Sean McDonough Finds Joy and New Challenges in Return to NHL Play-by-Play

Sean McDonough has called nearly every sport over a versatile broadcasting career, but until this season the veteran announcer had not done NHL play-by-play in almost two decades. That changed when ESPN regained league broadcast rights after a 17-year absence and picked McDonough over the summer for its top booth.

In a conversation on Friday, McDonough described the return as "incredibly satisfying." Many New Englanders remember McDonough calling Beanpot and Hockey East games on NESN in the 1980s. "It has been as fun as I hoped and expected it would be when I got this assignment," McDonough said. "Fulfilling is the right word."

The season is not finished. McDonough is calling the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Rangers and Hurricanes, and ESPN will carry the Stanley Cup Final. Even so, McDonough has already noticed how the sport has changed and what the year has taught about calling it.

Speed is the biggest difference. In the past, McDonough said, a broadcaster could glance at a note or check a player's number without missing much. "If you look down now, the puck has gone to three different people, or it might even wind up in the net," McDonough said. "You're dead, and you're looking up going, 'Uh, what just happened?' "

McDonough also admitted, in a more wistful than serious way, to missing the sight lines at the old Boston Garden when calling Bruins games. There, the broadcast position was essentially the first row of the balcony, close enough to overhear players and officials lining up for faceoffs. "It was perfect," McDonough said.

At TD Garden, the broadcasters sit on the ninth floor while the game is played at the building's third level. McDonough compared it to "hanging out the window of a six-story building to describe something that's happening on the street or the sidewalk," which can make it hard to tell whether a puck hit the post or the goalie's pad.

McDonough said someone had told them that Doc Emrick had a useful phrase for such moments: "And it did not go." The line indicated the puck had not gone into the net without committing to a save or a post. The lesson McDonough took from it: "sometimes it's better not to fully commit to what you think happened until you actually know."

Elsewhere in sports media, ESPN introduced its "Monday Night Football" broadcast team on Monday. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, Fox Sports' No. 1 team for 20 years, officially moved to ESPN in March on contracts reportedly worth more than $36 million per year combined. That figure was the talk of the industry until March 10, when Fox announced that Tom Brady would join its top booth after retiring, at $37.5 million per year, more than Buck and Aikman combined.

Asked about Brady the broadcaster, Aikman said it was not something they had thought Brady was considering, but added, "I think he'll be great." Aikman called the hire "outstanding" and said getting to know Brady better since the quarterback went to Tampa and the NFC. Buck said, "Would anybody ever bet against the guy being great at anything?" while predicting a steep learning curve.

The sports world also marked the death of writer Roger Angell, who died Friday at 101. Angell's baseball essays in The New Yorker, including "Agincourt and After" on the 1975 World Series and the 2014 piece "This Old Man," earned lasting admiration among readers.