JIM FOX TALKS CAREER IN SPORTSCASTING

JIM FOX TALKS CAREER IN SPORTSCASTING

By: Matthew Blittner

Esteemed Kings color commentator since 1990, Jim Fox, has seen it all.

Fox has experienced the changes in broadcasting from when he started until the present day.

He has also partnered with Bob Miller to form one of the most dynamic commentator duos in the NHL.

With his experiences, Fox undoubtedly carries a wise voice, and  he was  gracious  enough  to  chat with yours truly and pass on his views on the following topics:

1.           Broadcasting changes

2.           Memorable goals and games NY Rangers postseason chances

BIGGEST   CHANGE   IN   BROADCASTING:   “The biggest change in broadcasting, at least from my perspective, is that of the analyst and the hurry up face-off. I can’t remember when it came in, but previous to that there was more time between stop-pages, between face-offs. There was more time to analyze plays and there were a bunch of different things going on. But with  the hurry up face-offs the timing is different for the broadcasters, and they’ve had to adjust. I’m not all that certain if it’s noticeable to the viewer, but when you’re trying to broadcast a game, it’s noticeable; sometimes you don’t have enough time to get what you’re saying in.”

CAREER: “My first year was 1991, so it’s been a while. I played with the Kings since 1980, and I’ve always just been  with Los Angeles. When I took over in 1990-91, Wayne Gretzky had joined the team a couple of years earlier, and the Kings at that point were doing a simulcast where things were going out both on radio and t.v. at the same time. Wayne came, and the Kings did an internal analysis and felt that they could create a separate revenue stream by splitting up the t.v. and radio. They had become popular in the market. So they tried to split it up, and they needed somebody to take over as the analyst on television. I was the guy who had just recently retired as a player, and so I chose to do that. It was sort of a timing thing, but there was some luck too.”

STYLE CHANGES: “The first thing that comes to mind is that when I started is that I had no training in sportscasting. A lot of the technical elements of it - the replays, the producers, the tim- ing of everything - you’re trying to listen to somebody else. The technical aspects really distracted me, so it was trying to get comfortable with that, which was the biggest change that I’ve gone through.

“It probably took three to five years before I became comfortable with that. That’s just something you have to go through and experience. I’m sure there’s training you could do, but in my circumstance I had to learn on the job. Once that comfort hit about five years into the job, that’s when you’re broadcasting the game, analyzing the game, and doing a lot of preparation. You have to do your homework, just like in any job. But to communicate that homework you have to be confident. In order to be confident you have to be comfortable.

“Learning and getting through the technical aspects helped me evolve. It was the ability to communicate in a clearer fashion, and I was not distracted by all of the technical aspects. Just the experience of learning that, and then getting through that, was the biggest change for me.”

MEMORABLE GAME AND GOAL: “That’s a tough question. Certainly the Stanley Cups for the Kings stick out, as far as games. We weren’t doing network broadcasts, because once the first round goes by in the playoffs, it goes from a local broadcast to a national broadcast. In 2012 and 2014, we broadcasted any potential clinching game because we made a DVD post-series and post-Stanley Cup that was made to benefit the Kings’ charity foundation. We were broadcasting - it just wasn’t going out at the time. It didn’t go out till later when the DVD was released. Again the Stanley Cups certainly would be right up there.

“The first one in 2012 was an interesting journey because it was the first time I’d ever gone through that type of stuff. The Kings won their first two games of every series that year, which was something very unique. If you’re talking about goals, it would have to be the game-winning goal in Game Five at Staples Center against the Rangers. The first time the Kings won the Stanley Cup, the clincher was a 6-1 win, and the outcome was probably predetermined before the third period had started, so when you talk about a singular goal, I look back to the Alec Martinez goal in 2014, because when it comes in overtime, it hits you so fast, and you’re always hoping you’re going to score it, but you’re also aware that the other team could score too.

“When he scored it was certainly very memorable to me. The first two games, at least in my mind, the Rangers outplayed the Kings, and substantially. But the Kings just had the knack of wearing down the competition, and in Games One and Two, the longer it went, the Kings started to take over the game. Then, as the series went along, the Kings were able to physically exert themselves on the other team, and as the series went along that started to show through. It got better and at some point they started to dominate. Again the first two games the Rangers real- ly played well but they didn’t come up with any wins.”