At 03:01 PM 4/3/96 CST, TerryTuschen wrote:
>I, too thought the color commentator for ESPN was a quimby.  He made it sound
>like CC just came dowm from the hills to take on a Big(11)Ten school, which
>immediatly made me think he hasn't followed college hockey much this year.
>He obviously doesn't belong to this list, and it may not hurt for him to
>subscribe!
 
I assume that we are talking about Bob Norton here.
 
I've come on this list as one of the most outspoken people against Norton in
the past because I see him as biased toward Boston/MA teams in Hockey East.
 
However, anyone who chooses to criticize this man's knowledge of the game
needs to supply more evidence than above.  I've seen broadcasts from a lot
of different stations across the country and I haven't found one who knows
anymore than Norton does.  He sees every Hockey East team, and definately
follows the national results as evidenced by his broadcasts.  He knows more
about Michigan than CC because he's covered them in the Final Four for 3 out
of 4 years, while CC has not been there.  However I watched the game, and I
did not get the impression you came away with, and I was watching with an
unbiased eye.
 
Yes he does have a different style, and yes he does talk about junior/prep
hockey too much at times, but what real harm does that do?  It's really
nothing more than a plug for the sport of hockey, and I've actually found it
usefull when looking for information on recruits.  You may disagree with his
style, but don't confuse that, or name pronounciation with actual hockey
knowledge.
 
Norton sees as much hockey (and most likely more) than the vast majority of
people on this list, and it's on all levels and not with just a team or two.
He does color for AHL Game of the Week broadcasts (a couple NHL Bruins games
as well I believe) as well as Hockey East, and NCAA Productions and ESPN has
hired him for the past 4 or 5 years to do color on their broadcasts.  He
attends several different state championships each year, I know he does
attend New Hampshire and Massachusetts as well as occasionally Maine.  The
man loves hockey, he is a coach (or a former one I can't remember) and
certainly has a good grasp on the game.
 
I think we can all find faults with how ANYONE does color.  Ask anyone who
has ever done color before (Mike Machnik for instance) if it is an easy
thing to do, especially if you are not as familar with the teams.  You can
criticize how he talks, or the history of the players, or his repetition of
words, but please don't insult the guy by criticizing his knowledge.  Anyone
who knows anything of Bob Norton knows him to be a class act and that he
knows his hockey, period.
 
There is something to be said for guys like Bob Norton who know and love
this sport of hockey.  The whole hockey world would be better served by more
people being like Bob than people trying to shoot him down.
---                                                                  ---
Deron Treadwell                                 [log in to unmask]
Orono, Maine                                    GO BRUINS!  GO DUCKS!!
>>>>>>>>>>> Owner/Administrator: Maine Hockey Discussion List <<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>>> UMaine Hockey: http://www.eklektia.com/~treads/mehockey/ <<<<<<<
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