Mike 'Doc' Emrick
Born	(1946-08-01) August 1, 1946 (age 65) La Fontaine, Indiana
Occupation	Sports commentator

Michael "Doc" Emrick, (born August 1, 1946) is an American sports commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. Emrick is currently the lead announcer for NHL national telecasts on both NBC and NBC Sports. Among the many awards he has received is the NHL's Lester Patrick Award in 2004, making him the first of three people to receive the award for media work, and the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008. Emrick was the first member of the media to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, on December 12, 2011.^[1]

Biography[link]

Background[link]

Emrick earned a B.Sc. in speech from Manchester College in 1968, a M.A. in radio/television from Miami University (Ohio) in 1969. He then received a Ph.D. in Communications (radio/television/film) from Bowling Green State University in 1976, where he got his nickname "Doc".^[2]

Emrick taught speech and broadcasting at Geneva College in the Pittsburgh suburb of Beaver Falls from 1969-71 and got his first experience of the NHL covering the Pittsburgh Penguins as an unpaid correspondent for the Beaver County Times newspaper.

Broadcasting career[link]

Emrick has been sportscasting professionally since 1973 when he was hired by Port Huron Flags' GM Morris Snider to do play-by-play and public relations for the IHL team. In 1977 he took on the same two roles with the first year AHL Maine Mariners for three seasons (broadcasting that club's Calder Cup championships in both 1978 and 1979). Emrick then served as the Devils first voice in New Jersey, arriving for the 1982–83 NHL season, and stayed there until 1986. In 1993, he returned to the team to replace Gary Thorne, and continued to be the team's voice until July 2011. ^[3] He announced the team's 1995 Stanley Cup victory, alongside color commentator John Davidson in a national United States broadcast on Fox.

Emrick has also done play-for-play for CBS, NBC (and its cable network subsidiary NBC Sports Network, formerly OLN and Versus), ABC, TNT, ESPN, Fox, CSTV, SportsChannel Philadelphia, PRISM, Fox Sports Net, and others.

Emrick was the lead play-by-play announcer for The NHL on ESPN from 1986–1988. His first national over-the-air television work came in 1992 doing ice hockey at the XVI Winter Olympic Games at Albertville, France, for CBS. Emrick became the lead play-by-play announcer for the NHL on Fox Game of the Week, calling regular-season games and Stanley Cup Finals from 1995 to 2000. After Fox relinquished the NHL broadcast rights to ABC, he became a regional announcer for The NHL on ABC from 2000–2004. He would only call select playoff games at this time, but did file reports for ABC Sports and ESPN's Stanley Cup Finals coverage.

Emrick wore several hats in the 1980s working for the Philadelphia Flyers. He was a spot announcer for Flyers home broadcasts from 1983-86, then was an in-studio analyst between 1986-88 when not covering national games. Emrick was promoted to the lead play-by-play slot for both local TV and cable for the team in 1988, remaining with the Flyers until the end of the 1992-93 season. For four of those years, Emrick was paired with former NHLer and national hockey broadcaster Bill Clement.

Since the 2005–06 NHL season, Emrick has been the lead play-by-play announcer for the NHL on Versus (formerly The NHL on OLN) and NHL on NBC, and since 2008, has served as an overall host of the telecast. He calls the top Conference Final and the entire Stanley Cup Finals for both networks. He has called games in 11 Stanley Cup Finals on TV (for ESPN, Fox, Versus/OLN, and NBC). He has also called eight NHL All-Star Games for Fox, Versus and ESPN. He called the 1996 World Cup of Hockey for the Prime Network and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey for ESPN.

Emrick worked his third Olympic Games for NBC during the 2010 Winter Olympics . He has also worked during the Olympics twice for CBS and once for TNT. For NBC, he called water polo in the 2004 Summer Olympics, men's and women's ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics and men's and women's ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

He also called some National Football League and men's NCAA basketball tournament games while at CBS, and called the National Lacrosse League All-Star Game and Championship Game while at NBC.

