Jack Edwards to retire
- Thread starter jsinger121
- Start date
Love Jack, but it was waaaaay past time. Half the time he sounds like he’s stroking out on live tv.
I’ll miss him, but it was time.
Let’s hope we get at least one more “THIS. BUILDING. IS. VIBRATING.” type call before he’s done.
Let’s hope we get at least one more “THIS. BUILDING. IS. VIBRATING.” type call before he’s done.
I know some here didn't like him, but I always thought Edwards did a good job describing the action. He was well prepared and nearly always got the names of the players on the opposing teams correct, which is not universally true of hockey PBP announcers in other markets.
Sometimes he went a bit overboard with his analogies, but he was a true home town announcer, and they didn't really distract from the broadcast. His comparison of the Montreal Canadiens to the Edmund Fitzgerald as they were being eliminated from the playoffs by the Bruins was priceless. He obviously has struggled recently and unfortunately had become painful to listen to at times recently, so it was definitely time.
Sometimes he went a bit overboard with his analogies, but he was a true home town announcer, and they didn't really distract from the broadcast. His comparison of the Montreal Canadiens to the Edmund Fitzgerald as they were being eliminated from the playoffs by the Bruins was priceless. He obviously has struggled recently and unfortunately had become painful to listen to at times recently, so it was definitely time.
The line in the release about him no longer being able to attain the standards he set for himself was a little sad. I know some people thought he was way too much of a homer but haven’t listened to a ton of Bruins games the last few years.
Why do people (including Jack himself apparently) think he’s toast?
Why do people (including Jack himself apparently) think he’s toast?
Well said. I'll miss him even though it is clearly time.
Let's hope we don't get stuck with some Newhouse zombie.
Do you watch Bruins games regularly? He clearly has developed some neurological related speech issues, about which he's spoken publicly even though his diagnosis -- IIRC -- is not established.
WITH THE POINT OF THE DAGGER AT THEIR THROATS THEY PULLED OUT THE KNIFE AND KILLED THE BEAST!!!
Who but a Bostonian, just across the water from Cambridge, could bring Shakespearean drama to hockey fans?
Who but a Bostonian, just across the water from Cambridge, could bring Shakespearean drama to hockey fans?
His voice has notably slowed and he’s been slurring a lot more words. I had the ‘08 Game 6 on and it was noticeably different.
I enjoyed Jack a lot. Sure he was a homer, but he was on the hometown broadcast of the hometown team, it's very different from a national broadcast where the announcers should care more about seeming unbiased.
Bruins broadcasts before him were passionless, dry, and boring. He made it much more fun to watch.
It is time, alas.
Bruins broadcasts before him were passionless, dry, and boring. He made it much more fun to watch.
It is time, alas.
Aligned.
On Jack, he's the voice of the Bruins for this generation and will be sorely missed. Others have said it above, he has his warts, but his passion was undeniable. It was time however.
It was definitely time for this, but he will be sorely missed. In his prime he was great, even if he was a homer. He loved the game and he loved his job, and he brought so much joy to every broadcast, even when it was the other team playing well, or when the Bruins weren't playing well.
I hope they bring in a solid replacement who works well with Brick, but considering what we have going on over on the Red Sox broadcasts, I am not confident.
I hope they bring in a solid replacement who works well with Brick, but considering what we have going on over on the Red Sox broadcasts, I am not confident.
While he probably should have retired a year or two ago and can really struggle to call games to the point the broadcasts could be painful to listen to, my first immediate thought when I saw this thread was sadness. I loved the passion he brought even if he was prone to say some really dumb stuff(the whole Maroon incident), and you knew you were getting his all every night. In reading that article it sure seems like he was basically told it's time.
As to his replacement, I really hope they go the Celtics route and go outside the NESN family. I have enjoyed the preparation Drew brings, but with how the Bruins are run I'm expecting a re-tread to an even bigger downgrade from peak Jack
As to his replacement, I really hope they go the Celtics route and go outside the NESN family. I have enjoyed the preparation Drew brings, but with how the Bruins are run I'm expecting a re-tread to an even bigger downgrade from peak Jack
Oof, that last tweet hit hard.
He could be awkward at times (his comparison of the 2009 Bruins-Habs series to the Revolutionary War comes to mind), but he LOVED the Bruins. Just like us. Kinda.
He could be awkward at times (his comparison of the 2009 Bruins-Habs series to the Revolutionary War comes to mind), but he LOVED the Bruins. Just like us. Kinda.
Someone, I think Pete Blackburn, and tweeted way earlier this year that Alex Faust could hang around long term. I know he filled in for Jack a couple times this year.
I think Jack was waiting/hoping until all the neuro and other tests were done (no issues found); and then if the speech therapy he was doing would help (It didn;t). (That's how I read the Glob story a few weeks ago, anyway).
