The NHL playoffs have been wreaking havoc on graphics departments across the country.  Following hockey-related graphics flubs from WSVN in Miami and KNBC in Los Angeles, the country’s top station, WABC, screwed up the logo (and name) of the hometown New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

During the ABC O&O’s 6 p.m. newscast, the station ran a Stanley Cup graphic with the logo of the New York Islanders, instead of the Devils, with the text “Islanders vs. Kings.”  When WSVN and KNBC confused logos, at least the teams had the same mascots.  Luckily, WABC sports anchor Rob Powers got the team right as he narrated highlights.  [Via Deadspin]

New York City stations devoted all resources this morning to coverage of the celebration parade for the New York Giants, who returned home yesterday after a big win in Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVI.

Rob Powers and Lori Stokes anchored WABC‘s coverage from City Hall. The pair were joined by 10 reporters along the parade route for “up-to-the-second excitement of this great parade,” Powers said.

WNYW-WWOR‘s coverage kicked off at 1o a.m. with Dari Alexander, Ernie Anastos and sports director Russ Salzberg anchoring outside City Hall. Steve Lacy, Jill Nicolini and John Huddy were along the parade route. Read more

WABC — the flagship owned-and-operated station of ABC in New York City — is giving sportscasts from ESPN radio a trial run as part of its morning news.

ESPN and ABC are both owned by Walt Disney Corporation, making the partnership an easy opportunity for corporate synergy. WABC news director Kenny Plotnik told The New York Daily News that he asked ESPN radio for segments that focused on local sports. “This gives us an opportunity to have the latest information,” he said.

The segments air in the 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. hours of the morning show. WABC made the decision recently to not have a morning sportscaster, and Plotnik said the arrangement with EPSN gives the station an alternative to having sports anchor Rob Powers tape something the night before, which may be outdated by the time the morning rolls around.

Scott Clark is a tough act to follow.  And Rob Powers, Clark’s successor at WABC, knows it.

“Scott was Scott, and I’ll never be able to get up to that level, and the goal right now is to try. That’s all I can try to do right now,” Powers told TVSpy’s sister site FishbowlNY.

After two decades with ABC’s flagship station, Clark, 57, walked away from the game last month, leaving Powers, who was the sports director of Toledo’s WTVG for 11 years before joining WABC in 2009, with big shoes to fill.

“They gave me a pair of size 22 Nike basketball shoes, that Scotty signed for me… They hang in the sports office,” Powers said. Read more at FishbowlNY