Sam Rosen: Voice of the Rangers for 30 YEARS!

[Pizza]

A good friend of mine Is a camera man on the bachelor, when he was first starting he was a P.A for NBC for years n did the Olympics in salt lake...when he wad there he was Al Trautwigs assistant...one day i have a voice msg on my phone...when i listen to it its Al calling saying "hey joe this Is Al, Nick said to give u call cause your a huge ranger fan n it would blow your mind...consider it blown...have a good day...n lets go rangers"....ha ha

OK, that's pretty cool.

 

[The Mouth]

I don't think I'm nitpicking when Sam calls a two line pass against the Rangers when Nash almost had a breakaway a couple weeks ago. The two line pass which hasn't been a rule for a almost decade, this guy should know this stuff.

Also, the horrible non-call in Ottawa on a Brian Boyle penalty. In which he was rambling about the young stars in the eastern conference all the while not even noticing that Boyle had taken a critical penalty late in the game. Sam finally got clued in when the PA guy in Ottawa announced Boyles penalty to the crowd, after the puck was already dropped..

In which he Sam acted totally surprised as Mike Zibanejad five seconds later deposited the puck behind Henrik.

 

[Bluenote13]

Haha, I remember that two line pass call, classic, even I talked back to the TV.

He's Sam, take the good with the bad. I'd hate if he were some stiff guy who went by the book.

 

[Chaels Arms]

I don't think I'm nitpicking when Sam calls a two line pass against the Rangers when Nash almost had a breakaway a couple weeks ago. The two line pass which hasn't been a rule for a almost decade, this guy should know this stuff.

Also, the horrible non-call in Ottawa on a Brian Boyle penalty. In which he was rambling about the young stars in the eastern conference all the while not even noticing that Boyle had taken a critical penalty late in the game. Sam finally got clued in when the PA guy in Ottawa announced Boyles penalty to the crowd, after the puck was already dropped..

Mouth, this is hilarious because I really thought I was the only one out here that went crazy over those two exact things. The two-line pass call didn't bother me that much because I thought it was hilarious and Sam making that call made me feel nostalgic but I was absolutely going nuts when they ignored that Boyle penalty. That's one of my main problems with both Sam and Joe; sometimes they just get lost in their own dialogue and forget there's a game going on.

 

[TheTakedown]

One of the best hockey announcers in the game. He and Jim Hughson exhibit excellence and are much better than Doc (Devils homer) Emerick.

"It's a powerplay goal!"

"Save by Richter, another save by Richter, another save by Richter, and he made another one! Five saves for Mike Richter!"

Doc isn't the problem. It's ******* Chico "Mustache" Resch... I hate that asswad

 

[TheTakedown]

Ever since J.D left he has been horrendous. As the years go by he gets worse and worse.

Editorializing while play is going on, the bad goal calls. His endlessly filling the broadcast with every detail about the OTHER teams players as he make sure he utters every fact the opposing teams PR guy gave him before the game.

He is awful.

Rangers dont have announcers like other teams, the guys who call the game are extensions of the Rangers PR department. Never critical or talking about specifics of a struggling player. Just sweeping generalizations, all the while lauding the opposing team night after night. he and his ridiculous toupee should hang it up.

Absolutely. Listen to a Devils Game or a Penguins game... They are awful, I mean god awful

 

[TheTakedown]

Still love Gary Thorne and wish he still did games.

If I could have Sam do Rangers games and Gary do national games i'd be in heaven. But i'm stuck with Doc "Waffleboard" Emerick.

Careful, he might "pitchfork you" into the corner

What ever happened to Gary. He should at least be on the NBCSN team that Doc isn't on.

I second this... I loved Gary Thorne back in the day when he did national ESPN games (When the Avs won the cup)

I watch a lot of games on Center Ice...rarely do home team announcers criticize the home team. Sam is no different.

Sam does not, but Joe M. has no problem calling the rangers out on their bad plays, turnovers, etc...

Meanwhile, Mustache Resch has an excuse for every little thing that goes against the Devils...

