Harry Neale needs to go away...

[elcrusho]

Last year of his contract I believe...

 

Ray needs to replace him....................................................

[mercury]

I've never heard a team's paid announcer so willingly jinx them on EVERY occasion he can.

 

I'm of the opinion that his remarks don't actually affect the outcome of the game.

[Sabretip]

Please put this guy out to pasture. He repeats the same thing about Miller having the quickest feet/legs in the NHL, game after game after game. :doh:

 

We'll find out soon enough if that happens - as I recall, he signed on for 3 years prior to the '07-'08 season at the same time as Jeanneret was extended for 2 years with an option (which is this season). As far I know, both Jeanneret and Neale have their contracts expire at the end of this season.

 

I suspect though that Quinn will keep both around - which is better than the ugly alternative of 82 games of Sylvester & Ray. A few seasons ago, many were pointing out all of the mistakes that RJ was making but it seems to me from watching every game this year that Neale has suddenly fallen into partial senility. His comments too often sound like he's not even paying attention to the game in front of him - making mistakes like the score at intermission or attributing plays to players that are on the bench have become blatantly obvious during the telecasts to the point where even RJ jas to step in and correct Neale repeatedly. It's pretty sad to listen to but isn't as bad as the drivel that Sylvester and Ray would spout off.

[Sabretip]

As much as I think Harry Neale is a shell of his former self, B-Lo definately has an above average crew of broadcasters in RJ, Harry, Roby, and Ray (KS is intentionally left off this list because he has a hard time reading the out of town scoreboard, let alone offer his own hockey insight).

 

 

Agreed on RJ and Roby but beg to differ on Neale and Ray. Anyone can resort to cliches and one-liners like Neale and Ray do. Love them or hate them, at least RJ and Roby exude real passion for the game and team and both have enough credibility to know what they're talking about.

 

Around the league, I think there are only a handful of PxP men (Pat Foley-Chi; Chuck Kaiton-Car; Dave Strader-Phx; Jim Hughson-Van/CBC; Gord Miller-TSN) that are in Jeanneret's class. There are a few exceptional color commentary guys that stand out (Daryl Reaugh-Dal; Craig Simpson-CBC; Pierre Maguire-TSN) - the rest all end up either being blatant homers with no objectivity or simple storytellers that overlook the details of any game they're supposed to be dissecting.

[Cereal]

Too many fights and hits to the head.

 

That being said, I love him where he is and maybe he can get a bigger role from down there. He is insightful and more in-tune with what's going on at ice level. And is far far more outspoken and non-PC when the team puts out crap product on the ice.

 

:thumbsup: I love it.

 

I agree and I think that's why KS is so good right now because he's VERY detailed. He gives you who has the puck, whose forchecking him, whose on the ice during changes and stuff. I was really impressed actually.

 

I definitely agree, and I thought the PHX game in particular he seemed more and more comfortable calling it like it is, details, names, knowing who's where. ;)

[FogBat]

With RJ on vacation I decided to do what I normally don't do last night against Phoenix... watch the broadcast of the oppositions network on Center Ice so that I could watch the game in HD (I'm an out-of-towner). While the picture was great (the Slug is awful but the white uniforms look better than the God-awful home ones), the Arizona announcers were BEYOND horrible. I mean, total joke. For anyone that grew up in Western New York, you got used to high-quality NHL broadcasts via Hockey Night in Canada and the crew the Sabres have had since getting a franchise. Trust me, the rest of the USA isn't so lucky. Even good USA hockey towns like Detroit and Boston are terrible compared to what we have in Buffalo. When you go to teams like Phoenix and southern states, the broadcast is designed for an 8 year-old who has never seen hockey before (I believe). A total pathetic joke. Made me realize what a high-quality job KS, Roby, and Razor do especially during intermissions. Anyway, my point is... before you criticize Harry Neale, try listening to some other announcers in this league. Will make you think HN is the best thing ever.

I'm sorry, but I just cannot get used to that voice of his. I'm not saying that he's a bad announcer. It's just that his style is totally different from Jim Lorentz's.

 

Detroit: when I had Sirius XM, I couldn't stand listening to Ken Kal.

 

Boston: several fans on this forum have said that they can't stand Jack Edwards.

 

Phoenix: I didn't catch the broadcast, but I'm sorry that you had to endure their "attempt" to broadcast the game (from what you said).

 

NOBODY (not the forum member here) will be able to fill Don Cherry's shoes when he goes. Don Cherry is to HNIC as Jerry Orbach was to Law & Order: irreplaceable

[Assquatch]

Here's hoping KS never calls the play-by-play when Buffalo is up against Philadelphia.

*shudder*

You mean philadollphia?

[rbochan]

Having to listen to the Ducks announcers made me miss Harry something fierce.

[SarasotaSabre]

Yes, PhilaDOLPHia would be painful to hear ad nauseum....