On July 21, 2011, Emrick announced that he was leaving the New Jersey Devils to work exclusively for NBC Sports.^[4]

Honors[link]

Emrick won the 1997 National CableACE Award for best play-by-play announcer.

Emrick received the 2004 Lester Patrick Trophy, presented annually for "outstanding service to hockey in the United States". In that same year, he won a New York Emmy Award for his work on New Jersey Devils' telecasts. He was one of the five nominees for the 2009 national Emmy Award for the category of "Outstanding Sports Personality - Play by Play" for his work on the "NHL on NBC" with NBC Sports. He was also nominated for the award in 2008.

In 2008, the Hockey Hall of Fame awarded him the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, for outstanding contributions to hockey broadcasting.

On January 30, 2009, Emrick was honored at the Prudential Center during Mike "Doc" Emrick night to celebrate Emrick's broadcasting career of over two decades.

In 2011, "Doc" won the Emmy Award for "Outstanding Sports Personality - Play by Play."

On February 24, 2012, Emrick was honored by the New Jersey Devils in a pre-game ceremony for his 21 seasons doing play-by-play for the MSG Network, which broadcasts Devils game.^[5]

Style[link]

The Devils' broadcasting pair of Emrick and color commentator Chico Resch, referred to as "Doc and Chico" by Devils fans, was noted for their ability to break the tension of a hockey game through various types of humor, many times improvised and unintentional. For example, in a game during the 2008–09 NHL season, Resch was discussing a rebound that came off of Devils netminder Scott Clemmensen:

Chico Resch: "...and Scotty [Clemmensen] was tellin' me this morning that he likes his new pads like that...the puck should rebound almost like a quarter off of a balloon, Doc.

Emrick: ...But you don't spend too much free time throwing quarters at balloons, Mr. Resch, do you?

Other recurring comedic bits arise during games. After Emrick or Resch analyzes the play of a goaltender, if Emrick feels that Resch is sympathizing towards the goalie due to his former play at the same position, Emrick will add a sarcastic comment which talks about the glory of goaltending and how they are "by far" the most important players in the game. Another comedic bit that is shared between the Doc and Chico is when Doc will ask Chico where a particular town or city in Canada is located when they talk about a particular player's home town. In the event of an odd play or bounce of the puck, Doc has cited "the unseen hand," as the culprit, which always gets a laugh from Chico.

Emrick's knowledge of the game of hockey has been deemed "encyclopedic",^[6] and he is known for his eloquent vocabulary. His employs an unusual vocabulary to describe play-by-play action, referring to a goaltender's equipment as "paraphernalia", for instance. Often, during line changes or zone clearings, Emrick will discuss interesting facts about a player's personal life, hockey records, or contributions to sports. In addition, sportswriter Peter King has praised Emrick by saying "Doc Emrick is one hell of a hockey announcer. If hockey were big in this country, he'd be what Jack Buck used to be."^[7]

Memorable games called[link]

1980s[link]

• April 18, 1987: The "Easter Epic" Game 7 of the Patrick Division Semifinals between the Capitals and Islanders. Pat LaFontaine wins the game for New York in the fourth overtime to complete what was the longest NHL game since 1943. (ESPN)
• May 31, 1987: Game 7, Stanley Cup Finals, Flyers vs Oilers. The Oilers win their third Cup in four years. (ESPN)
• February 9, 1988: All-Star Game. Mario Lemieux caps a three-goal, six-point night with an overtime goal. (ESPN)
• May 24, 1988: Game 4, Stanley Cup Finals, Oilers vs Bruins. A second-period power outage at Boston Garden causes the game to be suspended and re-played in Edmonton two nights later. (ESPN)
• April 11, 1989: Game 5, Patrick Division semifinals, Flyers vs. Capitals. Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall becomes first netminder to score a goal in the playoffs - a shorthanded tally in Philadelphia's 8-5 win. (WGBS-Philadelphia Channel 57)
• April 26, 1989: Game 5, Patrick Division semifinals, Flyers vs. Penguins. Mario Lemieux scored a record-tying five goals and three assists in the Penguins' 10-7 win. (WGBS)
• April 30, 1989: Game 7, Patrick Division finals, Flyers vs. Penguins. Flyers backup goaltender Ken Wregget makes 40 saves in a 4-1 victory, earning the Flyers a berth in the Wales Conference Finals. (WGBS)

