The following is a response from Frank Mazzocco in reply to
the note from John Nash's posting from earlier this week.
Any comments about the post should be sent to the list, and
I will forward them to Frank if necessary. Frank is not on
Hockey-L, but did want to respond to the posting publicly.
 
-Carol
 
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 12 Mar 96 10:36:23 EST
From: Frank Mazzocco
 
>Date: Sun, 10 Mar 1996 14:35:14 -0600
>From: John R. Nash <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: MSC funnies; Wisconsin thoughts
>
>I was at the WI-MN semifinal game on Friday.  Even though the
>Badgers lost, it was a great game to watch, and I was pleased to see quite
>a crowd there, considering it was a Friday afternoon.  My companion brought
>along a Walkman radio, and while trying to find the Wisconsin Radio
>Network's local station, we instead stumbled upon the audio feed from the
>MSC TV broadcast being beamed back to Minnesota.  FYI, check at the very
>low end of the AM dial (530AM) if you're at an MSC-televised event.
 
John,
I did Milwaukee Admirals play-by-play from 1978-81 in the old MECCA.  At the
time they had an in-house, closed-circuit,  radio system because normal AM
radio signals can't penetrate the steel super structure.  I wonder if they
don't have the same (or similar) system in the new Bradley Center.  The
in-house video people had access to MSC's audio and video (note the use of
the on ice interviews after the championship game).  Perhaps it was *that*
signal you caught on 530 AM.  MSC's feed leaves the game site via microwave
and satellite up-link.  I can't image a Walkman would pick it up.
 
>It was amusing to listen to these guys, who were as partisan for
>the Gophs as the Milwaukee crowd was partisan for the Badgers.
 
Thanks for the compliment.  Gopher fans are PO'd that I'm not more of a homer
and you're PO'd cuz I'm too much of a homer.  That means I'm where I want to
be -- right down the middle.  Besides, these were five *WCHA games*, not five
Gopher games.  I'd have a commissioner and nine coaches on my butt if I was
pro-Minnesota.
 
>The hilarious part was that the guys kept their mikes live during commercial
>breaks and video segments, unwittingly broadcasting their comments to any
>listening fans.  Some highlights:
>
>About halfway through the game:
>
>"OK, can we do that [video] piece when we come back from commercial?  Good.
>Besides, I'm eating a pretzel."
>
 
John, there aren't many rinks were you can get good pretzels!  ;-)
 
>With under 5 minutes to go in the third, and MN clinging to a 3-2 lead.
>
>"Um, can you cover for me?  -Nice time for a break, but yeah, I'll cover
>for you."   (Must have had some liquid refreshment along with that
>pretzel!)
>
 
Yes, I did have to wash them down. It's a little hard to pronouce Daubenspeck
with pretzel crumbs in your mouth -- especially when he had such a busy game.
;-)
 
>And the one that got me roaring with laughter, at the end of regulation,
>after the Badgers had scored a goal to send it to overtime:
>
>"F***!!!!  F***, f***, f***!!!  F***ing goal!  The Badgers get all the
>f***ing luck!..."  (etc, etc...)
>
Seriously, and honestly, I suspect our studio microphone was open as the
Gopher's filed past on the way to their dressing room during a commercial.
(BTW, I didn't hear any of it.)  Anyone on the crew using that kind of
language near a plugged-in microphone (on or off) wouldn't be working long.
Too risky.  Too easy for a switch to be open and something like that
accidentally reaching someone's living room.  I didn't say it. No one on the
crew would have said it.
 
Furthermore, I've never met an announcer who'd get so worked up about going to
overtime to use such language...  unless it was his first gig in Elephant's Breath,
Illinois.
 
>We may not have won, but we sure had the MSC announcer pretty pissed off.
>Kinda makes it all worthwhile...
>
Don't you wish?  I've been broadcasting hockey for 19 years.  I lost that
rah-rah, we-they, us-against-them attitude long ago.  The only thing that
gets my blood percolating is when a goon squad wins a game.  No announcer
with ANY credibility would ever get so worked up to use that language.
 
>Thanks for a great year, Bucky!  I'd rather end the season on a high note
>than fizzle out like Denver did.
>
>Drop the puck!
>john nash
 
Congrats to the Buckies on a good end-of the year run and to one of the best
coaches in the land on righting the Cardinal and White ship before it sank.
Kudos to the classy Bucky fans who stood and applauded before the end of the
3rd place game.  And, if I may be allowed a semi-commercial comment, I'd
entreat all Wisconsin fans to contact local cable operators to add Midwest
Sports Channel.  You might be pretty surprised how informative and pro-
college hockey our telecasts are.
 
Sincerely,
Frank Mazzocco
MSC Announcer
Father of a Cheesehead (daughter born in West Allis, WI)
Father of a Bucky (son is UW engineering student)
Lover of pretzels
 
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