Blue Jackets perform a McElligectomy and cut out a part of the franchise's soul
Farewell, Bob McElligott, who took Blue Jackets fans into the kitchen and fed them. He has been chopped. Also: MLS weighs in on Crew-FC brouhaha.
The Blue Jackets announced on Wednesday afternoon that, while they don't have any details on how their new television streaming service will work, or what it will cost, they want everyone to know that the television broadcasters will henceforth also be heard calling the games on radio. The Jackets are going with a simulcast. They are cheapening their product.
The press release was four paragraphs. The lede was buried in the third paragraph. It was like they almost forgot the most important part.
— Bob McElligott (@BobbyMacSports) July 29, 2026
This is sad news on any number of levels. I'll mention two.
First, Bob McElligott is a good person and a family man who has served the Columbus Blue Jackets with honor for 17 years, and he is being cast aside like a used AA battery. There are suits with titles who continue to gather dust in that front office. McElligott punched the clock every day, performed his duties with distinction, and brought honor to the organization. And he's the expendable one?
This is Bob’s youngest son. He only found out an hour and a half before the statement went public. Our family loses our health insurance on Saturday. I just went through two cancer surgeries last year so that is very important.
— Bradenmc2 (@Bradenmc2) July 30, 2026
Second, this move is part of a trend that is gaining momentum. Simulcasting requires fewer salaried employees, which has to mean it's good business. And it is, like AI-generated newspaper stories, service chatbots, and algorithmic advertising feeds. Who needs people?
Something is definitely being lost here with McElligott's departure. And nobody who was in on the decision truly cares because, to them, cheaper has to be better. Who cares about the audience?
I would argue that selling one's soul is a misguided disinvestment.
But it's a trend.
It jibes with the way teams are increasingly opting for shallow "influencers" over more substantial coverage. Don't be surprised, then, if your team's website is soon missing bylines of people who might be construed as wordsmiths. They don't want storytellers, they want slop. They think the kids like slop.
It's all the same thing – virality over value, heavy production over originality, repeatability over creativity, and so forth.
Fat, salt, calories. Fast food.
With the implosion of regional sports networks (such as FanDuel) and the accompanying decrease in broadcast revenues, major professional sports leagues need to find new outlets to reach their fan bases, and they want to cut costs. At least, that is one narrative. Here is another: Owners are cheapening their broadcast product because they can, and they don't care what you think. You're just fans.
On an ancillary front:
The idea of consolidating local TV coverage under league umbrellas – the way MLS does with Apple – is gathering momentum in MLB, the NBA and, yes, the NHL. (The NFL is its own, unique monster with massive revenue streams.) It will likely lead to more soul-draining simulcasting.
Last season, four NHL teams used TV/radio simulcasts – Buffalo, Carolina, Dallas and St. Louis.
This season, Columbus will be among four teams whose television coverage will be produced by the NHL. Carolina, Minnesota and St. Louis are the others. Note that three of them, including the Jackets, will also be simulcasting. There will be more.
Carolina was among the first to simulcast because its billionaire absentee owner, Tom Dundon, tends to look at front-office personnel as numbers on a spreadsheet. Dundon is a ruthless SOB when it comes to cost-cutting.
In 2018, Dundon got rid of a legendary radio voice, Chuck Kaiton, by offering a contract (with an 80% pay cut) that Kaiton could only refuse if he wanted to hang on to any dignity. Since Dundon has no heart, he sees the world as bloodless. This is the same guy who had his wife's and kids' names carved onto the Stanley Cup.
Michael Arace
Regardless of how you feel about the television team of Steve Mears and Jody Shelley, the Blue Jackets are losing an important voice by ejecting McElligott from his seat above the ice. Their product is not better today than it was yesterday. Period.
The TV play-by-play person is the welcome mat for a franchise, providing entry for fans – especially new fans. Come on in. You're going to enjoy yourself.
The radio voice is in the kitchen, providing entrees from the hearth, in the soul of the place. Have a seat. You hungry? I'll fix you something, and we'll talk.
A good TV play-by-play person has the picture to help do the talking – while a good radio voice paints the picture for your mind's eye. These are completely different approaches, requiring different talents. One does not substitute well for the other.
They don't care. That's the bottom line.
Bobby Mac's amazing journey
McElligott sat down to record an episode of Cannon Balls in mid-March. Hopefully, I can get him back on soon.
Man, the dude has some stories. One of them has to do with the serendipity involved in him getting the job with the Jackets. It's a wonderful hour. Check it out.
Somebody named "Lauren" is fined by MLS
The brouhaha that broke out Saturday night after FC Cincinnati midfielder Gerardo Valenzuela went all Lou "The Toe" Groza on the lower left leg of the Crew's budding star, Taha Habroune, has been hashed through by the MLS Disciplinary Committee. Suspensions and fines have been issued.
Michael Arace
Valenzuela got an additional match and a fine. The coaches, FC's Pat Noonan and the Crew's Laurent Courtois, were fined for failing to control their benches. (Note: In the press release below, MLS referred to Courtois as "Lauren," so Courtois might have a loophole to avoid paying.)
From the release: "Due to their roles in the mass confrontation, FC Cincinnati forward Ayoub Jabbari, Assistant Coach Kenny Arena, Columbus Crew defenders Mohamed Farsi and Sean Zawadzki, and midfielder Max Arfsten will be fined for inciting and/or escalating a mass confrontation."
I've watched a lot of tape. Jabbari and Arena merited fines for their part in the hallway confrontation (a yelling match) outside the Crew locker room. Jabbari might also have been hit for "accidentally" elbowing Zawadzki to the ground in the corner of the field. Arena yelled, "I'll be ready for you" – presumably the next time Hell is Real is rejoined, on October 18 in Porkopolis – before he peeled away from the hallway pack.
Farsi was at the vanguard of charging down the tunnel after Valenzuela. Zawadski was also headed in that direction before he was accosted by an FC trainer. I don't know why Arfsten was fined, but there has to be a reason; maybe, because he has been in too many Middlesbrough rumors for too long.
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