1990s[link]

• February 22, 1992: Winter Olympics. The Unified Team defeats Canada 3–1 to win the Gold Medal. (CBS)
• February 27, 1994: Winter Olympics. Peter Forsberg scores a penalty shot goal via "The Paralyzer" to give the Swedes the Gold Medal. (CBS)
• May 25, 1994: Game 6, 1994: Eastern Conference Finals, Rangers vs. Devils. Mark Messier scores a hat-trick after publicly guaranteeing a Rangers victory. (SportsChannel New York)
• June 24, 1995: Game 4, Stanley Cup Finals, Red Wings vs. Devils. Devils win their first Stanley Cup Championship. (Fox)
• September 14, 1996: Game 3, World Cup Final, USA vs. Canada. The USA ralies from a third-period deficit to beat Canada 5–2 and win the inaugural World Cup of Hockey. (FX)
• January 18, 1997: All-Star Game. Owen Nolan calls his shot on a breakaway for a hat trick in San Jose. (Fox)
• April 17, 1997: Game 1, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Canadiens vs. Devils. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur scores a goal. (SportsChannel New York)
• May 31, 1998: Game 4, Western Conference Finals, Stars vs. Red Wings. Vladimir Konstantinov returns to the Joe Louis Arena. (Fox)
• April 18, 1999: Penguins vs. Rangers. Wayne Gretzky's final NHL game. (Fox)

2000s[link]

• February 20, 2006: Winter Olympics. Sweden defeats Finland for the Gold Medal in Turin, Italy. (NBC)
• June 19, 2006: Game 7, Stanley Cup Finals, Oilers vs. Hurricanes. Hurricanes win their first Stanley Cup. (NBC)
• June 6, 2007: Game 5, Stanley Cup Finals, Senators vs. Ducks. Ducks win their first Stanley Cup. (NBC)
• January 1, 2008: Winter Classic, Penguins vs. Sabres. The league's first outdoor game in the United States, from Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. (NBC)
• June 4, 2008: Game 6, Stanley Cup Finals, Red Wings vs. Penguins. The Red Wings win their 11th Stanley Cup Championship (NBC).
• March 17, 2009: 2008–09 NHL season, Blackhawks vs. Devils. Martin Brodeur surpasses Patrick Roy's all-time win record with the 552nd win of his career on St. Patrick's Day. (MSG+)
• June 12, 2009: Game 7, Stanley Cup Finals, Penguins vs. Red Wings. (NBC)
• December 21, 2009: 2009–10 NHL season, Penguins vs. Devils. Martin Brodeur eclipses Terry Sawchuk's all-time shutout record with the 104th shutout of his career. (MSG+)

2010s[link]

