Last night there were some people who were unable to watch the Hawks win the Stanley Cup on TV and had to listen to the game and post-game on WGN Radio. The post game show was a real downer.
↵At what should have been the height of excitement for all fans, Jim Memolo, filling in for Judd Sirott, started talking about how this team, the team that had less than an hour before won its first Stanley Cup in 49 years, was going to be dismantled next year due to salary caps and current NHL rules. It wasn’t like he mentioned it once, he kept repeating himself.
↵Instead of hearing what was happening on the ice, or going to a less popular player for an interview and to hear the excitement in the player’s voice, Memolo had to mention the salary cap rules and told listeners numerous times that this team (the team that had just won hockey’s biggest prize) would “forever be bonded by the win” even though some will no longer be on the team next year. He never really explained the salary cap rules and never speculated on who might be gone next year, just that this team would lose some of its players.
↵While, yes, that’s a reality of the sport, it’s not what fans wanted to hear at that particular moment.
↵If Memolo was waiting for people to talk to on air, why couldn’t he talk about the accomplishments of particular players throughout the year in a bit of detail? He started to mention players who had helped the team in “other ways.” In what ways? He never shared that information.
↵This is a good, young team. Yes, the reality is that due to the salary cap rule in the NHL, some players will will not be on the team next year. But couldn’t talk of next year have waited a couple of days so everyone could enjoy the victory?
↵WGN Radio did a real disservice to its fans and all Blackhawks fans by putting a real damper on what should have been one of the happiest nights in Blackhawk hockey history.
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