 

Here's hoping KS never calls the play-by-play when Buffalo is up against Philadelphia.

*shudder*

[Stoner]

Having to listen to the Ducks announcers made me miss Harry something fierce.

The play by play guy was dead inside. Seriously. Big saves, goals, there was often no instant reaction to what had happened. I guess he figures it's TV, so people have seen what happened, why should I break a sweat? He did have some interesting expressions -- jumping rope in front of the net, stepping up to the ladies tee lol. I liked the color guy. Tough. Good tension with the play by play guy.

[bottlecap]

I like em all. What can I say, when you're forced to watch some irritating homer like Andy Brickley? The Buffalo guys are gold compared to the Boston broadcast team. They love the team like the fans do and are knowledgeable. They have a HNIC-type knowledge but a distinct hometown flavor. How can you not like any of these guys? So Neale has his quirks, Newsflash: he's getting old, but the guy is a former GM and HNIC announcer. You know it's obvious that RJ and HN kind of go together... Lorentz was ideal, Neale is an ok replacement...if it makes RJ happy, I'm happy with it.

 

I initially didn't like Ray too much. The guy still needs elocution lessons. Looks like his head is made out of rock. He doesn't talk, he barks. But he has insight and guts on a player's level, and he's beaten the crap out of most guys in the league, so he has respect...he surprises me with his insightful color and I loved it when I heard him say the team needed a psychologist last year. There seems to be something a bit edgy between Ray and RJ, but it must be similar to working with Mike Tyson or some other fighter. You never know when he can snap.

 

Roby, Sylvester, Hamilton...the whole cast of characters you have in Buffalo are consistently compelling and unbiased and and think people should be happy with them. The only ones I'm not happy with are Schopp and the Bulldog..their act is old. .you need a hottie female reporter who knows her Sabres...and I miss do Roby cracking up Brian Blessing with his Canadianisms.

[ntjacks79]

 

Around the league, I think there are only a handful of PxP men (Pat Foley-Chi; Chuck Kaiton-Car; Dave Strader-Phx; Jim Hughson-Van/CBC; Gord Miller-TSN) that are in Jeanneret's class.

Huh? Was Strader doing the Buffalo game on Monday night when I watched the Phoenix feed? If so, one of the worst broadcasts of an NHL game I've ever heard. Beyond horrible. You can't possibly be saying that guy is in RJ's class. Gil Perreault in French would be better than that.

[shrader]

I'm still amazed that anyone can listen to Jack Edwards and come to the conclusion that Brickley is the homer. Edwards single handedly cripples that announcing duo. Listen to Brickley do color without Edwards and you get a very different perception of him.

[bottlecap]

I'm still amazed that anyone can listen to Jack Edwards and come to the conclusion that Brickley is the homer. Edwards single handedly cripples that announcing duo. Listen to Brickley do color without Edwards and you get a very different perception of him.

 

It's the Boston style: be a homer...I'm used to more objectivity. Jack Edwards is shrill and being the lead voice he tends to put his foot in his mouth fairly often, his homer instincts are right on...but Brickley is more infuriating for me because of his obvious dislike for the Sabres. He puts them down every chance he gets. Some of the false notes they both hit are totally cringe-worthy. Of course Edwards should be nowhere near a broadcast booth. He doesn't describe the game well. But Brickley doing color without Edwards still adds nothing new to my understanding of the game.

[Sabretip]

Huh? Was Strader doing the Buffalo game on Monday night when I watched the Phoenix feed? If so, one of the worst broadcasts of an NHL game I've ever heard. Beyond horrible. You can't possibly be saying that guy is in RJ's class. Gil Perreault in French would be better than that.

 

I taped the Coyotes broadcast and watched it after getting home from the game - Strader was well-prepared and obviously did his homework on the opponent Sabres (which is more than can be said for 3/4 of the broadcasters presently in the game. I think he is hamstrung by two things: 1) his color commentary man, Tyson Nash, is a recently-retired player who is not a very insightful or fluent analyst; and 2) he has clear marching orders from Fox-AZ to help "educate" the locals here about the basics of hockey. Same thing was true in Florida, where Strader was the PxP man beforehand. Watch any of the California-team broadcasts and you can hear similar 'dumbing down' explanations focused on teaching fans new to the sport.

 

But in terms of being passionate in his delivery; knowing the tendencies and personnel of both teams; being articulate and quick in his delivery; and remaining objective, Strader is definitely one of the best IMO. When ESPN did the NHL games, Strader was often the 2nd guy behind Gary Thorne to handle the games and always did a great job.

[Sabretip]

Robbie would be best choice as analyst they need to send Harry packing. I cringe everytime he tries to chime in. Lorentz was great be nice to get someone like him.

 

Do you mean "Robie" (as in Mike Robitaille) or "Robbie" (as in Rob Ray)?

