NBC Sports Group Announced College Hockey TV Schedule; UMD Involved

The college hockey television landscape has grown. As previously reported, rumored, and discussed, NBC Sports Group is adding a package of college hockey broadcasts on what is now known as Versus.

That channel will become NBC Sports Network Jan. 2, the day of the NHL Winter Classic. Three days prior, on New Year's Eve, it will broadcast its first-ever college hockey game. That game, between host Notre Dame and Boston University, is the first of 16 scheduled games on the channel this season.

The press release from Versus/NBC Sports Group appears below.

The NBC Sports Group will air 16 live college hockey games this season on NBC Sports Network, including four from the Hockey East Tournament (one Quarterfinal, both Semifinals and the Final). This season’s schedule, which marks the first time that the NBC Sports Group will air college hockey games, was developed through partnerships with numerous collegiate hockey associations and universities.

The coverage begins on VERSUS, which will be rebranded as the NBC Sports Network on Jan. 2, on Saturday, December 31, when No. 4 Notre Dame hosts No. 12 Boston University at 7 p.m. ET. The remainder of this season’s schedule, which includes a game each Friday in primetime starting in January, will be seen on NBC Sports Network. The schedule culminates with live coverage of the Hockey East Tournament with a Quarterfinal game on March 9, as well as both Semifinals and the Final on March 16 and 17, 2012, respectively, from TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

“We are excited to be launching our first-ever college hockey package by building a destination on Friday nights on the NBC Sports Network with many of the preeminent brands in the sport,” said Jon Miller, President of Programming for NBC Sports Group.

Additional regular-season highlights include No. 4 Notre Dame hosting No. 3 Michigan on Jan. 20; No. 9 Yale facing Harvard on Jan. 27; and a Feb. 10 doubleheader featuring No. 1 Boston College traveling to Vermont and No. 8 Denver hosting No. 5 Minnesota.

The college hockey telecasts will be produced by the same Emmy Award-winning team that oversees all of the NHL games for the NBC Sports Group, led by Sam Flood, Executive Producer for NBC Sports and VERSUS.

The NBC Sports Group also recently announced a multi-year deal with Notre Dame to have their home games televised on the NBC Sports Network beginning with the 2013-14 season, when the school joins Hockey East.

NBC Sports Network’s College Hockey Schedule (all times ET, subject to change):

DATE GAME TIME

Saturday, Dec. 31 #12 Boston University at #4 Notre Dame 7:00 p.m. (VERSUS)
Jan. 6 Dartmouth at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 13 #14 Minnesota-Duluth at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 20 #3 Michigan at #4 Notre Dame 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27 #9 Yale at Harvard 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 3 Cornell at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 #1 Boston College at Vermont 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 #5 Minnesota at #8 Denver 10:00 p.m.
Feb. 17 Dartmouth at #9 Yale 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24 #12 Boston University at Vermont 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24 #15 North Dakota at #8 Denver 10:00 p.m.
March 2 #8 Denver at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.

Hockey East Tournament
March 9 Quarterfinals 7:30 p.m.
March 16 Semifinals 5:00 p.m. and 8 p.m.
March 17 Finals 8:00 p.m.

All rankings based off USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine 2011-12 Men’s College Hockey Poll #5 (October 31, 2011).

Of note here ...

Sam Flood, who does a wonderful job on NBC's NHL broadcasts and took over the Versus games last year when Comcast and NBC finalized their merger, is overseeing these broadcasts. This will not be small-time, public-access caliber television. This is one of the best groups you'll find in North America, and they're going to do a good job on these games.

Unlike in 2013-14, when they start doing Notre Dame home games, they are all over the map here. It's a Denver-heavy schedule when it comes to the WCHA, but UMD makes an appearance Jan. 13 at Nebraska-Omaha, and it's nice to see them doing games out of places like Houston Fieldhouse (RPI), Ingalls Rink (Yale), and Gutterson Fieldhouse (Vermont).

With the addition of this NBC Sports Network game, UMD has three road games televised this season for satellite users, with two of them on national TV. Friday's game at Denver will be on Root Sports Rocky Mountain (fed to My9 for those in Duluth who don't have satellite). The Friday night game at Wisconsin (Dec. 9) will be on Big Ten Network, too. In addition, the Feb. 10 home game with North Dakota will be on CBS Sports Network.

Hockey Day America Activities Set

More than a decade ago, CBC spawned a superb day of programming called Hockey Day in Canada.

As the Canadian network embarks on the 11th annual Hockey Day in Canada, the celebrations of this great sport have expanded.

Fox Sports North launched Hockey Day Minnesota in 2008. The now-annual tradition includes televised outdoor high-school games, a Gopher game, and a Wild game.

(As for the other Division I schools in Minnesota, well, pfft.)

This year, the geniuses at FSN scheduled their event for the same day as Hockey Day in Canada, Feb. 12.

Eight days later, NBC will, for the first time, make Hockey Day in America a nationally-televised event. As part of a press release touting a McDonalds sponsorship, the NHL detailed that day, which is scheduled for Feb. 20.

Here is the scoop.

The NHL and NBC Sports will celebrate America’s passion for hockey with the inaugural Hockey Day in America presented by McDonald’s on Sunday, February 20.

With six hours of coverage (Noon-6 p.m. ET) – which will include four NHL games – hosted from Millennium Park’s outdoor ice rink in Chicago, NBC Sports will tell the stories that demonstrate this country’s affinity for hockey – from hockey parents who chauffeur pee wees to practice before sunrise to the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships in Minnesota, played by amateurs amidst arctic temperatures, to ‘celebrity’ hockey played by actors and producers in Los Angeles to inner-city hockey in Washington, D.C. that has made a difference in the lives of countless children and young adults.

