Post by kj79 on Oct 30, 2008 17:21:08 GMT -5
www.tsn.ca/columnists/jay_onrait/?id=254188
What's wrong with the NHL? Well, the fact that one of the best play-by-play guys in the league is now selling real estate. That's one thing.
Looking back now, two years after Curt Keilback was fired by the Phoenix Coyotes, the whole thing seems completely bizarre.
If you can offer a sports fan tradition on live broadcasts of your local team you have a great advantage in this multi-channel, multi-platform universe. Watching the Chicago White Sox is infinitely more entertaining with Hawk Harrelson calling the games with an unapologetic bias toward the home team (any time an opposing batter hits a long fly ball toward the foul pole, Hawk yells: ''Get foul, get foul!'')
Ask anyone who grew up watching baseball in the past 5 decades if they enjoy watching Vin Scully continue to call games for the Dodgers. They do. Flames fans have had Peter Mahr and Oilers fans have had Rod Phillips for many years. Those fans may have differing opinions about those broadcasters, but pretty much every fan of those teams would agree that hearing them call games makes you nostalgic for your own franchise in a good way. It's a tie to the past that reminds you why you like your team in the first place. It's like a ritual.
Listening to Curt Keilback was definitely a ritual for Winnipeg Jets fans for 17 years and then for the Coyotes for 10 years after the Jets moved to Phoenix.
His entertaining and unique play-by-play call was very popular in the Sportscentre newsroom. Someone on a Coyotes message board described it as a Horse Racing guy calling hockey which I think was meant to be an insult but is actually pretty accurate. If you ask me, it was great. Working the late shift at TSN you could often hear several TV monitors tuned to Fox Sports Arizona to hear Keilback's rat-a-tat delivery. For a franchise that has struggled to fill seats in its entire existence in the Arizona desert, Keilback and his colour guy Darren Pang were a damn good broadcast team to try and sell the game with. The broadcasts had personality. Isn't that what Sean Avery said the league needs?
Curt's parents, two sisters and a brother all lived in Phoenix. His dad had gone down to Phoenix from Winnipeg in 1971 to be the voice of the Phoenix Roadrunners of the old WHL and WHA and had stayed ever since. It seemed almost like fate intervening when Curt arrived in Phoenix with the Jets in 1996. But it wasn't like he was treated like Jets royalty when he arrived:
''I didn't get the job initially. I went down to Phoenix one day and I went to the office of the Phoenix Coyotes and I asked where the President was. I kind of barged in the door and said 'there's only one man for the job as voice of the Phoenix Coyotes and you're looking at him."
Makes you wonder why someone who had been the voice of the franchise for 17 years would have to apply for his own job.
''I don't think they had thought that far,'' said Curt. ''They had a General Manager in John Paddock but they wound up with two General Managers that year because one of the co-owners, (Richard Burke) his son was a big fan of Bobby Smith. Eventually Bobby Smith had enough power that he was able to fire John Paddock."
Keilback did become the voice of the Coyotes which also meant he became an unofficial ambassador for the sport in the desert. But the perception of the franchise over the course of their time in Phoenix hasn't changed much. Even now, with a brand-new building, they still struggle to fill the seats.
''At first they were a novelty. They got to the playoffs that first year too and lost in 7 games to Anaheim. The people got into it pretty good. But then the novelty wore off. They eventually moved to the new building but it's kind of in an obscure location as far as most of the fans are concerned. They need a winner there to attract any attention.''
In early May of 2007, soon after the Coyotes season had ended, Keilback was called to a meeting at a Starbucks with Team President Doug Moss and Vice President Doug Bucyk. The day before the meeting was to take place, he received a 9:30 p.m phone call with a change in plans. They wanted him to come to the Coyotes offices the next morning instead.
''I showed up at the office at 8:30 the next morning and I had six ideas in my pocket that I'd written out that I thought could improve the broadcast for next year. Doug Moss looked at me and said: 'We've decided not to renew your contract.'"
