Brian Engblom Had Quite The Unfortunate Slip Of The Tongue

Yes, you heard correct. Brian Engblom called Jiri Hudler, "Hitler" by mistake. And yes, he did this on April 20, Hitler's birthday. I always enjoy hearing new and creative slips of the tongue, and this one certainly fits that billing. Well done, Brian Engblom. Well done.

Lance Armstrong Is A Bit Miffed At Versus

Cycling is a sport too! Just ask Lance Armstrong, who was rather angry last night at Versus contractual obligation to cut off off last night when Versus cut away from the last mile of the Tour of California in order to show hockey "pre-game."

Last night, Armstrong tweeted: "Who's the dumbass @versustv that cut off @AmgenTourofCali coverage w/ a mile to go for pregame hockey?? #pathetic"

Now it is important to note that they encouraged all their viewers to go on their website to watch the end of the race, and they did stress this multiple times over a period of 10 minutes, so viewers could be prepared. And while I certainly sympathize for the 5 people that were actually watching that that could not see it on their computer for whatever reason, Versus does have contract obligations to switch to hockey at 7:00. In fact, in an irony, before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Versus ran overtime with the cycling race, showing post-race interviews, leaving Flyers fans fuming with a crawl saying that coverage of the game coming up next and no sign to when cycling would end. The cycling race did end before the puck drop and no one missed anything, but Versus surely got a lot of hate mail from hockey fans, and naturally, since the NHL is Versus' most precious commodity, they have started taken those contract obligations more seriously now.

Per Travis Hughes of SB Nation, there is potential for another overrun before tomorrow's Flyers-Habs Game 3 and it will be interesting to see how Versus handles the potential of another overrun. Do they stick with the contract, or will a network whose initial main draw was cycling and showing Lance Armstrong win his Tour de Frances go back to their roots and leave hockey fans in the dark? If that is the case, expect me to make some slight alterations to Lance Armstrong's tweet.

Henrik Zetterberg And Pavel Datsyuk Have Tremendous What, Andy Brickley?

It may not be Sarge discussing jerking off balls or Wheels rocking around the cock tonight, but on Tuesday night, Andy Brickley gave the world an interesting humdinger on Versus that revealed a little too much information about Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.



Now that's the kind of insight that you don't get everyday! The Phoenix Coyotes better have been on their toes that game, for otherwise Zetterberk and Datsyuk would have unleashed beasts on each other the likes of which have never been seen before in an NHL rink. Good times at Versus......goooooooooooood times!

OMGWTF, Joe Beninati!

I don't think I have ever laughed out loud before as one of the hockey teams that I hate the most score what would turn out to be a game winning, series clinching goal, but that's exactly what happened tonight. Not only was this goal so soft that my grandmother could easily made the save even had her legs for some odd reason been shackled together, but when Daryl Reaugh used the phrase "OMG" to describe his disbelief at what he just saw, Joe Beninati was rather perplexed. Prepare for lolz.



ROTFLMAO!!!

I wonder what would have happened had Reaugh said "WTF" instead? Beninati may have ended up topping Eck from Friday night! And in the process may have gotten himself fired! Wait a minute!!!! Damn!!!! If only Reaugh had said, "WTF", this would have been the greatest day in NHL history!!!!!

Oh, and some advice to Beninati, please, do us all a favor, make a friend with someone who is under 30. He or she will help you a lot in life. Really.

Versus Could End Up Airing The End Of The Stanley Cup Finals

So I was reading a Press Release over at Puck The Media today that highlighted Versus' highest ever 1st round ratings ever and their schedule and coverage for the next round. Nothing really earth shattering, to say the least. Hockey's ratings have been growing slowly but surely and with the tremendous excitement that came with this year's first round, it was bound to happen. However, something unrelated in that press release caught my eye that I think is worth sharing with you. (Click the Puck The Media link up top for more)

VERSUS’ 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage will culminate with games three and four of the Stanley Cup Final. This is a change from the past three seasons as VERSUS previously aired games one and two of the Final. NBC will broadcast games one and two of the Final as well as games five, six and seven, if necessary.

Wait a minute? Versus could end up airing the Stanley Cup winner if the series is a sweep????? While I am all in for putting games 1 and 2 on NBC as I think that that is a very good idea (get viewer interest on a network before moving it to cable), I would be hesitant to put the potential championship deciding game on a cable network. If Versus has to have 2 games of the Stanley Cup Finals, I would make it Games 2 and 3, that way you have the pre-exposure on the national level, and you are not jeopardizing your championship to be handed out on a cable network.

Versus Might Want To Think About An Apology For Showing This...

I'm not even going to comment on this....



Like I said above, no comment.

The UFL Has Actually Found A Cable TV Home!

I did not think I would live to see the day, but the United Football League (a.k.a. the UFL) has gotten a home on cable TV. Guess where? They're on Versus! Well, it is where the NHL went to die get a broadcast deal to bring back interest into the sport! From Awful Announcing via UFL PR

The United Football League announced that VERSUS, a national sports network in more than 75 million homes, will air the League’s “Premiere” season beginning in October 2009. VERSUS will air live weekly games beginning on Thursday, October 8, and continuing through the Championship Game scheduled to air Thanksgiving weekend. Each live telecast will be approximately three hours and all games will be produced and available in HD. The complete schedule will be announced this summer.

In its “Premiere” year, the UFL will host teams in Las Vegas, New York, Orlando and San Francisco. There are also plans to play additional games in Hartford and Los Angeles. The season will conclude with a Championship Game tentatively scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, the UFL will announce its four coaches at a press conference in San Francisco. League officials are in final negotiations with various stadiums and these agreements will be announced as they are completed.

“We are excited to be the television home of the UFL in its “Premiere” season,” said Marc Fein, Executive Vice President of Programming, Production and Business Operations for VERSUS. “The UFL has put together a great management team and sound plan and we are looking forward to the opportunity to expose these games to a national audience each week.”

So let's see, you are going to have a 4-team league at the same time the NFL and college football are on, show it on one of the more obscure sports networks, and you are going to hope to succeed? Oh man, this has comedby show written all over it!