Mike Emrick at the 2012 NHL Winter Classic in Philadelphia, PA

• January 1, 2010: Winter Classic, Flyers vs. Bruins. The league's fourth outdoor game and third in the United States, from Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (NBC)
• February 16, 2010 to February 28, 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Ice Hockey. Broadcasts most Olympic hockey games, both men's and women's.
• February 28, 2010: Vancouver Winter Olympics Men's Ice Hockey USA vs CAN Gold Medal Game. (NBC) (With a peak audience of 34.8 million viewers, this broadcast attracted the largest US audience for a hockey telecast since those of the US victories over Russia and Finland in the 1980 Olympics.^[8][9])
• March 22, 2010: Dr. Emrick's 3,000th hockey broadcast, a national telecast from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit of the Pittsburgh Penguins vs Detroit Red Wings on Versus won by Detroit, 3-1.^[10]
• April 24, 2010: Game 5, Western Conference quarterfinals, Predators vs. Blackhawks. After committing a five-minute major near the end of regulation, which is subsequently killed off by the Blackhawks, Marian Hossa scores the game winning goal four minutes into overtime. (NBC)
• June 9, 2010: Game 6, Stanley Cup Finals, Blackhawks vs. Flyers, Patrick Kane's goal 4:06 in overtime gives the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers and delivers Chicago its first Stanley Cup in 49 years. (NBC)
• January 1, 2011: Winter Classic, Capitals vs. Penguins. The league's fifth outdoor game and fourth in the United States, from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (NBC)
• January 30, 2011: 2011 NHL All Star Game, Team Staal vs Team Lidstrom, the 58th NHL All Star Game, from the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Versus)
• June 15, 2011: Game 7, Stanley Cup Finals, Bruins vs. Canucks, Bruins win sixth Stanley Cup and first in 39 years. (NBC)
• January 2, 2012: Winter Classic, Rangers vs. Flyers. The league's sixth outdoor game and fifth in the United States, from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (NBC)
• April 25, 2012: Game 7, Eastern Conference quarterfinals, Capitals vs. Boston. (NBC Sports)^[11]
• May 25, 2012: Game 6, Eastern Conference Finals, Rangers vs. Devils. Played at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, the series clinching game which ended on a goal by Adam Henrique at 1:03 into the first overtime to send the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2003. (NBC)

Miscellaneous[link]

Emrick is a founding member, and still president of, the NHL Pronunciation Guide, which is used as a guide for all NHL broadcasters for some of hockey's most difficult names. He is Vice President of the NHL Broadcaster's Association, and he is also a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee. Emrick also hosts a weekly podcast on iTunes called "Emrick's Angle" which offers his current thoughts on the NHL.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• "Hockey's Great Voices Echo Through Generations" at NHL.com. Retrieved 10–20–06.
• Mike Emrick - Lead NHL on NBC Play-by-Play Announcer Profile.

Daniel Patrick Pugh (born May 15, 1956), professionally known as Dan Patrick, is an American Sports Emmy-winning sportscaster, radio personality, and actor from Mason, Ohio. He currently hosts The Dan Patrick Show which is broadcast on radio on Premiere Radio Networks, and on television on The Audience Network for DIRECTV subscribers, co-hosts NBC's Football Night in America, and serves as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He previously worked at ESPN for 18 years, where he often anchored the weeknight and Sunday 11 PM edition of SportsCenter.

Early life[link]

Patrick attended the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. His brother, Bill Pugh, is a longtime sports radio executive, and is currently the head of programming at Clear Channel San Diego. Patrick was a basketball player in high school at William Mason High School, becoming an Ohio all-state selection his senior year.^[1] He attended Eastern Kentucky University on a basketball scholarship for two years before transferring to the University of Dayton, where he majored in broadcast journalism. Patrick is also an alumnus of the Eta Hexaton Chapter of the Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity at Dayton.^[2]

Before ESPN[link]

Before working with ESPN, Patrick was known by his real name, Dan Pugh, as an on-air personality with the album rock-formatted WVUD and then, WTUE in Dayton, Ohio (1979–1983). Patrick was then a sports reporter for CNN (1983–89), where his assignments included the World Series, NBA Finals and Winter Olympics. From 1989–1995 Patrick did a daily sports segment for Bob and Brian, a syndicated Wisconsin-area morning show, and in the early 90s he did sports updates for the Columbus, Ohio, Rock Station WLVQ and appeared on the morning show "Wags and Elliot."^[3]

Career at ESPN[link]

Patrick was an anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter (1989–2006). He also hosted The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio from September 13, 1999, to August 17, 2007.

In the mid-1990s, Dan and Keith Olbermann were among ESPN's most recognizable faces. Olbermann used the catch phrase "Welcome to the Big Show" when Patrick worked with him on SportsCenter. After getting reprimanded by their superiors, they began saying "This is SportsCenter" sarcastically, accidentally spawning the show's new catch phrase as well as the name of their long-running promotional campaign. When Olbermann left, Patrick said, "This isn't the Big Show anymore."^[4] Patrick stated on his radio program that the ABC sitcom Sports Night was a semi-fictional account of the Olbermann/Patrick anchored SportsCenter, with Casey McCall (Peter Krause) representing Patrick.

