US Olympic Team

[KG]

Pierre is an expert?

I'd call Pierre an expect. He might be a creepy weirdo 99% of the time, but the dude knows his stuff.

Agreed. Dude is a hockey encyclopedia....

[mikey287]

Yup, there's absolutely no question about it.

[Jim]

I watch Orpik a lot.

Irony, thy name is Orpik.

NYR goal #1: Orpik is semi out of position (not too much though) and then looks at Zuccarello as he shoots.

NYR goal #2: He gets his stick knocked out of his hands, it is not broken and only 8 feet away from him. HE LITERALLY JUST STANDS THERE WITH HIS ARMS DOWN TO HIS SIDES AND DOES NOTHING! He does not go for the stick, does not try to get position, NOTHING. He just stands there, unmoving.

Go ahead and counter, but you'll be reaching or just plain wrong.

[MRandall25]

The more you do this, the more it looks like you're going out of your way to blame him for stuff that isn't actually his fault

[Idoit40fans]

Pierre is an expert?

I'd call Pierre an expect. He might be a creepy weirdo 99% of the time, but the dude knows his stuff.

Agreed. Dude is a hockey encyclopedia....

Hes pretty worthless as far as analysis goes. It doesnt really matter what he knows when he offers nothing to broadcasts.

[mikey287]

Tough to talk really...Doc does TV like a radio guy, Edzo takes forever to make an asinine point and then Pierre just fills in dead air...when he was with one up/one down with Gord Miller or Chris Cuthbert, he could show off his knowledge a little more often...

[the wicked child]

I feel like whenever Pierre is on NBC, he is playing a role. They don't want people to show true knowledge of the game, they want personalities. Hence why they employ airbags like Roenick, Jones and Milbury.

[sniper]

I don't like Pierre's personality. He just seems like he's arrogant and always looking for a chance to tell the audience where player X is from and who his junior coach was. That's nice to know I guess, but it's not relevant to the game that's going on. He very rarely actually explains strategy or X & O's type information. Instead he seems to just pick out a guy or two who is playing and talk about them non-stop whether they are playing well or not. He seems more interested in getting Olczyk to agree with him then he is in actually adding something to the game. He's just full of himself and it makes it very difficult to like the man.

This article pretty much sums up my impression of him and confirms what I thought. He's an arrogant *******. He obviously knows and enjoys hockey, but I can't stand the man.

http://articles.courant.com/1994-05-21/ ... l-holmgren" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[llipgh2]

Pierre is an expert?

I'd call Pierre an expect. He might be a creepy weirdo 99% of the time, but the dude knows his stuff.

Agreed. Dude is a hockey encyclopedia....

Ditto. He's annoying as heck, but to say he isn't knowledgeable is totally wrong.

[Gaucho]

He's a very knowledgeable, very annoying weirdo.

[mikey287]

He very rarely actually explains strategy or X & O's type information.

That's television. Talk about Sidney Crosby and other shiny things...or talk about inconsistent gap control and retrievals...? Only people like me are interested in that kind of stuff...that's not the general audience...he's trying to get people in America interested in the game and its players...talking about a 2-1-2 swing is just going to confuse people and further complicate a complicated game...icing, offside, all the lines we have everywhere, the hardest object of play to locate, the most international influence (names)...and on top of all that, it's the fastest moving...

Re: getting Edzo to agree with him. That's not that. That's Pierre serving softballs for Edzo...Doc does it too...I think they both realize that Edzo isn't really great at what he does and is especially challenged to bring analytical insight to the table.

Pierre: "That's a play that Kristopher Letang has to make, wouldn't you say Edzo?"
[3 to 5 seconds of dead air]
Edzo: "Ya know, Pierre and all you young hockey players out there...you gotta make sure you remove your skate guards before you step out onto the ice or you may fall..."
[pause]
Doc: "Meanwhile...back at the ranch...this one is foisted along by Kunitz with six and three quarters minutes remaining..."

He's a doofus and Pierre has to hold back...so what can you do...

[Durbano]

Pierre is definitely much better on the Canadian broadcasts. Almost completely different than his NBC persona.

[Shakes]

He very rarely actually explains strategy or X & O's type information.

That's television. Talk about Sidney Crosby and other shiny things...or talk about inconsistent gap control and retrievals...? Only people like me are interested in that kind of stuff...that's not the general audience...he's trying to get people in America interested in the game and its players...talking about a 2-1-2 swing is just going to confuse people and further complicate a complicated game...icing, offside, all the lines we have everywhere, the hardest object of play to locate, the most international influence (names)...and on top of all that, it's the fastest moving...

Re: getting Edzo to agree with him. That's not that. That's Pierre serving softballs for Edzo...Doc does it too...I think they both realize that Edzo isn't really great at what he does and is especially challenged to bring analytical insight to the table.

