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VIEWS FROM THE BROADCAST BOOTH
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Thursday, February 18, 2010
Olympic Memories
By Denis J. Puska
CLEVELAND, OH - I consider myself somewhat of an Olympic nut. I can't
get enough of the Olympic Games when they are on television. I consume every part of the television coverage that I can find,
and when I can't see it there I'll go to the internet to find online events.
Over the course of my broadcast journalism
career I have had the fortune of covering some athletes that have dreamed of going to the games. Some were successful in attending,
while others didn't. One of the athletes who did well on the Olympic stage was Lori Sippel of the Canadian Women's Softball
team. She competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ga and at the time was regarded as one of the top softball pitchers
not only in the country, but around the world.
I remember talking to her the day after she was named to the Olympic
softball team and it was a thrill to hear the excitement in her voice about attending and playing for her country.
In 2002 when the Winter Olympics were in Salt Lake City, Utah I had the fortune of seeing the Olympic Torch make its way
through the USA with a stop in Amarillo, TX. It was after a Rattlers game in the Central Hockey League and a bunch of the
fans hung out at the Civic Center hoping to get a sneak peak of the torch as it made its way through town.
It was
cold outside and I remember running back and forth from the edge of the street to the Civic Center to warm up. Finally, after
what seemed like almost an eternity, the torch arrived and made its way down the street. The fans who braved the elements
and the late hours were as proud as I was to have that moment to see the torch relay. I thought to myself that I am witnessing
history here and it's a moment that is still very clear in my mind today.
OLYMPICS UNDERWAY
The
Vancouver Winter Olympics are well underway and I have been a very proud Canadian watching them from afar. The opening ceremonies
were terrific and maybe not as magical or grand as the China Olympics but nonetheless amazing.
Everyone will be
talking about the gaff with the Olympic flame but believe it or not this has happened before in Australia and even in Salt
Lake City.
I have enjoyed all of the events thus far from short track speed skating to cross country skiing. The
best of course is yet to come with the men's hockey games. I think there are so many teams that have a shot at the gold medal
and not just Canada and the United States. I believe the Russians, Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland all could give the two
North American clubs a run for their money.
The Swedes may be the more banged up of the group with nagging injuries
but as long as their goaltending holds up, they should be just fine. The Canadians will have to find some way to not let the
pressure get to them and to use the crowd to their advantage.
The Americans are a young and exciting bunch and
the question will be about their offense and whether or not it's enough to compete with the other teams.
USA Head Coach
Ron Wilson said it best earlier in the week when he asked his players what will they be thinking about in September? Will
these players be concerned about how much playing time they got or how many points they earned, or will they be looking back
at winning the Gold Medal. I also think that there is something to be said about being in the Olympics and representing their
country.
Egos have to be set aside for this tournament as one or two bad games and it may be all over.
10:59 pm est
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
A Time To Celebrate the Game Of Hockey
By Denis J. Puska
It
was truly a time for celebrating the game of hockey this past weekend. Hockey Day in Canada and Hockey Weekend Across America are two events aimed at celebrating
and hopefully growing the grand old game of hockey.
It’s really hard to believe that this is the 10th year for the event
in Canada. For those who may not know, Hockey Day in Canada celebrates the game by visiting several different cities across
the country. Each city plans their own promotions and events in conjunction with the main event put on by the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation. I've always had a special feeling watching the event and the farther away I am from Canada, the more meaning
it's taken on over the years.
I was upset earlier because I thought I was going to miss the event. I couldn’t watch it live on line
and the NHL Network or the NHL package wasn’t offering a free preview. But once I returned home from attending at Lake
Erie Monsters game, I started searching around the CBC.ca website and to my surprise, Hockey Day in Canada was available to
watch. It made my day.
This
year Stratford Ontario was the host city. The Stratford Cullitons are one of the most successful Junior B programs in Canada
and have produced the likes of Chris Pronger, Boyd Devereaux, Ed Olycyk, Ray Emerson, and Mark Bell, just to name a few. The
Flannagan family has been around the team since it began and are known for being some of the best scouts in the sport.
It was amazing that
on this day the Stratford Cullitons hosted the St. Marys Lincolns. I worked in St. Marys for a couple of years, back in the
day, and they too have a highly successful junior program. You couldn’t have asked for a better signature game between
two rival communities.
Hockey Weekend Across America is in its third year and I am hoping that in years to come this event really takes off like
Hockey Day in Canada has. My hope for would be to see interest from one of the networks, like Versus or the NHL Network, that
would create a weekend or full day of activities across the country in support of Hockey Weekend Across America's goals. As
true hockey fans we should all come out to support the development of hockey teams and leagues throughout North America.
Early Beginnings
Rink Rats
That’s the best way to describe the early
beginnings of some hockey players. That’s the way I got into the 'game'. I wasn’t a hockey player but I always
went to the game and watched my friends play and worked as a score and timekeeper. It was a way for me to get close the game
that I loved.
Being
a scorekeeper/timekeeper was hard work you had to make sure that you correctly wrote down the goals, assists, penalties and
time of everything. You also had to make sure the clock was operating correctly and if you were quick enough to stop it you
had the wrath of the teams to contend with.
The most challenging games were the ones with lots of penalties and you had to keep track of when players
were allowed to return to the ice. One of best times I had was when they started letting me announce the goals. However, the
difficult part was making sure you had the names pronounced correctly and that you could do it in both official languages,
English and French.
When
I was in elementary school, we had to participate in public speaking courses and I had to think of something to talk about.
Well after a quick moment or two, the best topic I could think was, of course, hockey and the origins of the game. Hockey
served me well then, as it does now. I had the highest mark in my class and had a chance to speak in front of the entire school.
Although I didn’t win the school contest, it was certainly a great experience and a chance to share the game that I
loved with everyone else.
The State
of the Game
The
game of hockey continues to grow and evolve and there is still much work to do. Hockey still needs to work on getting minorities
and inner-city kids involved in the sport. It must also escape the perception in different communities that hockey is "that
other sport". In Canada, hockey highlights litter the television stations and sports networks. In
the United States, the hockey highlights are usually found later on in the show and an entire segment would last maybe 5 to
10 minutes.
I think
events like the upcoming Winter Olympics will only help to strengthen the game. Hockey is one of the signature events in the
games and fans will be able to see plenty of men's and women's hockey on stations in both countries.
The National Hockey League must continue to lead
by example by getting its member teams to get the word out to the cities they play in. I think the teams can help grow the
sport by taking one day out of the season to send all of its players from the highest paid player to the lowest to the schools
in their cities. How great would it be if some of these schools had a surprise visit from an NHL star. If the players at the
lower levels can do it why can’t these guys.
Even though school visits are something minor professional hockey teams do all season long,
I think they should also be part of that day where all players go visit the schools. Maybe all of this could be part of future
Hockey Day Across America celebrations.
8:02 pm est
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