I feel bad for the guy. Loved his job. Was good at his job. Taken out not really by age, but by a mysterious malady. Not going out on his own terms must be tough. I hope his last game is a win. (a couple of weeks from now).
I'm 43, so my earliest memories are Fred and Derek doing the broadcasts, and that might be my favorite pairing of all time in any sport, national and local.
Then we had Dale and Gord Kluzak and it was a low energy, stodgy broadcast calling games for a mostly rudderless franchise.
Jack was a much needed bolt of energy in the broadcast booth and was a welcome part of a rejuvenated organization. It's obviously time, but it still sucks.
Then we had Dale and Gord Kluzak and it was a low energy, stodgy broadcast calling games for a mostly rudderless franchise.
Jack was a much needed bolt of energy in the broadcast booth and was a welcome part of a rejuvenated organization. It's obviously time, but it still sucks.
certainly they can give Jack a job somewhere so he can keep his health insurance.
I can't believe they are playing "Old Man" during the Jack segment.
I can't believe they are playing "Old Man" during the Jack segment.
This. I want him healthy and calling games, but that's not possible anymore. He is the voice to a lot of my favorite B's memories. He will be fondly missed.
Wasn’t NESN at one point trying to get away with not sending the announcers on the trips? I doubt they break the bank for anyone, but would love to be wrong.
He cared about the team and his craft, say what you want about his style. Much like John Sterling, I think the fan experience will be somewhat lacking without him, even if his replacement is very competent. Sports is entertainment, and it is shared memory, it’s not a 1010WINS news update.
As a young kid, I was always fascinated with the Red Sox. As an out-of-towner just outside Houston, all I had was the papers & Baseball Tonight to see how the Sox were doing.
Super young me thought that my fascination with the Red Sox should grow & 'it would be only fair' to include the Bruins, Celtics, & Patriots. This was all in the 90s, before I or we would dream of all the success.
I often kept tabs on the others, but when I was in college I learned of a way to...well...watch the games online with a Jolly Roger flag.
I could finally watch games live, & for whatever reason, the Bruins/NHL was the best connection.
Jack made my passion even deeper. Jack was really my only reference as a play-by-play guy, & I was a big fan of his. I tuned in to hear him just as much as I tuned in to actually watch the team play. Hell, his commentary from Dafoomie videos used to give me a boost with exercise/cardio!
Now with ESPN+, et al, it's much easier (& legal) to watch the games on NESN & it's sad to see the fall.
It's an end of an era, & I'll miss him. I hope he can get whatever help he might need with his cognitive functions.
Super young me thought that my fascination with the Red Sox should grow & 'it would be only fair' to include the Bruins, Celtics, & Patriots. This was all in the 90s, before I or we would dream of all the success.
I often kept tabs on the others, but when I was in college I learned of a way to...well...watch the games online with a Jolly Roger flag.
I could finally watch games live, & for whatever reason, the Bruins/NHL was the best connection.
Jack made my passion even deeper. Jack was really my only reference as a play-by-play guy, & I was a big fan of his. I tuned in to hear him just as much as I tuned in to actually watch the team play. Hell, his commentary from Dafoomie videos used to give me a boost with exercise/cardio!
Now with ESPN+, et al, it's much easier (& legal) to watch the games on NESN & it's sad to see the fall.
It's an end of an era, & I'll miss him. I hope he can get whatever help he might need with his cognitive functions.
He lives in Simsbury, CT. Not far from me. We used to work out at the same gym at the same time every week. He is incredibly nice. And in person very mellow and reserved.
Guy loves the Bruins and hockey. This must be hard for him.
Guy loves the Bruins and hockey. This must be hard for him.
Thats a great way to put it.
Style matters in the entertainmemt department. *Some*people go to games; fewer go to lots. No one goes to all 82. The announcers link all those memory-sharers who are not at the game.
Damn that video from the Bruins just wrecked me. I drifted away from the NHL in the 90s and returned when Bergeron arrived. So Jack really is the voice of my adult Bruins fandom. It’s been rough this year, but he will always have a spot in my memories. I hope he has an incredibly rewarding retirement. He’s earned it.
When I was in college in the early 80’s, he did weekend sports on one of the Providence tv stations. We watched him and loved him and knew he was destined for bigger things. He had a great personality and was funny.
I’ve always enjoyed him calling Bruins games and will really miss his passion.
I’ve always enjoyed him calling Bruins games and will really miss his passion.
I am in Tampa, so only hear him once in a while, but when I do, I am taken aback. He's not well and the quality of the broadcast has suffered. He deserved the right to be able to step down when he was ready, but the quaility of his play by play, to put it kindly, is poor. How much longer could that have continued?
I hope there is a way to have him still involved in B's media. Either with non-live takes until he can be happy with it, or maybe having AI recreate his voice on pieces he writes. His prepared speeches are exciting.