Pierre: "That's a play that Kristopher Letang has to make, wouldn't you say Edzo?"
[3 to 5 seconds of dead air]
Edzo: "Ya know, Pierre and all you young hockey players out there...you gotta make sure you remove your skate guards before you step out onto the ice or you may fall..."
[pause]
Doc: "Meanwhile...back at the ranch...this one is foisted along by Kunitz with six and three quarters minutes remaining..."

He's a doofus and Pierre has to hold back...so what can you do...

This is hilarious, and I don't disagree with you about Edzo.

But he does this also when it's just him between the boards with Doc in the booth.

I get that he doesn't want to go too technical on US broadcasts, but he could balance it better. The stuff that drives me crazy is the constant, "So-and-so who just scored is from Hometown, USA and went to middle school here and college there, etc." I don't think even non-hardcore fans want that much player info. If we do, we've all got Wiki on our phones at a commercial or break to look that stuff up.

[mikey287]

Yeah, Pierre has a natural excitement for the game. Sometimes I even catch myself getting like that when I watch hockey with my friends...I'm more apt to toning it down though, but there's a natural excitement to share knowledge...as a result, I know some of my old roommates know some players' junior teams and what not...

If you've been watching the WJCs at all, I think Ray Ferraro has been resplendent with his commentary throughout the tournament. Total hockey lifer and it shows. Might just be the best colo(u)r commentator in North America...and he goes into a little more detail about the game and the player itself/himself...

[Shakes]

I've always liked Chicken Parm, and he's been great on the few WJC games I've watched (excited for the final).

I'll end my Pierre whining by saying he's probably just doing what he's told by NBC. Just frustrating b/c I agree he's different/better on TSN games I've seen, and I'd like to hear more of the analysis I know he can do.

I'll just keep trying to get used to hearing that X player is from Saginaw, and his family must be really proud because he showed those people from the next town over what's what.

[columbia]

I don't think that there's any question that Pierre knows his Xs and Os.
Television, newspaper columns, heck even the Hockey News aren't the appropriate place for that level of analysis.

He does his job well, regardless of whether people like his personality.

[sniper]

In watching the San Jose/Chicago game going on right now I just don't see what Pierre adds. He mentions where every player he talks about went to school or played junior hockey. Nobody cares about that. The only thing he's mentioned worthwhile was the San Jose cycle that led to their goal and the Thornton trade was somewhat worth hearing. The rest of what he's said anyone could say. Doc could do it. They don't even need Pierre.

As I'm typing this he mentioned a little bit about a play Couture made, but 90% of what he talks about isn't relevant to the game. He just talks about nothing.

[mikey287]

Yeah, like was discussed above. He's really just trying to sell the game...he's a different person than he was on TSN...

[sniper]

I guess I don't see how 90% of what he talks about, especially where players went to school or played junior hockey helps to sale the game.

To me it's the equivalent of having a guy come to your house to set up a home security system that you might also want for your business, but while he's there all he talks about is where he and the security system designer went to school. Or where else he's set up the systems and stories about those installations he found interesting, but never actually tells you how to operate the system. Maybe you find what he says interesting, but at the end of the day it's not really helping you learn how to use the security system or decide if you want to buy one for your business. It's just a bunch of useless crap.

[mikey287]

It's just a bunch of useless crap.

Welcome to Modern Media 101, please be seated.

[sniper]

It's just a bunch of useless crap.

Welcome to Modern Media 101, please be seated.

Yeah well it wouldn't bother me so much if he wasn't incredibly annoying. Although I will say he doesn't bother me nearly as much when Eddie O isn't there with him. Between his constant searching for assurance that what he just said was correct and Edzo's constant if only your stick was on the ice where it was supposed to be (you'd swear he never took his stick off the ice his entire career the way he talks) or "right.........there!!!" they are almost unbearable. Considering this is a Chicago game it's odd Eddie O isn't involved. I wish some stupid team would hire both of them, so I didn't have to hear from either of them ever again.

[tfrizz]

Olympic Hockey News ‏@OlympicHckyNews 24m
Roberto Luongo (Canada) suffered a high ankle sprain and was placed on IR. How does that affect Canada's goaltending in Sochi? More later...

Frank Krulicki ‏@krufrank 24m
Sounding more and more like Luongo will be out for 2-6 weeks with high ankle sprain. Hurting not only VAN but CND as well for Olympics

[meow]

And there is Fleury's window to make the team.

[llipgh2]

I don't want Fleury to make the Canadian team, and here's why.

Don't really know if it had anything to do with it. Probably doesn't, but...

He made the 2010 Games, and never played. Barely practiced. Since then he has had horrible playoff performances.

He's playing the best hockey in years. Don't want the Olympics to screw it up.

[meow]

Flip side of that is that if he stays home, he won't be practicing and won't be playing any games.