Final Thoughts- Blues 2015-2016

So..my 29th season with the Blues ended last night like all the others. Thud. But, this campaign was

WAY more fun than most. When the team is successful like this, and the fans are really into it, my job turns into an amazing combination of fan/announcer/spokesman/PR man, and I realize how overwhelmingly grateful I am for the life I live. Playing such a role for the Blues organization and game-night experience is a magnificent gift. Other thoughts-

• Looking back, I guess what bothers me quite a bit, as a part of the home-game experience, is that we lost so many playoff games at Scottrade. 
• Apr. 15- Hawks 3 Blues 2
• Apr. 21- Hawks 4 Blues 3 2OT
• May 5- Stars 3 Blues 2 OT
• May 9- Stars 3 Blues 2
• May 17- Sharks 4 Blues 0
• May 23- Sharks 6 Blues 3
• Two games in each series played at Scottrade were won by the visitors. Not saying I'm
  
  ready to take any blame, or that there is any at all, but it's strange that these guys work so hard during the regular season to get to the top of the standings to secure home ice, and then it doesn't really work to our advantage in the post-season. Better to have it than not. But it was obviously not the advantage that we were hoping for. 
• Having to deal with the salary cap means that this team will have to look much different next season. Like it or not, that's the way it is. Some players will have to get paid somewhere else. Some of the younger guys will be asked to step up into more significant roles. What that means for the face of the roster, David Backes, will be a very interesting story this off-season. 
• I'm so proud of our Scottrade/Blues presentation team. I won't name names here for fear of
  leaving someone out, but everybody was awesome. Everywhere I go people remark about how amazing the presentation was during the playoffs. And I particularly take note of comments from people who are in the sports business. All have been amazingly positive. Well done gang! 
• In my years of working for the Blues I haven't felt any better about the ownership situation than I do now. I'm so happy that we have a man like Tom Stillman leading a group of locally-connected owners. Tom is, as you likely know, totally hockey-driven. He wants to win that Cup in the worst way...or any way. And that's what's bringing many casual fans into Blues Nation.
  
  The obvious dedication to winning goes a long way with most of us who call St. Louis home. 
• I can't express adequately how awkward the ending of a hockey season is for those of us who work as part of the show and behind the scenes. We are friends, colleagues and hockey lovers who get together some 50-plus nights a season to perform important, various functions around the game. Off-ice officials, technicians, television and radio commentators, front-office folks, ice-maintenance people, in-game hosts, music performers/presenters, security staff, food service staff, and many others become like a big family by the end of the season. Then, inevitably, the Blues go on the road after a home game with the hopes of winning to continue the season. We usually say good-bye to one another not knowing if we'll see our friends again until the first pre-season game of the following season. We usually say something like..."See you next time"..."See you Friday" (hoping that we do) or something similar. This season we were lucky to have the Blues successful in two rounds of the playoffs.
  
  But, unless the Blues were to go all the way, we usually end the season at home, watching on TV, when it sets in that we won't see our hockey family again for several months. I'm not attempting to compare our emotional pain with that of the players and coaches, but it's real nonetheless. And it takes a while to get over. I continue to hope that someday soon we are able to have a post-season party for all of these people who are emotionally invested in this team that includes a parade.

Thanks for reading. LGB!!

TYMNHS-Game 2 WCF

-Let's not talk about the game. Sharks tie the series 1-1.

• There's been a lot of discussion lately about the Rally Boobs lady who sits directly behind the visiting coach. Some readers of this blog have asked me to explain what's going on. But I was beaten to the punch by columnist Aisha Sultan of the Post-Dispatch and stltoday.com. Read all about it here. 

