Leave it to the Islanders to get caught in a stir in the media. When it’s not some rogue fan stirring up a hoax about a Rick DiPietro car accident, they’re stuck in a mess having to deal with MSG Network not renewing the contract of television color commentator Billy Jaffe. Chris Botta from Islanders Point Blank shares the news and give his thoughts on Jaffe.
Despite the Islanders finishing 30th and 26th in the league the last two seasons, I never saw anything but 100% positive analysis from Jaffe. In fact, no one more optimistically and studiously told the story of the slow and steady recall better than him. If there was a dispute between MSG and Jaffe, I would think the Islanders would push to keep one of their biggest public advocates. In addition, he was a regular volunteer for the Islanders at draft parties and on segments for Islanders TV.
Jaffe has also done work for Versus and ESPN in the past and considering that Versus doesn’t have their own army of broadcasters on staff (everyone in the booth for Versus has a “day job” with another team) perhaps having Jaffe on board to be the main color man for the network would make for a smooth move and one that’s good for PR as well.
Then again, I’m not a broadcasting executive, so what do I know?
UPDATE:
Chris Botta gets to the bottom of things fast and shares the info via Twitter:
Multiple sources confirm: MSG had contract done for Billy Jaffe, Islanders shot it down. Reason: not positive enough.