Keilback was obviously shocked. ''I said, 'What's the reason for it?' And he said, 'We're going in a new direction.' And I said, 'Doug, that's not a reason.' And he said, 'we're going in a different direction.'
''It was disloyal, it was disrespectful, and it was rude'.'
It also seemed like a snap decision. According to Keilback just prior to his firing he had asked Toronto-based agent Elliott Kerr to negotiate a new contract for him with the team. Kerr told Keilback that the Coyotes had told him they were ''thrilled'' by his work and were working on a new deal for him. Instead, after 27 years with the franchise, he was out of a job.
''I'll never get over it. I always felt like I was well-received by the public. It was an absolute total shock.''
Dave Strader, a talented former ESPN and Florida Panthers broadcaster replaced Keilback as the Coyotes television play-by-play voice alongside Pang. That's a play-by-play team any franchise would love to have calling their games. But getting rid of Keilback still doesn't add up. As Pang puts it: ''There is no question a voice like Curt's has a place somewhere in the NHL, it's just so powerful.''
A team like Phoenix needs to hold on to any ounce of tradition from their team or the Jets as tight as they can. When it comes to the ''Sea of White'' they continue that tradition in a great way. But dumping your play-by-play guy of 27 years? The press box at the Coyotes arena is called ''The Keilback Press box'' after Curt and his father. I'm not kidding.
There is a perception that Fox Sports Arizona, which holds to local rights to the Coyotes games, ultimately had the final say on letting Keilback go because they didn't consider him a ''TV guy''. I don't know what that means. Was Harry Carey a TV guy?
Mike ''Beats Him Like A Rented Mule'' Lange went from calling Penguins games on TV to calling them on radio a couple of years ago in another move that seemed like it was orchestrated by a TV executive that didn't understand tradition. Lange must not have been a TV guy either, but at least he's still calling the games.
But Bob Heethuis has been calling Coyotes games on radio since they arrived in Phoenix. He is apparently well-loved within the organization. It made as little sense to fire him as it did to fire Keilback. Two wrongs don't make a right, as they say.
Two years later and now back in Winnipeg working in real estate, Keilback is constantly reminded how much of an effect his work had on sports fans in that city, and how shocked those fans are that he's no longer working in the business ''In fact, my wife just came back from the grocery store now and she said she ran into someone that talked about it. I hear about it every day. Every day. And I appreciate that. Particularly in Winnipeg.''
The ultimate redemption? A struggling NHL franchise gets bought up by a wealthy hockey fan and moved back to Winnipeg, with Keilback calling the games locally to the delight of thousands of Winnipegers who understand what it means to lose a tradition. Count Keilback in if it ever happens. ''That would be a dream come true. Although with the salary cap going to $57 million dollars and the Canadian dollar going down you're back to a $70 million dollar payroll again which this city couldn't afford. When the salary cap went to $39 million after the lockout and the dollar was at par, I thought, 'Wow, they could very easily get back in'. But now that the salary cap keeps going up and up and up.
''I think there will be a day where there will be two teams in the Toronto area, and there probably will be a team in Winnipeg one day too. But how far away it is, and what the salary structure is at that time, and how many teams are in the league at that point is anybody's guess.''
Curt got his real estate license in January and has been working as a ReMax agent in Winnipeg throughout the summer: ''It's different, I'm not used to working in the summer!''
But hockey is still in his blood.
''I am going to go back into broadcasting, I've decided that. I'm a much better broadcaster than I am a salesman.''
A broadcasting colleague Keilback ran into after he got fired told him: ''Being the voice of a hockey team is like a lifetime appointment. Nobody leaves. Nobody gets fired.''
''That's what I thought too. I was going to be the voice of the Phoenix Coyotes for at least another 10 years."
So much for tradition.
I think its great to read something about Keilback now, since he's out of broadcasting. I also hopes he's gets his wish and finds job with another team. Good on Jay Onrait for writhing this piece and bringing it out nationally.
