Hockey's preeminent voice is just another dude adversely affected by the NHL lockout. As our friends at Awful Announcing noticed, NBC announced today that Mike "Doc" Emrick will be the play-by-play voice for the network's figure skating coverage, which will air for the next six weekends, when the rest of us have no other solid programming options.


In all seriousness, now that he's got all this time on his hands, we can't say we're surprised Emrick took this gig. We love Emrick because Emrick's a pro. He wasn't above calling water polo during the London Olympics, and if anyone behind the mic is gonna know his lutzes from his axels, it's Doc Emrick. If we're really lucky, he'll even find a way to work the words "waffleboarded" and "careened" into his skating calls. Because the man's a perfect fit for ... oh, who am I kidding? For fuck's sake, NHL, end the lockout already and free Doc Emrick.


[Awful Announcing]