ESPN analyst Ben McDonald came under fire for a remark he made during the network’s broadcast of the San Diego Padres-Chicago Cubs game on Wednesday.
McDonald was in the booth alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown for Game 2 of the NL Wild Card series between the Padres and Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill. When the game returned from a commercial break in the top of the fifth inning, Brown read a promotion for ESPN’s upcoming coverage of the season-opening NHL game between the Chicago Blackhawks and defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
McDonald and Brown then had a brief exchange during which the former said there is “zero chance” he is going to watch the Oct. 7 hockey game despite it being on ESPN.
"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
McDonald clearly wanted to make the point that he has no interest in the NHL. Some fans thought the former MLB pitcher could have done so without making it seem like the NHL is not worth watching, and ESPN executives likely felt the same way. ESPN currently has a seven-year, $2.8 billion media rights deal with the NHL.
On Thursday, McDonald told The Athletic that his comment about the NHL was merely “a joke.” He said he and Brown had been talking before they came on the air about how McDonald can’t wait to go “off the grid” for hunting season, which coincides with the NHL season.
“I respect the hockey players, I love them,” McDonald said. “It was not a bang on hockey at all. 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.”
McDonald also joined “Walk Up Barstool” on Thursday morning to discuss the reaction to his comments. He offered a somewhat different explanation.
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know ESPN had the hockey contract. I know that they probably paid more than a dollar or two for it, but I just didn’t even know that to be honest,” McDonald said. “Then when I look at the dates I’m like, well, that’s kind of the same time as playoff baseball. If I’ve got a choice between preseason or the beginning of hockey season and October baseball, I’m probably leaning slightly towards playoff baseball”
Ben McDonald addresses the comments he made about the NHL playoffs on yesterday’s Cubs-Padres broadcast pic.twitter.com/IJD6yLtYDT
— Wake Up Barstool (@wakeupbarstool) October 2, 2025
McDonald and Brown primarily call Baltimore Orioles games together for MASN. Neither is a full-time ESPN employee.
In reality, no one at ESPN cares if McDonald watches the network’s NHL coverage or not. It was simply a bad look for him to talk about the game in a dismissive manner when he was supposed to be promoting it for his employer.
