I've heard Jaffe and Raycroft do college games in the "booth".
Jaffe >>>>> Raycroft
And it's not particularly close.
Jaffe >>>>> Raycroft
And it's not particularly close.
NESN UPDATE - NESN’s Jack Edwards announces retirement
- Thread starter Fenway
- Start date
-
Work is still on-going to rebuild the site styling and features. Please report any issues you may experience so we can look into it. Click Here for Updates
Been watching the Bruins on TV38 and Nesn since about 1994. Seen maybe 4-5 PBP callers in that time. I like the personality that Jack brings to the game. Its an 82 game season, I need more than just the hockey to keep it interesting anymore.
I also think a new PBP guy could bring the best out of Brickley going forward. If that doesn't happen then find a new color guy. I just don't like the Jack Edwards experience. When the first round of the payoffs hit I am watching the national broadcast and I don't even think twice about it. Maybe that's also because of NESNs entire production but still, Jack drives me away.
That's fair. I just think they can find some personality without sacrificing in other areas.
AND boring hockey if we don't get some attitude in the lineup. These days IMO most PBP people are vanilla, with very little/no personality and are
paid mercenaries who pretend to love the team that they just so happen to work for in a particular year. Jack isn't/wasn't ever that and I love him (in a manly sorta way) for it!
BINGO! This^^^is^^^it....EXACTLY!!
Ace0813
Bleed Black & Gold
I’d prefer to get a TV guy from outside. I’m not a huge Judd Sirott guy.
veganbruin
Registered User
BlackFrancis
Athletic Supporter Patch Partner
- Dec 14, 2013
- 6,378
- 10,134
I never knew Fred did the call on WHDH.Totally forgotten is the FIRST Bruins announcer Frank Ryan
Frank Ryan (sportscaster) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Francis Joseph "Frank" Ryan (1899–December 30, 1961) was an American public relations executive and sports announcer who was the first play-by-play announcer for the Boston Bruins and publicity director for the Bruins, Harvard University, and Suffolk Downs.
When Charles Adams formed the Boston Bruins in 1924, he named Ryan as the team's broadcaster. Ryan called play-by-play for home games and recreated road games from telegraph reports. During intermissions, Ryan's brother-in-law would provide updates in French for French Canadians living in New England. In 1926, Ryan took on the additional role of public relations director. In 1948, when WBZ-TV began airing the third period of Bruins' home games, Ryan was chosen to handle the play-by-play duties. In 1950, he was elected to the team's board of directors. In 1952, the Bruins were purchased by the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation. As the corporation had its own publicity department, Ryan's position was eliminated. He was replaced as play-by-play announcer by Fred Cusick.
My parents knew him well and he was devastated when Walter Brown elected to go with Fred.
View attachment 720668View attachment 720669
Ryan called games from 1924-1952 and Foster Hewitt listened to him in the 20s and said in his bio Ryan was a major influence on how he called hockey.
List of Boston Bruins broadcasters - Wikipedia
In 99 seasons the Bruins really have had very few play by play announcers.
@DominicT - Bob Wilson got his chance in 1967 when the Bruins had to fire Jim Laing after one season (66-67) as he he was harsh about the product on the ice.
Jim Laing - Wikipedia
View attachment 720673
Jack is stubborn - he was asked by producers to simply refer to Sophia by her first name only and he refused and he simply can not pronounce Jurksztowicz.
NESN suits have to be careful on how they procede and I hope they can emulate what NBC Sports Boston has done with Mike Gorman who has been calling Celtics games on TV sice 1981.
In the 50s!
Holy shit.
More on Frank Ryan
On Dec. 1, 1924, the Boston Bruins played their very first game in the National Hockey League, and Boston Traveler sportswriter Frank Ryan gave the play-the-play for the radio broadcast.
Ryan’s wife, Madeleine, went to his parents’ house that night to listen to the game. She used a crystal radio receiver with earphones to hear Ryan make his debut as the voice of the Boston Bruins.
