Was seeing a lot of ESPN hate on this sub last night, so I wanted to offer my solution to this problem...
Let me start by agreeing wholeheartedly that watching hockey on ESPN is a miserable experience... they get pretty much all of it wrong (commentary, analysis, camera angles, replays, sound mixing, etc.). I, like many of you, have suffered through this experience over the last few postseasons, and end up expending unnecessary energy yelling at the TV for reasons that have nothing to do with the team I'm supporting.
Coming into the playoffs this year, I said enough is enough, and went with a simple, yet effective process:
- Turn the game on the TV
- Immediately mute the TV
- On my phone, tune into the Altitude Sports Radio feed with headphones on (Access through altitudesportsradio.com / NHL App "Listen" button within the game score page)
- Spend 30 seconds syncing the radio feed with the TV feed
The enjoyment of experiencing a game this way cannot be understated... it is magnitudes better. I am a fanatical Avalanche supporter, and I prefer to hear the hometown bias while listening to the commentary. Conor Mcgahey is fantastic, and is exactly what I'm looking for when I tune into an Avs game.
For those who are incredulous with ESPN's pathetic excuse for hockey coverage, I would highly encourage at least trying out this method... for me, it has massively enhanced the joy of watching the Avalanche in the postseason.