NESN UPDATE 6/27 - Sean McDonough considering replacing Jack Edwards

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

Why are we assuming they weren't willing to fork over the cash?

That’s funny

 

[GatorMike]

Why are we assuming they weren't willing to fork over the cash?

Because NESN telecasts don't exactly scream "well-funded".

 

[Ace0813]

That’s funny

Just feels like it's a tired narrative at this point. The Bs have paid for a state of the art practice facility, a ton of upgrades to TD Garden, and are always up against the cap. It's not 2004 anymore.

 

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

Just feels like it's a tired narrative at this point. The Bs have paid for a state of the art practice facility, a ton of upgrades to TD Garden, and are always up against the cap. It's not 2004 anymore.

Tom Werner calls the shots at NESN

 

[Pia8988]

Wanted to stay with a better franchise anyways

 

[Gordoff]

Just feels like it's a tired narrative at this point. The Bs have paid for a state of the art practice facility, a ton of upgrades to TD Garden, and are always up against the cap. It's not 2004 anymore.

What's tired is waiting for the Bruins to care enough about their players to fix the TD Garden ice. It's disgraceful that they could spend the money and time shoving an extra (insert number here) narrower seats in to squeeeze more profit out of the building. But no f**k the players and the possibility of injury, squeeeeze those seats in to squeeeeeze more $$$$ out of their loyal fans. They probably look at the play call and surprise, surprise ARE planning on Ai 'bots calling the games and saving that money. It's a business and they never forget it.

 

[Gordoff]

Tom Werner calls the shots at NESN

Partially yes, but the Bruins (and I may be off base here, going by what I've read) own a part of NESN. I'm sure that if they wanted to they could twist some arms to do the right thing.

 

[rfournier103]

Just feels like it's a tired narrative at this point. The Bs have paid for a state of the art practice facility, a ton of upgrades to TD Garden, and are always up against the cap. It's not 2004 anymore.

Is it a “narrative” if it’s true?

There are plenty of people here who have been following the bruins since before Jacobs bought the team, and they will tell you - almost to a man (or woman) - that Jacobs will take the cheaper option 999 times out of a thousand. I’m not as old as the boomer crowd here, but I’ve been watching the bruins long enough to agree with them.

It’s inexcusable that Dave Goucher isn’t coming back, and it’s pretty obvious to most of us as to why.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

has there been any announcement as to what network Vegas had or will have because that's what started this thread

 

[Johnny Upton]

Is it a “narrative” if it’s true?

There are plenty of people here who have been following the bruins since before Jacobs bought the team, and they will tell you - almost to a man (or woman) - that Jacobs will take the cheaper option 999 times out of a thousand. I’m not as old as the boomer crowd here, but I’ve been watching the bruins long enough to agree with them.

It’s inexcusable that Dave Goucher isn’t coming back, and it’s pretty obvious to most of us as to why.

Having lived through the 80s and 90s Bruins teams that were always “adequate” and came up short, I would agree that they’ve taken the cheaper option more times than I’d have liked. That said, is it possible that they did make a competitive offer and he just chose to stay in Vegas? He is on record as saying that he enjoys living there.

 

[eightspokedb]

Yup. Werner cheaper out. f***en clown. They have so many guys on the Red Sox payroll and they can’t pay for two guys to call a good game. I also blame Bruins ownership. Have some balls and push your narrative on who you want.

The Providence broadcast is one guy doing pbp and one camera ....barest of bones.

Watching the other AHL productions - some are nearly NHL quality

 

[jimmccabe40]

oh hell yes. gouch is a rock star.

I mean I actually kind of am. I was the karaoke DJ at the Pawtucket Patriot (yes like in Family Guy!) a year of free karaoke singing was what I got out of that gig, plus ACTUALLY some comfortability with being on camera.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

The Providence broadcast is one guy doing pbp and one camera ....barest of bones.

Watching the other AHL productions - some are nearly NHL quality

not really, the AHL never had a national contract which is why it's rare to see AHL games broadcast locally.... nevermind hockey..... it's not like the contract NESN Has w/ Worcester...... which is now not even owned nor operated by FSG.... Diamond Baseball Holdings now owns both Portland/Worcester and Providence has been privately owned since their arrival there 22 years ago... blame rests w/ Renfroe for cutting the Providence contract w/ NESN and the media coverage.... even after the transfer of the Whalers

 

[EvilDead]

Oh thank Christ. Please bring Gouch and Hnidy here. For the love of God please do it.

 

[jimmccabe40]

Yep, soccer style "He SCOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRREEEEEESSSS" calls have no place in hockey. Let the wretched Habs have their soccer inspired chants, diving, and other boring kickball sport traditions. We are better than that.

Mexican League soccer is AWESOME. I have absolutely been inspired by the dramatic flare the announcers on TUDN put on the game. It's not hard when the crowds are that raucous. if you don't like soccer, than it's moot I guess.

 

[jimmccabe40]

Ok I'm gonna have to break my "no more posts" promise because 1), the premise of this thread AKA the title and original post, is now null and void it sounds like. 2), I think we've all basically become friends here now. especially you, AngryMilkCrates. I'm just wondering, should I still not quit my day job or do you guys wanna reconsider your options? if you're worried about the pay situation I promise, may my Dad the former president of Teamsters Local 500 Philadelphia forgive me, but I don't need THAT much. I do have a daughter on the way and I'd love to send her to a fine New England college.

