When Fox Sports announced that they were going to simulcast a rink-side view of the Kings/Ducks game, I knew instantly that I must record it. There would be no way I could get the anti-hockey guys on the sports desk to watch it.

Let me give you a little history here... The Sports Department has always had two televisions as long as I have worked there. In the old building on Pine Avenue, the TVs were as far apart as you could get in the closet of an office we had. The TV closest to the desk was always on some sort of sports. In the few months where we have a four-fold crossover of sports, the pecking order was this:

1) Baseball (usually because at that time of year, it's the playoffs) 2) Basketball (Lakers or UCLA mostly, and when the Tourney rolls around, it regains the top spot over the Lakers. Clippers would be a distant thrid in that group, followed by USC basketball) 3) Football (Usually MNF takes priority, since it's the only NFL game on when we're at work, but USC and UCLA are on on Saturdays) then it's a mish-mash: MMA, boxing, SportsCenter, post-game of whatever sport. Then, if nothing else is on, hockey. (At least I have them trained to only accept Kings games.)
I could usually catch the second and third periods in the old building, cause I could sneak on the other TV  no one watches. But, when we moved, the TVs were put together. So now, I can't put the game on, even if there's nothing else on, because now everyone can see it. So, I sold Tuesday's game as a must-see, since it was a new format of being on the glass. That was enough to get it on there.

I must say, I really liked it. And everyone else didn't complain. After the Kings comeback against Dallas, they were also interested to see if L.A. could come back again, since they were down. Thankfully, the game was another solid effort by the Kings, going to a shootout.

Now, I like going to games. But I never get to sit on the glass, or even get down in the lower bowl. The telecast basically consists of the cameras' feeds that are usually used as breakaways shots from the usually side-to-side pan shot. I could follow the puck, and see more of the play developing, when the camera was above the goalie.

I also liked the top of the glass shot, that was closer to the ice and got real close to the action. Again, another shot that would be a few seconds during the broadcast, when cut to from the regular action, but I liked seeing the game from that angle.

A smart thing they did was to put a camera right up on the glass where people actually sit. Since it was the "rinkside" view, it made sense to put one where the fans actually sit. On occasion, they would include some of the fans sitting next to the camera, giving the viewer a sense of perception of how close the action is to the crowd. I've stood and watched warmups before the game, but full-speed action is way different. Especially action in the corners, where guys were fighting for the puck. I love those shots.

The broadcasts were not completely in sync, however. During a commercial break on the Lakers game, I switched the other TV over, and there was a 5-7 second delay on the play-by-play version, presumably because there was no commentary on the rinkside channel, so it didn't need a dump feed. It's a minor quibble, and I doubt no one else has side-by-side TVs, although people who use picture-in-picture would've had the same problem.

BTW, does anyone use their picture-in-picture feature on their TVs? My DVR has the option for PIP, as well as my TV set, which can give me a view of 12 other channels. And if I fire both up, I can watch 14 different channels.


It's cool for football, and I'll use it when I actually sit down on Thanksgiving or during bowl season to watch two football games at the same time. But I rarely use it for anything else. I don't find myself watching The Office, and have an overwhelming desire to see what Rachel Ray is cooking over on the Food Network or see the final question on Jeopardy.

The one bad thing about the rinkside view would be for new fans, who don't really understand the game fully yet. It was hard to track the puck when the camera was right above the goaltender, and the action was in the other zone. And maybe to some people, they would need the play-by-play to follow it more. But I had no problem not hearing Hayward. If it was Bob and Jim, I would be more conflicted. But I can't listen to that Duck broadcast team.

Another small thing was when the camera view as mid-ice above the glass, you couldn't see the action in the corner. It didn't happen often, because they would often switch views if the action stayed in the corner longer than a few seconds. But it happened enough for me to mention it here. However, even if were actually sitting on the glass or high above from the nosebleeds, there's going to be times where you can't see the action. That's hockey. And you have to use your imagination to guess where the puck is, and who has it.

All in all, I liked having the option of watching both, and I'm curious to see what the ratings were of each broadcast.