SAN JOSE, CA
12-18-'09
12: 34 AM PST
Rarely has yours truly looked forward to covering a freaking hockey game, high up in the catwalks of the HP Pavilion in downtown San Jose, only this time it would be different. Far-out freakin' different.
I'm more an NBA/NFL, college football sorta-guy, but I've managed to get unexpectedly hooked, (no pun) to the San Jose Sharks for a variety of reasons, but the biggie for me, is their dynamic broadcast trifecta of Randy Hahn, Drew Remenda and Dan Rusanowsky.
Along with Ted Robinson, Greg Papa, and Jon Miller, the Sharks brilliant broadcast contingent are some of the best tonsils in town, not to mention the fact that all are very nice people. And ever so accommodating.
A few weeks back, I thought about the idea of actually sitting in the booth with the guys and writing a first-hand account of their duties. A part of me hinted that maybe these broadcasters were indeed good, (and they are) but would I get a dose of their real personality OFF the air?
As good, focused and tactically supreme as Hahn and Remenda, a great majority of their appeal comes from their likability factor. Walking though the stands with Hahn, shouts of "Hey Randy!" permeated the arena. Remenda is a bona-fide rock star in San Jose and could probably be the mayor if he wanted the job.
As I arrived at the building and schmoozed with a few media wags in the press lounge, Hahn quickly noticed my mug and we jettisoned up, I mean, way, way up, into the stratosphere of HP Pavilion. Soon after, Remenda joined us and we had our initial run-through.
One thing sticks out right away: both Hahn and Remenda are anal about preparation. Ditto radio broadcaster, Rusanowsky, whose vivid description is a virtual audio hockey ballet. Sure, you say, everyone prepares. True, to a point, but these guys are beyond the scale. I never saw more notes and data cards perched near the booth, as I did with Drew and Randy. God only knows how they're able to pull off the info wonderland in the two and a half hours of broadcast time, but remarkably, they do.
--20 minutes to game time---We're up in the booth. I meet a Bette Midler/Joy Behar look-a-like named Janice Baker-Kinney. Baker-Kinney acts as the director of the show, but that would be cutting her short. She zips out funny one-liners, does a literal pre-game dance in front of the boys and provides me detailed gossip about her life in Bay Area sports TV production.
Baker-Kinney has seen it all; she used to work for the Giants and A's broadcasts and had some hilarious stories about various Bay Area athletes and play-by-play men. Between her pointed banter and NY persona, I might as well have been at the nearby comedy club Improv.
Beyond the usual, don't do this and you can do that's, Baker-Kinney primed the guys ready for action as we neared the drop of the opening puck. The arena quickly filled up with the masses, 17,000-plus and hated Anaheim was the opponent. Remember, these are the guys that upset the Sharks just a year ago in the opening round of the NHL playoffs, but frankly, that's hockey minutiae to me; I'm here to hang with Randy, Drew and Dan--let's get on with the show, shall we?
We're back up in the sky-high broadcast booth, after Hahn and Remenda do their pre-game intro downstairs in the auxiliary booth. A humongous bank of high-def monitors are everywhere. Three alone for Remenda, including a personalized telestrator gizmo that would have impressed Captain Kirk.
Remenda and Hahn sit side-by-side, with stat man, John Bonasera in the next seat, separated by radio guy Rusanowsky I was in the back row sitting directly over, with a headset and mike. Had I had any real gusto in me, I almost could have offered up a quick take on the action, but I thought better. Hell, I've sat in the green room at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in NY for about ten Letterman shows and the same with Larry King in LA. This was 10x better.
Hockey is a great game on TV, but even better in person when you actually see it. Now I know what they all are talking about; even the uniforms look cool and the fans have a sort of roguish way about them, but that's another story.
THE GAME--The action starts and the play is fierce. Even without any scoring, the sheer athletic prowess is evident and both Hahn and Remenda are at their usual spot-on delivery. Having worked together for a number of years, (Hahn just finished his 1000Th Sharks broadcast--Remenda is a vet himself and former coach) both know how to pace and conduct the broadcast. Its evident in the first few moments.
Remenda carries a distinct red sharpie pen and likes to gesture a lot. Having coached and been an NHL disciple, its as if he takes the Sharks performance personally, and boy does he ever. In fact, what makes Remenda stand out is his unbridled ability to critique; not to rip for ripping sake, but you get a sense that you're not listening to the company line.
Sure, Hahn and Remenda want the Sharks to do well because it's good for the broadcast, but the pair have the creative freedom and are quite willing to dole out some negatives if the situation merits. Its refreshing and it speaks volumes about how serious these guys are about the show. Amen to that.
Fortunately, everything I hoped for was evident. The guys were nice and thoroughly cool; not to suggest if they happened to be un-cool, I would have wrote anything different. They are, in fact, total professionals. They laugh, giggle, and make little cracks here and there--everything you see and hear is 100% genuine. It helps that their crew is nice too.
On this night, the very talented Jamie Baker is working as extra color man on the ice. Baker is also an ex-player and knows the ins and outs of NHL hockey. Usually, he only works on radio, but tonight he's working TV. Every thing's fluid.
The Sharks would win 4-1 and star player Joe Thornton is the hero. I joke to one of the audio guys that I'm a good-luck charm; previously, the Sharkies had lost five straight at home. Score one for the Big Vinny factor.
**I don't normally root hard in this business; but as a kid growing up in Oakland, my team was and will always be the Raiders. To a lesser extent, the A's and Warriors too.
Now I'm rooting for another team: your 2009 San Jose Sharks. Quality organization. Great facility. Excellent PR dept--the works.
But beyond anything else, the Sharks broadcasters are in an elite class of broadcasters. This area is known for that, with the late, great Bill King. And Lon Simmons and Hank Greenwald. Jon Miller too and even the A's massively talented Ken Korach.
In that exclusive club, I would add Remenda, Hahn and Rusanowsky to the mix. We are lucky to have them here in the Bay Area and they are a delight to listen to and watch.
Go Sharks!
(photo courtesy of Ryan Leong)
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