from the deal in favor of OLN, which wound up being rebranded as NBCSN in 2012. In the interval between the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals and the start of the 2005–06 season, several ABC affiliates, including WDTN in Dayton, Ohio (a secondary market for the Columbus Blue Jackets) and WAND in Springfield, Illinois (which is served by the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues), affiliated with NBC. Regular season As previously mentioned, ABC televised four to five weeks worth of regional games on Saturday afternoons, typically beginning in January or March for the first two seasons. Announcers Studio personalities John Saunders – lead studio host Steve Levy – fill-in studio host John Davidson – lead studio analyst (1999–2002) Barry Melrose – NHL All-Star Game and Stanley Cup Finals studio analyst (1999–2002); lead studio analyst (2003–04) Darren Pang – Stanley Cup Finals studio analyst (2003–2004) Stanley Cup Finals hosts Al Michaels (2000–2002) Chris Berman (2003) Play-by play announcer Gary Thorne Steve Levy Mike Emrick Dave Strader (2000–2002) Color commentators Bill Clement John Davidson (2003–2004) Darren Pang Barry Melrose (1999–2002) Brian Engblom (2002–04) Brian Hayward (2000 Stanley Cup playoffs) Jim Schoenfeld (2001–2002) Reporters Brian Engblom – co-lead rinkside reporter Darren Pang – co-lead rinkside reporter Steve Levy – NHL All-Star Game and Stanley Cup Finals reporter Sam Ryan Erin Andrews Joe Micheletti Christine Simpson (2001–2003) Daryl Reaugh (2000 Stanley Cup playoffs) Mickey Redmond (2001; Detroit Red Wings) Tony Granato (2002 Stanley Cup playoffs) 1999–2004 Schedules 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 NHL All-Star Game (1999–2004) Notes Denis Leary was the third-man in the broadcast booth and called the final 40 minutes of the 2001 All-Star Game at Pepsi Center in Denver. Because ABC Sports had rights to the NHL All-Star Game and the National Football League's Pro Bowl, ABC aired both games on the same day from 2000 through 2003, excluding 2002. ABC dubbed these doubleheaders as “All-Star Sunday”. Stanley Cup Playoffs (2000–2004) Besides the National Hockey League All-Star Game, ABC televised Games 3–7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in prime time. In the league's previous broadcast television deal with Fox, the network split coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals with ESPN. Games 1, 5 and 7 were usually scheduled to be televised by Fox; Games 2, 3, 4 and 6 by ESPN. However, from to , the Finals were all four-game sweeps; ended in six games. The consequence was that –