• If you're lucky, moneyed enough, or well-connected, you may some day get to spend quality between-periods and before-and-after-game time in the Sub Zero Vodka Bar. It's high-end space that sits right next to the hallway leading from the Blues locker room to the rink. While enjoying a libation, patrons can get up-close-and-personal with the players, coaches and support personnel. I snapped a photo before the game so you
  
  could have a glimpse of what you and I are missing.
• To me, there was a surprising number of fans on hand last night wearing Sharks gear. After the game, there were quite a few capturing photos of themselves standing in front of the rink glass in the afterglow of a big win. I figured there would only be a handful of Sharks fans on hand given the distance between StL and the Bay area. But, of course, there are always fans from every major metro area who happen to live in StL and are pulling for the home boys. 
• Yes, the officials like to warm up before the game on a stationary bike; or at least have that
  
  option. 
• Once again, the buffet line in the press lounge featured a carving station. This time, delicious roast beef. 
• While in the line, I bumped into NBC broadcaster Joe Micheletti who was featured in my last post. I asked if he had read all of the "slanderous material" I wrote about him since the last game. And, to his credit, with a smile he answered.."I don't read, or participate in, any social media." Not many broadcasters can get away with that in the current mass-media climate. Good for him!
• During the pre-game skate the stand-by officials are asked to be a presence in the penalty box
  
  just in case any "monkey business" should break out. Usually this is just a precaution. But there have been a few instances in the past in which a simmering grudge was cause for combat. Last night the stand-by ref was Wes McCauley and the linesman Greg Devorski. 
• If you are following the series even halfway closely, you should be familiar with the story of Wyatt and Gerry Nelson of Saskatoon. If not, here's a link to the Post-Dispatch story of their visit to last night's game. The in-house presentation featured the Nelson's story on the
  
  videoboard and some of Wyatt's play-by-play audio. Classy move by the Blues organization and Saskatchewan native Kelly Chase, who's heart is as big as all outdoors, for bringing this hockey-fanatical dad and son to town. 
• Speaking of Saskatoon, many of us older folks remember how close the Blues were to moving there back in 1983. For you younger fans, it's an amazing story that writer Jeff Fahrenkrog compiled for stlouisgametime.com back in 2009. After you read this, we should all consider ourselves extremely lucky to even have pro hockey, and this current playoff run, to enjoy in 2016. 

More TYMNHS after Monday's Game 5. Thanks for reading.

TYMNHS-5/15/16 Game 1 Western Conference Finals

So most of the talking heads believe that the Sharks were the better team in Game 1 (Final 2-1 Blues) but didn't win the game. Well, in this corner we think that if you score more goals than the other team, you are the better team on that night. If you take the goaltenders out of the game, maybe SJ was better. But you can't do that. Moose was better than Jones. And they still play the game with goaltenders. But I would like to see the Blues control the puck a lot more in Tuesday's game. On to the Things You Might Not Have Seen on TV in Game 1.

• Joe Micheletti is probably the nicest guy in the world...or at least in the top ten.
  
  The former Blues defenseman is working the Blues-Sharks series for NBC in the booth with Kenny Albert and Brian Boucher at ice level. I got to know Joe well during his days doing radio for the Blues with the great Dan Kelly at around the same time I started doing the Blues PA announcing. I was always impressed with his genuine interest in people and their well-being. He would always ask about how my wife and kids were doing and we would discuss our families. This was at a time when he was a young family man and just starting to have kids of his own. We usually talked about "real life things" more than hockey. Every time Joe is back in town, I make an effort, or he does, to get together somewhere in Scottrade and say hello and catch up. And he always asks about my family...and I do the same of him. He is the kind of person you are lucky to know...and thrilled to see have success in broadcasting at a very high level. But I will always be jealous of the fact that he doesn't seem to age...while my hair keeps getting whiter. Joe, a Hibbing MN native, played for the legendary Herb Brooks at U of Minnesota and was named the MVP of the 1976 NCAA hockey finals. He's another outstanding broadcaster that traces his professional roots back to the Gateway City. 
• Jamie Hersch, another Minnesota native and a studio host for NHL Network, is in town for this series.
  
