Latest news with #Nickson
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Free children's gardening workshop to take place at Somerset garden centre
Dobbies Garden Centres is hosting a free children's workshop in Somerset on Sunday, May 4. The Glorious Grass event at the Shepton Mallet store is part of the Little Seedlings Club, which aims to educate children aged 4-10 about gardening. The upcoming workshop will focus on all things grass. Children will learn about how it grows from seeds, its role in the ecosystem, and its importance to the environment. The workshop will also look at worldwide grasslands and savannahs, and talk about the animals that make their homes in these areas. Children will also learn about the potential consequences if grass were to disappear. The workshop will be hands-on, with children given the opportunity to learn how to care for a garden lawn. They will also get to take home their own grass heads to grow. Ayesha Nickson, Dobbies' events programme manager, said: "Glorious Grass is a great session for families looking for a free activity at the weekend. "These interactive workshops bring children of all ages together to learn something new in a fun and friendly environment, with support from our knowledgeable Green Team." Booking for the event is essential and can be done at The Little Seedlings Club is a monthly initiative by Dobbies, designed to provide children with a fun, educational experience centred around different gardening topics. The workshops aim to encourage children to learn in a group setting. Children attending the workshop are also welcome to enjoy the soft play area and the children's menu in the store's restaurant. Ms Nickson added: "We can't wait to welcome families with children to our stores, whether it is to enjoy our Little Seedlings workshops, let off steam in the soft play, or to grab a bite to eat from our children's menu in the restaurant, especially as children can eat for £1."
News.com.au
30-04-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Wagga preview: Trainer Gary Nickson has bold frontrunner Felix Majestic primed for success in the Wagga Town Plate
An interrupted preparation for Felix Majestic could provide trainer Gary Nickson the opportunity to claim a second win in the Wagga Town Plate 37 years after his first with Grand Gaelic. The Wagga Town Plate (1200m) on day one of the carnival wasn't on the agenda for Felix Majestic but a missed run in the Group 1 All Aged Stakes and a lack of suitable options in Sydney has forced Nickson to look further afield. 'His preparations always seem to get interrupted,' said Nickson. 'I was getting him ready for the All Aged Stakes but it was going to be a wet track which he doesn't like so we didn't accept. 'He is screaming to go back the races and this is the only suitable race for him at the moment.' A star on the rise! â�ï¸� Briasa sits three-wide with no cover throughout and wins The Hunter! @HawkesRacing @G1TySchil ðŸ'� â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 16, 2024 The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here! Felix Majestic resumed this campaign with an eye-catching fourth behind Eagle Nest in the Group 3 Maurice McCarten Stakes at Rosehill back on March 15. The gelding normally jumps quickly to take up his favoured frontrunning role but was slow out that day and settled a conspicuous last. 'The 1100m was too short but he absolutely rattled home from last at the top of the straight,' he said. 'Then we couldn't find anything for him so I had to trial him. That was over 1200m and went to the line with his head on his chest. 'It was the fastest time of the day and Molly Bourke was just sitting on him.' Josh Parr rode the gelding first-up but Bourke reunites with him this week where they have drawn ideally in barrier 6. 'He's a good horse. You just have to know how to ride him,' Nickson said. 'Molly knows exactly what to do and he goes very well for her. 'He's got a high cruising speed and can maintain it for the whole race anywhere from 1200m to 1400m. 'If anyone wants to take him on, they do so at their own peril. He will break their hearts.' Queanbeyan trainer Nick Olive doesn't have a runner in the Town Plate but saddles up two leading chances on the card in the Extravagant Choice and Exceedingly Hot. Extravagant Choice only joined Olive's stable at the start of this preparation after being purchased of Inglis Digital last October for the princely sum of $3,000. In nine starts for Olive, he was won three races and has won over $65,000. Extravagant Choice dominates Race 5 at Goulburn! ðŸ'° @nickoliveracing â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) February 11, 2025 'He has been a little ripper for us. He has definitely exceeded our expectations and I just love the horse,' said Olive. 'He is so easy to train, he just goes through everything really nicely.' Two of his three wins have come in his last three starts over 1610m at the Sapphire Coast and 1800m at Bathurst and he looks like he will relish the step up to 2000m in the Benchmark 66 Handicap. 'He is in a rich vein of form. He has been so consistent and is absolutely thriving within himself,' Olive said. 