Mention ice to many sports fans this time of year, and they think of gin, vodka and tonic water.
But hockey is making news — and not all of it positive.
In an unexplained move, veteran Norm Jones is out as radio voice of the Avalanche, meaning Marc Moser will do play-by-play and color on Mile High Sports Radio (1510 AM) during the coming season.
Altitude spokeswoman Lauren Boyers confirmed the decision to dump Jones but was unable to explain the reason for the move, which some believe is a cost-cutting measure.
“None of our (Altitude) executives was available for comment Friday,” Boyers said, adding that Jones is expected to stay with the Altitude organization in some capacity.
Jones, a 1956 graduate of the University of Denver, has been on the local hockey scene for more than 35 years, covering DU, the original Colorado Rockies hockey team and the Avalanche.
And local fans with long memories will recall Jones was the play-by-play voice of the Denver Zephyrs in Triple-A ball before the baseball Rockies arrived on the scene.
Jones, underappreciated by the media, has had a solid broadcasting career. His talent seemingly is also underappreciated by Altitude executives.
Meanwhile, Altitude has found time to announce that all Avalanche and Nuggets games will be produced in high definition in the coming season.
Also, most of the teams’ games to be aired in a 10-state area on cable and satellite services will feature HD.
Easy prediction.
Sunday night’s Broncos-Bears clash at Invesco Field at Mile High should have the largest preseason audience in Denver history. The reason is obvious: Orton vs. Cutler. Both quarterbacks are expected to have lengthy playing time.
And because NBC is broadcasting the game, the national tune-in response should be above average for an “exhibition contest.”
Broadcasting names.
NBC’s Tony Dungy could be the most interesting of all the new football “experts” working for the networks this fall.
The retired Colts coach, who is also advising Michael Vick, often presents a thoughtful demeanor — a change from the quick, shoot-from-the-hip style of many former coaches and players. . . . Former Broncos safety John Lynch will be a season-long resident in Fox’s NFL broadcasting booth this season, teaming with Ron Pitts. . . . Jemele Hill, the controversial ESPN magazine writer who also shows up on the network’s talk shows, advocated on ESPN2 last week that Packers fans should throw batteries at Brett Favre when he returns to Green Bay on Nov. 1. ESPN producers were anything but happy with her comments, according to a report on Sports Media Watch.
New contract.
NBC again will air several NHL contests next season and at least five Stanley Cup Finals games under another revenue-sharing agreement with the league.
Coverage begins Jan. 1 with another outdoor “Winter Classic” event, this time featuring the Philadelphia Flyers taking on the Bruins at Fenway Park in Boston.
NBC proudly points out that Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in June had the largest network hockey audience in 36 years.
Under revenue sharing, NBC doesn’t pay the NHL a rights fee. The two share in revenues — or financial losses — after expenses are paid.
Bottom-line financial information has not been released.
Versus remains the NHL’s national cable outlet.
Down memory lane.
ESPN’s recent appointment of Don Ohlmeyer as the network’s ombudsman sparked many memories and sent me scurrying to one of my favorite sports books, “Monday Night Mayhem: The Inside Story of ABC’s Monday Night Football,” by Bill Carter and Marc Gunther.
One segment deals with Ohlmeyer, the series’ first and most harried producer, and the events of Oct. 9, 1973, when “MNF” first came to Denver.
“Dandy” Don Meredith, celebrating a bit too much before game time, greeted his national audience by yelling: “Welcome to the Mile High City — and I really am.”
Ohlmeyer recalled that he all but jumped through the roof of the production truck while ordering Frank Gifford to yank the microphone away from Meredith.
Ohlmeyer’s order was laced with more than a few profanities.
Ohlmeyer, of course, was one of the major movers and shakers in sports and entertainment television for 35 years. He came out of retirement to take the position of ESPN’s “in-house” critic — a job not nearly as exciting as his “MNF” career.
Longtime Denver journalist Dusty Saunders writes about sports media each Monday in The Denver Post. Reach him at tvtime@comcast.net.