It was Monday night, and the Bruins were playing at the Boston Arena, the team’s home rink on St. Botolph Street. (The Boston Garden had not been built yet.) The inaugural game failed to draw a large crowd — according to one estimate, only 1,340 people showed up — but thanks to the WBZ radio broadcast, many more hockey fans got to hear Ryan’s voice over the airwaves describing the body checks and scuffles on the ice that night, as well as the pair of goals that propelled the B’s to their first-ever NHL victory, beating the Montreal Maroons by a score of 2 to 1.
“When Frank came home, we all told him how wonderful he did,” Madeleine Ryan later recalled. “He said ‘no, but next time it will be better.’ ”
The next day at the Bruins practice, Ryan went up to the press box with Bruins owner Charles Francis “C.F.” Adams, and together they worked on ways he could improve on calling plays and describing the action on the ice as it happened.
When Ryan went on the air at the next home game, listeners could tell the difference.
The Bruins management received letters and phone calls praising Ryan’s work as a play-by-play announcer. Many thought that a new announcer had been hired.
Ryan even received fan mail from Canada. One fan in New Brunswick sent Ryan a handwritten letter praising him for his ability to keep up with the fast-paced game of hockey and make listeners seem like they were there. “I have heard sporting events over the air before,” the man wrote, “but never have I heard anything put over like you put the Canadiens and Bruins game last night, I tell you it was great.”
That handwritten letter, dated Dec. 9, 1924, is just one of many pieces of memorabilia that Frank Ryan’s 88-year-old daughter, Janice Ryan Plas, has preserved from her father’s illustrious broadcasting career.
In the living room of her Plymouth home sits a silver trophy cup that was given to her father early in his career. The inscription reads: “Presented by WBZ Radio Hockey Fans to Frank Ryan, in grateful appreciation of the many hours of pleasure afforded by his broadcasts of the Boston Bruins Hockey Games. December 25, 1926.”
“It’s gorgeous,” she said.
She said her father took his job seriously and practiced with flash cards to learn the names and numbers of visiting teams’ players before each game.
“My mother used to help my dad with the index cards, to help him memorize the numbers,” she said.
As the years went by, and Ryan continued to broadcast Bruins games, many credited him with helping make professional hockey successful in Boston.
Donna Halper, a professor of media studies at Lesley University, said Ryan was at the forefront of sportscasting along with Gus Rooney, who broadcast the first Red Sox game for WNAC in 1926.
“They were pioneers of broadcast journalism,” she said. “This was totally new.”
Being able to hear live sporting events on the radio was a novelty to many people in the 1920s.
“The fans were amazed,” she said. “Today we take this for granted.”
Ryan remained the official voice of the Boston Bruins until 1952, when a young radio announcer named Fred Cusick came on board and took over the play-by-play duties.
Ryan remained a diehard Bruins supporter to the very end.
In December 1961, Ryan was ill and in the hospital, but the B’s were still on his mind.
When a priest came in and started giving him his last rites, Ryan turned to him and said, “When I get out of here, father, I’m taking you to the next Bruins game.”
The priest said, “Keep quiet, Frank, I’m anointing you.”
After he was anointed, Ryan brightened up and told the priest that they’d go to the game together and “you’ll really see some sports action.”
On Dec. 1, 1924, the Boston Bruins played their very first game in the National Hockey League, and Boston Traveler sportswriter Frank Ryan gave the play-the-play for the radio broadcast.
Ryan’s wife, Madeleine, went to his parents’ house that night to listen to the game. She used a crystal radio receiver with earphones to hear Ryan make his debut as the voice of the Boston Bruins.
It was Monday night, and the Bruins were playing at the Boston Arena, the team’s home rink on St. Botolph Street. (The Boston Garden had not been built yet.) The inaugural game failed to draw a large crowd — according to one estimate, only 1,340 people showed up — but thanks to the WBZ radio broadcast, many more hockey fans got to hear Ryan’s voice over the airwaves describing the body checks and scuffles on the ice that night, as well as the pair of goals that propelled the B’s to their first-ever NHL victory, beating the Montreal Maroons by a score of 2 to 1.
