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When the Bruins selected Tyler Seguin with the second overall pick of the NHL draft in the June, fans immediately began looking forward to seeing the 18-year-old phenom take the ice this fall. Expectations are high for both the youngster and the team, which is expected to take another step toward contention this season. Seguin's debut is highly anticipated as fans can't wait to take their first look at the future of the franchise.
Makes perfect sense then, that NESN chose not to broadcast the first preseason game for the Bruins Wednesday night.
With the Red Sox playing out the string against the Baltimore Orioles, which game do you think would've garnered a larger audience?
This was a great opportunity lost for NESN. Now they can say that this decision was made months ago, when it was assumed that the Red Sox would still be battling for a playoff spot. But this game was in Montreal, not some far-flung second-rate destination out in the middle of nowhere. Montreal. Just get the equipment in the truck and drive up there.
NESN is showing one Bruins preseason game -- this Saturday, the Sept. 25 at 7:00 P.M. against the Panthers. Hopefully the Bruins play it smart and choose to play Seguin in this game -- not a guaranteed thing in the NHL preseason.
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Yes, that was the former Boston Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, you saw co-hosting Pardon The Interruption this week on ESPN. Simmons appeared on WEEI's Dennis and Callahan show Thursday morning to talk about the experience, and to talk a little Boston sports. He discussed the challenges of live television, the annoyances of the thick makeup required and admitted that he would now better be able to critique television performances based on his experience. He noted that you have to keep your energy up the entire time, even while thinking of your next response or line. He also noted that the best in the business are those who make it look like anyone can do it.
Simmons notes that mistakes he made including looking in the wrong camera, and wearing sneakers. While it's OK to wear shorts with the suit top, (legs aren't visible) at times the feet can be seen at the bottom of the screen.
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When a press release arrives at Friday evening at 7:00 P.M. it is a sure sign that this is an announcement that is trying to be slipped under the radar -- for one reason or another.
So when word trickled in last Friday night of Tim Murphy being promoted to Vice President/ General Manager of Entercom Boston, overseeing WEEI 850, WRKO 680, WAAF 107.3 and WMKK 93.7/MikeFM, it seemed a little odd that Entercom would want to sweep this under the carpet in this fashion.
It light of the recent ratings competition from WBZ-FM for WEEI, perhaps the fear was that this move would be seen as reaction to that. Murphy is the brains behind WEEI.com becoming the outstanding online sports news source that it has developed into, and also was very involved in the advertising aspect of the station. His promotion over all the Entercom Boston stations is a good move for the company, though it might lead you to wonder about the future of Jason Wolfe.
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Wednesday afternoon featured Bob Neumeier and Ron Borges alongside Glenn Ordway on WEEI's Big Show, which was enough for me to head over to Patriots.com and download the Tuesday debut edition of The Pete Sheppard Show.
After being subjected to endless contrived Patriots dramas on the AM and FM airwaves for the last few weeks, Sheppard's show was a nice break from that. He actually talked about strategy on the field, and what the Patriots were and were not doing. There was criticism when deserved of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but not in the bombastic, end-of-the-world style favored elsewhere. While parts of the show did get a little silly at times, overall, the program was solid, and worth checking out for some legit Patriots talk.
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I'm as big a Kevin Faulk fan as anyone. The guy has done some amazing things for the Patriots over the years, made some huge clutch plays, and has been ultra-reliable. The news this week that he would be lost for the season with an ACL injury was tough to take.
That said, the media reaction to this has been, not surprisingly, way over the top. One would conclude that Faulk was the only thing holding this team together, that he is the only player capable of blocking blitzers, the only player who can catch a pass on third down. Yes, he's been great in his role, but please spare us the hyperbole.The team will make adjustments and move forward.
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Links of the week:
Something tells me that Boston.com blogger Eric Wilbur won't be invited on NESN Daily any time soon.
Fire Joe Morgan Takes Over Deadspin.
If you missed Ken Tremendous and company using an entire day on Deadspin to go after inane and just plain dumb ideas and columns from sports writers around the country, you need to check it out.
HBO Sports And The NHL Team Up For "24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road To The Winter Classic"
Yeah, Hard Knocks is coming to the NHL.