  When I reported to my microphone for game 1, she was doing a live shot on NHL Network in the penalty box. When she was finished, we chatted and each took a selfie. Obviously, she is quite photogenic while I still have the "face for radio". I also have an issue with holding the phone steady...sorry about the blur. 
• In my last edition, I mentioned how the press lounge food is always consistently good, but that high-end touches such as carving stations hadn't been seen
  
  since the Dave Checketts ownership days. Well...voila!! The picture illustrates my power over things with the Blues organization :) Delicious pork tenderloin being doled out at the carving station last night. Of course, I had nothing to do with this. It has much more to do with the Blues stepping up the game for the national press group covering the WC finals. And, there was a large group of out-of-town press on hand. 
• The pre-game show was tweaked a bit for this next round of the playoffs. Another outstanding presentation by our group
  
  of professionals. This shot of the rink was taken during the pre-game rehearsal which is standard for the playoffs at around 2-1/2 hours before game time. 
• The back-up officials for last night's game were referee Francis Charron and linesman Jonny Murray. So two of the best were once again ready if needed. 
• In earlier days, Blues fans loved to hate Mike Ricci, a former agitator for the Sharks. I noticed on the game notes that he continues to be employed by the Bay-area fish in a player-development job. Talk about a face for radio. I think he's got
  
  me beat. 
• The crowd was very supportive and loud at all the right times last night. I was a bit worried about this going in because some of the 300-level fans sometimes have a difficult time affording playoff tickets. But last night's crowd was in it from the start and gave the team the home-ice advantage they needed. 

Thanks for reading. I'll have another edition after game 2.

TYMNHS- Game 6 - 5/9/16

Things You Might Not Have Seen on the tube. Well... The crowd of 19,808 was into it. The game entertainment crew (pic to the right) was hitting on all cylinders. Everything was perfect for a clincher...but...a bad stretch in the first period sends the series back to Dallas for Game 7 tomorrow night. Final..3-2 Stars.

• The production crew has a meeting, usually about 2-1/2 hours before each game. Director of Entertainment Jason Pippi (that's him peaking into the picture from the right) goes over the script and timing of events for that night's game. Senior Director of Event Presentation Chris Frome makes sure all of the technical necessities are in order. All of the "players" are in attendance...Yours truly, In-game host Angella Sharpe, Organist Jeremy Boyer, Music Coordinator Carl Middleman and, as you can see, many others totally adept at what they do. (The photo doesn't include several other key people) Camera operators, technical directors, scoreboard and matrix board operators, and, for the playoffs, our visiting crew of on-ice projection folks, are all involved. We discuss any new and different elements in detail. Much preparation, production, creativity, and thought goes into each element of the game. That's why Scottrade Center's presentation has been judged one of the tops in sports. 
• I first met Trevor Nickerson when he was a teenager and working as a production
  
  assistant for the late Joe May who was operating a company that produced numerous high school sports broadcasts in the Metro-East. Trevor, obviously a talented and thoughtful young man, quickly established himself as a valuable person on the technical and production side of the broadcasting business. I don't have his complete resume' to work with, but he eventually worked his way into a broadcast engineer vital to the CBS Radio operations in St. Louis. (KMOX/Y-98/KEZK). In the recent past he accepted the position of Producer/Editor for the Blues. He will engineer the radio broadcasts of the games, home and away. And he performs many other important, but usually unseen, broadcasting and production tasks for the team. Here he is getting ready in the KMOX booth, where he works with Chris Kerber and Kelly Chase, for last night's broadcast. 
• I'm often asked about the pre-game meal at Scottrade. Usually 2 hours before game time, the
  
  press lounge buffet line becomes active. Most employees of the team are provided with coupons for a free meal. Members of the press and other credentialed personnel are provided a meal at a highly-reasonable $7. As to how the quality of the food compares to that offered elsewhere, I can't comment. But I keep hearing that Chicago offers a stellar feed. During the Dave Checketts ownership, food started out at barely edible (a carryover from the Bill Laurie days) to occasionally spectacular with carving stations and other high-end offerings that you would only find in a top restaurant. The menu these days is not nearly so spectacular...but very good on a consistent basis with few complaints being heard.  
• Winning The Hardware...the in-house feature added for the playoffs spotlighted the great Hall-of-Famer Brett Hull at last night's game. We all remember his 86-goal season and the Stanley
  
