Not picking on Deron...but I decided to offer another opinion as to
the complaints about Bob Norton here lately.
 
Some people say Norton was biased towards BU and others say he was
biased towards Maine.  I guess he must be doing a good job, then.  It
reminds me of the former CBS basketball announcer who said he knew he
was doing a good job when half his mail said he was for one team and
half said he was for the other.
 
If there is any team he does have a sentimental leaning towards, it is
undoubtedly UNH.  And UNH people can tell you how much they like Maine
and BU. :-)
 
On the All-Norton Team...he chose it before the All-HE honors were
even voted on.  I know he did not expect that two of his choices (Legault
and McGillis) would be named All-HE, although Legault became more and
more of a solid choice as the season went along.  And I certainly
don't think he did not include any Maine players because he supposedly
doesn't like them.  I've heard him say a lot of good things about
Maine all year.
 
I could name a bunch of players who could have been named to the
All-Norton Team from a bunch of teams, including Maine.  But I don't
think they would have been *better* picks than the ones he chose.  On
top of that, who else in college hockey does this, giving recognition
to the little guys who never get it?  It doesn't make sense to
criticize him for doing this.
 
Finally, criticizing him for telling the viewers where players came
from is just plain silly.  Most people like this about Norton.  It is
an example of how he brings the players closer to the viewer and helps
people learn more about them - and it's also a source of pride for the
teams the players came from, to hear Norton say their school/team name
during a broadcast.  As Darrin Lucas says, Norton is very respected
for his knowledge of the game and great support of pre-college hockey
everywhere.  It's more than most of us can say about the game we claim
to love.
 
Simply put, there is a reason why he has been doing HE and NC$$ hockey
telecasts for upwards of ten years.  I have not heard a better color
man in all of college hockey, and few better in the pros.  He is a
great ambassador for the game.
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93