'I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes over the 2000 metres. 'He won very well last start and was given a good ride by Caitlin (Sinclair).' Olive has Final Comment in the same race but said he will likely be scratched after drawing the outside gate. Exceedingly Hot scored a tough win at Wagga on March 1 followed by two good placings and is a leading chance in the Benchmark 66 Handicap (1600m). 'He is another horse who is really happy. He has just thrived the last couple of months,' Olive said. 'Drawing barrier 1 is ideal for him. He will should get a lovely run and hopefully he's right there in the finish.' â– â– â– â– â– Circumstances have just been against Titanium Miss at her past two starts but trainer Tracey Bartley is banking on a big drop in class and a return to her home track to get the filly back into winning form. Titanium Miss was caught three-wide without cover on a sizzling speed when ninth behind French Ruler in the Provincial-Midway Wildcard at Wyong two starts ago. She then went to Randwick for the Group 3 James H B Carr Stakes on April 19 where she finished last behind Lilac, beaten just over four and-a-half lengths. 'The other day, I think it just the quality of the race that told on the end result,' Bartley said. 'She was whacking away alright and just stopped the last little bit. 'I had a blood test dome and couldn't find anything wrong. 'She faced the breeze out wide at Wyong and they went 10 lengths faster than standard for the first 1000m that day. 'It was a ridiculous speed and she had to stop. The @BWiddupRacing trained Money Team takes out the Gosford Provincial Midway Qualifier and books a spot at Randwick for the Final! ðŸ�† Joining them in the Final is Mogul Monarch from the @kimwaugh6 stable, securing qualification with a strong second-place finish! ðŸ'� â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 15, 2025 'Her two runs before that were really good and on those performances, she is right in this race.' The three-year-old filly has drawn barrier 7 in the Benchmark 68 Handicap (1350m) with Tim Clark to ride. 'The barrier is ideal and she can roll forward at her own tempo,' he said. 'I think we might have fought her a little bit hard when holding her up. 'We will just let her roll forward and if she leads, she will lead on her ear and can dictate the race. We will do a Gai Waterhouse. 'She drops considerably in class so she should be able to go into this race and perform to her best.' Earlier in the day, Bartley expects Think Of One to figure prominently in the Midway Maiden Plate (1600m). The son of So You Think resumed over 1400m at Scone when sixth behind Spenzalot and will relish the step up in distance. 'Aaron Bullock come back after the race and said get him out over a mile. He will appreciate that,' Bartley said. 'They were just a bit nippy got him over the 1400m. Under the circumstances, he was quite happy with him.' 'I think he finds himself in the right race.
New York Times
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Longtime L.A. Kings broadcaster Nick Nickson embracing final playoffs before retirement
In 1981, Nick Nickson embarked on a professional endeavor that took him far from his native Rochester, N.Y. At just 27 years of age, the former disc jockey and broadcaster for his alma mater, Ithaca College, traveled across the country and holed up at the Airport Park Hotel, across the street from the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Advertisement That's how he started his association with the Los Angeles Kings, with whom his voice would become synonymous. La-La Land, as he jokingly refers to the metropolis he's long called home, was foreign to him then. Until this job with the Kings came up, he had never been west of Ohio. 'I packed two big suitcases of clothes,' Nickson recalled recently. 'Left my wife and newborn back east till I got settled. A couple nights after I was in L.A., I walked over and met Bob Miller for the first time. I had never heard him. I had never met him. And he's got a new partner with the L.A. Kings.' Miller is Kings royalty. The legendary play-by-play man sits on the broadcasting Mount Rushmore in Los Angeles, for decades operating as hockey's equivalent to Vin Scully of the Dodgers, Chick Hearn of the Lakers and Ralph Lawler of the Clippers. And Nickson, with his thick black mustache, was Miller's trusty sidekick as his color commentator for Kings radio and television broadcasts. The hotel and adjacent Hollywood Park racetrack have long been razed, with SoFi Stadium now on their former grounds. The Kings long ago moved downtown to what's now Arena. And Nickson's mustache became history many years ago. But that voice, still fresh and vibrant on their broadcasts, has lasted. Those days are ending. At the start of this, his 44th season, Nickson and the club let it be known that it would be his final year. His finale will be whenever the Kings are eliminated in these Stanley Cup playoffs — or hoist the silver chalice for a third time with him on the microphone. The plan is for him to shift to radio if the Kings advance past the Edmonton Oilers in this opening round, as his TV work on the regional FanDuel Sports Network will end when games are exclusively national broadcasts. Listening to him, Nickson hasn't lost his fastball. It is conceivable that he could do many more years, even after 50 years in the industry, which started with doing play-by-play for the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans and New Haven Nighthawks. 