Bob McKenzie (broadcaster)

Last updated

Bob McKenzie
2018 Bob McKenzie Headshot.jpg
Born (1956-08-16) August 16, 1956 (age 67)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationSportscaster
Employer TSN
Known for The NHL on TSN
SpouseCindy
Children3; including Mike McKenzie

Robert Malcomson McKenzie (born August 16, 1956 [1] ) is a Canadian hockey commentator who has covered hockey since joining TSN in 1986. As a TSN Hockey Insider and TSN's Draft Expert, McKenzie provides analysis for NHL on TSN telecasts, as well as for the IIHF World Junior Championships, NHL Draft, NHL Trade Deadline, Free Agency, and for six Olympic Winter Games.

Contents

Early life and education

McKenzie was born in Toronto [1] and attended Bendale Public School. [2] After graduating from Ryerson Polytechnic University, McKenzie was hired for his first full-time newspaper job at The Sault Star in 1979. [3]

Career

In 1981, McKenzie quit The Sault Star and moved back to Toronto to earn a job in the sports department at one of the mainstream papers. Although he earned a position as a copy editor in The Globe and Mail 's sports department, he was not offered any full-time positions. [4]

In 1982, McKenzie was offered a position as editor-in-chief of The Hockey News . [5] McKenzie stayed at the magazine for nine years before joining the Toronto Star as a hockey columnist until 1998. [6] While with the Toronto Star, McKenzie was reporting from the Tampa Bay Lightning dressing room after a loss when he was asked to leave by Phil Esposito. Upon refusing, a scuffle ensued and McKenzie filed a complaint with Toronto police claiming assault. [7] [8] McKenzie returned to The Hockey News for three years where he participated in their half-hour segments on The Sports Network (TSN), and was eventually hired as an analyst for Canadian Hockey League games. [4] He was eventually offered a position with TSN's broadcasting team in 2000. [9] [10]

In honour of his reporting skills, McKenzie won the Gemini Award for Best Studio Analyst for his work on the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship: Gold Final. [11]

In October 2014, McKenzie and Darren Dreger began appearing as full-time contributors on NBCSN. This was due to the fact that TSN lost their NHL broadcasting rights package to Sportsnet. [12] [13] Two years later, he received the 2016 Canadian Screen award for Best Sports Analyst. [14]

McKenzie was awarded the 2015 Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. [15] He was inducted into the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. [16] In 2019, McKenzie signed a five-year contract extension with TSN. [17]

Personal life

McKenzie and his wife Cindy have three sons, all of whom played hockey. Although one of his sons quit the sport due to concussions, his son Mike McKenzie went on to play professionally. [5] Cindy is the older sister of John Goodwin, a former professional ice hockey player. [18]

Related Research Articles

Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was required to divest its stake in the network following its 2001 acquisition of competing network TSN. Rogers then became the sole owner of Sportsnet in 2004 after it bought the remaining minority stake that was held by Fox.

Réseau des sports (RDS) is a Canadian French language discretionary specialty channel oriented towards sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc.. Its full name translates as "The Sports Network", the name of its Anglophone counterpart, TSN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NHL Network (Canadian TV channel)</span> Television channel devoted to professional hockey

NHL Network was a Canadian English language Category B specialty television channel broadcasting ice hockey programming. The channel's primary focus was on the National Hockey League (NHL), although it occasionally aired games from other leagues, such as minor league and international circuits, to fill its schedule.

Raymond Vincent Ferraro is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current broadcaster for ESPN/ABC and select regional Vancouver Canucks games on Sportsnet. He played for 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hartford Whalers (1984–1990), New York Islanders (1990–1995), New York Rangers (1995–1996), Los Angeles Kings (1996–1999), Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2002), and St. Louis Blues (2002).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre McGuire</span> American-Canadian hockey executive and comnentator

Regis Pierre McGuire is an American-Canadian ice hockey executive who currently works for Sportsnet and last served as senior vice-president of player development for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously worked as a television analyst for NHL on NBC broadcasts in the United States and on The Sports Network (TSN) in Canada. McGuire has also been a player, coach and scout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Onrait</span> Canadian sportscaster and TV personality

Jay Michael Onrait is a Canadian television personality and sports anchor who hosts SC with Jay Onrait on TSN. From 2003 to 2021, he was frequently paired with fellow Canadian broadcaster Dan O'Toole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheldon Keefe</span> Ice hockey player, coach, general manager

Sheldon Keefe is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He has also served as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as for their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, guiding the latter to their first Calder Cup championship in 2018.

That's Hockey is a Canadian television series on TSN which presents the latest news in hockey as well as panelists and interviews with hockey personalities. The current host is Gino Reda. The opening and closing theme song was composed by Canadian musicians Andy Curran and Greg Godovitz.

<i>TSN Hockey</i> Regional NHL broadcasts by Canadian sports channel TSN

TSN Hockey is the blanket title used by TSN's broadcasts of the National Hockey League.

Darren Dreger is a Canadian sportscaster for TSN, and is one of TSN's Hockey Insiders. He had previously hosted Leafs Lunch on CFMJ AM640 Toronto Radio.

