Much talk has been made about the NHL going back to ESPN soon, and while it's still a possibility, Gary Bettman (on CSN Chicago's "Monsters in the Morning") said that the "Leader" wasn't the place for the league following the strike. The NHL Commish even explained that network television isn't all it's cracked up to be when it comes to Hockey. Via Sports Business Daily....

"There tends to be some criticism of them, probably initiated by some of their competitors. We felt coming out of the work stoppage and the year off, doing the traditional mode, going back to ESPN, where they have everything, wasn’t going to help us bring the game back as strong."

"With the use of digital technology, we can really give our fans as close a connection to the game as they want in a whole variety of ways. We think having come back as strong as we have from the work stoppage, four years of record attendance and record revenues; our ratings are up just about everywhere on television. We’re probably as strong as we’ve ever been."

I guess that's a strong point in theory (when you consider Hockey ratings are never THAT good), but if you are trying to get people to see a Sport, wouldn't you go to where the most eyes were/are? Seems like it's only a matter of time before ESPN picks Hockey back up, and thank goodness, because Versus is just about the hardest channel to find on cable.

NHL Commissioner Discusses League's TV Presence (Sports Business Daily)

One of AA's favorite announcers, the homerific Jack Edwards, was interviewed by Puck The Media, and not only did he say that he thinks ESPN won't give Hockey a good run, but he even called Disney execs "bozos". Here's a section of the interview....

Jack Edwards: We went from Toronto to Philadelphia, we were in (Bruins radio play-by-play man) Dave Goucher's room, having a couple cold ones. Now, the Sweet 16 is going on in college basketball at the same time, the only hockey we saw in the entire sportscast of "SportsCenter" was about 45 seconds of the UNH-North Dakota game, which was the one UNH tied with one-tenth of a second to go, that went into Overtime. That was 56 minutes into the telecast. There was nothing on the NHL in the entire show.

So, for those of you that hope that hockey gets back on ESPN, that's what you're gonna' get.

That's where it belongs in ESPN's hierarchy, because there are some bozos sitting in the accounting department in a bunker in Burbank, California running Disney, who look at the numbers and completely ignore the passion of hockey fans. They say "Poker gets better ratings because we can attract more compulsive gamblers to the screen than we can passionate hockey fans, so just for the sake of that number, we're gonna' run poker instead of hockey. We're gonna run women's basketball instead of hockey."

We saw highlights of the Division II NCAA basketball championship, we didn't see a single NHL highlight in that entire "SportsCenter". Case closed.

PTM: Well Jack, you're gonna' be a big hero to a lot of hockey fans when this goes up...

JE: I'm not a hero, I'm just telling you the facts. I mean, that's what it is and you know, this whole idea that hockey will do better if you put it back on ESPN is a delusion. It is completely delusionary [sic]. It's more convenient, certainly. But it's not going to be better for the sport, because it's going to be behind golf, it's going to be behind women's basketball and, you know, I'm not dissing those sports.

I'm not sure if I exactly believe all of that, but it certainly could be turn out to be true if the "Leader" gets Hockey back. Hockey ratings aren't anything to right home about, but the NBA hasn't been faring all that well either. There has to be a way to capture the extreme passion that Hockey fans have, but a network hasn't pulled that off besides the Winter Classic on NBC.

And just for good measure, here's Edwards giving it to Sean Avery over the weekend....



Puck the Media’s Interview with Jack Edwards (Puck the Media)
Jack Edwards says ESPN boosting NHL's fortunes is 'delusional' (Puck Daddy)

Well sort of. They didn't use their names, but two characters at the beginning of yesterday's Simpsons bore a striking resemblance to Don Cherry and Barry Melrose. At the start of the latest episode Homer is watching a Hockey game, when a fight breaks out. Homer gets mad at the announcer for saying that fighting is bad and after that, they go to a studio show which features the two Hockey talking heads....

I couldn't make out the names they used, but I'm pretty sure that's the two of them. Good stuff.