'I still love doing the games,' he said. 'I'm 71 now. I feel like I could do it forever.' Advertisement But it's time. Fifty is a nice round number to go out on, and 44 represents symmetry, as Miller was the Kings' lead broadcaster for that long. Nickson is leaving on his terms after Kings president Luc Robitaille asked him to move back onto the TV side for two years, following their decision to sever ties with Alex Faust, Miller's successor. It is time for Nickson to indulge more in his other passions. Traveling with his wife, Carolyn. Hitting drives on the golf course. Spending time with his grandchildren. But even though preparation has defined his distinguished career, Nickson hasn't thought a lot about what he might say on his final broadcast. 'I'm sure I'll think of something sitting at my desk,' he said. 'My mindset when I was thinking of what to say when we won the two Cups was (to) make it short and sweet, so you don't mess it up.' 'Ten seconds left. Puck behind the Kings' net centered by Parise. The long wait is over. After 45 years, the Kings can wear their crown. The Los Angeles Kings have won the Stanley Cup!' The Kings' triumph in 2012 came out of nowhere, in a sense. That team had gone through a midseason coaching change and needed a late 12-4-3 push to lock down a playoff spot, clinching in the next-to-last game of the regular season and, at the very end, falling from a possible division championship to the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference. But a five-game win over the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks and a sweep of the St. Louis Blues in the second round suddenly had the Kings thinking a title run was possible. Momentum was building and Nickson let his mind go to work if that moment came to be. 'We were doing Game 1 against the Coyotes in Arizona because they had home ice,' Nickson said. 'And after the first or second period, we were getting up to take a break. Chris Cuthbert was covering that series for (Canadian television). He turns to me and says, 'Nick, have you worked on what you're going to say when you win the Cup?' And I said, 'Jeez, Chris, this third round has just started. We still got a ways to go.' Advertisement 'Well, as it turned out, the Kings took care of Arizona in five games and, gosh, it's looking like this might happen. That's when my thought process started.' Against the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final, consecutive overtime winners by Anže Kopitar and Jeff Carter had the Kings coming home to Los Angeles with a 2-0 lead. Nickson began to think of the right words. 'That's how I came up with the Kings can finally wear their crown,' he said. 'I wasn't going to, but the way it unfolds, the long wait is over. I put that in before I said anything. And the way that the game wound down with the puck in the Kings' end, we're counting it down. The fans are counting it down in the background. And as soon as I say the Kings win the Stanley Cup, the buzzer goes off. The timing there was right on. I was thankful that it all kind of fell into place.' 'Now the puck behind the net, centered by Brassard. Cleared away by the Kings. Picked up by Martinez. Martinez to Clifford, feeds it right side. Toffoli with a shot, save, rebound, scoorrre! Alec Martinez has won the Stanley Cup for the Los Angeles Kings! 'Alec Martinez on the rebound! And royalty reigns again in the NHL! The Kings have won their second Stanley Cup in three years!' It was very different for Nickson two years later. The Kings' Game 6 blowout of New Jersey in 2012 allowed him plenty of time to get his thoughts together as he called the action. But even though they held a 3-1 series lead over the New York Rangers in the 2014 Cup Final, Game 5 moved into double overtime. The Rangers were facing possible elimination, but the outcome of the game was uncertain. That didn't keep Nickson from being ready for the moment whenever it came. Preparation is everything for him. 'I think a lot of us felt that the two best teams that year were the Kings and Chicago,' he said. 'One of us had to get knocked out in the conference final — it was Chicago obviously. So, OK, the Kings might win again. What do I want to say? Advertisement 'I remember looking at a Kings program on my desk and the program was called the Royal Reign. And I said, 'Royalty reigns again.' I thought it'd be kind of neat to say if they do it again.' Daryl Evans has worked with Nickson since 1999, with the two as partners on radio for 24 seasons. Nickson's genuine enthusiasm is why Evans, who now does ice-level work on the FanDuel broadcasts, believes his work stands comfortably beside Miller and the other Southern California announcing titans because of his consistency through the decades. 