WHY NOT LOAD MANAGEMENT FOR SPORTS BROADCASTERS, TOO?

Smart teams rest their best players so they're sharp for the playoffs.

The Hockey Night in Canada panel during the Toronto-Florida series. Courtesy: Sportsnet

I hope all the talented broadcasters that worked on Hockey Night in Canada this spring are taking a nice, long holiday right now. They all need it, and they certainly deserve the break. The playoff grind was just that, especially for me.

I watched playoff hockey almost every night for two months, and I’m exhausted. The broadcasters talked about how players had to fight through adversity and fatigue and injury to win, but they didn’t heed their own advice. Some were sounding tired and repetitive, even in the first round. Some ran out of things to say or puns to make. Having to come up with fresh ideas is tough when there’s a game every two nights, but there’s only so many times you can say “good stick there” and try to pass it off as expert analysis.

Determining who’s going to be working with who is also a balancing act for the producers and the talent. Too many talking heads or the wrong combination can lead to viewer dissatisfaction with the entire product. Kevin Bieksa is great when he’s being his natural self, but not when he pretends to be Elliotte Friedman’s foil, and the two flick jabs at each other. That shtick works with Biz Nasty and company on the TNT show but not on the ultra-conservative HNIC.

I’m sorry to say that, had there been a Conn Smythe Trophy equivalent for the broadcaster MVP in the playoffs, nobody from Sportsnet would have won it.

C’mon Hebsy, you’re jaded, you’re jealous and you’re criticizing a production that you wish you were a part of.

Maybe. But I’m not the only one who feels that the HNIC brand needs a major reset, and not the kind they had when Rogers took over in 2014 and created the Reconstruction Era of sports media.

Can you name the HNIC stars of 2014? Courtesy: Sportsnet

Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun, for many years a sports media critic, wrote an excellent piece about Sportsnet’s NHL coverage, and it’s 15 greatest faults. I recommend giving it a read.

Longley

While we see about 100 Maple Leaf games a season in the GTHA, 80 or so are telecast on Sportsnet, and it’s always the same cast of characters on the “national” show, HNIC. Chris Cuthbert, Craig Simpson, Ron MacLean, David Amber, Kelly Hrudey, Elliotte Friedman, Kevin Bieksa, Jennifer Botterill and tons of special guest commentators for the playoffs (Derek Lalonde, Rick Bowness, Blake Wheeler). Some were showing signs of oral fatigue during the later rounds and were trotting out the same tired explanations as to why the Oilers need to stop taking dumb penalties.

Kyle Bukauskas, who almost always hosted the Sportsnet games from rinkside and was their number one reporter, was replaced for the Cup final by Gene Principe, who holds down that job on the Oilers regional telecasts on Sportsnet West. Not a lot of people outside of Alberta were familiar with Principe’s work (unless they had seen him on the fabulous late night show Sportsline in the 1990s). Had the Oilers not been in the final, Bukauskas likely would’ve been the host. Still, he should have been included on the broadcast team for the final. That was a major snub. Last year, Bukauskas worked the Western final and the Stanley Cup final for HNIC, but this season the powers-that-be decided on Principe, who is much more familiar with the Edmonton players, having covered the team for many seasons.

In my opinion, the Oilers play by play team of Jack Michaels and Louie DeBrusk should have also worked the final, especially since Sportsnet wanted all Canadians to become Oilers fans. But CC and Simmer are the number one team, so they get the plum assignments. For now.

Edmonton Oilers announcers Jack Michaels and Louie DeBrusk would’ve been my choice to call the Stanley Cup final for Hockey Night in Canada. Courtesy: Sportsnet

Let’s face it, you can’t expect a top-notch performance from someone who is tired and needs a break. I don’t care what line of business you are in, fatigue is a killer. Gone are the days when somebody is allowed to play or even broadcast every single game. It’s nothing more than an ego trip. Proper rest and recuperation are paramount to success in any walk of life.