What's wrong with the NHL? Well, the fact that one of the best play-by-play guys in the league is now selling real estate. That's one thing.
Looking back now, two years after Curt Keilback was fired by the Phoenix Coyotes, the whole thing seems completely bizarre.
If you can offer a sports fan tradition on live broadcasts of your local team you have a great advantage in this multi-channel, multi-platform universe. Watching the Chicago White Sox is infinitely more entertaining with Hawk Harrelson calling the games with an unapologetic bias toward the home team (any time an opposing batter hits a long fly ball toward the foul pole, Hawk yells: ''Get foul, get foul!'')
Ask anyone who grew up watching baseball in the past 5 decades if they enjoy watching Vin Scully continue to call games for the Dodgers. They do. Flames fans have had Peter Mahr and Oilers fans have had Rod Phillips for many years. Those fans may have differing opinions about those broadcasters, but pretty much every fan of those teams would agree that hearing them call games makes you nostalgic for your own franchise in a good way. It's a tie to the past that reminds you why you like your team in the first place. It's like a ritual.
Listening to Curt Keilback was definitely a ritual for Winnipeg Jets fans for 17 years and then for the Coyotes for 10 years after the Jets moved to Phoenix.
His entertaining and unique play-by-play call was very popular in the Sportscentre newsroom. Someone on a Coyotes message board described it as a Horse Racing guy calling hockey which I think was meant to be an insult but is actually pretty accurate. If you ask me, it was great. Working the late shift at TSN you could often hear several TV monitors tuned to Fox Sports Arizona to hear Keilback's rat-a-tat delivery. For a franchise that has struggled to fill seats in its entire existence in the Arizona desert, Keilback and his colour guy Darren Pang were a damn good broadcast team to try and sell the game with. The broadcasts had personality. Isn't that what Sean Avery said the league needs?
Curt's parents, two sisters and a brother all lived in Phoenix. His dad had gone down to Phoenix from Winnipeg in 1971 to be the voice of the Phoenix Roadrunners of the old WHL and WHA and had stayed ever since. It seemed almost like fate intervening when Curt arrived in Phoenix with the Jets in 1996. But it wasn't like he was treated like Jets royalty when he arrived:
''I didn't get the job initially. I went down to Phoenix one day and I went to the office of the Phoenix Coyotes and I asked where the President was. I kind of barged in the door and said 'there's only one man for the job as voice of the Phoenix Coyotes and you're looking at him."
Makes you wonder why someone who had been the voice of the franchise for 17 years would have to apply for his own job.
''I don't think they had thought that far,'' said Curt. ''They had a General Manager in John Paddock but they wound up with two General Managers that year because one of the co-owners, (Richard Burke) his son was a big fan of Bobby Smith. Eventually Bobby Smith had enough power that he was able to fire John Paddock."
Keilback did become the voice of the Coyotes which also meant he became an unofficial ambassador for the sport in the desert. But the perception of the franchise over the course of their time in Phoenix hasn't changed much. Even now, with a brand-new building, they still struggle to fill the seats.
''At first they were a novelty. They got to the playoffs that first year too and lost in 7 games to Anaheim. The people got into it pretty good. But then the novelty wore off. They eventually moved to the new building but it's kind of in an obscure location as far as most of the fans are concerned. They need a winner there to attract any attention.''
In early May of 2007, soon after the Coyotes season had ended, Keilback was called to a meeting at a Starbucks with Team President Doug Moss and Vice President Doug Bucyk. The day before the meeting was to take place, he received a 9:30 p.m phone call with a change in plans. They wanted him to come to the Coyotes offices the next morning instead.
''I showed up at the office at 8:30 the next morning and I had six ideas in my pocket that I'd written out that I thought could improve the broadcast for next year. Doug Moss looked at me and said: 'We've decided not to renew your contract.'"