'You listen to the way he called the Stanley Cup championships,' said Evans, who played in 113 NHL games and is forever known for his 1982 'Miracle on Manchester' game-winning goal. 'I remember just being beside him and the passion that he had. Not being a player and to hear that excitement. And I think the fans pick up on that. 'There's a happy medium there. You don't want to get overly involved and engaged like that. But I think he had a unique way of finding the right amount to be able to transfer over to the people. And they sensed it, that they were there and were part of it.' Born in Edmonton and raised in Whitehorse, Randy Hahn got back to his love for hockey when Rich Marotta — a longtime, well-known sportscaster in SoCal — pursued a larger role in boxing calling fights. Hahn was working with the San Diego Sockers of the Major Indoor Soccer League when he got a job as part of the Kings' telecasts on the Prime Ticket network. Now the longtime play-by-play voice of the San Jose Sharks, Hahn is forever grateful to Nickson and Miller. The two insisted that he sit with them on the team buses and charter flights. There were dinners together on the road. They told him what was necessary to better inform the viewers. 'Those guys literally took me under their wing, both of them, and taught me the ropes and taught me how to be a pro,' Hahn said. Hahn said Nickson's generous nature stands out. And his humility. He'll never forget how Nickson graciously excelled in the color role beside Miller, even though he was a play-by-play man at heart. Advertisement 'I saw his preparation in a different way than you prepare for play-by-play because it is a very different role,' Hahn said. 'But clearly a professional who, through his actions, I learned what it took. You got to go to the morning skate. You got to ask questions. You got to find out information. You got to talk to the players. You have to develop a trust so that when they talk to you, they know what you're not spreading things in places that you shouldn't and keeping some things to yourself. Learning the things that go on in an organization when you're allowed on a plane, that remain internal and things like that. 'All those things that I had not known before were taught to me by Nick and Bob.' In 2015, Nickson joined Miller and Jiggs McDonald as Kings broadcasters who have been recipients of the Foster Hewitt Award and are recognized at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. He isn't resting on his laurels. Nickson has stayed current. When burgeoning young center Quinton Byfield had a six-game goal streak in March, Nickson incorporated Byfield's 'Boom' celebration that originated from social media personalities A.J. and Big Justice, also known on TikTok and YouTube as the 'Costco Guys.' BOOM x5 Quinton Byfield adds another quick goal to the Los Angeles tally, pushing the Kings lead to 3!#GoKingsGo — Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 14, 2025 To Evans, that shows how Nickson can be clever and remain as relatable as he was during postgame talk shows with callers for many seasons. 'The fans ate it up and the players themselves ate it up,' he said. 'It was great.' 'I think with the more experience you gain, you learn to use your surroundings to make what you do more profound, more enjoyable,' Nickson said. 'And I like to think I've done that over the years on radio. But obviously when you're on TV, especially in our market, you have more exposure than you do on radio. That's just the way it is in Southern California with our sport. 'It's having fun. It's enjoying it. It's knowing what's surrounding you. Try to make it a little different and add a little spice to it. Make it not like every other game, I guess you could say.' Advertisement Joe Micheletti knows what it's like to call games beside a legend. A longtime hockey analyst for multiple teams and networks, Micheletti most recently has worked alongside the now-retired Sam Rosen of the New York Rangers. He's long known Nickson and admired his versatility while calling him 'one of the nicest people in our business.' 'It's not easy,' Micheletti said. 'He was good enough in his own right and comfortable enough in his own right, where he just said I'm going to keep doing what I do. And Bob was Bob. Great. Great person. So connected here in this area. Nick just stepped in and didn't try to be Bob. Didn't try to be anybody else. Just was Nick, which is all he needed to be. 'That's all he needed to be because he was great while Bob was still working and he's still great. He didn't need to do anything different.' After four decades and more with the Kings, Nickson has decided that it's been long enough. He remembers that very first broadcast vividly, a Nov. 18, 1981, game at the Forum when Marcel Dionne torched his former Detroit Red Wings. Life beyond hockey is on the radar, but he's having a blast with this final season, with his beloved Kings back in the spotlight of the postseason. 'He might be kind of personally sensing that it's the end and maybe subconsciously just putting a little bit more into it,' Evans said. 'Just enjoying it or maybe taking it in every moment. And maybe it's just something that translates and you hear it in his voice.'
