Sean McDonough has opened up about criticism about his energy levels during the Stanley Cup Final as he is battling a bug.
McDonough, 62, who is calling the games for ESPN/ABC, joined “Schein on Sports” on SiriusXM, and discussed what he’s been going through.
“I’m still a little under the weather, but we’re powering through it,” McDonough said, as covered by Barrett Sports Media. “It’s the playoffs – everybody’s playing hurt, certainly all the players are. It’s a grind – [the] playoffs started two months ago. We’re on the charter coming back from Edmonton here to Fort Lauderdale yesterday, and I would say as you walked up and down the aisle on that plane, half the people were coughing or clearing their throat or sneezing, so a lot of stuff going around.”
McDonough credited the Oilers’ medical team for helping him improve between Games 3 and 4 in Edmonton but said the criticism of his broadcasting from when he was fighting through the sickness, particularly in Game 3, stung.
“Well you know what, it just kind of bothered me — not that you should pay attention [to it] — but people [said], ‘Well, you’ve got a lack of energy,’” McDonough continued. “Yeah, I’m really not excited to call a Stanley Cup Final game. I’ve been doing this for, I don’t know, 30-something years now. I hope people who’ve heard me over the years know that’s not the way I usually sound, and maybe I shouldn’t have tried to power through it.”
He added, “We do this to do the biggest games at the biggest moments, and the fun part, one of the many fun parts of the job, is when the big moments come, either you nail them or you don’t, and that’s what I love about it, and I’ve been lucky to be in the right place at the right time for a lot of really exciting games over the years.”
The Panthers hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series and host Game 5 on Tuesday night with a chance to win their first-ever Stanley Cup.