Keilback was obviously shocked. ''I said, 'What's the reason for it?' And he said, 'We're going in a new direction.' And I said, 'Doug, that's not a reason.' And he said, 'we're going in a different direction.'
''It was disloyal, it was disrespectful, and it was rude'.'
It also seemed like a snap decision. According to Keilback just prior to his firing he had asked Toronto-based agent Elliott Kerr to negotiate a new contract for him with the team. Kerr told Keilback that the Coyotes had told him they were ''thrilled'' by his work and were working on a new deal for him. Instead, after 27 years with the franchise, he was out of a job.
''I'll never get over it. I always felt like I was well-received by the public. It was an absolute total shock.''
Dave Strader, a talented former ESPN and Florida Panthers broadcaster replaced Keilback as the Coyotes television play-by-play voice alongside Pang. That's a play-by-play team any franchise would love to have calling their games. But getting rid of Keilback still doesn't add up. As Pang puts it: ''There is no question a voice like Curt's has a place somewhere in the NHL, it's just so powerful.''
A team like Phoenix needs to hold on to any ounce of tradition from their team or the Jets as tight as they can. When it comes to the ''Sea of White'' they continue that tradition in a great way. But dumping your play-by-play guy of 27 years? The press box at the Coyotes arena is called ''The Keilback Press box'' after Curt and his father. I'm not kidding.
There is a perception that Fox Sports Arizona, which holds to local rights to the Coyotes games, ultimately had the final say on letting Keilback go because they didn't consider him a ''TV guy''. I don't know what that means. Was Harry Carey a TV guy?
Mike ''Beats Him Like A Rented Mule'' Lange went from calling Penguins games on TV to calling them on radio a couple of years ago in another move that seemed like it was orchestrated by a TV executive that didn't understand tradition. Lange must not have been a TV guy either, but at least he's still calling the games.
But Bob Heethuis has been calling Coyotes games on radio since they arrived in Phoenix. He is apparently well-loved within the organization. It made as little sense to fire him as it did to fire Keilback. Two wrongs don't make a right, as they say.
Two years later and now back in Winnipeg working in real estate, Keilback is constantly reminded how much of an effect his work had on sports fans in that city, and how shocked those fans are that he's no longer working in the business ''In fact, my wife just came back from the grocery store now and she said she ran into someone that talked about it. I hear about it every day. Every day. And I appreciate that. Particularly in Winnipeg.''
The ultimate redemption? A struggling NHL franchise gets bought up by a wealthy hockey fan and moved back to Winnipeg, with Keilback calling the games locally to the delight of thousands of Winnipegers who understand what it means to lose a tradition. Count Keilback in if it ever happens. ''That would be a dream come true. Although with the salary cap going to $57 million dollars and the Canadian dollar going down you're back to a $70 million dollar payroll again which this city couldn't afford. When the salary cap went to $39 million after the lockout and the dollar was at par, I thought, 'Wow, they could very easily get back in'. But now that the salary cap keeps going up and up and up.
''I think there will be a day where there will be two teams in the Toronto area, and there probably will be a team in Winnipeg one day too. But how far away it is, and what the salary structure is at that time, and how many teams are in the league at that point is anybody's guess.''
Curt got his real estate license in January and has been working as a ReMax agent in Winnipeg throughout the summer: ''It's different, I'm not used to working in the summer!''
But hockey is still in his blood.
''I am going to go back into broadcasting, I've decided that. I'm a much better broadcaster than I am a salesman.''
A broadcasting colleague Keilback ran into after he got fired told him: ''Being the voice of a hockey team is like a lifetime appointment. Nobody leaves. Nobody gets fired.''
''That's what I thought too. I was going to be the voice of the Phoenix Coyotes for at least another 10 years."
So much for tradition.
I think its great to read something about Keilback now, since he's out of broadcasting. I also hopes he's gets his wish and finds job with another team. Good on Jay Onrait for writhing this piece and bringing it out nationally.
