What do you think the desk was made out of? (The ESPN coverage thread)

[BelovedIsles]

I actually like Levy; he’s knowledgeable and has that iconic ESPN voice.

PK tries wayyy too hard.

Mess is as wooden as that table.

Emily, as I have not been shy about, is a robotic kindergarten teacher.

Burke or Forslund should be doing the PBP.

Ferraro is okay; sounds like he’s on a stimulant.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

McDonagh isn't A+ normally, but I thought he sounded very altered last night.

 

[Ryuji Yamazaki]

I think its pine or it may be oak

Pine is good

 

[NYRfan85]

Sean McDonagh definitely sounded off yesterday, like he was battling a cold or something. Remember, he did have to miss Game 2 of the NYR/FLA series because of sickness, so Bob Wischusen called that game. I would much prefer Wischusen be ESPN's #1 PBP guy, because he gets way more excited with his calls. McDonagh is generally pretty monotone.

PK Subban is trying too hard to be like Biz on the TNT broadcasts. I can do without both of them honestly. Mess usually has pretty good insight, and it's nice having Levy there, since he was part of ESPN's heyday of NHL broadcasts in the 90s/00s.

As for the subject at hand, Florida gave them a much better setup than they had in Edmonton.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

Wow, video comparison is so telling! Dang, NHL sure misses Doc EMrick calls in playoffs. Very thankful for games Doc called, he was legend that created so many awesome memories for fans.

Plus, next batch of announcers come from environments that restrict critical thinking across-the-board, PC culture rules-the-day, and are ate-up with.... "Might offended someone diseases" (M.O.S.D. for short). This hurts end product, and the Doc Emrick's of yesterday, are all but gone.Many sports announcers today lack emotions and personality.... The announcers who have reached big-time lately are robots, that are massed produced & programed: Most have personality of a paper-bag, and sure wish most were like Charles Barkley that gives honest views, entertaining, and brings real emotions. Change is a given , but that doesn't mean that change is good. Hopefuly pendulum swing$ other way so we get fans get "Real" talent.

lol thanks for the social commentary but I’m pretty sure that has nothing to do with why every announcer is garbage these days

 

[RunItBackAgain]

Still better than SN sucking off the Oilers the entire game and then getting sad and weepy when they lose.

 

[GarlicbreadTB]

Old 90s ESPN coverage of hockey was soooo great. Now it's so boring and sterile.

 

[Spaced Cowboy]

Old 90s ESPN coverage of hockey was soooo great. Now it's so boring and sterile.

Oh man, you got me choked up watching this. Remember this game vividly. And you're so right, the game itself was the excitement, not a bunch of excessive, over-the-top high-tech gimmickry.

With all due highly-deserved respect to Bob Cole and Harry Neale, Thorne and Clemente were the best televsion hockey broadcasters of the modern era, bar none. Thorne's pipes and their ability to seemlessly describe the action was the best, IMHO.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

This would never happen on @Fenway's watch

 

[Nasti]

I have a hard time with McDonaugh’s “s” words. It pierces my ears. Honestly, TNT needs to have full rights to NHL hockey. They’ve done the best job I’ve seen in years. Not to mention they actually give you a post game show.

 

[Strangelove]

Funniest part is they actually have coasters laid out for protection.

 

[SoupGuru]

McDonagh isn't A+ normally, but I thought he sounded very altered last night.

I thought he was fighting a cold or something too

 

[SoupGuru]

Honestly, I think Mike Monaco is going to go places as a pbp guy. He's got a passion and a rhythm already and he's got a lot of room to grow.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Still better than SN sucking off the Oilers the entire game and then getting sad and weepy when they lose.

Well you could have watched it then, instead of whining.
Both are offered to watch, just which one you choose.

 

[PensPlz]

Seeing how it's Disney's ESPN, I'd be willing to lean more towards that the table was locally handcrafted by a carpenter from a marginalized community and cost tens-of-thousands of dollars than it was just a plywood last minute thing.

 

[12ozPapa]

Looks like some garbage youd buy at LIDL

 

[GUY 10]

No, we can't get SportsNet. I can get them via Center Ice during the regular season, so I know that I'm getting the short end of the stick here. Generally speaking, their broadcasting crews are much better than the godawful bozos ESPN employs.



You can have him. He's godawful.

I’ve watched all the Canadian and US broadcasts over the years, and in my opinion, Ray Ferraro is by far the best on-ice broadcaster.

 

[Dead Coyote]

Old 90s ESPN coverage of hockey was soooo great. Now it's so boring and sterile.

To be fair that series was arguably one of the best of all time, with two of the best PBP guys of all time (Thorne and Clements), and the storylines wrote themselves. There was blood and hatred all over the ice in that series and while I don't miss the headshots it was a huge physical nasty series too. You just don't really get that kind of thing in today's NHL. You do to a degree, but it's much less than it was back then.

As for the topic at hand McDonough really could use some work doing PBP, his pipes are basically non existent. I'm a fan of Ferraro generally and I think he's been okay, if a little biased this series. Honestly it feels like most of the desk is pretty biased towards the Oilers, not even including Messier who might be the biggest homer I've ever seen be on the desk. Kaplan sounds like a dying cat by the time she does interviews but is fine otherwise, she deserves to be up there.

Levy and PK are both pretty decent IMO. PK is nice if only because he's unbiased comparatively. Levy at least knows his stuff.

 

[Ezekial]

Wait you guys hate Ray Ferraro?

Ray sucks. He says the dumbest or most obvious shit. The only good thing about Ray Ferraro on a broadcast is that it means Darren Pang isn't.

 

[RunItBackAgain]

Well you could have watched it then, instead of whining.
Both are offered to watch, just which one you choose.

I did, that’s how I know it’s better smart ass

 

[T REX]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1801464376408387946

Did Reinhart shit in McDonagh's corn flakes yesterday?

This is an embarrassing call from a NATIONAL broadcast of the finals for the sport's most prestigious trophy.

ESPN sucks massive donkey balls but these playoffs they've reached a whole new level of suction.

Doc is an all-time great. Night and day. Wow.

Doc is very under-appreciated on here. His Doc-isms are forever. SACHE!

Miss that guy. Just a short refresher...why he got it...best of the best

 

[CupofOil]

Plywood or MDF?

Seriously, ESPN got some criticism tonight for two things. (1) No joke, the desk was a point of contention in the Xverse.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1801470632732881270

(2) Sean McDonough was trending nationally for a lack of enthusiasm.

3 years in and seemingly the only thing ESPN gets love for is Bob Wischusen.

I was saying that in the GDT. McDonogh sounded like he was on valium or something and he's usually enthusiastic, it was bizarre. He sort of sounded like Jack Edwards in his last few years, like he was sick or something was wrong with his voice.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

ESPN confirms Sean McDonough fighting through illness during Stanley Cup Final

ESPN confirmed to Awful Announcing that play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough is battling an illness during the Stanley Cup Final.

awfulannouncing.com

 

[TheOrganist]

I actually like Levy; he’s knowledgeable and has that iconic ESPN voice.

PK tries wayyy too hard.

Mess is as wooden as that table.

Emily, as I have not been shy about, is a robotic kindergarten teacher.

Burke or Forslund should be doing the PBP.

Ferraro is okay; sounds like he’s on a stimulant.

Ha. Funny.

She’s better served as a writer, not a TV personality.

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

Ha. Funny.

She’s better served as a writer, not a TV personality.

If she wrote, she’d get exposed for not knowing shit about what goes on during the actual gameplay.