JMMF to honour Miller ... Mondays With Murray: No One is Scoring on this Power Play

Bob Miller will be honoured by the JMMF on Sept. 30.

Bob Miller, the legendary Hall of Fame play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Kings for 44 years, will receive the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Day at the Races & Monte Carlo Night event on Sept. 30 at Santa Anita Park.

Miller, who announced his retirement from his play-by-play duties with the Kings on March 2, due to health issues, said "Goodnight and Goodbye" on the Fox Sports West telecast of the Kings-Ducks game from Anaheim on April 9. 

“I am honored to accept the JMMF Lifetime Achievement Award,” Miller said. “I always admired Jim Murray's writing even before I moved to California. His syndicated columns were carried in newspapers in the Midwest and his clever comparison of athletes abilities to well-known figures in other walks of life usually made me break up with laughter. After moving to Los Angeles and meeting him in person, I got to see a wonderful, charming, pleasant, modest and talented individual. I am delighted that the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation is giving talented journalists from various universities a chance to enhance their life ambitions.”

While at the University of Iowa, Miller earned a degree in Communications/Radio-TV and began his broadcasting career covering the Iowa Hawkeye's football and basketball games for campus station WSUI, now KRUI-FM.  After his graduation in 1960, Miller began working in television sports journalism in Wisconsin and would later become an announcer for the football and hockey teams at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Miller was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame as the 2000 recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, and is in the Los Angeles Kings Hall of Fame, as well as the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame. The press box at Staples Center, the Kings' home arena, is named in his honor. 

The Big Ten Club honored Miller as their 2014 Person of the Year and the Southern California Radio & TV News Association presented Miller with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the 65th annual Golden Mike Awards banquet in January 2015. He received the 2,319th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Oct. 2, 2006. 

Miller's first book, Tales From the Los Angeles Kings, was published in October 2006. His second book, Tales From The Los Angeles Kings Locker Room: A Collection Of The Greatest Kings Stories Ever Told, was published in April 2013.

Bob and his wife, Judy, live in West Hills, Calif., and have two adult children.

"Personally, it gives me great pleasure to honor my longtime friend Bob Miller with the JMMF's 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award," said JMMF CEO and founder Linda Murray Hofmans. "Bob's passion for his craft as a play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Kings, his love for the Kings, the fans, the city of Los Angeles, plus his loyalty and support of the JMMF are beyond measure."

The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation (JMMF) was established by Murray Hofmans in 1999 following the death of her husband, Jim Murray, longtime Los Angeles Times sports writer, winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary, and 1988 Cooperstown Hall of Fame inductee. The JMMF awards journalism scholarships to the nation's top college journalists through a national essay competition.

To date, the JMMF has awarded 104 scholarships totalling more than $525,000. Thirty-six colleges and universities across the United States participate in the annual competition. Five 2017 Murray Scholars will be honored at the Sept. 30th JMMF Day-at-the races & Monte Carlo Night event at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.

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APRIL 19, 1992 SPORTS

Copyright 1992/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

JIM MURRAY

No One Is Scoring on This Power Play

I like hockey. It's the fastest game that men play. It's exciting to watch. The action swirls as in no other sport.

It's part heavyweight championship fight, part ice dance. It has men wielding sticks. It has enough esoteric rules to keep the purists happy. I even like the fights because I understand them. Look! If a guy 

bumps into you coming off an escalator, even though he's going only — maybe — 4 m.p.h. or less, you get angry, right? You want to say, "Hey, man! Why don't you watch where you're going?!" You have to resist the urge to push him. Punch him.

Now, consider if the guy is moving at 20-25 m.p.h. And you're moving at the same rate of speed.

And, consider that he does it on purpose. Now, that's a collision that will make you mad. Even homicidal. And you already have a club in your hands.

It's no wonder hockey gets ballistic.

Hockey heroes are often the nicest guys in sport. Gordie Howe was probably the greatest to play the game. But he was as patient explaining the game to reporters as any superstar I have known — with the possible exception of Magic Johnson.

But, having said that, I must say the NHL, players (and owners) remind me of a kid playing with a stick of dynamite in the present strike. I can't believe these guys can't find a better way to deal with their labor problems than by putting the sport on the brink of extinction. These guys really are icing the puck.

