Colorado Springs' KOAA-NBC heard from "more than 100 disgruntled hockey devotees" after the station moved Game 1 of the Bruins-Blackhawks Stanley Cup Final "to an alternate channel while choosing to cover the Black Forest fire" Wednesday night, according to David Ramsey of the Colorado Springs GAZETTE. KOAA News Dir David Randall in an e-mail wrote, "With nearly 40,000 people in Colorado Springs unable to return to their homes and thousands threatened at the time, I made the decision that I believe best served the community." But Ramsey noted KOAA could have "made a more considerate, sensible choice, one that served the information needs of all of us interested in the fire -- one of the biggest local news stories of this decade -- along with the desires of those of us who love hockey." KRDO-ABC during coverage of Game 4 of the Heat-Spurs NBA Finals Thursday night "provided constantly updated, detailed information about the fire in text at the bottom of [the] screen." The station also had "live fire coverage" during halftime (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 6/16).
DREADED GLITCH AWARD: Ratings for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final will not be available until later today, but in Chicago, Francine Knowles reported equipment failure was "blamed for temporarily knocking out the signal," preventing Comcast viewers "from watching the game in high definition" for 25 minutes. Comcast Corporate Communications Regional Dir Angelynne Amores in an e-mail wrote, "A piece of equipment that receives HD signals from broadcasters and transmits them to customers went down for a short period of time" (SUNTIMES.com, 6/16).
EASY FOR NON-HOCKEY FANS TO FOLLOW: In Denver, Dusty Saunders writes the expertise of NBC announcers Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk makes it "easy for relatively uneducated viewers to understand what's happening" during the Stanley Cup Final. The duo also "does not neglect the game's finer points -- much to the joy of devotees who know all about the Original Six" (DENVER POST, 6/17). In Tampa, Tom Jones notes there are rumors that Olczyk and ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy could "put their microphones down to return to coaching." Rumors have "died down a bit about Van Gundy," but many believe Olczyk "will soon go back to coaching or, perhaps, get involved in the front office." NBC's Pierre McGuire also has "interviewed for several front-office openings in recent years." Jones: "Enjoy these three while you can because who knows how much longer they will be calling games" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 6/17).
KEEPING THINGS PG: In Illinois, Tim Sassone reports there were "frank 'discussions'" in the Bruins' dressing room after the first period of Game 1 in which they were outshot 19-4 but trailed just 1-0. Bruins RW Tyler Seguin was "wearing a microphone for the game but made sure he hid it between the first and second periods." He said of the locker-room talks, "I definitely knew it was coming, so I threw my shoulder pads in the training room and put a towel over it so no one could hear what we were saying. I think we needed that team wake-up call" (Illinois DAILY HERALD, 6/17).
