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If you’re a hockey fan with a strict bedtime because of school or work or any other reason, there’s a good chance you’ve missed out on some good playoff hockey over the past few weeks. That’s something that is just unacceptable, according to Blackhawks announcer Pat Foley.
During Thursday night’s Game 5 between the ‘Hawks and Blues, Foley went on a great rant about the late start times plaguing the fan viewing experience. The rant could be heard nationally, as NBCSN was carrying the CSN Chicago feed, but not in full — as NBC cut away to go to commercial before Foley wrapped up. The local broadcast, however, caught it all and you can listen to that here.
Considering the opening puck drop for Game 5 was 8:42 p.m. local time in St. Louis, it’s hard to argue against Foley. That’s a pretty unfair start time for a local market, especially for young kids or people with early-morning jobs. The counter-argument, obviously, is that the NHL is a business and Blackhawks-Blues is an extremely appealing matchup nationwide, so the league wants to find a start time that can involve all timezones.
Unfortunately, two of the best series in the first round of the playoffs have featured Central time zone teams on later-than-usual starts and West Coast teams (Kings-Sharks) that don’t get started until some people are already in bed.
(Video via Andy Cole)
