The Doctor is No Longer In

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Diabolically clever commentary on the state of Jersey’s Team

by Nick Casale

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The Doctor is No Longer In

To call this “the end of an era” would be a terrible injustice.
An era of Devils history has indeed ended with the decision of Mike Emrick to not renew his contract with MSG. But applying such a hackneyed old cliche in reference to a man whose body of work was so original, so intelligent, so refreshing...well it just seems woefully inadequate.
In fact, the only person who could do it justice would be Doc himself, in one of those pre-taped intros at the top of every Devils telecast. Each rivaled anything John “Frozen Tundra” Facenda has ever voiced. And Doc did about 100 of these each year.
So indulge me for a moment as I try to imagine what it would be like if Mike Emrick opened the first Devils telecast of 2011-2012 by paying tribute to...Mike Emrick.

What made Doc so brilliant, in my opinion, was how he could seem so natural, so unforced, even when introducing words and phrases you’d never have associated with hockey before.
“Richer just pitchforks it ahead past the onrushing defender.”  Sounds about right.
“Albelin spirits it back to the neutral zone.”  Yeah, that’s exactly what he did.
“Parise fixes his bayonette and moves ahead.”  Perfect description.
Doc introduced these words and phrases because they captured the spirit of the action, and helped him avoid repeating the same words over and over. Contrast this with Joe Beninati, who seems to makes it a point to not use common hockey terms in order to show how smart he thinks he is. A typical Beninati comment might sound like this:
“The Great 8 has tallied 7 markers and a half-dozen helpers over the past 8 contests.” Nah, not working for me. Just say Ovechkin has 15 points. (And apparently Joe is no longer working for Versus.)
Mike Emrick’s farewell letter to Devils fans was as eloquent, forthright, and personable as anything he’s ever done. It reads like a conversation you might have with a friend in your living room. Come to think of it, that’s exactly what he did with Devils fans for the past 21 years.
Thank you Doc. You will surely be missed.
Skate with your head up, Nick

July 23, 2011

Not One of Nick’s Names

In honor of Doc Emrick, I bring you his entry into the  Chris Berman Honorary Nickname Hall of Fame:
Ruslan  “One Horse Open”  Salei

(C) 2011 Nicholas J. Casale | Got a beef? Think I’m brilliant? Talk to me