THAT'S IT?

Fabled hockey hardliner, former NHL 2night highlight-wizard, and the greatest obscure-band referencer this side of Matt Pinfield, ESPN's John Buccigross, grabbed a few minutes of NHL Broadcasting pooba, John Shannon's very valuable time and peppered him with questions like he was an expansion team goalie.

To be honest, his answers left me underwhelmed.

John Shannon

The interchange of the Johns can be read on Bucci's blog at ESPN.com (Which is a daily must read in a sea of internet feces.) Read it, and see if you find some deeper vision than I did.

Maybe the editor only gave him so much space? I don't know. But I do know that the future of televised hockey in these United States needs to hinge on more progressive concepts than where the game camera is located and whether the operator of it has a masters in game camera.

And audio? I agree it should be a lot better; it should make you feel like you are there -- at one of the good, passionate, exciting games. But caution people; perked up electronic ears pick up more than ambient sound. The NHL might need to revisit its policy on obscene language if its going to boost audio to "eleven". (Hockey players have potty mouths in the heat of battle -- or for that matter, when holding mundane conversations with each other. It's a product of their environment - and their exposure to rap music)

The stuff about the NHL Network is interesting, and encouraging. (Love that "On the Fly" but selfishly feel they could slide a little more of the league's colormen into the highlight clips.)

High Definition broadcasting is again a big part of the strategy or "strategery" going forward and no doubt it helps, but is this now almost commonplace technology going to set hockey apart? Or grow the sport? At times HD seems to be merely the television equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig, or icing sugar on a dung pile. (It's the story, the drama, the stars and the game that will sell the sport, silly)

I'm sure I have just taken this slice of Q&A and made it fit my own agenda but hey, that's how I roll. For I, the Razorboy have a head full of restaurant quality ideas that would help the NHL game in 16 by 9, and they are rotting like last month's bananas.

Yes, you're right -- my mind is on the cusp of becoming, (gulp), Banana Bread.