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
After 44 seasons, Nick Nickson's retirement will mark end of an era for Kings
Longtime Kings broadcaster Nick Nickson puts on his headset before calling a game between the Kings and New York Rangers on March 25. Nickson, who has called Kings games since 1981, is retiring at the end of the season. (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times) Don't think of this as Nick Nickson's final season behind the microphone for the Kings. Think of it as an encore. Nickson planned to be golfing by now. He planned to be following his grandkids, Casey and Avery, to their games and attending the birthday parties and anniversaries he had to miss in more than five decades as a hockey broadcaster. Advertisement The Kings had other plans, summoning Nickson to a meeting in the summer of 2023 where he worried he might be fired before he could tell them he was ready to retire. Instead the Kings told Nickson, their longtime radio voice, they wanted him to simulcast the radio and TV calls. And they wanted a two-year commitment. 'Had it not been for the change, last year might have been my last,' he said. Nick Nickson calls a game between the Kings and New York Rangers at Arena on March 25. The fact it wasn't makes this season positively, absolutely the last one. (We think.) At 71, Nickson says he has too much he wants to do and not nearly enough time between games in which to do it, so his career will end when the Kings' season does. Advertisement 'I'm doing this on my own terms, which I'm grateful for,' he said during an hourlong lunch that was heavy on remembrances and void of regrets. 'Some people around the league said 'Nick why? You still sound so good.' And yeah I appreciate that. 'But I want to be able to enjoy doing what I want while I'm still healthy. The timing is right.' The Kings will honor Nickson when they play host to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, a tribute he believes will be heartfelt even though it's April Fool's Day. 'I thought of that when they mentioned April 1st, ' Nickson said. 'But because so many people are preparing for it, I don't think it's going to be a joke. I think it will actually happen.' Stage manager Donna Moskal points to the camera as Kings broadcasters Jim Fox, left, and Nick Nickson, right, rehearse for a game broadcast. In his 44 seasons with the Kings, Nickson says he has called more than 3,800 games while narrating the rise of hockey in a desert. He watched the Triple Crown line of Charlie Simmer, Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor; welcomed Wayne Gretzky to L.A.; and saw Jim Fox, Daryl Evans and Jarret Stoll move from the ice into the broadcast booth. Advertisement Two other players, Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake, went from Nickson's broadcasts into the Kings' front office as president and general manager, respectively. 'For the culture of a franchise to have people that have been around a long time, it means a lot,' said Robitaille, now Nickson's boss. 'You have your core fans that follow the team and when they've been listening to Nick Nickson for all these years they're part of the family. It's hard to describe. 'Everybody grew up listening to them and then next thing you know, they get married and they have kids, and they're still listening. I hear those stories over and over.' That's because Nickson described more than just hockey. He did the play-by-play of history, calling the Kings' two Stanley Cup championships. His radio call of the final six seconds of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final is arguably the franchise's most memorable moment. Advertisement 'The long wait is over! After 45 years, the Kings can wear their crown!' Nick Nickson prepares a script before a game between the Kings and Rangers on March 25. Nickson's Hall of Fame career — he became the third Kings broadcaster, after Bob Miller and Jiggs McDonald, to be enshrined when he was voted in by his peers in 2015 — began with the minor league Rochester Americans a year after he graduated from Ithaca College, where he served as sports director for the school's radio station. Two years later he began calling games for the New Haven Nighthawks, the New York Rangers' AHL affiliate. That's where he got the break that changed his life. The Rangers, who had a player-development agreement with the Nighthawks, briefly ended the relationship in 1981 and the Kings, who were looking for an AHL partner, moved in. The Kings needed more than just a minor league affiliate, however. Advertisement Pete Weber had left his seat next to Miller, creating an opening in the broadcast booth. Kings coach Parker MacDonald knew Nickson from his time in New Haven, and though MacDonald wouldn't last the season behind the bench, he was there long enough to push Nickson for the job. Read more: Arellano: A Dodgers broadcasting legend reflects on life, superstar-laden team 'So we hired him,' Miller said. With the move West, Nickson joined perhaps the most storied and iconic group of sports broadcasters ever assembled in one city. In addition to Miller, Vin Scully and Jaime Jarrín were calling Dodgers games, Chick Hearn was doing the Lakers, Tom Kelly was on USC football and Ralph Lawler soon moved north from San Diego with the Clippers. Advertisement All six are Hall of Famers. Yet Nickson, the youngest of the group at 27, fit in immediately. 