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Doc isn't the problem. It's ******* Chico "Mustache" Resch... I hate that asswad

Doc sucks as well. His word usage is horrible.

 

[nyrmessier011]

I'm 27 years old and have been watching since I can remember. Sam and JD helped teach me the game and for me, are both up there with Messier, Leetch, Ritcher, Graves, Kovalev, Theo, Jagr, Cally, Hank and the rest when I think of the Rangers in my lifetime. Here's to many more, because I don't know if it would be the same without him.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Doc sucks as well. His word usage is horrible.

Yea, he "sucks." Someone better clue in the executives at NBC.

 

[Whiplash27]

One day we'll all be telling our kids and grand kids about Sam Rosen just like ours told us about Jim Gordon.

 

[Bluenote13]

One day we'll all be telling our kids and grand kids about Sam Rosen just like ours told us about Jim Gordon.

I started out as a NYR fan with Gordon. When Sam came in I was like 'who the hell is this guy?'

 

[alkurtz]

Sam is the best, no doubt.

But I want to spend a minute defending Doc Emerick and seeing through the anti-Devils bias. I agree though that Chico Resch is the worst.

When I was growing up in the Bronx in the 1960s there was little hockey around. If atmospheric conditions were right I could sometimes pick up radio broadcasts from Toronto and Montreal and listen to the great classic broadcasters of that era, Foster Hewitt and Danny Galivan. Both are considered by Canadians to be the best ever.

They had a particular cadence to their calls that was quite distinctive.

When I hear Doc I know that he too was exposed to them and I hear echoes of them in his calls. I find it comforting and appreciate the link to the days of the Original Six.

But even he doesn't compare to Sam. Whenever I think of the Rangers it is his voice I hear in my head.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

But I want to spend a minute defending Doc Emerick and seeing through the anti-Devils bias. I agree though that Chico Resch is the worst.

I've had the chance to meet and work with both Doc and Chico and both could not be nicer, more personable or more approachable. Both have a reverence for hockey and love talking about it with people who love it. Regardless of team allegiance. Chico knows exactly what he is and what he does —*meaing he knows he's not the best or most knowledgeable commentator but makes up for it with passion for the sport. And he does that well.

 

[surf]

Jim Gordon was also amazing calling NY Giants games with Dick Lynch on the radio back in the 80's.Dude got into it! We would turn the sound down on TV and listen to Jim and Dick..Nothing better!

I started out as a NYR fan with Gordon. When Sam came in I was like 'who the hell is this guy?'

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

I started out as a NYR fan with Gordon. When Sam came in I was like 'who the hell is this guy?'

I still have fond memories of Jim Gordon doing Giants games as well.

 

[Bluenote13]

Who was Sam's first color? Was it JD or Espo?

 

[surf]

Espo

 

[Giacomin]

"Loose Puck in Front"(pause followed by) "No Ranger there"
I miss Jim Gordon

 

[TheTakedown]

I've had the chance to meet and work with both Doc and Chico and both could not be nicer, more personable or more approachable. Both have a reverence for hockey and love talking about it with people who love it. Regardless of team allegiance. Chico knows exactly what he is and what he does —*meaing he knows he's not the best or most knowledgeable commentator but makes up for it with passion for the sport. And he does that well.

I agree they both love hockey. The issue is that Chico seems to love the Devils a bit more than he loves hockey. He does several things that piss most people off:

1) Calling players by their first name constantly SCREAMS homerism... When you call Zajac "Travis", it makes you sound like you're wiping this guys ass for him after he takes a dump.

2) His hard on for Marty Brodeur. Agreed that the goalie is good (though not as good as his record suggests, personal opinion). The problem is, Chico (as well as most devils fans) find Marty to be the BEST goaltender in the league, sometimes in history, when he simply isn't, and hasnt been close to that for almost 10 years now... Flopping your feet in the air and throwing your stack pad save does not make you an amazing goalie... Lets not forget Patrick Roy, Mike Richter, Dominick Hasek, hell even the newer generation of Tim Thomas, Henrik Lundqvist, etc... I think anyone (other than a homer devils fan) would admit that all of those goalies performed better than Brodeur in their prime

3) His "sayings" that he claims the players are thinking are just ridiculous... "and travis is saying ooooohhh I've had enough".... dude, you have these guys on mic or something? be quiet, and let the fight/scrum develop... He acts as though he "hangs out" with these guys every night. I'm sure he knows them on a level better than me, but he really isn't qualified to continually "say what they are thinking", because quite frankly he doesn't...

