Bill Clement


Bill Clement, the former NHL All-Star and two-time Quebec high school badminton champion, will serve as the badminton and table tennis analyst and play-by-play commentator on modern pentathlon during NBC's coverage of the Athens Olympic Games, his third Olympic broadcast assignment and second for NBC.Clement began playing badminton in high school because he had an insatiable appetite for sports and wanted to play any sport his school offered which led him to two Quebec province championships. He later found that the "quick-twitch reflexes and reaction times he needed for badminton are not unlike those required to be a hockey player. Most people think of hockey as a game of brute force but similar to badminton, both sports require a high-level of athleticism."The 11-year veteran with Philadelphia, Washington and Calgary, worked as the hockey studio analyst alongside host Jim Lampley during CNBC's live hockey studio show broadcasts during the 2002 Salt Lake Games. Clement is currently a game analyst for ESPN's "National Hockey Night" telecasts. In 1992-93, he served as ESPN's NHL studio analyst.Clement first served as ESPN's NHL game analyst from 1986-88. From 1988-92, he was the analyst for Philadelphia Flyers games on PRISM (Philadelphia regional cable) and a playoff analyst during the Stanley Cup Finals for SportsChannel America. He received a 1992 CableACE Award for his playoff work. He also worked Flyers local telecasts on WGBS-TV from 1988-91 and WPHL-TV in 1991-92. He was an ice-level reporter for NBC's coverage of the NHL All-Star Game in 1992 and 1993. Clement also served as an analyst for TNT at the 1992 Winter Olympics and as studio analyst for the 1991 Canada Cup on CTV (Canada).In a 1996 reader survey conducted by The Hockey News, Clement was voted "Favorite National TV Personality." He also has worked as an analyst for select Madison Square Garden telecasts of New Jersey Devils games and as a guest commentator on USA Network's NHL telecasts during his playing career.In 1990, Clement began motivational speaking and now makes corporate presentations on a national basis. He also is an actor and model who has appeared in more than 250 television commercials, including spots for Chevrolet, Deep Woods Off, Hardees and NAPA. Clement also appeared in the ABC soap opera "All My Children" in July 1986.The former center began his pro career with the Flyers organization in 1970 and played for two Stanley Cup championship teams (1974, '75) with the "Broad Street Bullies." After one season (1975-76) with the Capitals, in which he played in the All-Star Game, Clement was traded to the Atlanta Flames, where he played for five seasons and was selected to his second All-Star Game (1978). In 1980, he moved with the Flames to Calgary, where he finished his career in 1982.Clement (pronounced Cleh-MENT) was born December 20, 1950.

Actually, a very good choice on nbc part. I hope his attributes especially his in television medium can break through the america's wall of badminton and table tennis, well a big crack would still be good.

Do you think that badminton will pass on NBC germany???
because i have it but not NBC american... :(

That's the point. I hope NBC Europe brodcasts the same things as NBC America. But it will be unlikely because every country has got a different contract with IOC. Let's hope we can see badminton as much as available on NBC.



Do you think that badminton will pass on NBC germany???
because i have it but not NBC american... :(

Actually, a very good choice on nbc part. I hope his attributes especially his in television medium can break through the america's wall of badminton and table tennis, well a big crack would still be good.
totally agree. i have not watched any of his commentation, but all commentators of the major sports in the US are very good in what they do. much better than the current English language badminton commentators.

it will be excellent if he can inject more life into a badminton match via commentation. a good commentator can be the difference of night and day. i was watching the tour de france the other day, i think it was the 2nd stage. some other guy was commentating instead of the regular Phil Liggett, what a difference.

nod.
Bill clement is a recognizable sport and TV figure, someone that non-badminton american can relate to. Bill can put badminton terms and commentary in common language that non badminton audience could comprehend. A very technical commentator may suit us badminton players but not to the majority TV audience that IBF/NBC trying to reach. If Bill clement know and had played badminton before, the audience are more receptive to badminton and not see badminton as an exotic oversea sport.

Now, I hope Bill Clement remember the singles and doubles service lines ;)

the guy is 53 years old. it is almost 40 yrs since he played in high school. i hope he get himself more up to date with recent badminton development. hope he won't call a set at 13-13, for example... :)

NBC could hire someone from England or Denmark who knows the sports very well and speaks good english.

It would be interesting to see how Bill Clement presents the sports to the world. The styles of the game has changed so much over time and ...it would be a tough job for him.

NBC could hire someone from England or Denmark who knows the sports very well and speaks good english.

It would be interesting to see how Bill Clement presents the sports to the world. The styles of the game has changed so much over time and ...it would be a tough job for him.

to americans, we eat danish and biscuits, is that right? :p

NBC could hire someone from England or Denmark who knows the sports very well and speaks good english.

It would be interesting to see how Bill Clement presents the sports to the world. The styles of the game has changed so much over time and ...it would be a tough job for him.
actually, i think there are two main parts to commentating. the pure skill of being able to engage the viewers, and the knowledge of the sport itself.

ideally, we would want somebody who can do both of the above, however, that may be stretching it.

in fact, i have seen a lot of commentation from the countries you have listed above, i must say, they lack in both departments. not very knowledgeable, boring and sometimes even annoying.

i do have high hopes on Bill's commentation. it is much easier to learn the game than to learn how to engage the viewers like some commentators can.

more about Bill and there is also a play-by-play announcer Don Chevrier.



Bill Clement, the former NHL All-Star and noted hockey analyst who provided studio commentary during NBC’s coverage of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games, was a two-time provincial high school badminton champion while growing up in Quebec. As a result, Clement got the nod to work badminton with play-by-play announcer Don Chevrier, who in Salt Lake handled curling, labeled by many as the “cult hit” of the 2002 Games.

Clement began playing badminton in high school because he had an insatiable appetite for sports and wanted to play any sport his school offered. He later found that the quick-twitch reflexes and reaction times needed for badminton are not unlike those required to be a hockey player.

“What appealed to me were the reflexes required to play the sport,” said Clement of his competitive badminton days. “At this level it’s nothing like knocking the shuttlecock around the backyard. It’s incredibly quick. Most people think of hockey as a game of brute force, but similar to badminton, both sports require a high level of athleticism.”

i think that is the purpose of bill clement, he can (or should) connects to the uninitiated audience with common language that american people understand and reference to. Instead of using badminton jargons, he can use common words and compare to mainstream other sports like 'those smashes off the racket are more than twice the speed of the fastest hockey slap shot' ;) or 'those defensive moves sure make them good hockey goalies' ;)

NBC could hire someone from England or Denmark who knows the sports very well and speaks good english.

I wouldn't, all the comentators that are able to in the UK either pronounce the names differently each time they say them, just plain wrongly or are as boring as it is possible to be for a badminton player.

And we wonder why people don't watch it on TV the whole once a year it is shown (All England, in case anyone is wondering)

A new commentator for a change may be good.. if he can relay msgs to the t.v audience in US.. he might attract them to watch with his jargons. At least you have to give it a try.

I think it's a good chance to introduce badminton to the US audience. They should explain some basic terms like "service over", the lines on the court (especially for doubles), the doubles' serving, some tactics etc. Only when you understand the game can you follow the game and appreciate it. No one will appreciate curling if they can't understand it.