Tuning in Versus

A few years ago, news that games wouldn't be broadcast on ESPN brought about dread for the hockey-watching public. Instead of a well-known national sports network, the league inked a deal with the Outdoor Life Network.

Very few people had heard of the network. Even worse, not everyone had the channel in their cable package. The NHL, we were afraid, was relegated to second-tier status.

Guess what? It's turned out okay. OLN, as it was known back then, has now become Versus. And, if you ask Hound Central 4.0 readers, the network is doing a pretty good job with its playoff coverage. Nearly 60 percent of those taking part in Hound Central 4.0's latest poll looked favorably upon Versus.

My only beef with Versus' playoff coverage -- and it's likely not their fault -- was the scheduling of Eastern Conference games within an hour on the same night. Though it's easy to understand that the network wanted complete Pittsburgh-Washington games, I'd much rather have watched the Boston-Carolina series.

Question: NHL: on Versus?

Good: 17 out of 29 votes cast (58.6 percent)
Bad: 12 out of 29 votes (41.4 percent)