Fans: Bring back Mike!
May 30, 2008
We missed this, but apparently there’s a grassroots movement afoot to bring back Mike Lange to Penguins’ TV broadcasts for the 2008-09 season.
A veteran of 30 seasons in the Pens’ radio booth, Lange was bumped from TV coverage by Fox Sports Pittsburgh in 2006, when executives at the network decided the games needed a “fresh set of eyes.”
Known for his colorful calls and gruff, rapid-fire play-by-play, Lange is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is known around the country as “the unmistakable voice of the Penguins.”
More than a few people (including this PBRTV correspondent) already turn down the TV sound and turn up Lange on WBGG (970) and WXDX-FM (105.9), but the different broadcast delays between the video and audio make the two difficult to sync.
Ross Township resident Bill Soles has started a website called “Bring Back Mike” and is urging fans to call FSN and complain.
“There are tons of new Pens fans tuning in to see [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin, and they deserve to listen and learn from Mike Lange, like I did growing up,” Soles tells Pittsburgh City Paper.
Get into the fast lane, FSN — the bingo game is ready to roll!
