Kelly and Datt

[Hazelwood72]

The Blues are run as a business, not some rich guys toy. That is both good and bad as the ownership group has really put an emphasis on making the business not become a crater. I think its a bigger deal than what people are envisioning. JK's contract was up, Kerber and Vitale are still under contract. If they're simulcasting, it gets rid of one half of the broadcast entirely. That's a LOT of coin. They see the cap elevating and they look to be getting ahead of it. Let's be real, JK was loved, but so was Panger. He left and fans still watched.

Different situation with Panger. He was a Blackhawk, so the idea that perhaps he was going home made it more palatable. The Kelly family is Blues hockey royalty.

That said, even though Panger was a Blackhawk player, I’ll bet he would have preferred to stay in the St. Louis area as a resident. He really liked it here.

[esp31]

The Blues are run as a business, not some rich guys toy. That is both good and bad as the ownership group has really put an emphasis on making the business not become a crater. I think its a bigger deal than what people are envisioning. JK's contract was up, Kerber and Vitale are still under contract. If they're simulcasting, it gets rid of one half of the broadcast entirely. That's a LOT of coin. They see the cap elevating and they look to be getting ahead of it. Let's be real, JK was loved, but so was Panger. He left and fans still watched.

Different situation with Panger. He was a Blackhawk, so the idea that perhaps he was going home made it more palatable. The Kelly family is Blues hockey royalty.

That said, even though Panger was a Blackhawk player, I’ll bet he would have preferred to stay in the St. Louis area as a resident. He really liked it here.

And I wish he would have. I was a huge fan of that broadcast team.

[Hazelwood72]

The Blues are run as a business, not some rich guys toy. That is both good and bad as the ownership group has really put an emphasis on making the business not become a crater. I think its a bigger deal than what people are envisioning. JK's contract was up, Kerber and Vitale are still under contract. If they're simulcasting, it gets rid of one half of the broadcast entirely. That's a LOT of coin. They see the cap elevating and they look to be getting ahead of it. Let's be real, JK was loved, but so was Panger. He left and fans still watched.

Different situation with Panger. He was a Blackhawk, so the idea that perhaps he was going home made it more palatable. The Kelly family is Blues hockey royalty.

That said, even though Panger was a Blackhawk player, I’ll bet he would have preferred to stay in the St. Louis area as a resident. He really liked it here.

And I wish he would have. I was a huge fan of that broadcast team.

Yeah, me too!!

[BalotelliMassive]

The Blues are run as a business, not some rich guys toy. That is both good and bad as the ownership group has really put an emphasis on making the business not become a crater. I think its a bigger deal than what people are envisioning. JK's contract was up, Kerber and Vitale are still under contract. If they're simulcasting, it gets rid of one half of the broadcast entirely. That's a LOT of coin. They see the cap elevating and they look to be getting ahead of it. Let's be real, JK was loved, but so was Panger. He left and fans still watched.

Different situation with Panger. He was a Blackhawk, so the idea that perhaps he was going home made it more palatable. The Kelly family is Blues hockey royalty.

That said, even though Panger was a Blackhawk player, I’ll bet he would have preferred to stay in the St. Louis area as a resident. He really liked it here.

I agree with this...no doubt.

[OBXMavs]

I am glad we do not have to listen to Rivers during the game only between periods, Rivers at least he knows hockey, but man that dude can become a whinny baby and cry too much about the refs all the time.

I rarely post here, mostly just read. But wanted to chime in about the change…..Have been a Blues fan for 40+ years. Kelly is a class act, and we were extremely lucky to have him and Panger call games all those years. They were a great pair. But to be honest, the broadcast with Kelly and Rivers (despite their knowledge of the game) was very blah. Between the whining and his voice, Rivers is difficult to listen to as well. Kerber and Vitale might not be an upgrade, but at least they will bring a fresh take to the TV broadcast.

[Old_Goat]

JK is excellent...one of the best. His wife has been in a fight with cancer, that's public knowledge so I'm not invading privacy. Aside from being away so much to support her, the travel just seems to get harder as you get older. I'm only speculating, but I suspect that Kelly is not as upset about this as many of the fans are. I also believe that Blues Management and FanDuel would have had discussions with how he felt it could work with/for him and treated him with respect.
Having said all of that, the Announcer & Analysts are indeed a broadcast team. JK was good all of the time, but he was better when he had a really good color commentator in tandem...not his fault, it just throws the announcer off if the other guy is weak. The problem is the constant droning of the color commentators and their incessant need to comment on EVERYTHING. The Blues and the Cardinals both suffer from that.
One of the best in the business is Joe Micheletti. He's retired now too. But if you've ever heard him, not only here in the '90s, but recently on Rangers' or national broadcasts, he got even better. You may go 2-3 minutes without hearing a peep from him, while his partner does a great job announcing, focusing on the game and not superfluous [nonsense]. And then Joe with his great understanding of the game will point out a key aspect of play, often away from the puck to help the fan to get the full impact. And you never heard him drone on about what he did when he played. Yes I realize that he did not have a long or superlative NHL career, but neither did Pang. Pang's schtick is part of his personality and draw, so I'll give him a pass, but a lot of the other guys are just trying to relive the dream.
I have not heard enough of Vitale to know how good or bad he is. But I sure have heard a lot of people compliment Mike McKenna. I remember hearing him speak at an end of season banquet when McKenna was 15 years-old, and he captivated this adult with how he spoke and what he knew. And the obvious hometown connection exists with him as well.
But for me, I like good announcing, but I'm most concerned about what/who is on the ice!