  Cup-winning goal he scored while with the Stars. We all also should remember that his spectacular offensive shows brought fans back to the Blues and made it possible for the franchise to transition from almost moving to Saskatoon in the mid-80's...to it becoming possible to build a new arena downtown in the early 90's which would house pro hockey in StL for many years. His contribution to our enjoyment of the sport in the Heartland of Hockey can never be over-estimated. After I read the summary of his career on the PA system, in-house video cut to a shot of Hullie in one of the management suites. By then the Blues were down 3-0 and he had an understandable look of total disappointment for the video board. Hopefully, the boys will remember their knack for winning on the road at American Airlines Center tomorrow night. 
• Poor John Kelly and Darren Pang. Their first-intermission, in-house report for the crowd last
  
  night had to be a severe challenge. With the team down 3-0 at the time and everybody wondering what the hell had happened, the guys did a great job of analyzing the situation and also keeping things as positive as possible. 
• Two of the best, referee Brad Watson and linesman Greg Devorski were the back-up officials for last night's game. 
• In my last post, I complained about the energy level in the crowd at last Thursday's game that Dallas won in overtime. I couldn't understand how so many people could be so quiet and uninvolved for a playoff game. Well, as I said at the top, the crowd was into it last night in a big way. Lots of energy at the start...and until Dallas went up 3-0. But as the Blues crept back into the game the crowd was really great. Way to go Blues fans! The loss had nothing to do with atmosphere in the building. 
• I'll have another of these after we play game 1 of the Conference finals. Thanks for reading. 

TYMNHS Game 4- 5/5/16

-Stars win on an overtime goal 3-2. Take back home ice advantage, tying series at 2-2. Some things you might have missed if you weren't in the building...

• Started hearing the Tara-senko-de-Mayo references on TV Thursday morning. Signs were all over the Scottrade Center having fun with the play on Vladimir Tarasenko's name. It looked like Vladdie was in the mood to celebrate the new Blues holiday when he scored on the breakaway early. But his next glorious opportunity rang off the outside of the post...and things started getting away from the Blues, and the fans, after that. 
• Following up on that, I wasn't the only one working the game who thought last night's
  
  gathering of just under 20-thousand was one of the worst crowds ever for an important playoff game. There seemed to be little energy or crowd noise generated by the gathering except when the Blues scored. I can't imagine why anyone would have been hesitant to make a racket at last night's game, but there was a noticeable reluctance to make playoff-type noise on their own. Thursday night? Expecting bad things to happen? Over-confident after Tuesday's blow-out win? Not as fired up about playing Dallas as Chicago? Not enough beer in their bellies? One thing is for sure, Entertainment Director Jason Pippi and the crew did everything possible to stir up the group, but there were long stretches of uneasy quiet during this one. The Blues are taking a run at the Stanley Cup people. Make some damn noise for crying out loud!
• If the Blues had won, Alex Pietrangelo was going to be announced as the first star of the game.
  
  Game winning goal-scorer would have been second star. Brian Elliott third. 
• Starting with Tuesday night's game, TV voice of the Blues John Kelly and analyst Darren Pang are doing an intermission report that appears only on the videoboard inside Scottrade. They analyze each period and show highlights provided by Video Production Manager Eric Siders, Director of Event Presentation Chris Frome and the outstanding audio/video crew at Scottrade. It's a welcome addition to the in-arena experience for the playoffs. Especially since the national TV contract
  
  with NBC takes JK and Panger out of their usual duties. 
• Winning The Hardware...the new in-game feature that points up the award-winning Blues stars of the past, highlighted amazing goaltender from the early days of the franchise...Glenn Hall. Mr. Goalie won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top netminder three times during his long career. His remarkable play for the Blues vs. the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup playoffs of 1968 earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the
  
  playoffs; an award that rarely goes to a player from the losing team. 
• I mentioned in the report after Tuesday's game that, from my seat in the penalty box, Stars captain Jamie Benn looked frustrated and possibly resigned to losing after the Blues got their big lead in Game 3. I also mentioned that I thought he and his teammates would come back strong for Game 4. It might have been different if the Blues could have converted some of their scoring chances in the first period, but give the Stars credit for not throwing in the towel early and coming back strong to win. 
• Cardinals players on hand for the game and shown on the video board-- Yadier Molina, Matt Holliday, Jhonny Peralta, Carlos Martinez. 
• In case you hadn't heard, Game 6 will be at Scottrade Monday night. And, thankfully, it will start at 7pm. 

