Bob Miller Q&A, part 2

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Question: What about that amazing day when Gretzky was suddenly a Los Angeles King? Did you have any inkling that it was a possibility?

Miller: I did actually. There were some rumors going around that it might happen and I wanted to find out, so I decided to call Bruce McNall under the pretense of wanting to know how many games we were going to do on television. It was nice to know, but I really didn't need to know at that time. So I got him on the phone and asked him that and we got to talking, so I thought I'm going to ask this question and we'll see what happens. So I asked him if he was going to get Wayne Gretzky. There was a pause and he said, tell me what you think of this; we are going to change our uniform colors and design and the guy who models the new uniform is going to be Wayne Gretzky. So I told him that if he was able to pull that off it would be unbelievable, and he said that he thought they were going to be able to get it done. I wanted to tell people, but I can't because if it gets out he is going to know I was the one who let it out. I was so excited about it and I couldn't believe it. Then I heard that it was going to be on a Thursday that it was going to happen, and I was at the Forum on that Monday and Jerry West called me over and said that the deal was done, that he had played golf with someone that weekend who knew that the deal for Gretzky was done. I just couldn't believe it. Well, like I said that was a Monday and all of the sudden word was getting out, so they moved the news conference up to Tuesday night. I had never seen a news conference like that before or since with the Kings.

Question: I threw some former players' names in a hat before I called you and then pulled out a random three and thought it might be fun to get your thoughts on them.

Miller: Sounds good.

Question: Okay, first name: Tiger Williams.

Question: Well Tiger was quite a personality. At times, fun to be around and a guy whose antics on the ice would make me cringe sometimes, but the fans loved him. He was a guy we were reluctant to interview on live TV because you just never knew what he was going to say, so we were very cautious when it came to interviewing Tiger.

Question: Name number two: Jimmy Carson.

Miller: Jimmy was like a guy, who at 18 I said was likely to be a senator or governor of Michigan some time. He was so intelligent for his age. I'll never forget one year after getting eliminated from the playoffs we were flying home and all the guys were in the back of the plane drinking beers and Jimmy was only 19 then, so he couldn't drink and didn't go back there with them, and he always wanted to hear stories about Jack Kent Cooke. So he comes and sits down next to me and asks for me to tell him some Jack Kent Cooke stories. He really wanted to hear them. Then he asked me what was the deal with my contract, and it was up that year and I had to talk to them over the summer, and he says, let me tell you how to handle this. I thought, this is a 19-year-old kid, my own kids are older than he is, and he is going to tell me how to handle my contract (laughs). But he had some good points. He was amazing. Very intelligent and he was a great goal-scorer, he scored 50 goals, and he had that thing where he'd go down to one knee and scored a goal. I always got the impression that he had bigger things on his mind than hockey as far as his future. I know he is back in Michigan now and I still always thought that he would eventually run for public office, but what I really remember is him telling me about how to handle my contract.

Question: Third name, which I nearly threw back, but what the heck: Jason Allison.

Miller: A very, very strange person. Strange personality, I never really got the chance to know him very well and I'm not sure if too many others did either. I was excited that we got him and there were games where he had that big body with guys draped over his shoulder and he could control the puck and make the play. But there was something in his personality that just didn't click with me or too many other people, and it is too bad because he could have been such a huge asset to this organization.

Question: How about Kings fans? Are they the typical L.A. fan that arrives late and leaves early?

Miller: You know, I can understand arriving late to weeknight games. Sometimes we will go on the air and I'll look around and say to Jim Fox that this is not going to be a very good crowd, but midway through the first period I'll look around again and the building will be nearly full. So I think just from traffic situations on a weeknight game there are some late arrivals, but I don't see too many of them leaving early. I've always felt that I've had a great rapport with the fans and I've always tried to thank them for the compliments or explain why we can't do certain things on TV. So I've always enjoyed meeting with them after games and there is a handful who sit behind us and we will commiserate after a loss or celebrate if it was a win. I always enjoy that. I've never had problems with fans here. I'm sure there are those who don't like the way I do the games, but I've just always had a great relationship with the fans.

Question: How different is it to call a game at Staples VS The Forum?

Miller: The Forum had a location that was closer to the ice, but not an ideal location because of the walkway in front of us, and while it was nice to see the fans and say hello to them, when fans would go to their seats sometimes they would block the camera angle and block our view as well. I always said that the cotton candy guy would come by with the whole things of cotton candy blocking the ice and I'd have to look around the cotton candy to see the game (laughs). So not a great angle, but it was great for the atmosphere and seeing and talking to fans. We had to do our opening out in the walkway where people were coming to their seats and they had to hold people up until we were done, so it wasn't the ideal situation. So now here at Staples, we are much higher and have a better angle even though we are not as close to the ice. Sometimes fans come up and wonder how we can even see the game from up there. It is a better and sharper angle when there is a play or scramble in front of the net, I can get a better view of it than I could at the Forum. And we have more space. We have an actual booth where we can get people in and do interviews, so it is a much nicer facility at Staples than the Forum. But sometimes I miss the closeness of the Forum, getting the chance to go down between periods and talk to fans, which I can't really do at Staples because it is too far down. The only other detriment is that we aren't in the main press box, so we might miss out on an interview opportunity because someone might come in and go directly to the main press box and we don't even know that they are here. They gave me the choice though. Tim Lieweke came to me and Jimmy and Nick and Daryl and asked us to write down what we wanted in the press box and you may get all of it, none of it, half of it, so we wrote down a lot of things. Then Lee Zeidman came to me and asked where I wanted to be, did I want to be down with the basketball announcers are, but I said that was too low for me. Then he asked if I wanted to be up in the press box, but that was too high (laughs). So I asked if they could put some booths right about the third level of suites and that is where they put them. Most visiting broadcasters come in and say that Staples is among the top two or three locations in the league to do a game, so that is good to hear. And it was nice that they allowed us to have that input. Too many times a new arena is built and that question is not asked, and that is too bad because so much of the ability of people to enjoy the games is about camera angles and broadcast position.

Question: So how do you keep yourself busy and sharp during the off season?

Miller: Right now I am just trying to keep up with all of this free agency and players going from team to team, and I hate that (laughs). It really doesn't lend itself to fans getting an identification with the players. Even for me, I'm saying where was he last year, where is he this year. Otherwise, I'm one who feels that I almost need to be away from the game for the summer to get really charged up and excited for the new season, and usually by August or September I'm ready to go again. I think that's another thing that keeps me going. I know other announcers when the season ends they move onto another sport and work all summer and then hockey comes around and they've had no break. I'm very fortunate that the Kings give me that opportunity during the summer. The amount of time that we are away from family during the season, this is just a great time to spend with kids, grandkids and of course my wife. It is really great.

Question: And who knows? With Dean Lombardi's plan unfolding, you might get the chance to retire at 75?

Miller: (Laughs). You never know. They might be so good by then I may never want to retire (laughs).