer, viewers are almost forced to pay closer attention because we want to know what's happening and who's doing it. And in a way, national broadcasts are even more crucial for this than local ones because many viewers can't identify or don't know players from both teams.

So even getting beyond issues like the timbre of Hextall's voice and things of that nature, her #1 job is to be able to identify the action and the players as seamlessly and naturally as possible, and she's simply not been good at doing that.

Between her frequent misidentifications, confusion about what's happened, and dead air, Hextall does something that I want to relate to the novelist/writing instructor John Gardner's lesson from his book The Art of Fiction about "the fictive dream": she pulls us out of our focus on a game, which we're immersed in and watching intently. As Gardner says of the writer, which could be said for the play-by-play announcer (who effectively functions as a game's narrator), "By detail the writer achieves vividness; to make the scene continuous, he takes pains to avoid anything that might distract the reader from the image."

I tend to watch a lot of hockey (I probably should spend more time reading and writing!), and while I like more announcers more than others, there are only a handful who tend to pull me out of a game through the way they're calling it, if I'm actually immersed in the experience (which is less frequent these days, with all the distractions at hand). Hextall unfortunately is by far the worst at this, alongside Jack Edwards (who used to actually call a pretty good game, but no longer even does that), and it's a shame that ESPN put her in this position before she was even close to ready for it, inviting all this criticism (which really should be primarily directed at the network).

 

[Giotrapani91]

He’s pretty commonly, at least as often as he’s on games anymore maybe more so when he was getting the big national NBC games, gotten comments in GDTs and such for years. Certainly Pierre McGuire, he got the meme treatment it was that common.

Also there’s a “worst broadcasters/PBP/etc in the league?” thread every year, but as many have pointed out it’s usually local guys who don’t have much appeal outside (occasionally inside, but not often) their market who typically don’t get national jobs for that reason.


Much of this threads persistence isn’t simply Hextall, it’s people’s natural inclination to defend themselves when they’re accused of this or that and the fact that a few people are inclined to dismiss anyone’s criticism of a woman as “it’s just because she’s a woman”

I prefer Edzo over Leah hextall she’s terrible people give edzo a bad rap cuz he worked with emrick & Pierre, and those two have become memes online. They were both awful Gary Thorne is 100 percent better than emrick or hextall.