Spending Time with The Hanson Brothers

April 3, 2014 · No Comments

This week the photo that brought a smile to my face from Bob’s basement was one that was taken with the infamous Hanson brothers from the legendary hockey movie “Slapshot”. The photo was taken on the set of “Live From the Aud”, which aired for one season following home Sabres games on the Empire Sports Network. The Hanson’s were brought into town by the Sabres for a game promotion and it was my distinct pleasure to try and interview all three at once. It was like herding cats!

The Hanson brothers in the movie “Slapshot” were dirty, brawling, over grown children who played with slot cars in their hotel rooms by day and pummeled the opposition on the ice at night. The characters were actually based on the Carlson brothers, who were real life hockey players. Steve, Jeff and Jack Carlson were hired to appear in the movie, but before filming started Jack was called up by the Edmonton Oilers. So Jack was replaced by another actual player, Dave Hanson. So in the movie the trio then became the Hanson brothers despite the fact only one of the three was a Hanson.

“Live From the Aud” was the creation of then Sabres VP of Broadcasting Jennifer Smith. Jennifer was hired by Sabres President Doug Moss after she had hosted a similar show on the MSG Network in New York with WFAN’s Mike Francesa.

Jennifer Smith was not only an attractive co-host on the show with myself, but also Executive Producer. It was an attempt to bring Manhattan to Buffalo and it did create a unique and eclectic mix of local sports television.

“Live From the Aud” aired for half a season on Empire following each home game and was broadcast from the Aud Club with a live audience. Guests on the program included Sabres players, coaches, management, local celebrities and out of town VIP’s like the Hanson’s.

Part of the interview with the Hanson’s can be seen below and it was obviously great fun. I had no idea whether Steve, Jeff and Dave were going to remain in character for the entire interview or play it straight, but it ended up being a combination of both. At one point the Hanson’s put a puffy black wig on my head and a pair of black rim glasses with the white tape over the nose bridge. I chose not to use that photo for this article.

Former Buffalo broadcaster and current Nashville Predator play-by-play man Pete Weber is a huge fan of the Hanson’s and “Slapshot”. Pete was in the audience that night and could be heard yelling out famous lines from the movie as we were getting ready to come out of the commercial break. I think Pete was the happiest man in the Auditorium that night because of the Hanson’s appearance.

“Live From the Aud” lasted only one season and Jennifer Smith and Doug Moss departed not long after. Yet, it was an interesting and fun chapter in the history of Buffalo Sabres broadcasting.

&nbs