'He was just great to be around,' Miller said. 'Nick was always so well prepared. Great player identification. Kept up with the play, all the fundamentals.' But the key to his success and that of the other Hall of Famers was stability, Nickson said. Scully and Jarrín both spent more than six decades with the Dodgers. Hearn and Lawler did 41 seasons with Lakers and Clippers, respectively. Nickson, meanwhile, is retiring after 44 seasons with the Kings, the same as Miller, who retired in 2017. Nick Nickson calls a game at Arena between the Kings and Rangers on March 25. The Kings will honor Nickson before Monday's game against the Jets. 'It's unusual that a broadcaster stays with one team for a number of years. The era of broadcasters sticking with one team for 40, 50 years is probably gone,' said Nickson, whose time with the Kings was measured in a series of short-term contracts that were always renewed. 'You have that connection. It's just a comfort level.' Advertisement 'What we've had to offer and how we're presented the game, I think it has educated [people] into being a more appreciative hockey fan,' he added. 'That only is natural if you're in that space for that long.' As a result, giving up the job — and the game — after five decades won't be easy. Just ask Miller, who was at a Kings game last weekend shortly after surgery for an aneurysm. 'You know, I still miss doing play-by-play,' he said. 'There are certain games I'll be watching on TV and my wife will say, 'Do you miss that?' I don't miss preparation these days, with players changing teams and so many teams. But there are times I'd watch the game and say, 'Yeah, I'd like to be doing the play-by-play.'' Read more: Mikko Rantanen's hat trick leads Colorado past the Kings Advertisement As for Nickson, 'well, he's a golfer,' Miller said. 'He's got grandkids. So I don't think he'll have any problem getting used to it.' Nickson has one confession he'd like to make before signing off the final time, though. That memorable call at the end of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs? He worked on that ahead of time. The Kings were so dominant that spring, Nickson was confident they would win before the final series with the New Jersey Devils even started. 'That's when I came up with what I eventually said,' he remembered. Nick Nickson takes a brief break in the broadcast booth before a game between the Kings and Rangers on March 25. But the genius wasn't in the words, it was in the timing, with Nickson pronouncing the word 'crown' as the final horn sounded. Advertisement He's had nearly two seasons now to think about how he'll end the final broadcast of his 44-year career, one that draws closer with every passing game. 'Maybe,' he finally offered, 'I should that say 'After 44 years the long wait is over.'' Give that man his crown. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
After 44 seasons, Nick Nickson's retirement will mark end of an era for Kings
Don't think of this as Nick Nickson's final season behind the microphone for the Kings. Think of it as an encore. Nickson planned to be golfing by now. He planned to be following his grandkids, Casey and Avery, to their games and attending the birthday parties and anniversaries he had to miss in more than five decades as a hockey broadcaster. The Kings had other plans, summoning Nickson to a meeting in the summer of 2023 where he worried he might be fired before he could tell them he was ready to retire. Instead the Kings told Nickson, their longtime radio voice, they wanted him to simulcast the radio and TV calls. And they wanted a two-year commitment. 'Had it not been for the change, last year might have been my last,' he said. The fact it wasn't makes this season positively, absolutely the last one. (We think.) At 71, Nickson says he has too much he wants to do and not nearly enough time between games in which to do it, so his career will end when the Kings' season does. 'I'm doing this on my own terms, which I'm grateful for,' he said during an hourlong lunch that was heavy on remembrances and void of regrets. 'Some people around the league said 'Nick why? You still sound so good.' And yeah I appreciate that. 'But I want to be able to enjoy doing what I want while I'm still healthy. The timing is right.' The Kings will honor Nickson when they play host to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, a tribute he believes will be heartfelt even though it's April Fool's Day. 'I thought of that when they mentioned April 1st, ' Nickson said. 