Some years ago, in a burst of candor, I wrote that, while I liked hockey, I had to confess I never saw a goal scored. I mean, if that red light didn't go on, I wouldn't know whether one had been scored or not.

 I was only half kidding.

You see, that's the flaw in the ice game. That puck is only about 2-3/4 inches wide and less than an inch thick. You take it on blind faith that it's there.

It's disastrous for television. In addition to its already low profile, that puck is flying at 100 m.p.h. when it is visible. A tennis ball looks like a balloon by comparison.

A football is highly visible at all times even when thrown by Dan Marino. It's perfect for the television screen.

A basketball is the size of a full moon. You can see it go into a basket, all right. Even a slam dunk can be seen from the rafters.

A baseball is somewhat smaller, but it is seldom surrounded by 10 or more players in bulky costumes and pads.

What this, of course, means, is that hockey is the least felicitous of sports on television. While other sports manage to carve out billion-dollar contracts from the great god network television, hockey must live within its means. In other words, it must subsist on seat sales, gate revenue. Hockey is sport's stepchild. It must sit by the fire and envy.

The gaudy salaries paid out in other sports — Bobby Bonilla's $6 million, Ryne Sandberg's $7 million — are a function of television revenues. Television is the reason a pro football franchise in, say, Green Bay can compete with a franchise in a metropolis such as New York. The game could not begin to pay Joe Montana a multi-million-dollar salary if it had to depend solely on gate revenues from eight home games per season.

Hockey sees these swollen salaries, the comparatively wide open free agency, the high life enjoyed by other sports and, probably thinks, why not me?

But hockey's best TV offer was $17 million per year. For the whole league. The last time we looked, pro football was getting $17 million per franchise from TV.

Baseball does not share revenue — save for the billion-dollar, multiyear network contract. Regional broadcasting and telecasting rights are kept by individual teams. And the Yankees pulled down $42 million for their local share alone last year. That's twice what a whole league is paid in hockey by TV.

Without a television fallback of those dimensions, hockey must exist on poverty row. What is needed is parity with other sports in the counting house. This is attainable only if TV comes in with its big-bucks subsidy.

It's hard to imagine how striking the most lucrative and attention-getting part of the season can be a step toward getting that equalization.

It looks suicidal. Hockey is holding a gun to its head. I don't think I'm going to see a goal scored here, either. 

Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times.

Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 60753, Pasadena, CA 91116

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What is the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation? 

  The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established in 1999 to perpetuate the Jim Murray legacy, and his love for and dedication to his extraordinary career in journalism. Since 1999, JMMF has granted 104 $5,000 scholarships to outstanding journalism students. Success of the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation's efforts depends heavily on the contributions from generous individuals, organizations, corporations, and volunteers who align themselves with the mission and values of the JMMF.

Like us on Facebook, and visit our newly refreshed JMMF website, www.jimmurrayfoundation.org.  

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Rasmussen's season over? . . . Of course, Mom gets her hug . . . Broadcasters thank their mentor

.@MattStajan18 and the boys are rocking @InfernoCWHL gear today! Our sisters will play for the #ClarksonCup on Sunday! pic.twitter.com/dak4LGYcJ2

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) March 2, 2017

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F Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans may not play again this season, due to what the team is saying is a fractured wrist. Rasmussen is believed to have a broken scaphoid in one wrist.

That is a bone in the wrist that, when broken, can be slow to heal, primarily because it doesn’t receive

MICHAEL RASMUSSEN

optimal blood flow due to its location.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Rasmussen is expected to be a first-round selection in the NHL’s 2017 draft. From Surrey, B.C., he has 55 points, including 32 goals, in 50 games this season. He last played on Feb. 1.

The Americans are 7-3-0 without him. They started by losing three in a row and now are riding a seven-game winning streak. They will visit the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight and then head for Kelowna and a Saturday night date with the Rockets.

Rasmussen, who doesn’t require surgery, is under the care of Dr. Rodney French, a hand/wrist specialist, in Vancouver, B.C. Dr. French is expected to re-examine Rasmussen in about six weeks.

