“We miss the run-up to games, the teasers and particularly the funny commercials.”

This is delusional. Not as delusional as writing that “no one cares about network television anymore,” but delusional nonetheless.

In comparison to Versus, ESPN’s coverage was pathetic and increasingly more limited as the years went on. Funny commercials is one thing; actually discussing the game and not using between periods for promoting Texas Hold’em tournaments (as they were used back in the later days of ESPN’s NHL contract) is another.

Something I didn’t see Allen address in his column and the REAL elephant in the room: Would we, as hockey fans, be happy with 95% of our ESPN hockey coverage actually appearing on ESPN2 rather than the mothership?

Posted by Greg Wyshynski from D.C. on 12/07/07 at 01:08 AM ET

I don’t miss Gary Thorne.  Or Bill Clement.  Or Darren Pang.  Or Melrose.  Or Brian Engblom.  Or Steve Levy.  Or Dave Ryan.  Or Joe Beninati.  Or the fact that they rarely ever talked actual hockey.  Or that they cancelled NHL2Night, which WON’T come back if ESPN2 gets the rights.

Wow.  They’res a lotta stuff I hated about ESPN’s coverage of the league.

But yea, I think some games on ESPN 2 would be promoted about as heavily as Arena Football, and would be talked down as badly as it is now.

But, if they stay on VERSUS and NBC, I can’t say I’m against it.

Posted by Steve from New Jersey on 12/07/07 at 01:42 AM ET

So, let me get this straight… being on ESPN helps a sport?  Tell that to the AFL, which nobody cares about, or the WNBA, which nobody cares about… and even the NHL, who nobody cared about when it was on ESPN all the freaking time in the past.

The whole ‘not being able to find Versus on your provider’ line is just horsecrap.  What, people are so stupid that they can’t scroll down a menu till they see the channel with ‘Vs.’ as the name?  Really?  Versus is in like 70% as many homes as ESPN is.  It’s not like the channel has the weekly viewership of some local access current events channel.

Hockey needs to get it’s internal (Flawed CBA, stupid Commish, brainless desire to expand) and external (game presentation on TV, establishing a more trap-proof rule set) houses in order, and the national exposure will come on it’s own.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 12/07/07 at 05:00 AM ET

Another “can’t remember where Versus is on the channel guide” article. How original. I forgot how to laugh! The article is regurgitated fluff from a hack on what must be a really slow news day. Just pathetic. You know, I really don’t care if the NHL is on ESPN or not. ESPN is not the end all be all to everything. I think the sport is actually better off accepting that it is a niche sport and act accordingly. Its the cookie cutter mass marketing and the cowtoeing of the sport so it won’t offend mr. and ms. john doe in bfe alabama that is the problem. Same thing is aparently happening to NASCAR. I used to live in NC and have friends that are ticked off that NASCAR is trying to tailer their sport to the casual fan and forgetting their core root base.

Posted by UMFan on 12/07/07 at 05:12 AM ET

Having hockey back on ESPN would be huge for the league, in that simply ESPN would stop making it the whipping boy for everything that goes wrong.  Right now, the only thing that makes it on Sportscenter is when hockey is in a bad light.  PTI and other talk shows on ESPN bash hockey whenever they get a chance.  Having the league on the network might not stop that, but it might keep it from getting out of hand.

BTW, look what ESPN did for NASCAR.

Posted by Chris from Grand Rapids on 12/07/07 at 08:41 AM ET

“BTW, look what ESPN did for NASCAR.”

Which would be what, exactly? Getting the rights to a sport that was already a sensation without the golden shower of ESPN’s love?

Look, I would love to have hockey back on ESPN, and have it be a package like the one Allen’s talking about—several networks, including Versus and HDNET, along with ESPN. But this stupid, stupid revisionist history about ESPN has to stop.

Hockey was treated like a marginal sport there, and will be again, if not at first then when the next “poker” comes along. (MMA, maybe?) Like Steve said: It’ll be the same talking heads that bored us for over a decade, the same confinement to the ESPN2 sports ghetto, the same outrage from hockey fans when they want to see Crosby against the Red Wings but ESPN has the NBA on and ESPN2 has a Tulane/Florida International basketball game on. Nothing is going to change until hockey draws significant numbers on television; especially when the league will be the one crawling back to ESPN.

Getting ESPN back will help the NHL’s cred with mainstream sports fans, and that’s important. But the lockout stole hockey’s mojo—not the loss of the WWL.

Posted by Greg Wyshynski from DC on 12/07/07 at 09:18 AM ET

Even when hockey was on ESPN, the talking heads that didn’t cover it tended to be patronizing.  It’s even worse, now, but it was always there.

Like ice hockey is a quaint little foreign sport - like curling, but faster.  Ugh.

The WWL barely shows sports events anymore.  It’s poker and spelling bees and Scrabble and feel-good feature reruns and a bunch of screaming head competing for some kind of bombastic trophy, I presume.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 12/07/07 at 10:18 AM ET

ESPN will do little to help hockey until ESPN changes their tune on hockey. As folks have already pointed out, its all a bash fest today. And also as pointed out, ESPN coverage has done little for the AFL and WNBA..

The best thing to happen to the NHL in the US in the last few years is the addition of the NHL Network. Actual reviews of the game, non-goal highlights, play breakdown… WOW! what insight! actual reporting on the sport..

ESPN needs to ditch Melrose, and get some new blood if hockey will ever succeed. I continue to say ESPN will do nothing for hockey, until they change their fundamental approach to covering it..

Im fine with my coverage on VS, HDNET, NHL Network, and FoxSportsnet for the canes games.

ESPN.. Its not about Sports, its about Entertainment - Please bring back my sports coverage!

Posted by canesice from Raleigh, NC on 12/07/07 at 10:50 AM ET