Sabres play-by-play announcer Rick Jeanneret was "forced to call" last night's Kings-Sabres game from the benches because "a First Niagara Center elevator was broken," according to Greg Wyshynski of YAHOO SPORTS. Jeanneret during the broadcast said, "This all started out as a lark. The elevator that services the press box was broken down when I arrived at the building this afternoon, around 2:30. So I said, 'Well OK, we’ll just do it between the benches with Rob Ray.' At the moment that I said it, I was kidding. Well, not anymore." Jeanneret was "sporting a helmet and face shield courtesy of the Sabres equipment staff, adorned with 'RJ' on the lid." It is "not exactly the easiest place to watch a game for an announcer, especially since it was Jeanneret’s first time in that spot" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/12). CBSSPORTS.com's Brian Stubits noted Kings C Jordan Nolan "nearly crushed Jeanneret in between the benches after a check." Jeanneret has been calling Sabres games since '71-72 and is "the longest-tenured play-by-play man in NHL history." But he probably "didn't call many games like the one he saw on Tuesday night" (CBSSPORTS.com, 11/12). ESPN's Barry Melrose said of the broadcasters being between the benches, "They're right in the middle of all the action ... and that is just another thing the great Rick Jeanneret has done in the NHL -- call a game with a helmet on beside the ice. Awesome!" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 11/12).