Tri-City also has been without F Vladislav Lukin (undisclosed injury). He hasn’t played since Feb. 18. Bob Tory, the Americans’ general manager, told Taking Note on Thursday that Lukin won’t play this weekend, but that they hope to have him back for a March 10 date with the visiting Prince George Cougars.

Lukin has 55 points, including 24 goals, in 61 games, so getting him back will help take some pressure of the other forwards in Rasmussen’s absence.

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Some people dream about meeting their favorite hockey player...mine calls me mom! @Gropper8 pic.twitter.com/RoQS2lvoBR

— Colleen Gropp (@colleengropp) March 2, 2017

With mumps in its neighbourhood, the WHL issued an edict on Feb. 24 that “instructed all WHL clubs to advise players to refrain from any direct contact with fans at this time.”

You have to think that the WHL wasn’t intending to keep mothers away from sons, though.

But the law of unintended consequences struck in Kamloops on Wednesday night following the Blazers’ 5-4 OT victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Seattle F Ryan Gropp, a 20-year-old who is from Kamloops, likely had played the last game of his hockey career in his hometown. Afterwards, well, here’s Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week . . . 

“Members of Gropp’s family were waiting near the dressing room to see him after the game, but were told to leave by security, which was acting on instructions to keep the general public away from players due to the WHL’s well-documented mumps outbreak.

“A mother just wanted to see her son. That eventually happened in the face of the ever-growing swarm of security guards.

“Words were exchanged, but both parties went their separate ways without much incident.”

Someone who witnessed it told Taking Note: “The Walkie Talkies came out. . . . At first, there was one (security person). Within minutes, there were seven of them.”
Mom didn't leave until getting a hug from her son, which is all she wanted in the first place.
The photo in the above tweet was taken the previous weekend when all the parents were in Kent for parents' weekend.
Hastings’ complete game story is right here.

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Looks like moms getting a new purse 👛👜👝🎒congrats to my brother @LucasJohansen97 on signing!! #nextdinnersonyou

— Ryan Johansen (@RyanJohansen19) March 2, 2017

The NHL’s Washington Capitals have signed D Lucas Johansen of the Kelowna Rockets to a three-year, entry-level contract. Johansen was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the NHL’s 2016 draft.

This season, Johansen, 19, has 36 points, including 30 assists, in 60 games. Last season, he put up 49 points, 10 of the goals, in 69 games.

Johansen, from Port Moody, B.C., is the younger brother of F Ryan Johansen of the NHL’s Nashville Predators.

The Capitals also announced Thursday that they have signed D Colby Williams, a former captain of the Regina Pats, to a two-year, entry-level deal. Williams, 22, has 13 points, three of them goals, in 49 games with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, with whom he signed a one-year deal prior to the season.

Williams, who is from Regina, had 104 points, including 25 goals, in 211 career games over six seasons with the Pats. He served as the team’s captain in 2015-16.

The Capitals selected Williams in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2015 draft.

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Three cheers for D Connor Hobbs of the Regina Pats.

The Pats have been atop the WHL’s overall standings for much of this season. However, they have

encountered some adversity of late and their lead has shrunk to five points over the second-place Medicine Hat Tigers, although the Pats do hold two games in hand.

The Tigers are scheduled to play in Regina tonight (Friday) and Hobbs, rather than saying it’s “just another game,” told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that “it’s a huge game.”

“We’ve struggled a little bit as of late,” Hobbs continued, “and Medicine Hat is a good team. They’re closest to us (in the standings). We just have to treat it like it’s the huge game that it is.”

The Pats will play three times in fewer than 48 hours this weekend — they are at home to the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday night and then in Brandon for a Sunday (4 p.m.) start against the Wheat Kings.

Regina may get D Jonathan Smart and F Filip Ahl back at some point this weekend. Ahl, who has 24 goals and 17 assists in 45 games, and Smart both have been out since Feb. 20.

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Prior to Wednesday’s game in Kamloops between the Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds, I received an email from a fan asking if he could come up to the press box and say hello.

“There are four of us coming up for the game,” Jon Whiting, a Thunderbirds’ fan, wrote in the email.

“Hmm, that’s interesting,” I thought. “Sheesh, that’s a long drive just to watch one junior hockey game.”