NBC Sports will broadcast four NHL games featuring eight teams from some of the most avid U.S. hockey markets. The first three games will be broadcast regionally with staggered starts. All viewers will begin the day with the same game before some viewers are taken to their regional game. The staggered starts allow for live look-ins of the other regionalized games during intermissions. The fourth game, Pittsburgh at Chicago, will be broadcast nationally. All games will be streamed live on NBCSports.com.

“Hockey Day in America” is part of “Hockey Weekend Across America.” Launched by USA Hockey in 2008, “Hockey Weekend Across America” is a nationwide initiative to celebrate the game and those involved at all levels and to expose hockey to new audiences.

NHL TV Promo Comes to Life

Earlier in the playoffs, I showed you the video of a gripping NHL promo. It showed a number of star players -- including Hall of Famer Brett Hull -- full of emotion after winning the Stanley Cup.

Effectively, the players were speechless, and the premise of the spot was that "There are no words" to describe what it's like to win the Cup.

In short, it was a super ad, wonderfully-produced and a great idea. The league got a lot of positive attention over the spot.

Wednesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. Captain Jonathan Toews was interviewed on NBC after teammate Patrick Kane scored the Cup-winning goal.



"It's like the commercial ... I'm speechless."

Never mind that it's nice to know Toews had time to watch TV during the playoffs. The league should be immensely proud of the promo. After all, it affected Toews to the point that he was able to immediately recall it after living the dream of every young hockey player.

The NHL has done a great job marketing the Stanley Cup as something truly special. For a guy who never won a Cup during his Hall of Fame career, Jeremy Roenick is the best available example of what the trophy means to those who try so hard to win it.



Scoff at him all you want, but Roenick's emotion showed a couple things. First off, that damn trophy will always have an affect on him because he never won it. Lastly, it showed how happy he was for Chicago and the Blackhawks. He got so close when he was there, and when Roenick left, things really started to go downhill.

Only now have the Blackhawks truly recovered from the abyss they were in. It's an emotional thing for their longtime fans and former greats.

JOHN MADDEN RETIRES

Something tells me this is going to end up different than the Brett Favre debacling.

Legendary NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden is hanging up the microphone. Madden is 73, and he has called some of the biggest games in NFL history, including the most recent classic Super Bowl.

From NBC:

"It’s time. I’m 73 years old. My 50th wedding anniversary is this fall. I have two great sons and their families and my five grandchildren are at an age now when they know when I’m home and, more importantly, when I’m not…

"It’s been such a great ride… the NFL has been my life for more than 40 years, it has been my passion – it still is. I appreciate all of the people who are and were such an important part of the most enjoyable, most fun anyone could have… that great life with the teams, the players, the coaches, the owners, the League… my broadcasting partners Pat and Al… the production people and the fans …is still great… it’s still fun and that’s what it makes it hard and that’s why it took me a few months to make a decision.

"I still love every part of it – the travel, the practices, the game film, the games, seeing old friends and meeting new people… but I know this is the right time."

The network is in good position, having used Cris Collinsworth in Madden's spot for one Sunday Night Football broadcast last year, and having brought in Matt Millen for studio analysis during the playoffs. Though I'd much rather have Millen call games and Collinsworth stay in the studio, doing it the other way around would be just fine.

As for Madden, it's the end (probably) of a 30-year career in broadcasting. It won't be the same without him. Did he often ramble nonsensically and confuse more than he entertained or informed? Probably. But he was the big-game broadcaster of his generation.

Growing up, there was one way of knowing your team was in the game of the week, and that was if you heard Pat Summerall and John Madden calling it.

Now, it's harder to tell what the big game of the week is, because no one in the business carries the kind of respect Madden had. Not only that, but he became a cult hero to millions of younger fans thanks to the video game.

All in all, it's been a great career for Madden, and he's certainly deserving of his Hall of Fame honors, along with any other accolades that come his way upon this announcement.

FAREWELL, CHARLIE JONES

You know what I find strange?

Charlie Jones was a tremendous broadcaster for almost 40 years. He died today at age 77. And despite the long, wonderful career he enjoyed, this is the best video I can find of Charlie Jones on YouTube.

Odd.

Farewell to another great voice from my childhood.



Jim McKay, Tim Russert, and Charlie Jones. All in one week.

I don't know how much television is done in heaven, but the quality of it just went up by an immeasurable amount.

FAREWELL, TIM RUSSERT

"Big Russ and Me" and "Wisdom Of Our Fathers" were brilliant. His work on "Meet the Press" was influential, even for those not involved in politics.

While his background was in politics, the Buffalo Bills would be remiss not to pay a tribute to Tim Russert this fall. They didn't have a bigger fan anywhere. Russert was famous for chatting guests up about his beloved Bills and Sabres, and he was also insistent on getting home after "Meet the Press" tapings, so he wouldn't miss kickoff of the Bills games.

I was struck by the statement from Senator John McCain, who will officially become the Republican nominee for President in a couple months.

"I am very saddened by Tim Russert's sudden death. Cindy and I extend our thoughts and prayers to the Russert family as they cope with this shocking loss and remember the life and legacy of a loving father, husband and the preeminent political journalist of his generation. He was truly a great American who loved his family, his friends, his Buffalo Bills, and everything about politics and America. He was just a terrific guy. I was proud to call him a friend, and in the coming days, we will pay tribute to a life whose contributions to us all will long endure."

I'm not a political expert, and I'm not a media expert. I'm simply in the media. However, I find it hard to believe that you are going to find anyone in this or any other business who is more prepared for work than Tim Russert was. From that standpoint, he will always be revered in the media business. You don't manufacture the kind of passion or work ethic he possessed. It's either there, or it isn't.

Farewell, Mr. Russert, and condolences to Big Russ, who loses his son on Father's Day weekend.