Miller, Nickson Still Find Way to Keep Interest High

Between them, Bob Miller and Nick Nickson have been broadcasting Kings hockey for 48 years, nearly half a century of good times and bad.

Times were never better for the pair than the Wayne Gretzky years from 1988-96, highlighted by the 1993 trip to the Stanley Cup finals where the Kings lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

“I wish we still had that kind of excitement,” said Miller, who is in his 28th season with the team. “A Kings game was the thing to see and the place to be seen. And who could blame the fans? They wanted to see the greatest player of all time.”

So how do Miller and Nickson keep their own excitement level high in the disappointing post-Gretzky era in which the Kings have failed to win a playoff game?

“I enjoy what I do,” Nickson said. “I know that every night when I show up for a game, I may see something I have never seen before. There are so many great athletes out there, someone might go out there and score five goals in a game some night.”

Explained Miller, “We are doing a live telecast and there are so few of those these days except in sports. It’s three hours of live television and there are no chances to do it over. It’s a challenge to see what I can do game after game.”

Miller has done well enough to have won the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award this season, given to broadcasters who have made an impact on the game. Miller certainly has done that, selling the Kings in a town where the Dodgers and Lakers have long ruled.

Except for the brief shining Gretzky moments.

“I long,” conceded Miller, “for those days.”