I don't think there is any question that the L.A. mass media market is questionable at best when it comes to hockey.
However, despite the somewhat disrespectful nature in which hockey is covered in Southern California, the Kings franchise and faithful have been around just as long as other L.A. teams and have just as much a tradition and following.
Here we stand, with the Kings just three games away from their second Stanley Cup in three years, and only now are L.A. media outlets pretending to be interested in hockey. Alas, the team and the fans have dealt with this for years.
Who could forget Fox 11's brilliant coverage of the Kings/Coyotes series?
There is also the epic battle that the Kings grapple with of having a team in another sport with the same name in the same state.
I mean, who has time to do 10 seconds of a google search for "LA Kings logo" for a regional news broadcast? That's tough stuff to do.
It's so bad and so common that it has become a bit of a running joke with the LA fans. Over at HF boards you can find a lovely thread on the media failings of the LA area. None better than the Kings seventh game PLAYOFF clinching win against the Blackhawks.
I'm sure glad we made the playoffs, guys.
Then there are the good guys. The guys like Patrick O'Neal. If you don't know who Patrick O'Neal is he is the Kings in-game reporter, as well as handling pre and post-game shows. He has covered the Kings for 9 years. I've met Patrick before and he's a great guy who is very enthusiastic about L.A. hockey.
Just before Game 1 of the finals, O'Neal went on with Steven Mason and John Ireland on ESPN 710 radio in L.A. To be frank, if it isn't about the Lakers Mason and Ireland don't seem to care.
After a pretty slighted introduction, wherein one host mistakenly called the Santa Monica born O'Neal Canadian, Patrick laid into them. Take a listen.
I like how even after he calls them out, they continue to make Canadian accent jokes and don't really talk hockey until the VERY end of the interview.
But what can I say about the intro other than AWESOME. I can't applaud O'Neal enough for saying what he said.
As a person born and raised in the L.A. area, a Kings fan for 26 years, and a pretty consistent radio listener to local broadcasts, this was beautiful.
There is no question about it. Sadly, L.A. Kings are second banana to the Lakers, Clippers, Dodgers, Puig batflips, the NBA, The NFL, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James cramps, Alyssa Milano at hockey games, any movie star doing anything anywhere, etc. etc....etc. etc.
The real crime here is that they don't deserve to be. The Kings stand on the cusp of a truly great achievement in the modern NHL. They've also built one of the strongest teams in the NHL over the last several years. Only now when the Kings get into the finals do we have radio hosts like Mason and Ireland, Max and Marcelus, and Vic the Brick pretending to be interested. Honestly, if you asked each of those guys who is on the team they probably couldn't name more than five each. It's a shame. They make veiled cracks about the L.A. Kings and hockey not being on the same level in Southern California with the Lakers/Clippers/Dodgers/NFL but then perpetuate the cycle of poor reception/following by creating the very thing they are joking about. Do they not realize that ratings are up, the Kings have sold out every home game since December 3rd 2011, and have been one of the best teams in hockey for the last three years? Guess not.
Hockey has grown tremendously in L.A. and the L.A. area the last several years and both the Kings and Anaheim Ducks have done an amazing job at reaching out to the community. They want to get more people involved with the sport and more people watching the sport. They have also been two incredibly strong teams over the last several years. Even in a city like L.A. where there is so much to do and so much to cover, the Kings have started to get tremendous pull. Nonetheless they are still treated by local media outlets as second class citizens to "Major" franchises. Despite both the Kings and the Ducks having won championships recently, good regular season talking points, major trades, record breaking events, and good post-season runs, no one pretends to be interested until now? I'd estimate that during the course of the regular season, which spans from October to June, you'd hear maybe 5-6 Hockey oriented guests on any given radio broadcast throughout the year.
O'Neal puts it best. I think everyone understands that they can't talk about JUST the Kings in local media. But let's talk about them before talking about how Kobe doesn't like Mike D'Antoni or about how Matt Kemp can't play left field in game 85 of the MLB regular season. Doesn't it deserve it? Haven't the Kings done enough to finally be considered a legitimate sport in the L.A. area?
Let's not be unfair, there are some hosts/shows out there who do their best to cover the Kings and Ducks. Petros and Money always seem to chime in with a bit of hockey talk and a few guests here and there, but they are one of very few in L.A. that give hockey the attention and respect it deserves.
I digress. Hats off to Patrick O'Neal for going to bat and sticking it to the L.A. media a bit. Fight the good fight Patrick, ALL hockey fans in California, be it Ducks or Kings, deserve it.
Anze Kopidor, Brad Doty, and the rest of the Sacramento Kings take on the Texas Rangers tomorrow night in Arlington for Game 2. Don't miss it!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a more game oriented note. It looks as though Robyn Regehr might be playing tomorrow.
Greene out? Mitchell out? We shall see.
Robyn Regehr probably in tomorrow, per Sutter.
— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) June 6, 2014Follow me on twitter for news and notes about the Kings and the NHL