I wouldn’t go so far as to call the broadcast of the Patriots’ preseason opener Thursday night bad.
Devin and Jason McCourty are always welcome, informative presences, whether at their respective national gigs or getting on-air reps with the Patriots.
Paul Perillo and broadcasting novice Brian Hoyer (who is dabbling in media but not officially retired from football) had an easy rapport in the studio.
It wasn’t bad. But it was . . . chaotic.
And even with Kraft Sports Productions executive producer Matt Smith and the Patriots’ production team’s understandable desire to try things during the preseason, when they get to produce the local broadcasts on Ch. 4, I believe it ultimately proved that a play-by-play voice is necessary, even during mostly meaningless preseason games.
There has been a trend in recent years of attempting to turn conventional game broadcasts — across assorted sports, not just football — into conversation-driven broadcasts.
The intent is capturing the ol’-buddies-chatting-about-the-game vibe. But that’s hard to pull off. It’s rare when what is supposed to sound casual doesn’t come across as forced camaraderie in such scenarios.
WEEI tried to lean in that direction during Red Sox games in 2019, a ridiculous approach on a radio broadcast, and a concept that ended up wherever terrible sports radio ideas go to die. (Presumably a very big graveyard.)
NBC Sports Boston occasionally tried this conversational approach when Brian Scalabrine would take the lead role on Celtics broadcasts in Mike Gorman’s absence. (Scal would sometimes go into play-by-play mode, out of habit or perhaps obligation. Not his strong suit.)
And the popularity of the “ManningCast” to accompany the conventional “Monday Night Football” telecast on ESPN has led to various copycats.
Zolak and the McCourty brothers had chemistry, but there were too many voices when the studio duo was brought into the conversation, and often they would talk over the referee as he was explaining a penalty.
Bruins’ radio job a coveted gig
With Judd Sirott moving over from the Bruins’ radio booth after seven seasons to become Jack Edwards’s successor as the team’s NESN play-by-play voice, 98.5 The Sports Hub suddenly has a vacancy.
The Bruins open the season Oct. 8 on the road against the Panthers. That gives parent company Beasley Media and The Sports Hub roughly two months to find the right fit in the booth alongside longtime analyst Bob Beers.
That’s actually a decent amount of time. When Sirott was hired in 2017, the announcement was made Oct. 4. That was approximately two months after the excellent Dave Goucher, who had been the Bruins’ radio voice for 17 years, left for the Vegas Golden Knights’ television job.
Sports Hub program director Rick Radzik said Thursday there will be a wide-ranging search, which is standard protocol with a coveted play-by-play opening.
Radzik has been through these sorts of searches many times, with a superb track record. He produced Bruins radio broadcasts for more than 14 years, beginning in 1991. Among those he auditioned through the years were Goucher, Sirott, Beers, the late, great Bob Neumeier, Barry Pederson, and Andy Brickley.
When the Bruins’ radio job opened up in 2017, The Sports Hub received more than 200 applicants. It will spark similar interest this time, though it should be noted that The Sports Hub has a terrific candidate in-house in Ryan Johnston.
Johnston, a weekend and fill-in host, has an extensive background of hockey play-by-play, including some Bruins fill-in work. He would be a worthy choice, and judging by how many times his name came up in my e-mail and social media interactions after the Sirott news broke, he has a very high approval rating with Bruins fans.
Among those Sirott beat out for the NESN Bruins job was Tyler Murray, who has been calling some Red Sox games on WEEI this year and has a college and minor league hockey broadcasting background. Edmonton Oilers play-by-play voice Jack Michaels was among the broadcasters from other markets who auditioned for NESN.
