OFB had locker room video to edit after Tuesday night’s victory over Carolina and found inspiring and productive workspace inside Verizon Center’s Green Turtle. We were able to catch up with Craig Laughlin there. He was gracious enough to answer a few questions for us and impart some terrific insights.
Apprised of Comcast’s commitment to the Caps this week, I turned on Comcast SportsNet the moment I arrived home from work Monday night, and left it there. What I watched over the next four hours stunned me.
I saw new Comcast Caps’ beat reporter Lisa Hillary studio host a season preview alongside Joe Reekie. I saw just about all of Alexander Ovechkin’s first-ever NHL game (I’d forgotten that he was a flubbed breakaway from a hat trick that night). Then I saw JoeB and Craig host another studio half hour, “Caps Speak,” for another team preview. Promos for Comcast’s “SportsNight” that followed promised even more Caps’ coverage.
It was “Monday Night Hockey in Washington,” of course.
Head Coach Glen Hanlon was interviewed in depth by Hillary. GMGM was thoughtfully interviewed, at length, and he provided his customary thoughtful replies. Key personnel — Chris Clark, Olie Kolzig, Tom Poti, Nicklas Backstrom, Michael Nylander — all took turns before Comcast’s cameras. Tarik El Bashir’s segment with Joe and Craig I thought was a highlight of the entire night. (Tarik, true to form, offered a sober and fair assessment amid the rampant optimism engulfing the organization early this autumn. The Caps, he said, could finish anywhere “from sixth to tenth” in the Eastern conference.)
Broadcast Buzz about pro hockey in D.C. these days? Umm, yes — only if you regard all-consuming, single-topic devotion by the local sports television outlet to the city’s red-headed stepchild of pro teams “buzz”-indicating. Apparently it’s going to be like this the remainder of the week each evening on Comcast.
At one point during the prime time proceedings I saw Joe and Craig flash on the screen multiple-screen listings of Caps’ prospects. I saw the names Michal Neuvirth, Simeon Varlamov, Karl Alzner, Joe Finley, Mathieu Perreault, Francois Bouchard, Dave Steckel, and Chris Bourque, all broadcast on an outlet that never in its life held an office fantasy hockey pool. Briefly, it was like a breakout from hockeysfuture, and two DraftGeeks renting out the Comcast studio and making like Wayne and Garth on local cable access.
Wayne, er, JoeB: “Look at all this talent in the pipeline, Dude!”
Garth, er, Craig (head cocked): “Excellent!”
This is what importing one Canuck can do to an outlet!
More seriously, Hillary was hired to bring her NHL coverage experience to Comcast. The in-house hockey talent was significant, if under-appreciated and grossly under-utilized, but had the outlet ever boasted a dedicated reporter on the beat? Next I’m going to allege that coverage decisions like Comcast’s for this week haven’t occurred in a vacuum, and that they’re a harbinger of better coverage to come, print and broadcast, traditional and alternative. To an extent, it’s fashionable, of course: the Caps may not make it to the postseason this year, but they will not be dull.
But of course I’m a subscriber to the theory that a media revolution for this team and its sport is well underway these days, in these parts.
I’m also, at week’s end, when this trial run on Comcast terminates, planning on becoming a subscriber to CapsTV.
The Washington Capitals hosted the inaugural “Hockey ‘n Heels” event on Monday February 26, 2007. The event was intended to bring more female fans to the game by showcasing skills, rules and behind the scenes looks at the players. Over 250 women signed up and the event was a complete sell out.
When Gustaffson first encouraged me to attend, I was a little “iffy” on the whole thing. The idea of traipsing around the Verizon Center with a bunch of women for three hours did not sound like my idea of a good time. I had mental images of hundreds of women making mad dashes to the players that attended, similar to the scenes that you see on television for the big wedding gown sales. But Gustaffson is intent on making me a diehard hockey fan, so away I went.
I will be the first to admit that I had a great time and the event was very well planned. Everyone was split into smaller groups and rotated through the five different activities, so the chaos was kept to a minimum. There was a wide range of women there as well, from hockey moms to puck bunnies and everyone in between. Yes, there were plenty of ladies in attendance hoping to snag some quality time with the young, single players. However, there were just as many women asking thoughtful hockey related questions. Plus, we all got to shoot pucks on the ice with Jamie Heward, Shaone Morrisson and Coach Dean Evason. After initial reluctance to get out there (I did have on 2 inch heels) I can happily say I not only stayed on my feet, but also made contact with the puck and got it into the goal! So what if the goal was only ten feet away? Continue reading ›
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