In St. Louis, Dan Caesar writes a lot of people have been "blown away" by Blues radio play-by-play man Chris Kerber's "gracious gesture of turning his seat over" to Blues TV announcer John Kelly for the second period of the broadcasts for Stanley Cup Final games. Kelly, who does play-by-play for FS Midwest, is "shut out of that role now because NBC has exclusive TV rights." Kerber said the decision to step aside for Kelly "was a no brainer." Kerber: "We travel with this group, we see each other every day. ... That's more than a lot of families do. I just felt like it was the right thing to do" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/31).
GOLD STANDARD: In Boston, Chad Finn writes NBC's Mike Emrick "calls perhaps the fastest-paced sport with nary a tangle of the tongue." He is "all graceful play-by-play and articulate anecdotes." He once was "counted using 153 different verbs to describe a pass." Emrick said, "I don't sit up there and try to make up words. It's not conspiratorial. I just see what I see and it translates to the moment." He added, "Be prepared for the moment, especially if there's something important you want to say and don't want to risk not having it quite right" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/31).
IN HIS ELEMENT: In Chicago, Jeff Agrest notes former NHLer Patrick Sharp's "rapid rise in the ranks" of NBC's NHL analysts has him already "playing a big role on the network's coverage" of the Stanley Cup Final. He "looks in his element on the set, and he speaks with the authority, and without the immodesty" of having won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks. Sharp was "on a short list of current or recent players who the league thought could add personality and expertise to the broadcasts" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 5/31).