I became a real Bruins fan with Jack Edwards (became a real follower late in my life). And those were the periods of my life right after college where the best years of sports were. I barely watch any games now since I don't have NESN, but there was one point this past season that I found a stream and I think I may have even remarked in a random Game Thread that the play by play reminded me of playing NHL 98 on my friend's computer and the weird delay that is just long enough to be like the uncanny valley of play by play in sports. That's what Jack Edwards reminded me of...he sounded robotic in that it was like people a bunch of phrases of his and stitched them together if that makes sense.
I'll miss him, but I also don't watch enough hockey these days to have a strong opinion on a replacement.
I'll miss him, but I also don't watch enough hockey these days to have a strong opinion on a replacement.
Jack was the inspiration for why I got my job in the NHL. I didn't grow up in a hockey family at all, but his absolute energy, for however you see that, was infectious. It made every moment feel like it meant more, that each step was another way to climb the mountain. Passion for what he did is what made Jack great but also difficult to see the last few seasons.
But life eventually circles: We interviewed Jack from time to time at NHL Network, and I think it was one of my first days that I worked there that we first we had him on as a guest interview in early 2022 (so 21-22 season). Before the interview, Jack stretched out a roll of duct tape like he was an explorer pulling out his map to the promised land for his country. None of us in the control room/booth have a damned clue what he's doing, but stretching back and forth he goes, without stop. Eventually, we realize once someone points out an iPad, he's going to tape his iPad by affixing the tape to his part of the Garden booth desk, so it stays in place. At this point, everything is further confused when Brick walks into the proceedings by accident. Andy proceeds to do the full grandpa Simpson with his hat meme, entering and leaving just as fast as he came.
Jack returned to his task after with a joyous grin. But the fun didn't stop there: At one point, the camera goes absolutely dark, as if we were buried alive: Jack had taped over the camera of his iPad, So we have to take a minute or two to further pre-set-up to let him know he did this. He had no idea but joins the rest of us in laughter. The interview goes on, unremarkable except for the fact he thought Tanner Jeannot was his legit pick to win the Calder. But that will always stick with me. How often do you get to correspond with the media folks that brought you into the world of this sport in a professional way?
I've got another story about him, regarding his truly bizarre eating habits in booth, but this is the one that I think better represents his childlike character best of all. May retirement treat him well.
But life eventually circles: We interviewed Jack from time to time at NHL Network, and I think it was one of my first days that I worked there that we first we had him on as a guest interview in early 2022 (so 21-22 season). Before the interview, Jack stretched out a roll of duct tape like he was an explorer pulling out his map to the promised land for his country. None of us in the control room/booth have a damned clue what he's doing, but stretching back and forth he goes, without stop. Eventually, we realize once someone points out an iPad, he's going to tape his iPad by affixing the tape to his part of the Garden booth desk, so it stays in place. At this point, everything is further confused when Brick walks into the proceedings by accident. Andy proceeds to do the full grandpa Simpson with his hat meme, entering and leaving just as fast as he came.
Jack returned to his task after with a joyous grin. But the fun didn't stop there: At one point, the camera goes absolutely dark, as if we were buried alive: Jack had taped over the camera of his iPad, So we have to take a minute or two to further pre-set-up to let him know he did this. He had no idea but joins the rest of us in laughter. The interview goes on, unremarkable except for the fact he thought Tanner Jeannot was his legit pick to win the Calder. But that will always stick with me. How often do you get to correspond with the media folks that brought you into the world of this sport in a professional way?
I've got another story about him, regarding his truly bizarre eating habits in booth, but this is the one that I think better represents his childlike character best of all. May retirement treat him well.
Jack is a good dude. Ran into him about 2 hours after a game at one of the bars around the Garden. This was probably 2010 maybe? Anyway my buddy and I bought him a couple beers and he had some great stories.
Best of luck in what’s hopefully a long and healthy retirement.
Best of luck in what’s hopefully a long and healthy retirement.
In this day and age, which job pays better? At least in my case, radio listening to Boston games is almost non-existent.
The LEAFS are MULCH AGAIN!
Here's what I loved about Jack: he got the job in the dreary Dave Lewis years, and he was the only one in the media who actually cared about the team back then. His enthusiasm carried over and played a huge part in getting people invested in the early Claude years.
I am forever grateful.
Here's what I loved about Jack: he got the job in the dreary Dave Lewis years, and he was the only one in the media who actually cared about the team back then. His enthusiasm carried over and played a huge part in getting people invested in the early Claude years.
I am forever grateful.
Before my time, i started watching right around the time Cable tv first came around in 84-85ish. The Fred and Derrick combo is just so memorable for me, not sure it will ever be matched for myself anyways..
He has admitted that he knew something was wrong. Described the medical tests for trying (unsuccessfully) to figure out what it was as well as the speech therapy trying (unsuccessfully) to address it.