Starting on March 19, 2006, until the final game of the NBA Finals, he became the host of ABC's then-titled NBA Nation, a pregame show for the network's NBA telecasts.

En fuego[link]

In 1994, when calling the highlights for a game in which Marv Albert described Sam Cassell as being "on fire," Dan Patrick said he was "el fuego", which he thought was Spanish for "on fire." A few months later, he received a letter from a Spanish teacher in Pennsylvania suggesting that he say that athletes are "en fuego" (on fire) rather than "el fuego" (the fire). Since then, Patrick has used "en fuego" on certain occasions when a player is said to be "on fire." Patrick started using the "en fuego" phrase because he believed the standard "on fire" phrase had become clichéd.

Departure from ESPN/ABC[link]

On July 9, 2007, Patrick on his radio show announced his departure from ESPN/ABC effective August 16, 2007, stating, "I am leaving ESPN August 17 to go out on my own and be a free agent...I think I was starting to take it (ESPN) for granted," Patrick said. He said ESPN tried to talk him out of it. If there was any animosity, he says, "I wouldn't be sticking around until August."

Patrick remained off air from ESPN Radio until August 15 for his three farewell shows.^[5] He was originally reported to be returning for a final week, but returned on Wednesday of that week.

ESPN's statement released to the media said that Patrick would be released from his contract August 31, 2007, exactly one year early from his deal that was to run until August 31, 2008. The statement also said this would be the final comment on Patrick's departure from ESPN. "ESPN contractually bans all employees from making specific announcements of their futures on their airwaves, but out of respect to Dan and all he's done for ESPN we allowed him an opportunity to end the speculation".

Reaction to Patrick's departure from ESPN/ABC[link]

Reaction from media sources hit the internet by storm. Many webpages, blogs, and news media outlets speculated on the reasons for Patrick's departure and his possible future. On July 10, 2007's The Dan Patrick Show, Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick himself put some of the rumors and comments to rest.

Patrick confirmed that he was asked by the producers of The Price is Right to audition for the vacant host position, but he declined. The job eventually went to Drew Carey. Patrick admitted that he was hurt when good friend, Sports Illustrated writer Rick Reilly (who ironically would move to ESPN) wrote that, "Patrick was making one of the top 5 biggest career mistakes in entertainment history," ranking right under Shelley Long's leaving Cheers and Katie Couric's leaving NBC's Today show for the CBS Evening News.

Keith Olbermann stated that it was only a matter of time before a website erroneously reported that Patrick was fired from ESPN, which was what happened in some reports when Olbermann left ESPN. Patrick again stated he was leaving on good terms with ESPN and that he could return to ESPN if he would so choose. Patrick said that he wanted to be on both television and radio again, although some newspapers reported that he only wanted to do radio.

On his new show, Patrick often relates anecdotes of his ESPN career, in both positive and negative lights. He often refers to his former employer as "The Mother Ship" (and less frequently, "ESPeon"), and expresses disappointment with their practice of preventing their talent from appearing as guests on his show, and frustration when an ESPN employee has agreed to come on the show only to later cancel.

Patrick is also often critical of current ESPN shows (such as SportsNation, SportsCenter, and ESPN First Take) for stealing content from his show.

Last shows[link]

August 17, 2007, was Dan Patrick's last day on ESPN Radio. He named his final three shows the "Farewell for Now" tour. The last 20 minutes of his show were filled with thank-yous and looks back. Guests included Bob Costas, Bobby Knight, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ken Griffey, Jr. and other sports stars. Will Ferrell also made a heavily promoted appearance in character as Ron Burgundy.