 

Guess this thread demonstrates the wide range of opinions - I personally couldn't stand Lorentz because he overdramatized everything and resorted to the same kind of repeated cliches/phrases that people get annoyed with Ray and Neale for using. On top of that, Lorentz was guilty of the same kind of forgetfulness and losing track of the situation in his last 2-3 seasons. It was time that he retired - just as it seems it is now for Neale.

[bills_fan_in_raleigh]

Do you mean "Robie" (as in Mike Robitaille) or "Robbie" (as in Rob Ray)?

 

Guess this thread demonstrates the wide range of opinions - I personally couldn't stand Lorentz because he overdramatized everything and resorted to the same kind of repeated cliches/phrases that people get annoyed with Ray and Neale for using. On top of that, Lorentz was guilty of the same kind of forgetfulness and losing track of the situation in his last 2-3 seasons. It was time that he retired - just as it seems it is now for Neale.

Robitaille

[ntjacks79]

I taped the Coyotes broadcast and watched it after getting home from the game - Strader was well-prepared and obviously did his homework on the opponent Sabres (which is more than can be said for 3/4 of the broadcasters presently in the game. I think he is hamstrung by two things: 1) his color commentary man, Tyson Nash, is a recently-retired player who is not a very insightful or fluent analyst; and 2) he has clear marching orders from Fox-AZ to help "educate" the locals here about the basics of hockey. Same thing was true in Florida, where Strader was the PxP man beforehand. Watch any of the California-team broadcasts and you can hear similar 'dumbing down' explanations focused on teaching fans new to the sport.

 

But in terms of being passionate in his delivery; knowing the tendencies and personnel of both teams; being articulate and quick in his delivery; and remaining objective, Strader is definitely one of the best IMO. When ESPN did the NHL games, Strader was often the 2nd guy behind Gary Thorne to handle the games and always did a great job.

OK, I can see your points. I didn't like his "articulation" (he was putting me to sleep, something RJ NEVER has done), but other than that (from my perspective) I think you are presenting a good case.

[MattPie]

Roby, Sylvester, Hamilton...the whole cast of characters you have in Buffalo are consistently compelling and unbiased and and think people should be happy with them.

 

Let's not get crazy here. The Buffalo guys aren't huge homers, but 'unbiased' is a stretch. As a note, everyone thinks their home PxP and color announcers are unbiased (even my friend the Flyers fan). It like hearing that the network NFL announcers are biased against the Bills, they're really not.

 

2) he has clear marching orders from Fox-AZ to help "educate" the locals here about the basics of hockey. Same thing was true in Florida, where Strader was the PxP man beforehand. Watch any of the California-team broadcasts and you can hear similar 'dumbing down' explanations focused on teaching fans new to the sport.

 

True, but is that so bad? Would you rather have people tune-in and wonder WTF is going on and not come back?

 

Once in awhile I'll watch some sport I know nothing about (like while on travel to England). You can eventually figure out what's going on (I managed Cricket and Rugby*), but every so often something will happen and the announcers don't say why, so you're left with no clue. I still haven't figured out parts of Aussie Football for this exact reason.

 

* Oddly enough, I had watched a bunch of what I assume to be 'English Major League' level Rugby and had that figured out. Then, I watched a US/England match and it was like watching a completely different sport. I'm still confused to why that is.

[bob_sauve28]

I think Harry is probably one of the smartest hockey guys out there. He seems to really know the game well beyond the average (and above average) fan does. The problem is that he can't relate that well to other people. Then there are the obvious mistakes he makes that often make you scratch your head, but those we'll just have to deal with. All in all, I don't mind Harry all that much.

I him, too, even though he has his quirks. He needs to give up the stupid analagies. That said, Rick Jennerette just seems to have to be ALWAYS right. He just won't let some incredibly minor points go, even when Harry has said something that is correct. Sylvester I like. The broadcast is smoother, without the tension between the color and play by play man.

[Calvin]

Roby, Sylvester, Hamilton...the whole cast of characters you have in Buffalo are consistently compelling and unbiased and and think people should be happy with them. The only ones I'm not happy with are Schopp and the Bulldog..their act is old. .you need a hottie female reporter who knows her Sabres...and I miss do Roby cracking up Brian Blessing with his Canadianisms.

calling chz.. calling chz

[inkman]

you need a hottie female reporter who knows her Sabres...and I miss do Roby cracking up Brian Blessing with his Canadianisms.

The on-ice reporter last night was easy on the eyes. I wish I could remember her name...

 

calling chz.. calling chz

The Sabres already have Rob Ray. :pirate:

[LabattBlue]

I didn't listen to the radio call the last two games. Is Harry still obsessing over Miller's quick legs/feet? :lol:

[NNYSABRESMAN]

The on ice chick (Heidi) for the Kings was easy on the eyes but her hockey knowledge and coments were really thin. The PXP and color guy drove me ape $#@& with there analysis of Miller and Quicks styles of goaltending and further Millers lack of atletesism and that he does not make any spactacular saves.