'But because so many people are preparing for it, I don't think it's going to be a joke. I think it will actually happen.' In his 44 seasons with the Kings, Nickson says he has called more than 3,800 games while narrating the rise of hockey in a desert. He watched the Triple Crown line of Charlie Simmer, Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor; welcomed Wayne Gretzky to L.A.; and saw Jim Fox, Daryl Evans and Jarret Stoll move from the ice into the broadcast booth. Two other players, Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake, went from Nickson's broadcasts into the Kings' front office as president and general manager, respectively. 'For the culture of a franchise to have people that have been around a long time, it means a lot,' said Robitaille, now Nickson's boss. 'You have your core fans that follow the team and when they've been listening to Nick Nickson for all these years they're part of the family. It's hard to describe. 'Everybody grew up listening to them and then next thing you know, they get married and they have kids, and they're still listening. I hear those stories over and over.' That's because Nickson described more than just hockey. He did the play-by-play of history, calling the Kings' two Stanley Cup championships. His radio call of the final six seconds of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final is arguably the franchise's most memorable moment. 'The long wait is over! After 45 years, the Kings can wear their crown!' Nickson's Hall of Fame career — he became the third Kings broadcaster, after Bob Miller and Jiggs McDonald, to be enshrined when he was voted in by his peers in 2015 — began with the minor league Rochester Americans a year after he graduated from Ithaca College, where he served as sports director for the school's radio station. Two years later he began calling games for the New Haven Nighthawks, the New York Rangers' AHL affiliate. That's where he got the break that changed his life. The Rangers, who had a player-development agreement with the Nighthawks, briefly ended the relationship in 1981 and the Kings, who were looking for an AHL partner, moved in. The Kings needed more than just a minor league affiliate, however. Pete Weber had left his seat next to Miller, creating an opening in the broadcast booth. Kings coach Parker MacDonald knew Nickson from his time in New Haven, and though MacDonald wouldn't last the season behind the bench, he was there long enough to push Nickson for the job. 'So we hired him,' Miller said. With the move West, Nickson joined perhaps the most storied and iconic group of sports broadcasters ever assembled in one city. In addition to Miller, Vin Scully and Jaime Jarrín were calling Dodgers games, Chick Hearn was doing the Lakers, Tom Kelly was on USC football and Ralph Lawler soon moved north from San Diego with the Clippers. All six are Hall of Famers. Yet Nickson, the youngest of the group at 27, fit in immediately. 'He was just great to be around,' Miller said. 'Nick was always so well prepared. Great player identification. Kept up with the play, all the fundamentals.' But the key to his success and that of the other Hall of Famers was stability, Nickson said. Scully and Jarrín both spent more than six decades with the Dodgers. Hearn and Lawler did 41 seasons with Lakers and Clippers, respectively. Nickson, meanwhile, is retiring after 44 seasons with the Kings, the same as Miller, who retired in 2017. 'It's unusual that a broadcaster stays with one team for a number of years. The era of broadcasters sticking with one team for 40, 50 years is probably gone,' said Nickson, whose time with the Kings was measured in a series of short-term contracts that were always renewed. 'You have that connection. It's just a comfort level.' 'What we've had to offer and how we're presented the game, I think it has educated [people] into being a more appreciative hockey fan,' he added. 'That only is natural if you're in that space for that long.' As a result, giving up the job — and the game — after five decades won't be easy. Just ask Miller, who was at a Kings game last weekend shortly after surgery for an aneurysm. 'You know, I still miss doing play-by-play,' he said. 'There are certain games I'll be watching on TV and my wife will say, 'Do you miss that?' I don't miss preparation these days, with players changing teams and so many teams. But there are times I'd watch the game and say, 'Yeah, I'd like to be doing the play-by-play.'' As for Nickson, 'well, he's a golfer,' Miller said. 'He's got grandkids. So I don't think he'll have any problem getting used to it.' Nickson has one confession he'd like to make before signing off the final time, though. That memorable call at the end of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs? He worked on that ahead of time. The Kings were so dominant that spring, Nickson was confident they would win before the final series with the New Jersey Devils even started. 'That's when I came up with what I eventually said,' he remembered. But the genius wasn't in the words, it was in the timing, with Nickson pronouncing the word 'crown' as the final horn sounded. He's had nearly two seasons now to think about how he'll end the final broadcast of his 44-year career, one that draws closer with every passing game. 'Maybe,' he finally offered, 'I should that say 'After 44 years the long wait is over.'' Give that man his crown.