Cal Ripken is baseball’s all-time iron man, yet was criticized in his last few seasons for being selfish and only going after Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games record of 2,130 instead of putting the team first. He finally broke the mark in 1995 but had to endure a couple of subpar seasons en route to the record, and the Orioles suffered because of it, although not when it came to attendance or TV viewership. The entire baseball world was captivated by Ripken’s chase, regardless of the effect it had on his team.

“Load Management” is the latest approach to reduce injury and fatigue among elite athletes. Fans want their players healthy for the playoffs, and we can only look at Kawhi Leonard to prove that point. He was left out of 22 games the year the Raptors won the NBA title so that he would be fresh for the playoffs. It worked. He made the greatest shot in Raptors history and helped them win their only title. I’m suggesting that sports broadcasters who must endure exceptionally long seasons without a decent break, be given sufficient time off so they too can be at their absolute best, especially during the playoffs.

Look at the Toronto Blue Jays telecasts this year. They’ve got so many broadcasters, it’s tough to keep up with them. Let me try.

On play by play and colour you’ve got Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez as the number one team. But Buck is only contracted to do about 100 games, so there’s Joe Siddall and now Caleb Joseph available as colour commentators/analysts. Dan’s son, Ben Shulman, gives the old man some rest by filling in on TV play-by-play alongside Buck or Joe or Caleb. On the desk, Jamie Campbell is the mainstay on Blue Jays Central and during the game, but who’s sitting next to Jamie today? Is it Joe? Is it Caleb? Is it Cliff Floyd? No, today it’s Madison Shipman, who appeared out of nowhere a few years ago as an analyst, and I still can’t figure out why. She played softball at the University of Tennessee, and has no ties to Canada, Toronto or the Blue Jays. Did she get the job because she’s a woman? And do I really need to see highlights of her sister’s first professional homerun? I’m sure there’s a Canadian woman out there who can provide just as much insight and commentary, and I’ll bet it wouldn’t even cost Sportsnet an airline ticket and hotel room to get her. Let’s support Canadian baseball on our telecasts, OK? When Jamie is reading highlights on the post-game show, he must defer to Shipman, who adds stuff like “he’s a good fastball hitter and he crushed that four-seamer”.

Blue Jays Central host Jamie Campbell and occasional analyst Madison Shipman. Courtesy: Sportsnet

The good thing about rotating announcers is that they’re fresh and the audience doesn’t grow tired of listening to just two of them. The New York Yankees used to broadcast their games on WPIX, Channel 11 in New York. When they did road games in Toronto in the 80s and 90s, they had Phil Rizutto, Bill White, Frank Messer, Fran Healy, Bobby Murcer and others rotate between radio and TV booths so that the audience would never grow tired of the voices. Besides, Rizzuto had a knack of leaving the ballpark before the conclusion of the game so he could beat the traffic. That meant there had to be a backup plan.

The Blue Jays have a long bench when it comes to their broadcasters because 162 games plus spring training plus the (hopefully) post season makes for very few days off. Sometimes, they must employ the platoon system, popularized in baseball by Casey Stengel.

Here’s the lineup card. Choose your favourites.

TSN Blue Jays broadcasters Buck Martinez and Dan Shulman, circa 1995. Courtesy: TSN

Play by play-Colour

D. Shulman-Martinez

D. Shulman-Siddall

D. Shulman-Joseph

B. Shulman- B. Martinez

B. Shulman-J. Siddall

B. Shulman-C.Joseph

--Matt Devlin has recently filled in on PxP

Studio show (Blue Jays Central and game breaks)

J. Campbell-Siddall

Campbell-Joseph

Campbell-M. Shipman

--Brad Fay and Danielle Michaud have hosted Blue Jays Central, as have other Sportsnet anchors.

On-Field Reporters

Hazel Mae

Arden Zwelling

--Previously: Arash Madani, Barry Davis

“Insiders”

Shi Davidi

Ben Nicholson-Smith

Radio

D. Shulman- C. Leroux

E. Smith-C. Leroux

Roving Reporter

Emily Agard