4) His bias when announcing is nearly as bad as the Pittsburgh Penguins announcer (though the Pitt announcer is much worse in the end)... Every single time the devils get a penalty, he whines about it for the next 3-5 minutes... Not to mention how whenever the devs get even a glimmer of light in their dead play, he starts saying things like "Is the tide turning now?!"... One odd man rush in the 3rd period does NOT indicate anything other than a decent scoring chance (and that chance is usually directly due to the other teams mispositioning, aka TOTAL chance, not because of the devils skill). If the guy worked for MSG, he would have been fired by now...

5) Lack of factual information, especially when regarding the other team. Listening to the Rangers, I love when Joe pops in a quick tidbit regarding the opposing teams star player, or an injury they just had the night before, etc. it's great to know that you're connected throughout the league. I RARELY hear Chico do this, and that there shows that he really loves his Devils, not his hockey.


In his defense, he does know hockey, and does enjoy what he does, so I'll give him that. he's just a pain in the butt to listen to. There is always an issue that he needs to whine about, or drone about

 

[Bluenote13]

Peter McNab used to do the same thing Chico does, so I see it as Chico just following in his footsteps.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I agree they both love hockey. The issue is that Chico seems to love the Devils a bit more than he loves hockey. He does several things that piss most people off:

1) Calling players by their first name constantly SCREAMS homerism... When you call Zajac "Travis", it makes you sound like you're wiping this guys ass for him after he takes a dump.

2) His hard on for Marty Brodeur. Agreed that the goalie is good (though not as good as his record suggests, personal opinion). The problem is, Chico (as well as most devils fans) find Marty to be the BEST goaltender in the league, sometimes in history, when he simply isn't, and hasnt been close to that for almost 10 years now... Flopping your feet in the air and throwing your stack pad save does not make you an amazing goalie... Lets not forget Patrick Roy, Mike Richter, Dominick Hasek, hell even the newer generation of Tim Thomas, Henrik Lundqvist, etc... I think anyone (other than a homer devils fan) would admit that all of those goalies performed better than Brodeur in their prime

3) His "sayings" that he claims the players are thinking are just ridiculous... "and travis is saying ooooohhh I've had enough".... dude, you have these guys on mic or something? be quiet, and let the fight/scrum develop... He acts as though he "hangs out" with these guys every night. I'm sure he knows them on a level better than me, but he really isn't qualified to continually "say what they are thinking", because quite frankly he doesn't...

4) His bias when announcing is nearly as bad as the Pittsburgh Penguins announcer (though the Pitt announcer is much worse in the end)... Every single time the devils get a penalty, he whines about it for the next 3-5 minutes... Not to mention how whenever the devs get even a glimmer of light in their dead play, he starts saying things like "Is the tide turning now?!"... One odd man rush in the 3rd period does NOT indicate anything other than a decent scoring chance (and that chance is usually directly due to the other teams mispositioning, aka TOTAL chance, not because of the devils skill). If the guy worked for MSG, he would have been fired by now...

5) Lack of factual information, especially when regarding the other team. Listening to the Rangers, I love when Joe pops in a quick tidbit regarding the opposing teams star player, or an injury they just had the night before, etc. it's great to know that you're connected throughout the league. I RARELY hear Chico do this, and that there shows that he really loves his Devils, not his hockey.


In his defense, he does know hockey, and does enjoy what he does, so I'll give him that. he's just a pain in the butt to listen to. There is always an issue that he needs to whine about, or drone about

As a Ranger fan, it sure seems like your hate for the Devils would play into this opinion, no? Its tough to look at these things objectively, and people rarely do.

