Mike “Doc” Emrick
HIGH ROAD: Dainius Zubrus and the Devils kept trying to shoot high on Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, one observation among many keenly noted by the classy Mike “Doc” Emrick on NBC’s Stanley Cup playoff telecasts. (Reuters)
While this column has spent years gushing geysers identifying Mike “Doc” Emrick as the best thing to happen to televised hockey since Bobby Orr crossed the blue line — and to near unanimous agreement among hockey fans — Emrick does have his detractors.
And they do have a point.
They feel Emrick presents a radio call on TV, and, according to one emailer, in the indelicate but unambiguous term Ralph Kramden applied to his mother-in-law, he’s a “blabbermouth.”
To them I’d say, well, it depends. If they choose to listen to what Emrick’s telling all of us, they’d find his play-by-play is loaded with pertinent info TV can’t always provide, especially off-screen line changes. It was a bad OT line change by the Flyers that led to the Devils’ winning goal in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semis on May 3.
As he did Friday night during Rangers-Devils, he explains what looked as if it would be icing wasn’t, because a player out of camera frame touched the puck. Same with delayed offsides.
Does he shout too much? That depends, too.
If you want to be alerted to scoring opportunities in typically low-scoring Stanley Cup games, Emrick’s there for you. Given NBC’s inclination to cut to low tight shots in the corners — not always a bad idea, but far too risky late in close games — it’s nice to have Emrick watching our backs as he watches what’s happening in front.
In Emrick’s case, his televised “radio call” provides the very best of both worlds.
By the way, his shouting is also a by-product of his love for the game. And he loves the game, and figures you do, too. We should all love our work as much as Emrick does at 65, more than 40 years on the job.
Beyond that, if there were ever a play-by-player who should be encouraged to speak as much as often as possible, it’s Emrick. Imagine hiring Emrick and telling him to speak half as much. Would you ask DeNiro, Sinatra, Einstein, Pele, Magellan, Sonny and/or Cher to give it less than all they’ve got?
“Hey, you, Michelangelo! Get down off that scaffold! You wanna kill yourself? Paint something down here!”
Emrick was magnificent throughout the Rangers-Devils series, but no more so than during the series before, the series before that and throughout the regular season.
Friday, early in Game 6, NBCSN’s first commercial break came after Dainius Zubrus’ shot hit the pipe behind Henrik Lundqvist. As a replay appeared, Emrick sent it to ads with just this: “The puck is one inch-by-three, the net is four feet-by-six.”
Aaaand we’re out! Beautiful! Print it!
Emrick gets one shot — one take — and it’s a keeper. He could choose the bland, safe route to such standard moments, but that’s not how he operates. He’s Doc, not Sleepy or Bashful.
And if he’s wordy, he’s also concise. Last week, over frantic, both-ends play, he said two words: “fire wagon,” an abridged reference to an antiquated expression for such action.
At game’s end in OT Friday, a replay appeared of Marty Brodeur, skating up ice, throwing himself into the pile of joyous Devils.
“He weighs a little bit more than most of them because of the equipment,” said Emrick, before pausing, “and the responsibility.”
A tribute to Emrick recently arrived by email from Phil Soto-Ortiz, who works for the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. It pointed to Emrick’s integrity, his good-faith dealing with every viewer, something Emrick did during Game 7 of Caps-Rangers:
“He made a reference to the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Connecticut Whale, remaining alive in the Calder Cup playoffs. I winced a little because I knew the Whale had been eliminated the previous night. I knew this because I do the agate [type] pages.
“But, surely, few watching would have known this, and Emrick easily could have let this go. Instead, he corrected himself on air after the next commercial timeout.”
Blabbermouth.
Getting board with goal celebrations
For all the NHL injuries to players checked hard into the boards, they sure throw themselves into the boards after scoring big goals, eh?
The Stanley Cup will be won by the team tied for the seventh-best regular- season points total, the Devils, or the team with the 13th best, the Kings.
NBC had a good night in the truck on Friday, especially the replay reel of the Devils shooting high on Henrik Lundqvist, who tended to get too low too soon. And NBC just missed catching the live shot of season-long antagonists Pete DeBoer and John Tortorella shaking hands, but soon showed it on tape.
Couch Tout: Kings captain Dustin Brown, from Ithaca, has landed several elbow-first shots during the playoffs, a regular rendezvous with dentistry guy. Hey, anyone recall Eric “Elbows” Nesterenko?
The Devils have to lose that Gary Glitter “Hey!” public address drown-out. It’s old, tired, borrowed (were the Devils the last?) and to have blasted it over the natural sound of the home crowd after Adam Henrique’s OT goal was criminal.
* Letters to Uncle Bud Selig: Here’s one from Cristine Briguglio, whose eight-year-old son’s Little League team bought tickets to this Sunday’s Cardinals-Mets game, only to later find it has been moved from 1 p.m. to 8:05 for ESPN money.
She’s having a tough time explaining it to the kids, and wants to know if Uncle Bud will help her out.
Steve Mondella, father of two, seven and 11, weeks ago bought tickets, too. Not only do his kids have school the next morning, he leaves for work at 6:30 a.m. — to support those kids.
His question for Uncle Bud: Why not, April through June — before playoff races form — eliminate Eastern Time Zone home games from such Sunday made-for-TV baits-and-switches?
* Memorial Day. Beautiful day. The 27-21 Mets vs. in-division Phillies. And throughout Citi Field, the best (expensive) seats — thousands and thousands of them — went empty. At the same time, as seen on WGN, the last-place 17-32 Padres at the last-place 15-32 Cubs, and every seat in Wrigley was filled.
For all the in-Mets-game promos SNY ran for Sunday’s return of “Banner Day,” its pre-game show showed only snippets. How much time was needed to detail the Padres?
* Saturday, after Yankee Chris Stewart threw out the Athletics’ Jemile Weeks trying to steal, John Sterling asked his radio audience if it had “ever seen such a quick throw by a catcher?”
How, asks reader Don Reed, could the Knicks not rehire Mike Woodson, “the team’s winningest postseason coach in 11 years!”