I didn't really pay much attention to this whole exchange when it went down, but it's reached a level now that I can't ignore. Both Barry Melrose and the Tampa Bay Lightning took shots at each other recently, but since Melrose fired the first one, the Ligntning's Ownership is looking to take him to court for a breach of contract. Seriously....

The Tampa Bay Lightning ownership group is contemplating filing a charge with the league claiming Barry Melrose breached his contract when he spoke out Tuesday against his former team.

If the Lightning go ahead and the league supports the claim, they can than refuse to pay Melrose the remaining $2.25M owed on his 3-year deal.

"Finally the guys in charge decided they wanted to coach and they got rid of me. That's what it comes down to. It obviously wasn't a hockey decision, because it's not like they've set the world on fire since they got rid of me...Now they've got guys in charge that let them do what they want and obviously that isn't working out very well either."

When pressed about who he was referring to with his comments, Melrose said he had a lot of respect for co-owner Oren Koules, but didn't want to talk about other co-owner Len Barrie when asked directly about him.

While I don't think Melrose should have been dropped so soon, there's something to be said for "not burning any bridges". If the team is still going to be paying you money, it might not be wise to bash them in the media. Just saying.

Bolts look to strike down Melrose (Sportsnet)

Could it be possible that ESPN has two....count them....two employees who only work on-air for Hockey segments? Well according to the Dallas Morning News, via Going Five Hole, that's exactly what the "Leader" will do when they decide to give Barry Melrose his job back following his recent firing from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Looks like Barry Melrose, fired after 16 games in his return to coaching this season, is moving back to Bristol. I think this is breaking news. I don't know because I seldom recognize it.

Melrose worked 12 years as an ESPN hockey analyst after coaching the Los Angeles Kings. The Tampa Bay Lightning thought so much of his work, it hired him to coach the team this season. That gig lasted about one-fifth of a season. Melrose's new ESPN deal is for three years.

Well that's nice that in this economy, Melrose has a spot reserved for him at his former employer. In all seriousness, if anyone is going to work with new hire Matthew Barnaby on the network, it has to be Melrose. He's an ESPN staple at this point, so welcome back, Barry.

In other hockey news, Sean Avery has issued an apology for his remarks, but will unlikely be staying with the Stars. Here is his statement on the matter....

"I would like to sincerely apologize for my off-color remarks to the press yesterday from Calgary. I should not have made those comments and I recognize that they were inappropriate. It was a bad attempt to build excitement for the game, but I am now acutely aware of how hurtful my actions were. I caused unnecessary embarrassment to my peers as well as people I have been close with in the past. I apologize for offending the great fans of the NHL, the Commissioner, my teammates, my coaching staff and the Dallas Stars Management and Ownership. As many of you know, I like to mix it up on and off the ice from time to time, but understand that this time I took it too far."

Sean Avery Apologizes (Dallas Observer)
Barry Melrose headed back to ESPN (Dallas Morning News)
Barry Melrose Headed Back to ESPN (Going Five Hole)

Color me surprised that ESPN decided to even fill their Hockey-guru role at all considering the amount of coverage the currently have. According to the Buffalo News, that person will be ex-NHLer and current Time Warner TV Show Host, Matthew Barnaby....

Former Buffalo Sabre Matthew Barnaby is expected shortly to be named as Barry Melrose's replacement as ESPN's hockey analyst, The Buffalo News has learned.

According to broadcasting sources, Barnaby and the cable sports network are finalizing details on the deal to replace Melrose, who left after last season to become the coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Barring a last-minute snag, Barnaby's hiring could be announced within a few days.

The 35-year-old Barnaby, who has teamed with former Sabre Rob Ray on a Time Warner cable show, "The Enforcers," also played for the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay in his 13-year NHL career.

I remember Barnaby as a player but I have no idea what he's like as an analyst. This obviously point back to the fact that ESPN might still be trying to get the NHL back on its stations, but you never know with those shifty folks.

Former Sabre Matthew Barnaby set to join ESPN (Buffalo News)
Matthew Barnaby to Join ESPN (Going Five Hole)

Sean Leahy at GFH came across this video of Barry Melrose's going away party at the Greatest Bar in Boston which was filmed by some Internet video network called Dirty Water. There's nothing like some sappy music set to a YouTube video to get you all emotional on a Tuesday afternoon....

Nice cameos and words from John Buccigross, Steve Levy and EJ Hradek in there. The host seemed a little lost, but I guess that's what you'd expect from a Boston-based, night club TV show reporter. According to her bio on DirtyWater.com, Christina White, "has an Exercise Science degree from UMASS-Amherst but she minored in FUN!!" So look out Boston!

Video: The Barry Melrose ESPN Goodbye Party (Going Five Hole)

I passed the story along to you back at the end of May, but it's now official (and you doubted me...tsk tsk). Barry Melrose is leaving ESPN to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning and ESPN is giving him a heroes departure. Every Sports Center anchor is praising his work as they talk about the story and here is a little clip they put together that they've dubbed "The Best of Barry"....

I know that Hockey has taken a backseat over at ESPN as of late but the best thing they ever did was keep Melrose around. He loves the game and did so even when the network he worked for didn't. Good for you Barry and good luck.

Barry Melrose Could Be Leaving ESPN For Tampa Bay (Awful Announcing)

Yet another analyst is going back to his coaching roots, but this time at ESPN. Hockey analyst Barry Melrose and his fabulous mullet are reportedly heading to Tampa Bay and will the new Coach of the Lightning....

Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Barry Melrose will reportedly take over for John Tortorella behind the Tampa Bay Lightning bench within the next few days.

The Toronto Star reported Friday that the former Los Angeles Kings coach will be named as a replacement for Tortorella, who has yet to be fired by the Lightning.

Melrose, who is currently a featured NHL analyst for ESPN, has not coached a team since he left the Kings in the 1994-95 season. In the 1992-93 season, he helped guide the team to its first and only Stanley Cup Finals appearance, which the team lost in five games to the Montreal Canadiens. However, Los Angeles failed to make the playoffs in the next two seasons.

I'm sure Melrose has always wanted to Coach, but it's kind of bad timing as ESPN has decided to devote more coverage to the Sport as of late. I guess that leaves John Buccigross as the only Hockey guy left at the "Leader".

Melrose in, Tortorella out in Tampa Bay (Seattle P-I)

I'll admit ahead of time I have no idea what this is ultimately about, but apparently Don Cherry has something against Sidney Crosby. According to the Globe and mail the HNIC and ESPN analyst purposefully didn't bring up the Penguins young star after Game Three and he's ultimately hurting viewers....

On Wednesday, Sidney Crosby scored two of the Pittsburgh Penguins' three goals and logged almost 20 minutes of ice time to lead the Penguins back into their series against the Detroit Red Wings. It was a terrific performance.

But guess who received the attention during the Hockey Night in Canada postgame coverage? Gary Roberts.

The show's grudge against Crosby has gone well beyond ridiculous. Yes, host Ron MacLean interviewed him last Saturday, but the show's most influential commentator, Don Cherry, doesn't like him. And MacLean certainly defers to his elder.

When Cherry did his postgame spot for ESPN, he continued to ignore Crosby and wax lyrical about Roberts. Finally, ESPN commentator Barry Melrose said, “What about the Crosby kid?”

“Oh,” Cherry said. “I forgot. Yeah, he played a great game.”

Crosby should be a Cherry favourite. He's a Canadian, he's tough and he has been in at least one fight. But the two got off to a bad start when Crosby was in junior hockey and was rapped by Cherry for being a hot dog because he used a lacrosse-style stick manoeuvre to score a goal. For his part, Crosby has a bit of an edge and he probably hasn't been appropriately deferential to Cherry.

Canadians sure do know how to hold a grudge don't they? It's an odd situation, but if a viewer has eyes he knows how good Crosby was in Game Three. They don't need a joker in a ridiculous suit to tell them that.

Hockey Night snubs Crosby, and viewers (Globe and Mail)