“When Frank came home, we all told him how wonderful he did,” Madeleine Ryan later recalled. “He said ‘no, but next time it will be better.’ ”
The next day at the Bruins practice, Ryan went up to the press box with Bruins owner Charles Francis “C.F.” Adams, and together they worked on ways he could improve on calling plays and describing the action on the ice as it happened.
When Ryan went on the air at the next home game, listeners could tell the difference.
The Bruins management received letters and phone calls praising Ryan’s work as a play-by-play announcer. Many thought that a new announcer had been hired.
Ryan even received fan mail from Canada. One fan in New Brunswick sent Ryan a handwritten letter praising him for his ability to keep up with the fast-paced game of hockey and make listeners seem like they were there. “I have heard sporting events over the air before,” the man wrote, “but never have I heard anything put over like you put the Canadiens and Bruins game last night, I tell you it was great.”
That handwritten letter, dated Dec. 9, 1924, is just one of many pieces of memorabilia that Frank Ryan’s 88-year-old daughter, Janice Ryan Plas, has preserved from her father’s illustrious broadcasting career.
In the living room of her Plymouth home sits a silver trophy cup that was given to her father early in his career. The inscription reads: “Presented by WBZ Radio Hockey Fans to Frank Ryan, in grateful appreciation of the many hours of pleasure afforded by his broadcasts of the Boston Bruins Hockey Games. December 25, 1926.”
“It’s gorgeous,” she said.
She said her father took his job seriously and practiced with flash cards to learn the names and numbers of visiting teams’ players before each game.
“My mother used to help my dad with the index cards, to help him memorize the numbers,” she said.
As the years went by, and Ryan continued to broadcast Bruins games, many credited him with helping make professional hockey successful in Boston.
Donna Halper, a professor of media studies at Lesley University, said Ryan was at the forefront of sportscasting along with Gus Rooney, who broadcast the first Red Sox game for WNAC in 1926.
“They were pioneers of broadcast journalism,” she said. “This was totally new.”
Being able to hear live sporting events on the radio was a novelty to many people in the 1920s.
“The fans were amazed,” she said. “Today we take this for granted.”
Ryan remained the official voice of the Boston Bruins until 1952, when a young radio announcer named Fred Cusick came on board and took over the play-by-play duties.
Ryan remained a diehard Bruins supporter to the very end.
In December 1961, Ryan was ill and in the hospital, but the B’s were still on his mind.
When a priest came in and started giving him his last rites, Ryan turned to him and said, “When I get out of here, father, I’m taking you to the next Bruins game.”
The priest said, “Keep quiet, Frank, I’m anointing you.”
After he was anointed, Ryan brightened up and told the priest that they’d go to the game together and “you’ll really see some sports action.”
missingchicklet
Registered User
- Jan 24, 2010
- 36,589
- 34,464
Hard for me to believe anyone could call hockey better than Cusick. Back in the 70s when I first started watching Bs games TVs were a lot smaller than they are now and Cusick had done radio PBP, so he (and others as well) was very adept at describing what was happening in the game itself, as opposed to all the jibber-jabbering that goes on nowadays. Really miss that style and Cusick's voice.
On a side note, his book, "Voice of the Bruins," is really interesting. Not going to win a Pulitzer, but I very much enjoyed reading it.
quietbruinfan
Salt and light
I will have to see if I can buy it somewhere. Exactly how I feel about pbp. Call the game, there is plenty there to discuss.
- Sep 22, 2011
- 11,919
- 13,232
Sirott is fine, except the annoying soccer-like goal call. He's gotta lose that, it's mind gratingly stupid. Unless it's an OT goal in the playoffs, holding the word "score" or "goal" longer than one beat is unnecessary, and reeks of him trying to copy a dumb sport. It's the PBP equivalent of Habs fans singing Ole Ole.
