Sections

Fox puck gimmick is one more disappointing comet

It's a puck.

A puck?

Of course the people saying this work at Fox Sports. That explains a lot right there.

And that oh-so-bright star they're referring to is the not-so-bright idea known as Fox Trax. In layman's terms: The-really-annoying-blue-dot-that-is-just-behind-the-puck-and-not-on-it-where-its-supposed-to-be.

This isn't new, I know. Fox debuted its multimillion dollar invention in January at the league's all star game.

At the time it was a blue dot on top of the puck, and when play was along the near boards the blue dot looked like a hat for some woman in the third row. It was kind of like the William Kennedy Smith trial on ice.

The most amusing aspect of the invention, though, was the orange comet tail that trailed behind especially hard shots.

The purpose was to make the puck easier for viewers to follow. The result was the general annoyance of most everyone who saw the game.

So Fox shelved the puck. Some of us had hoped for good.

Then, last week, it returned like yesterday's burrito. And with about the same effect.

It was new and improved according to Fox. They replaced the blue dot with a simple white glow around the puck. The comet stayed, but supposedly only after really, really hard shots. Or so our announcers told us.

You know what? The puck still stinks.

I tried. I gave it a chance. I watched the first two periods of the Trax return. I got a headache.

The glow is still annoying, and the comet still makes the game look like it should be shown on Fox Kids, Saturday morning between Spider Man and The Tick. Of course, those silly fighting robots that show up after goals don't exactly help.

You have to wonder: If this is what Rupert Murdoch can do to hockey, what could he do to a sport he understood?

It is obvious Fox doesn't get hockey, and that's one of the reasons Fox Trax is so annoying.

If someone at Fox knew something about hockey they would have pointed out that the puck is not the only thing moving on the ice.

There is a lot that goes on in a hockey game without the puck, and I don't mean fighting. But there are big hits, back-checking, forechecking; plays develop and plays are broken up. All of which is missed because your eyes are forced to follow this little glowing dot around the rink.

Admittedly, I'm what you would call a hockey traditionalist.

Like a bad third-world government, I still don't recognize the Central Division. It's the Norris and always will be.

I've been called Canadian because I prefer a good hockey game over baseball.

So, as someone who grew up watching and playing hockey, this whole illuminated idea is kind of insulting.

I've always been able to follow the puck just fine, thank you.

Apparently Canadians have too since the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the people who bring you Hockey Night In Canada, never plan on using this cutting-edge technology.

I will give Fox credit for trying to widen hockey's television audience in the United States. It is just going about it the wrong way.

Sell the public on the game, not a gimmick.

The game is 10 times more exciting than the NBA is today, and with the playoffs just around the corner, the game can sell itself.

Unfortunately Fox isn't going to let that happen. The playoffs will be nothing but another opportunity to showcase the network's latest toy.

The NHL's "hottest new star" will be on display until the Stanley Cup is given away.

I just hope the real stars aren't taken out by a stray comet.

-- Ryan White can be reached over e-mail at target@umich.edu.