Update (7:41 PM): I should be a little more specific: along with the camerawork issues, I felt that the pacing of the Competition was not tailored for a TV audience. CBC (and, I assume, Versus) had hardly any time to show a replay or conduct an interview before the next player was going. When you watch a game, you know it’s paced for TV, but that just was not the case last night.
If you think the Competition is more for the fans in the arena, then this isn’t a problem. If, however, it’s for fans watching on TV, it should matter and it’s something the League should look at next time if they’re set on broadcasting the thing.
Also, Brian has left a great comment on the breakaway challeneg below. - Matt
Because I’m home and so rarely get the chance to watch HNIC, I watched the Competition mostly on CBC last night. I did switch over to Versus on occasion and saw that they were using the same footage for everything except ice-level interviews.
In doing so, I noticed something: the SuperSkills Competition does not translate well to TV, whether it’s the experienced hockey people at CBC/HNIC or the new kids on the block at Versus. It was especially noticeable in the relay event as the camera cuts made following along difficult. The audio competition between the TV guys and the arena announcer got a little old as well.
Keep in mind that I’m talking about CBC here. Those who love to berate Versus should be reminded that both stations used the same camera work.
There were entertaining moments, to be sure. I just think that the Competition worked better as a form of entertainment for the fans in Atlanta than for the fans watching on TV. I don’t know, maybe they could try the traditional wide angle shot of the rink rather than having a guy on skates with a camera shooting from behind the players.
Or they could just not show the Competition on TV.
I’ll be heading back to school this afternoon and have a fair amount of homework, but I plan on watching the Game (on Versus - no CBC in West Michigan) if I can.
Some comments on the much-awaited Breakaway Challenge:
Basketball players practice dunking once they make their first slam dunk. I’m not convinced that NHLers spend as much time on doing trick shots and that could be part of why it didn’t translate well.
Also, the goaltenders missed the point of the event and were coming way out of the net and poke-checking the puck away during what was supposed to be a showcase of the shooters. It was very strange to watch. Does the NBA have defenders guarding the basket during their dunk contest, rejecting attempts? And what was the point of having a goaltender in net if Ovechkin’s whiffing on a baseball-style shot and not scoring a goal got the biggest scores? If scoring the goals doesn’t matter, then why have a goaltender in there? And some of the shooters missed the point of the event by doing conventional moves - the crowd booed them and again it was very strange and awkward to watch.
I also thought it was embarrassing for the league when, in between Breakaway Challenge attempts, Versus showed a 9-year-old kid scoring on a spinorama lacrosse-style goal. And then they cut back to the Skills Competition, and Martin St. Louis can’t deliver on the very same move. And he wasn’t event close, either. I was expecting Datsyuk to do something special but he really crapped out.
Matt, I agree about the relay event. The camera work was really sloppy and I didn’t understand why it’s a goaltender skill to shoot on an empty net. I’d rather see the goalies change out of their goaltender equipment and try scoring on each other or something, if they’re looking for a spectacle.
I like the accuracy competition, but maybe they could expand the number of targets or have the players skating around pylons as they shoot. Rarely does a player stand between the circles and line up a shot. The hardest shot competition is still my favorite.
I’d like to add that if any player understood the point of the night and rose to the occasion, it was Ovechkin. He played to the crowd very well and did his best to salvage the Breakaway Challenge.
Also, Manny Legace had some great quotes when they had him mic’d up, though some of the self-deprecating “I got lucky” lines got old (not a surprise with Manny). He did a good job of joking around though and it reminded me of what a Brett Hull or Jeremy Roenick would be like during an All Star Game if they were mic’d up.
The cameras CBC used were new this year. In previous years, they always showed the majority of the events from the same vantage points they use for regular games. I didn’t really like following the breakaways/shootouts from behind the players - it made them hard to follow sometimes and see what they were doing.