TYMNHS-5/3/16

-After a very welcome 6-1 Blues clobbering of the Stars last night at Scottrade, here comes another set of Things You Might Not Have Seen on the TV version of the game. As reported from my perspective as PA announcer. (Obviously, from what I read, some of you didn't see all of the game on TV either because of the overtime in the Tampa/Islanders game shown on NBCSN.)

• I happened to run into Blues lead owner Tom Stillman in the hallway near the Blues locker
  
  room after the game. The exchange went something like- 
• TC-"Wow, you don't see a game like that very often in the playoffs. That was fun."
• TS-"Right...that was great. Now we have to bring it again on Thursday."
• TC-"Yes...the boys seemed really focused tonight."
• TS-"Let's keep it up." -- Mr. Stillman was obviously pleased as he was wearing that big smile of his. But also obviously not taking anything for granted going forward. Smart. 
• Before the fight near the end of the game, Ryan Reaves and Stars forward Vernon Fiddler
  
  were in the penalty box for a little while in the middle of the second period after a little scrum. By then the score was already 4-1 Blues. And many of us near the ice sensed that things could get "chippy" before the game was over. Not sure if these guys have had a running feud, but it sure seemed like it from the "way back" references they were making in a verbal battle in the penalty box. They were yapping like crazy the whole 2 minutes they were in the box...and none of us in there had any idea what they were talking about. I heard a few references such as--fantasy camp, diapers, and stick boy that made no sense to me. I think each was trying to be louder than the other through most of it. 
• As compared to the Chicago series in Round 1, there was practically no visible media presence from the Dallas market on hand for last night's game. The media lounge for the pre-game meal was noticeably "uncrowded". Oh, I'm sure there were the usual beat writers and local market radio guys. But as for Dallas TV stations...I couldn't see any. There were Chicago TV people crawling all over the place during the previous series. I know the TV ratings for Stars games in that market haven't been great...and not anywhere close to Blues games in the St. Louis market. 
• The talented in-game host Angella Sharpe was featured prominently on local television
  
  Tuesday morning helping to promote last night's game. A task that would require her to be out of bed VERY early. I asked her in our pre-game production meeting if she got a nap before the game. She says she did...but only because of  the late start. If she pulls the same duty tomorrow, she won't be able to "rest up" for her energy-packed evening. (7pm start Thursday). 
• One of our in-game features Tuesday night was Winning the Hardware...a short script read by me...and a video montage designed to spotlight Blues award
  
  winners of the past and point out the rich history of players who have worn The Note. Last night's featured player was the big defenseman who just became a Hall-of-Famer, Chris Pronger. The script pointed out the fantastic '99-2000 season in which he won both the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman, and the Hart Trophy as league MVP. Prongs was in the building last night, but chose to decline the opportunity to appear on the video board to receive an ovation after the presentation. A great, and still humble, Blues player of the recent past.
• Tony X--(in real life Anthony Holmes) a Twitter sensation locally, and nationally, with his
  
  tweets about finding hockey to be exciting on TV during the Blackhawks series, was a guest of the Blues at last night's game. He was shown on the video board a few times. And, once again displaying the power of social media, was cheered loudly by the crowd. Things have definitely changed in a big way since I got into this mass-media thing. 
• Being up close, I like to watch the facial expressions of key players to get a read on their mood when I have some time between announcements. Last night, after the Blues took the lead, I decided to keep an eye on Stars captain Jamie Benn. The disappointment, frustration, (and it's entirely possible I could be reading more into this one
  
  than is there) resignation, he displayed was apparent to me. I'm quite sure he and his team will come out refreshed and ready on Thursday. 

I'll have another edition of TYMNHS after Game 4. Thanks for reading.