Personally, when I look at Emrick vs. Rosen, my heart wants me to think Rosen is better. But my brain knows Emrick is the superior play by play man.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

I agree they both love hockey. The issue is that Chico seems to love the Devils a bit more than he loves hockey. He does several things that piss most people off:

1) Calling players by their first name constantly SCREAMS homerism... When you call Zajac "Travis", it makes you sound like you're wiping this guys ass for him after he takes a dump.

This is pretty petty. A lot of announcers use first names or nicknames. Look no further than John Sterling. Or Bill Chadwick yelling "Shoot the puck Barry!"

2) His hard on for Marty Brodeur. Agreed that the goalie is good (though not as good as his record suggests, personal opinion). The problem is, Chico (as well as most devils fans) find Marty to be the BEST goaltender in the league, sometimes in history, when he simply isn't, and hasnt been close to that for almost 10 years now... Flopping your feet in the air and throwing your stack pad save does not make you an amazing goalie... Lets not forget Patrick Roy, Mike Richter, Dominick Hasek, hell even the newer generation of Tim Thomas, Henrik Lundqvist, etc... I think anyone (other than a homer devils fan) would admit that all of those goalies performed better than Brodeur in their prime

I think Brodeur might be one of the most under-appreciated players of all time. What he has managed to do is remarkable. He has been that franchise for over two decades. The fact that you can consider Brodeur contemporaries of both Roy and Lundqvist says a ton. I don't love the way he conducts himself, but what he's achieved is amazingly impressive.

3) His "sayings" that he claims the players are thinking are just ridiculous... "and travis is saying ooooohhh I've had enough".... dude, you have these guys on mic or something? be quiet, and let the fight/scrum develop... He acts as though he "hangs out" with these guys every night. I'm sure he knows them on a level better than me, but he really isn't qualified to continually "say what they are thinking", because quite frankly he doesn't...

This is guy who is not highly educated and speaks with colloquialisms. It's his thing. I don't take as he's acting like his one of the guys. On the other hand, he has played the game.

4) His bias when announcing is nearly as bad as the Pittsburgh Penguins announcer (though the Pitt announcer is much worse in the end)... Every single time the devils get a penalty, he whines about it for the next 3-5 minutes... Not to mention how whenever the devs get even a glimmer of light in their dead play, he starts saying things like "Is the tide turning now?!"... One odd man rush in the 3rd period does NOT indicate anything other than a decent scoring chance (and that chance is usually directly due to the other teams mispositioning, aka TOTAL chance, not because of the devils skill). If the guy worked for MSG, he would have been fired by now...

You can say that about any visiting team's color guy. He's well aware who his audience is.

5) Lack of factual information, especially when regarding the other team. Listening to the Rangers, I love when Joe pops in a quick tidbit regarding the opposing teams star player, or an injury they just had the night before, etc. it's great to know that you're connected throughout the league. I RARELY hear Chico do this, and that there shows that he really loves his Devils, not his hockey.

He's a different kind of color guy than Joe or JD. He'd be the first to admit it. He's never going to work national games.

In his defense, he does know hockey, and does enjoy what he does, so I'll give him that. he's just a pain in the butt to listen to. There is always an issue that he needs to whine about, or drone about

Look, I hear your critiques and I would have had the same comments until I spent time with the man. If you were a Devil's fan, your opinion would be very different.

 

[*Bob Richards*]

When I think of the MSG crew, I like just about everyone (even though I'll gladly poke fun at Chico, Trautwig and Cangialosi) except Bill Pidto. Something about that guy....

 

[Breaded Fox]

It sounds corny, but Sam (and JD, until he left) have been a part of my household my whole life. A constant presence. I know Sam's slowing down a bit, and some people have been critical of his commentating at times, but it will be a very sad day when he decides to retire.

It's kind of like how people felt so connected to their news anchors, like Cronkite or Peter Jennings...it's just someone who's in your living room every day for years on end, you can't help but feel a special connection even though you don't actually know them.

Very true and cool.