Whiting showed up beside me in the second intermission and we had quite an enjoyable chat. It turns out that he has a friend who is a pilot and so they hopped in a small plane about 3 p.m., and were having dinner in Kamloops by 5:30.

They flew back to Seattle after the game.

“Walked in my house about 1 a.m.,” messaged Ryland Spencer, one of the flying foursome. “Was a fun trip!”

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Bob Miller, the longtime play-by-play voice of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, announced his retirement on Thursday, although he will work the team’s last two regular-season games, on April 8 and 9.

CRAIG WEST: Baseball fan.

That announcement may not have meant much to Canadian hockey fans, but it meant a lot to a pair of men who call WHL games. Craig West, the radio voice of the Tri-City Americans, and Mike Benton, who calls Everett Silvertips’ games, both watched the announcement via live stream. You can bet there was a tear or two, because Miller has been a mentor to both men.

Later, West posted this on Facebook:

“Bob truly helped me so much showing me how to treat the game, the players, management and coaches with respect on both sides.

In March 1991 during my first season in the WHL, I made a trip from Spokane to see the Kings play Winnipeg at the Forum. I took a tape and resume to Bob before he went on air. He was gracious and said, ‘Craig, when the season is over I will listen, break this out and be in touch with you.’

In May 1991, the Chiefs clinched the WHL title with a win over Lethbridge in four straight. The night before departure for Quebec City for the Memorial Cup, my home phone rings: ‘Hello Craig, this is Bob Miller.’

After about two minutes he says, ‘You think I'm one of your friends putting you on! Maybe this will convince you . . . please say hi to Debbie and Bryan Maxwell from my wife and I. We went to dinner many times when he was with the Kings.’

I then realized it was him! On his own time, which amounted to a 90-minute phone call, he basically took all the rough edges off my call. ‘Craig, when you say the play comes across the blue line . . . which blue

Mike Benton, voice of the Silvertips.

line? The Chiefs or Seattle?’ ”

Meanwhile, Benton turned to his blog, writing:

“Bob’s name still stands on my resume as a reference, and he went above and beyond to phone the Stockton Thunder for a recommendation when I pursued (and landed) my first broadcasting job in hockey. As many fellow friends in the business can attest to, he was always willing to pick up the phone when you called his house. Whatever he was in the middle of, he was always willing to give you 5-15 minutes of an intimate and warming conversation, whether to catch up or provide solid, raw, and unfiltered career advice.

“He taught me more than just the basic mechanics of handling the flow of play-by-play and preparation: he taught me about the value of being approachable. In the long run, you never know who you may meet, and use that valuable experience to ‘pay it forward.’ ”

Benton’s blog is right here, and he wrote a whole lot more about what Miller means to him.

bentonhockey.wordpress.com/2017/03/02/thank-you-bob-we-smile-because-it-happened/

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If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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JUST NOTES:

F Ty Lewis of the Brandon Wheat Kings was back at practice on Thursday. Lewis is second on the Wheat Kings in goals (28) and points (61) and leads in assists (33). He missed Wednesday’s 3-2 OT loss to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes in which Brandon dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . . The Wheat Kings are at home to the Calgary Hitmen on Friday night. . . .

Bill Yuill, the head of Monarch Corporation and the owner of the Everett Silvertips, is chairing a committee in Medicine Hat that wants to manage The Arena, the former home of the Medicine Hat Tigers that has been scheduled for closure. . . . Collin Gallant of the Medicine Hat News has more right here. . . . 

There was a time when the day of the NHL trade deadline was like a car wreck from which you couldn’t look away. That was then. This is now. On Wednesday, when I flipped on TSN, the talking heads were debating whether they would trade Auston Matthews for Connor McDavid. Click! That was the end of that. . . . Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, meanwhile, writes right here about The Yard Sale for Misfit Toys.

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Al Conroy followed up his 112 point season by racking up 97 assists in 84-85 which is second most in one season in franchise history!

— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) March 3, 2017

If you aren’t already, you should be following the Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey). They have been reliving the franchise’s history and it has been a lot of fun that includes a lot of familiar names, like Al Conroy.

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THURSDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Calgary at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Kelowna at Everett, 7:35 p.m.

Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.

Lethbridge at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Kamloops at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Regina 7 p.m.

Kootenay at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.

Tri-City vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.

Spokane at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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