[edit] New radio-TV show/Sports Illustrated

Patrick signed a syndication deal with Chicago-based Content Factory, which soon launched his new version of The Dan Patrick Show on October 1, 2007. It was distributed nationally by Premiere Radio Networks. The show aired live on most stations from 9 a.m. to noon Eastern, although some opt to delay the show into the evening. The show ran delayed on Sirius XM Sports Nation on Sirius Radio channel 122 and XM Radio channel 143. It was also available as a live stream and in podcast form via Patrick's website.

In January 2009, Dan Patrick's show replaced Out of Bounds with Craig Shemon and James Washington on Premiere Radio's Fox Sports Radio network. This brought an additional 60 affiliates to Patrick's portfolio, and brought the total affiliate count to over 200. It also allows XM Radio listeners to hear the show live on the Fox Sports simulcast on channel 142, in addition to the delayed broadcast on channel 143. Sirius doesn't carry Fox Sports Radio.

In August 2009, The Dan Patrick Show started being broadcast on The 101 Network, following a show of DIY Network in which a toy-filled "man cave" studio was built in Milford. The radio-only show had been produced in the attic of Patrick's home. The Dan Patrick Show features "The Dannettes", who assist Dan with the show. "The Dannettes" are reported to be soft, but Patrick did not confirm.

Sports Illustrated also announced in October 2007 that Patrick would become the magazine's senior writer. He would also contribute blogs to SI.com's "Fan Nation" and host the magazine's Sportsman of the Year show. SI collaborates with Content Factory to produce Patrick's web site, and helps stream his radio show. Patrick said he will produce non-television content exclusively for Sports Illustrated. The Dan Patrick Show began simulcasting on Fox Sports Net, Comcast SportsNet, Root Sports, and MSG Plus in October, 2010.

NBC Sports[link]

On July 7, 2008, it was announced that Patrick would join NBC Sports as a co-host of the third season of Football Night in America with former SportsCenter co-anchor Keith Olbermann every Sunday night beginning in September during the NFL season.^[6] Patrick and Olbermann host a series of highlights on the show and a segment called "The Little Big Show" with the day's top NFL plays.

"The Little Big Show" refers back to Patrick and Olbermann's time at ESPN where they referred to the 11pm SportsCenter they hosted as "The Big Show." This name both annoyed the other hosts, who felt insulted, and management, who preferred them to call the show by the actual name. Frustrations mounted so high that management told them to just say, "This is SportsCenter." This phrase ironically became ESPN's major tagline for SportsCenter.^[7]

Patrick served as the Super Bowl XLIII trophy presenter after the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, and again at Super Bowl XLVI after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots. Patrick also contributed to the network's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics as a reporter for women's downhill skiing and snowboarding. He also hosted NBC's 2010 & 2011 Stanley Cup Finals coverage. In 2012, NBC named Patrick daytime co-host with Al Michaels for the London Olympics.^[8]

Other appearances[link]

Movies and television[link]

Patrick has made cameo appearances in many movies and TV shows, thanks in large part to his longtime friendship with actor Adam Sandler:^[9] Patrick also appeared in a Huddle House commercial.

• The Definite Maybe (1997)
• Arli$$ (1998)
• BASEketball (1998)
• The Waterboy (1998)
• Clerks (Animated ABC program) (2000)
• Clone High (2002)
• The Longest Yard (2005)
• Benchwarmers (2006)
• I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)
• The House Bunny (2008)
• Grown Ups (2010)
• Blue Mountain State (2011)
• Just Go With It (2011)
• Jack & Jill (2011)
• That's My Boy (2012)

Music videos[link]

Dan Patrick has appeared twice in music videos:

• The 1995 Hootie & the Blowfish song "Only Wanna Be With You." In the video, the group use their money to purchase several sports teams. Patrick said of the group, "Dare I say they're anything but 'en fuego'." He also uses another one of his famous catchphrases, "You can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him."
• In the 2002 Brad Paisley song "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)", with the quote "Brad Paisley, dare I say, 'en fuego'."

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (May 2012)

External links[link]

• Dan Patrick Online Official website on CNN.com
• Cousins Subs website (with video of Patrick's ads for the chain)
• Dan Patrick biography