I'd absolutely love it if Dave came back.
But, I don't see it. He has a new life and a Stanley Cup winning team to cover. My sense is that he loves it.
Good for him.
View attachment 720512
Which NHL broadcasts are the best? Which are the worst? Fans rate all 32 teams
The winner jumped to the No. 1 spot after making a strong debut in last year’s ranking.theathletic.com
Surprise.
Eff 'em if they can't take a joke.
I used to watch the podcast.
I think Billy knows his stuff, and certainly, Razor does.
But, I eventually stopped watching because Billy's shtick began to grate.
God, Mickey Redmond. Is he still around?
I grew up at the old Olympia, and remember when he scored 50 one season. He was the lone bright spot for a terrible, terrible team owned by a terrible, terrible schmuck (Bruce Norris).
Back in the 70s, I'd listen to/watch Bruce Martyn and Red Wings great Sid Abel on Channel 50.
Abel would always pronounce it "De-troi-it."
I'll live.
Last edited:
TCB
Registered User
Mickeys awesome. he has what I like to call Mickeyism. He always has a story or two that are awesome and he repeatedly talks about how great #4 was when they play the Bruins.
Id listen to the wings and Bruce Martyn on the radio when the Bruins weren't on. He was great as well
100% agree with this. It's incredibly grating and unnecessary. Sirott also shouts too much in general for my taste - there are other ways to convey excitement and developing play, try using some of them. Otherwise yeah he's ok and his play by play is pretty solid in helping you understand and picture what's going on. Don't think he'd translate well to TV though, at least not at the moment.
quietbruinfan
Salt and light
I think Sirott is good for the radio but I don't think he would translate well for TV.
I remember talking with PurpleShamrock back in 02 how I really liked the way Edwards called games on ESPN and how I wished we had that sort of passion instead of the listless Dave Shea, who I SWEAR talked himself to sleep once live on TV for about 10 seconds before Brickley woke him up. I was pretty happy to see Edwards get picked up the Bruins a couple of years later and I've loved his body of work with NESN and the Bruins every since.
It's time for Jack to step away and let another man call this generation of Bruins.
I remember talking with PurpleShamrock back in 02 how I really liked the way Edwards called games on ESPN and how I wished we had that sort of passion instead of the listless Dave Shea, who I SWEAR talked himself to sleep once live on TV for about 10 seconds before Brickley woke him up. I was pretty happy to see Edwards get picked up the Bruins a couple of years later and I've loved his body of work with NESN and the Bruins every since.
It's time for Jack to step away and let another man call this generation of Bruins.
quietbruinfan
Salt and light
Sirott is an adequate screamer. He has improved mightily from his first year where he mostly screamed or screeched at everything.
CrownofThornton
Registered User
- Jul 8, 2012
- 3,003
- 4,085
I just don’t like how longwinded Billy is. He takes forever to get to the point. I don’t know if he’s better on the podcast, but I wanna be like “use less words!”.
- Jan 11, 2006
- 13,962
- 7,279
Latest posts
-
-
-
-
C Caleb Desnoyers - Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL (2025 Draft)- Latest: Fixed to Ruin
-
Ad
Upcoming events
-
Australian Open - Men Jannik Sinner vs Ben SheltonWagers: 3Staked: $6,100.00Event closes- Updated:
-
Australian Open - Women Aryna Sabalenka vs Madison KeysWagers: 3Staked: $4,000.00Event closes
- Updated:
-
Super Bowl LIX WINNER - Pick only one teamWagers: 4Staked: $6,891.00Event closes - 3 days from now- Updated:
-
NFC Championship (6) Washington Commanders at (2) Philadelphia EaglesWagers: 7Staked: $16,920.00Event closes - 3 days from now- Updated:
-
AFC Championship (2) Buffalo Bills at (1) Kansas City ChiefsWagers: 13Staked: $35,403.00Event closes - 3 days from now- Updated: