What I really want to discuss is why everybody is obsessed with Mike Emrick (the play by play guy for the cup finals). He is the league's go to guy for any nationally televised hockey game. He's won all kinds of awards for his amazing announcing. I even saw an article about him on deadspin.com, which is just ridiculous.
I hate him. I'll admit that my hatred for him is slightly biassed because he is the NJ Devils play by play guy during the regular season. But the more I see him, and especially the more I hear others praise him like he's Marv Albert, the more frusterated I get. I guess there are three things that I can't stand about him.
The first is his voice. It reminds me of Walter Cronkite on a helium overdose. I think that's actually a pretty impressive comparison on my part considering the closest I've come to hearing Cronkite's voice is when Jim Carey does an impression of him in the movie Bruce Almighty.
The second reason is that he makes every mundane play seem like it's the most amazing thing that's ever happened in hockey. I guess that's what people like about him. But I hate it. I'm tired of hearing him say things like "And NOW he PASSES THE PUCK BACK AND THEY REGROUP!" It's just ridiculous.
My third problem with Emrick is the most important one. He uses the most ridiculous verbs to describe actions in an athletic competition. Rather than talk more about it, I've made a list of strange verbs he's used that piss me off. In fact I'm gonna rank them (1 being the most ridiculous).
Mike Emrick Stupid Verb List (1st edition):
- Forklifted
- Knifed
- Whistled
- shovelled
- rifled
- steered
- Yanked
- Slinged
- Glided
- drilled
- chopped
- Popped
- Cancelled
- Weaved
- Heaped
Enjoy trying to watch the rest of the series without listening for Emrick's bullshit.
19 Feedback:
it was a damp and chilly afternoon, so i decided to PUT ON MY SWEATSHIRT!
Doc is the BEST in the business!!! The way he describes the action, you can close your eyes and
picture what he sees!!! In last nights telecast he said the puck went off the players wallet. Now that's unique and funny!!! He is in the same caliber of baseball announcers Red Barber, Mel Allen, and Ernie Harwell. If you haven't had a chance to hear him do play-by-play, then you haven't heard a hockey game described as the way it SHOULD be done.
The reason people do like Doc so much is just the reason you don't like him. He makes any game seem interesting. If you've watched the Devils style of hockey throughout the 90's you'd know that the trap is probably the most boring brand of hockey there is. In some way, he has to keep the game interesting. I agree that nothing is more boring than a 1-2-2 system executed to perfection, but why not color the game up a little? Isn't that what football commentators have been doing all these years?
Also, while i do agree his voice can get annoying if you are not cultured to it, the verbs he uses to describe the game lend themselves to better depict the game. For the same reasons you do not use the same adjectives and verbs over and over when you write your blog, Doc (yes, he has a PhD) mixes his words and paints a very vivid picture of the game, much like Pat Summerall. (To take that a step further, Glen "Chico" Resch is Doc's John Madden... a lovable buffoon)
Also, if you can find another commentator that is unbiased and as talented as Doc, then please show me. As a subscriber to NHL Center Ice, I hear lots of local broadcasts. Few besides the Devils home broadcast (Doc) provide an unbiased view. Some of the most heinous examples of bias can be seen by Buffalo Sabres announcer, Rick Jeanneret, San Jose Sharks announcer, Dan Rusanowsky, and New York Rangers announcer, Sam Rosen. I implore you to listen to any of these broadcasts and find no bias toward the home team and a talented announcer behind the microphone. Sam Rosen is probably the most guilty of all. I don't know that he believes the Rangers have ever committed a penalty. Jeanneret's broadcasts consist of him yelling "MILLER" at length into the microphone while the rest of the broadcast is a monotone lull while viewers wait, careful not to doze so that they might not be startled by the next save made by the mighty Michigan State grad. If that is broadcasting talent, please, find my mute button. Few people outside of Sabres fans would want to watch such a broadcast. The same can be said in San Jose where the broadcasters frequently refer to the players by their first names.
I am not suggesting that there shouldn't be a home team bias, that is to be expected. However, Devils broadcasts are, as a whole, very neutral in large part due to Doc. (Admittedly, "Chico" is a few marbles short, and tends to throw in bias at times, though often I'm not sure who he is biased toward, just as he isn't sure where he is most nights) Doc will show the same amount of enthusiasm when Toronto scores on the Devils just as when the Devils score on Toronto. You will not find this on any other home team broadcast.
So, in an answer to your question, "Why does everybody love Mike Emrick?" The answer is that there is no better broadcaster in hockey. There are other personalities (Don Cherry comes to mind) that might be more fun to listen to for a laugh, but no one does a better job of broadcasting the game as a primary function. That, of course, is the goal of a play-by-play man. To tell you what is happening.
So the next time you're watching a game that Doc is broadcasting, close your eyes and see if you can admit honestly that you can't see the game through his words. You'll know that when a player 'spikes' a puck out of the zone, he didn't 'flutter' it down the ice. You'll know that there is a difference between someone being 'drilled', 'rubbed off', 'popped', and 'canceled'. And finally, you'll know exactly what is happening when someone 'whistles' a puck past your favorite netminder.
I am a Rangers fan but i think the DOC is the best in the business. He makes the game interesting even when its rubbish and the enthusiasm he has for the game is amazing. By far and away the best commentator around. Paul U.K
Mike Emrick is the best. I like when he uses the verbs on "the stupid verb list" because he's not always repeating the same words over and over again. He sounds like a well educated person and not some idiot. He doesn't sound like some moron like the guy from Tampa, or R.J. from Buffalo (who is fun to listen to, but not for 60 minutes),or Gary Thorne(they all yell). I'll admit that Chico is alittle nuts but you gotta love him anyway. GO DEVILS!
It's very simple. MIKE EMRICK is the BEST in his sport. I started with rookie Wayne Gretzky as he and the Oilers battled the Islanders, some 20 years ago. DAN KELLY was great, and made the game come alive. But MIKE has been the MAN ever since.
He is especially effective for the casual fan -- Hockey may never translate well to the TV screeen (remember the puck and the "swoosh tail"? haaa), but MIKE brings a "radio call" to the TV viewers, educating the casual fan, while captivating the lovers of the game.
I'm watching the Eastern & Western Conference finals -- saw him yesterday, and he was gold -- wish he call all of them... !
Hey DB!!! Mikey Emrick IS THE BEST HOCKEY COMMENTATOR EVER!! Millions of others who love him CAN'T BE WRONG LIKE YOU ARE PUNK!! You obviously don't know anything about the game or how different commentators do their play by play jobs!! Hey I don't wanna bad mouth ya or anything but YOU started bad mouthing him first boy!! He's been doing this job since the mid 80's and still going strong!! As long as the majority of hockey fans love him like we do, then he's gonna stay on as the top play by play dude!!
He's so great at what he does... the way he commentates... the way he's so passionate about every word that comes out when commentating. He's a really exciting person to listen to when watching a hockey game!! Those excuses you give on why you don't like him is sooooo lame DB!! Smarten up, get to know the game as well as the play by play commentators who work hard at what they do so that we fans can enjoy every minute of every game! Mike obviously loves his job and makes it look soooo easy! You think it's easy being a commentator?? NO! It's not! But his enthusiastic voice makes hockey fans everywhere want to hear him. So don't go saying things when you don't even know what the hell you're talking about DB because you don't! Your dumbass opinion WILL NOT hold water here boy, let ME tell you!
Marv Albert was the first hockey announcer I listened to and his radio calls helped involve me in the sport and led me toward a full-blown passion.
I was an Islander fan and "marvelled" at how impartial he was in calling the crosstown playoff series of '74-'75 between the teams.
Since then I've felt that hockey has attracted the most eloquent broadcasting talent in sports.
Bill Clement's erudition and ability to be both soft-spoken and passionate; John Davidson's incisive analysis; and most of all Doc Emrick's extraordinary ability to be both conversational and thoroughly on top of the action simultaneously.
Hockey is a ridiculously hard game to call. Plays develop faster than can be anticipated from the broadcast booth, so it requires great verbal nimbleness to depict what's happening as it's happening. Doc is simulataneously economical and eloquent in capturing the ebb, flow and explosions of the game.
That he projects such enthusiasm does stand in contrast to the CBC announcers, whom I get to watch here in the Seattle area. They seem to be more jaded, perhaps because their audience already realizes that hockey is the greatest thing since sliced bread with raisins.
Alas, American sports fans don't seem to understand this in very large numbers. But hockey is not a game that can be enjoyed casually, since there is so little scoring. To fully appreciate its nuances requires rapt attention -- and deep attention span's have never characterzed the average U.S. television viewer.
you're an idiot. no further explanation needed.
I respect the opinions of everyone who does like Doc Emrick's play-by-play style. He certainly is the best at combining enthusiasm with creativity and restraint. He has a good knowledge of the game, and an unmatched ability to portray the game at the speed it is played, a difficult thing to for hockey as mentioned before. And he is not RJ from Buffalo, an extreme to stay away from by all means.
But, while listening to him throughout all of last year's playoffs (following Detroit), something about him just didn't sit well with me. And I've obviously heard him before- and had that same feeling- so this was just a deciding factor in my evaluation of him. The problems I found in his style were that he seemed somewhat unaware of the play at times (not picking up on a 'hockey situation' or not knowing all the players on the ice) and that he sometimes places his enthusiasm on the wrong side of a play (eg. focusing on the player's move as opposed to the amazing save that actually denied the goal).
What I like to see out of announcers on top of the normal enthusiasm, general hockey knowledge, quickness, and detail is a deeper awareness and sense for what is happening in the game than what I can tell from just watching it in front of my TV. This is especially important for a goal under review, a confusing or "phantom" offsides or icing call, or a situation where more than what the camera can capture is occurring on the ice (eg. multiple fights, penalties, injuries, or other action away from the puck). At times, Doc struggled to provide such insight.
His play-by-play certainly is creative, and the "stupid verb list" can be very useful and fun and informative to hear. But sometimes I was hoping for more conventional hockey terms. "Pass" "saucer" "dish" the puck to a teammate. "Shot" "rip" "snap" a puck in the goal. For plays that merit a Doc Emrick Verb, by all means be the one and only Doc Emrick. But I appreciate conventionalism at times too. It makes the unconventional that much more meaningful.
Not knowing a specific hockey situation or strategy of a particular team or all the players on the ice is certainly a result of being an unbiased, national telecaster. He spends time with all the teams, but maybe not enough to be an expert on 30 NHL teams. That is understandable. But it is nice to hear if the knowledge is there, and that is standard I want my announcers at!
A very good example of awareness and prudent broadcasting (and sorry for the hometown bias) occurred when Jiri Fischer had a cardiac arrest on the bench during a Red Wing's game. Ken Daniels eloquently and carefully informed viewers on what was going on throughout the event. Furthermore, he picked up on the bench commotion and fan reactions before play even stopped. Now I'm not saying the Wing's announcers are the end-all, be-all of hockey announcers (Mickey has his lackluster moments). Dave Strader is a great announcer, along with Jim Hughson from Vancouver, and most of the other Canadian announcers as well.
Doc isn't the greatest ever, but I'll admit that he isn't that bad either!
I couldn't agree more. I CANNOT stand Emrick. He is so annoying to listen to. I went to the Winter Classic in Chicago and was so happy when I got to re-watch on my DVR and he wasn't the announcer. He is certainly not the best in the business. He has an obnoxious way of describing plays and he is not fun. The best in the business is Gary Thorne. If you saw the Frozen Four final between Miami and Boston U. you know that Gary Thorne was the man for the call, Emrick would have made people want to puke. Even Steve Levy announcing on ESPN/ABC hockey was better than Emrick.
Gary Bettman sucks and one of his many terrible mistakes was accepting more money from Versus (formerly OLN) and NBC instead of taking less and getting more exposure from ESPN/ABC in a time when the league was hated because of the lockout.
Nice touch by Doc today during the early hostilities between Pens and Flyers. For the outro to commercial break he left hanging this little tease, "I'm beginning to feel a whole lot younger."
A great, subtle reference to the era of mayhem on ice, particularly on Broad Street.
Bravo Doc. You bring something new and refreshing to every broadcast.
I agree, Mike Emrick sucks. I'm Canadian and hear the best commentators. This guy overemphasizes everything and sounds like he has to take a shit. Very annoying.
I watch the CBC broadcasts and find the play-by-play guys very competent, but very colorless. I think this is a function of the different way Canadiens and Americans watch the game. It's inbred for Canadiens, so a less excitable presence in the booth makes sense. Most scoring chances don't result in goals, and the Canadien announcers' low-key handling of the game reflects this, whereas, Doc treats every scoring opportunity as though the balance of the game is about to change imminently. Can argue flat or round which approach is better, but I think it's mainly a cultural thing.
Mike Emrick talkes endlessly. It's like he, Olychk and Pierre McGuire are having a conversation we're forced to listen to.
Doc always says the puck goes into the goalie's "paraphanalia." They're PADS! You could say paraphanalia once in a while, but not everytime.
The "puck goes into the mesh." It's a net!
Do you ever notice that they always talk about something other than what's going on and Doc will say "what do you think Pierre?" Who cares, shut up and announce. And I don't need to close my eyes when Doc's on because he's on TV! He's not no the radio and he doesn't realize it! TV broadcasters should (and most are) give a very different broadcast from radio guys and Doc doesn't get it.
He wins all the awards because he's done it for ages and no one is ever willing to say that people suck at their jobs.
Doc, SHUT UP, you're on TV and I have eyes, you don't need to mention every single pass, hit etc. And, it's pitiful when I can see penalties that you don't notice until after you come back from commercial break.
NBC and VERSUS are horrible places to watch hockey, but sometimes it's all we got.
Steve Levy and Darren Pang know how to announce a hockey game.
Mike Emrick is TERRIBLE!! I totally agree with this blog. I'm watching the Stanley Cup finals and I want to jump thru my TV and choke the living crap out of Mike Emrick. He is SO BIASED and his comments are so unprofessional. If I wanted to listen to a Red Wings fan the whole game I would travel to Detroit and sit with one! This guy makes me sick. Then he even made fun of one of the advertisers last night. I would we so pissed if that was my ad. This guy sucks so bad - I have no idea whatsoever why he is even still on tv. HEY NHL . . . GET RID OF EMRICK - he sucks!!
I agree, not total shtick but with that high pitched voice it ruins the game a bit......
He is pathetic, describing hockey using terms such as, "Splendid" and "Marvelous". He would be better served describing the play-by-play at an opera. He is pompous and believes his own press.
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