Make that two Orioles broadcasters who likely won’t be welcome in Canada anytime soon.
After former Baltimore second baseman and part-time Mid-Atlantic Sports Network analyst Brian Roberts angered Toronto Blue Jays fans when he questioned the “baseball intelligence” of sports enthusiasts north of the border, former Orioles pitcher and MASN analyst Ben McDonald irked the hockey community by showing no enthusiasm about the NHL’s season-opening slate.
During Wednesday afternoon’s broadcast of Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs, McDonald was asked by his full-time MASN teammate and part-time ESPN play-by-play man Kevin Brown whether he was excited about the upcoming triple-header to open the 2026 NHL season.
Brown quipped that “of course” McDonald would be watching because he works during the MLB playoffs for ESPN, which in addition to broadcasting the best-of-three wild-card series is also airing the first three NHL games of the season Oct. 7, beginning with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers hosting the Chicago Blackhawks.
“There is zero chance I’ll be watching, I’m just gonna be honest with you,” McDonald deadpanned.
Predictably, hockey fans caught wind of McDonald’s remarks and were none too pleased.
“There is zero chance I’ll be watching, I’m just gonna be honest with you.” – ABC/ESPN MLB analyst Ben McDonald with a ringing endorsement of ESPN’s NHL Opening Night coverage. pic.twitter.com/OaWXf68hsy
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 1, 2025
“Always good to have broadcasters dumping on coverage on their own network,” one Reddit user replied in a thread about McDonald’s comments.
“I’m sure the ESPN executives are gonna love this one,” another user wrote.
“Damn I’m not usually a ‘please love my sport’ guy but the disrespect,” another posted.
“SportsCenter” anchor and ESPN hockey personality John Buccigross also chimed in, posting on X that “Zero is also how many postseason innings Ben McDonald pitched in his MLB career.”
When asked about his comments Thursday during an appearance the “Wake Up Barstool” show, McDonald said that he didn’t even know that ESPN had the broadcast rights to NHL games. The network signed a seven-year deal in 2021 reportedly worth $2.8 billion.
“When I looked at the dates and I went, ‘Well that’s kind of the same time as playoff baseball.’ If I got a choice between preseason or the beginning of hockey season and October baseball, I’m probably leaning slightly towards playoff baseball, to be honest with you,” he said.
The 57-year-old McDonald is a Louisiana native and avid hunter who starred at LSU before becoming the No. 1 overall pick by the Orioles in the 1989 MLB draft. It’s worth noting that hockey pales in comparison with baseball, football and other sports in the American south, and the NHL markets reflect that. The Nashville Predators, a 1998-99 expansion team, are the only franchise anywhere near southern states such as Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. While the Dallas and Florida markets have thrived in recent years behind strong teams, other southern franchises haven’t been so fortunate. The Atlanta Flames only lasted from 1972 to 1980 and the Atlanta Thrashers existed from 1999 to 2011.
McDonald told The Athletic that his comments were merely “a joke” and that he respects and loves hockey players. McDonald and Brown often joke with each other during Orioles broadcasts on MASN, particularly about music and pop culture references. Most of the national audience on ESPN doesn’t know that, though.
“It was not a bang on hockey at all,” McDonald said of his “zero chance” comment. “It was following up on a conversation we had before the game about what we are doing after this? I said I’m disappearing off the grid to hunt.”
Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon.
