Great idea...
LOS ANGELES – Four veteran play-by-play announcers will work Kings telecasts this season on FOX Sports West as Bob Miller, the club’s Hall of Fame broadcaster, takes a reduced on-air role with the club for the first time.
As announced last month, Miller returns to the FOX Sports West booth for his 44th season and the Kings’ 50th Anniversary as he calls 58 games. For the 17 games Miller is not slated to work, Gary Thorne (eight games), Chris Cuthbert (four games), Ralph Strangis (four games) and Jiggs McDonald (one game) will call the action alongside TV Analyst Jim Fox. McDonald, who served as the club’s very first broadcaster in 1967, will now have called an LA Kings game in their first year and again during the club’s 50th Anniversary celebration.
The game-by-game schedule is listed below.
Thorne has enjoyed a 50-year broadcasting career, covering a multitude of major events and the National Hockey League (for 12 years) including the Stanley Cup Playoffs/Finals for ABC/ESPN and many NHL All-Star Games. He has also called hockey games for SportsChannel America, the New Jersey Devils and at the University of Maine dating back to 1977. He currently calls baseball games for the Baltimore Orioles.
Cuthbert worked for Hockey Night in Canada from 1984-2004 and for TSN since 2005. He also has called games on NBC and NBCSN. He called the 2010 Olympic Gold medal game between the U.S. and Canada, the most watched television event in Canadian history. He has called hockey at every level and has been involved in the ownership group of Guelph Storm (when Drew Doughty was a Junior) and he co-authored the book The Rink Stories from Hockey's Hometowns (which included a chapter on Darryl Sutter and the Viking, Alberta rink).
Strangis is known best as the former “Voice of the Dallas Stars” hockey team. He was in the booth for 25 years with the franchise going back to their beginnings as the Minnesota North Stars. For his on-air work, Strangis has been awarded seven Lone Star Emmys, eight Associated Press Awards and a Dallas Press Club Katy Award. Recently he has written editorial columns and essays for the Dallas Morning News.
McDonald is the “Original Voice of the LA Kings,” working in Los Angeles from 1967-72 during the club’s very first five seasons. He called the club’s first preseason game, first regular season game and first playoff game. He has also worked as a club broadcaster for the Atlanta Flames, Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders, totaling more than 3,000 contests. In 1990 he was the recipient of the Foster Hewitt Award, which is recognized by a plaque in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and he will return to Los Angeles for Opening Night as the 1967-68 Kings are reunited.
SCHEDULE OF GAMES:
Tuesday, Nov. 8 at Toronto – Gary Thorne
Thursday, Nov. 10 at Montreal – Gary Thorne
Friday, Nov. 11 at Ottawa – Gary Thorne
Sunday, Nov. 13 at Winnipeg – Gary Thorne
Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Colorado – Gary Thorne
Tuesday, Dec. 13 at Buffalo – Gary Thorne
Thursday, Dec. 15 at Detroit – Gary Thorne
Sunday, Dec. 18 at Boston – Gary Thorne
Tuesday, Dec. 20 at Columbus – Ralph Strangis
Thursday, Dec. 22 at Nashville – Ralph Strangis
Wednesday, Dec. 23 at Dallas – Ralph Strangis
Thursday, Jan. 26 at Carolina – Ralph Strangis
Saturday, Jan. 21 at NY Islanders – Chris Cuthbert
Monday, Jan. 23 at NY Rangers – Chris Cuthbert
Tuesday, Jan. 24 at New Jersey – Chris Cuthbert
Saturday, Feb. 4 at Philadelphia – Chris Cuthbert
Thursday, Feb. 9 at Florida – Jiggs McDonald
Miller missed the Kings’ final three months last season after undergoing quadruple by-pass heart surgery. He is scheduled to call 58 games (including all home games) this season plus the first-round of the playoffs. He returned to the booth this past Friday and Saturday when the Kings played in the Frozen Fury exhibition series in Las Vegas.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.