Besides my sports career, which has been very good to me, my other day job BTW is CapeCod.com and while hockey broadcasting is my #1 passion in life, local news is definitely #2. it's important to be informed. Anyone here who lives in the area might know me as the nighttime news voice M-W-F on 104.7 FM Hyannis.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

Realistically @jimmccabe40 it seems like you’re trying to accomplish the equivalent of jumping from local YMCA pickup ball right to the NBA.

It just doesn’t happen.

I wish you all the luck in getting a pro level broadcaster job but due to my personal taste I hope it’s not with the Bruins.

There are Bruins front office staff as well as NESN execs who browse this forum so maybe one of them will see something they like.

 

[jimmccabe40]

As long as we can still be friends, Gonzo.

 

[jimmccabe40]

Realistically @jimmccabe40 it seems like you’re trying to accomplish the equivalent of jumping from local YMCA pickup ball right to the NBA.

It just doesn’t happen.

I wish you all the luck in getting a pro level broadcaster job but due to my personal taste I hope it’s not with the Bruins.

There are Bruins front office staff as well as NESN execs who browse this forum so maybe one of them will see something they like. Probably best to keep posting so your name is talked about around the water cooler

I've had a brief back-and-forth with a couple of NESN email addresses and I was told my demo would be thrown into the mix. Nothing more since a few weeks ago. So you might interpret that as a rejection, but who knows. I promise I would try to win over anyone in your camp. I'm certain they'd tell me to tone it down and I'm agreeable to doing that. No promises during the playoffs though, the highest-octane material you heard from me was postseason.

my heart sank when my colleagues told me Dave Goucher was the front-runner, because I respect the hell out of Goucher's work and I knew he'd be a shoe-in. today was very surprising. I'm not going to compare myself to any other announcers, but I'm just wondering if this isn't the door opening more. If the team has already made its decision, then so be it, but I hope that isn't the case.

 

[hangman005]

I'm stoked he's staying in Vegas, when you get to listen to the best anyone else is a step down and fully understand why you'd want him and why he would have worked for y'all. I wish you the best of luck and hope you get someone you are happy with.

 

[jimmccabe40]

hi Hangman! you jumped over to the Bruins page! I'm going to show this thread the nice thing you said before when I accidentally posted on the Knights page... we need to convert some non-believers.

 

[UncleRico]

Why are we assuming they weren't willing to fork over the cash?

Because NESN won’t even fork over the cash to retain their own people like Don Orsillo

 

[LouJersey]

I fear I'm just mining for attention at this point, but I'd like to issue a second reply to this comment and say that low-key, this is one of the nicest things anyone has said about my hockey broadcasting. I'd be pumped to call games for an ECHL team!

Believe me when I say, I've done a lot of soul-searching in the last month since this process began. I haven't heard back from anyone since my original correspondence with NESN, so maybe I'm on the outside. But I do hope someday to be in the NHL, and if you give me another decade or two at this, maybe I'll make it happen. I'm nothing if not persistent. But I swear hand on Bible, this is not what primarily motivates me to do this.

Narrating the story of a hockey game, from reading all the lines at the beginning of a game to the maybe-crazy finish that will happen late in the 3rd, in OT, or anything else that happens of note in between is what I live to do. Hockey is the greatest sport and I love providing the service to those who are fans of the game, while possibly hooking new fans in the process.

I believe in the integrity of my announcing. I think it's the whole package. I'll find something to refine each year, but right now I'm pretty happy with the product. I understand the yelling and screaming isn't everyone's cup of tea. An agent I had a conversation with called me a Puker. But I think it works for the truly big moments of a game. Puker Mode is only about 1% of what I actually do.

Just for reference, here's what I sounded like ten years ago, my first year of doing this.



Run that against this year's and you tell me there isn't some sort of evolution.

Listen, I might not be a Bruins fan originally from the Greater Boston area, but I just want you all to know including anyone who might see this from the Bruins or network, I really would be honored to be the B's voice more than any other NHL team at this point. Since moving here in 2016, I've been regularly tuned into the team, whether it's watching partial games at home, or out at a restaurant. I once watched a Bruins game on the Steamship Authority ferry while coming back from the Islands for a broadcast. Let me just say I had a BLAST doing the Cape Cod High School Hockey Game of the Week for 3 seasons and I don't want to brag here, but I filmed all of those games myself while calling them ok yes I do want to brag (Jim McCabe).

Long read I know, but I promise this'll be the last post unless anyone wants to interact with me further. I'm just looking forward to finding out one way or another, as I'm sure many others who have aimed for this position are also doing.

Best,
Jim

Wednesday night edit: I promised no new posts so I'm adding here that me and Jack Edwards are basically BFFs now. Maybe not an actual endorsement but nice of him to respond!

sounds really good.

 

[chizzler]

Let me make sure I am correct here, you want Jeremy Jacobs to agree to spend more than he has to? Will better play by play and color announcers help Beer and hot dog sales? Bruins narrative would be "who's cheapest?"

He owns 20%. When you break it down, it’s nothing. Obviously it’s not his decision. Really can’t blame him.

 

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

Oh thank Christ. Please bring Gouch and Hnidy here. For the love of God please do it.

Great job reading the thread before replying.