If just talking about sports ever gets boring, many of TSN’s staffers might have a second career creating funny videos. The network’s long been famed for knowing when to insert humour into sports (a big part of what led to the hilarious Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole being hired by Fox Sports One), and their NHL guys in particular have taken it to a new level this year. First, there was the impressive March video where NHL panel host James Duthie got Vancouver Canucks’ goalies Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider to discuss their “rivalry” for the number-one job and pretend to inflict all sorts of harm on each other. TSN then followed that up with April’s “Panel Hangover,” which included a Duthie face tattoo, a Matthew Perry cameo, Darren Dreger wandering around dazed in sunglasses and Aaron Ward preparing for a spa day. For sheer originality and brilliance, though, the “Puck Over Glass” music video TSN aired during the first intermission of Monday night’s L.A. Kings – Chicago Blackhawks game, the final NHL game on TSN this year, might just take the cake:
What’s impressive here is that unlike the Hangover parody, this is the TSN staffers taking their own zany idea and running with it to make something completely new. Duthie was reportedly behind the lyrics (written from the point of view of an NHLer complaining about the automatic delay-of-game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass in your own end, which has become an epidemic in these playoffs) and the concept, Lester McLean (shown playing the acoustic guitar) set them to music, and former NHLer Ward provided much of the singing (on Twitter, he described the video as “the final nail in the coffin of my career). If it had just been these guys doing that, that would have still been funny (particularly given Duthie’s attempt at rockstar attire). The video goes on to so, so much more though.
One of the best parts of this is the multiple parts played by Bob McKenzie. Hockey fans know McKenzie as one of TSN’s NHL insiders and one of the biggest forces in breaking news, so unlike that other Canadian Bob McKenzie, what you see from him is usually pretty serious. That’s not the case in this video. McKenzie channels yet another Canadian, Corey Hart, with his sunglasses at night (his big, black sunglasses even look similar to Hart’s!), and he demontrates his versatility, appearing on keyboard, violin and even cowbell throughout this clip.
The show really gets stolen at 1:38, though, when all of a sudden, there’s a gospel choir in the building. And yes, it features TSN curling (and everything else!) legend Vic Rauter as the soloist, with Ward and Duthie amongst the crowd backing him up in full robes. We get further game footage, a shot of one of Jay and Dan’s famed dances and a perfectly sombre ending (complete with McKenzie sounding a conch). It was a heck of a way to wrap up TSN’s hockey broadcasts this year, and we’ll make the final yet another success for these guys. Now, Bob, how about a little more of that cowbell?