From 2006 to 2008, NBC's studio show was originally broadcast out of the rink at New York's Rockefeller Center, at the foot of NBC's offices during January and February. This allowed the on-air talent, including commentators for NHL on NBC, and their guests to demonstrate plays and hockey skills. From April onwards, and during inclement weather, the studio show moved to Studio 8G inside the GE Building, where NBC produces its Football Night in America program. For the Stanley Cup Finals, the show was usually broadcast on location.

The 2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs season began October 4, 2007. It is the 91st season of the franchise, 81st season as the Maple Leafs.

Dave Randorf is a Canadian sportscaster who serves as the play-by-play announcer for the television broadcasts of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. He is best known for his work at TSN hosting the network's Canadian Football League studio show as well as TSN's and CTV's coverage of figure skating. He also did play-by-play for the NHL on TSN, World Hockey Championship, and the National Lacrosse League on TSN.

Paul Romanuk is a Toronto sportscaster and writer. He was born in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Cuthbert</span> Canadian play-by-play sportscaster

Chris Cuthbert is a Canadian sportscaster. He currently serves as the lead play-by-play commentator with CBC Sports/Sportsnet for Hockey Night in Canada, and calls most national and regional games for the Toronto Maple Leafs on the network. Formerly, he worked for TSN, NBC, and CBC Sports in a multitude of roles. He and Glen Suitor were the lead broadcast team for the CFL on TSN from 2008 to 2019 before Cuthbert gave that lead play-by-play role to Rod Smith.

Réseau des sports (RDS) is a French Canadian cable specialty channel that broadcasts National Hockey League games.

<i>NHL on Sportsnet</i> Television series

NHL on Sportsnet is the blanket title for presentations of the National Hockey League broadcast held by a Canadian media corporation, Rogers Communications, showing on its television channel Sportsnet and other networks owned by or affiliated with its Rogers Media division, as well as the Sportsnet Radio chain. Sportsnet previously held the national cable rights for NHL regular season and playoff games from 1998 to 2002. In November 2013, Rogers reached a 12-year deal to become the exclusive national television and digital rightsholder for the NHL in Canada, beating out both CBC Sports and TSN.

<i>Wednesday Night Rivalry</i> 2013–2021 National Hockey League games on NBCSN

Wednesday Night Rivalry and Wednesday Night Hockey was the branding used for National Hockey League games that aired on NBCSN on Wednesday nights during the regular season from January 2013 to May 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NHL on television in the 2010s</span>

On April 19, 2011, after ESPN, Turner Sports, and Fox Sports placed bids, NBC Sports announced it had reached a ten-year extension to its U.S. television contract with the NHL worth nearly $2 billion over the tenure of the contract. The contract would cover games on both NBC and sister cable channel Versus, which became part of the NBC Sports family as the result of Versus parent Comcast's controlling purchase of NBC Universal earlier in 2011.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bob McKenzie – Elite Prospects" . Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  2. ↑ McKenzie, Bob (2009). Hockey Dad: True Confessions of a (Crazy) Hockey Parent . John Wiley & Sons. p.  2. ISBN   978-0-470-15939-2 . Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  3. ↑ @TSNBobMcKenzie (May 2, 2019). "I'm not one to mark anniversaries or whatever, but it did just occur to me it was 40 years ago this past month I got hired to my first full-time newspaper job. Graduated — well, not quite — from Ryerson in April, 1979 and got hired at The Sault Star in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. 1 2 Shoalts, David (February 28, 2016). "TSN analyst Bob McKenzie knows it's better to be right than simply first". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Fitz-Gerald, Sean (May 29, 2015). "20 Questions with TSN's Bob McKenzie: Rivalry with Sportsnet, crazy hockey parents and calling the cops on Phil Esposito". The National Post. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  6. ↑ Cowan, Stu (May 10, 2015). "Cowan: TSN's Bob McKenzie remains modest with one million Twitter followers". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Snow Job in Tampa". si.com. November 2, 1992. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Writer accuses Esposito of assault". upi.com. October 16, 1992. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  9. ↑ "TSN's Bob McKenzie inducted into Whitby Sports Hall of Fame". tsn.ca. April 28, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  10. ↑ Dryden, Steve (November 7, 2015). "BOB MCKENZIE GOES FROM THN TO TSN TO HHOF". thehockeynews.com. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  11. ↑ "CBC big winner of Geminis for news, sports and documentaries". cbc.ca. October 20, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Dreger, McKenzie set to join NBCSN" . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  13. ↑ Deitsch, Richard. "Meet NBC's new hockey personalities in this week's Media Circus" . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  14. ↑ "TSN Leads Sports Category in Nominations and Wins at Canadian Screen Awards". bellmedia.ca. March 9, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  15. ↑ Cowan, Stu (June 4, 2015). "TSN's Bob McKenzie wins Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  16. ↑ "McKenzie,Bob". whitbysportshalloffame.com. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  17. ↑ "TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie signs new contract with TSN". tsn.ca. October 2, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  18. ↑ Purvis, Michael (March 6, 2013). "Goodwin takes us back to prolific 1980-81 season". Sault Star. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.