It seems that nobody likes old stuff anymore and I can certainly understand that, especially when it comes to my kids. They’re 24 and 26 and they still roll their eyes when I talk about the good ol’ days of the 1960s when we got our hockey from Ward Cornell, Brian McFarlane, Danny Gallivan, Keith Dancey and the father and son Hewitts.
So yeah, I have to admit, I’m an old school kind of guy.
I love two things about CBC’s hockey coverage and only two things: The theme music and Bob Cole. Sadly, the rest of it just isn’t as good as it used to be and, frankly, these days I’ll take TSN’s or NBC’s hockey coverage over CBC every single time.
Five years ago, I never would have said that. Never would have thought it.
But now, the CBC’s claim to the top is under siege — from within as well as from without.
While I’d still rather listen to Bob Cole than Mike Emrick (and I don’t mind Mike Emrick), Greg Millen makes me yell at the television (so does TSN’s Glenn Healy so it must be a goalie thing). He talks just to talk. I’m sure he knows he’s not saying anything of any value, but I guess he figures he gets paid to talk so he’s going to talk. He’s the mute button waiting to be clicked.
CBC hasn’t admitted it publicly yet, but all indications are, they’re about to limit Cole’s participation in the telecasts. They’re cutting the wrong guy.
Then there is Don Cherry and Ron MacLean. What’s with that? MacLean is still an outstanding broadcaster, but his sidekick has come unhinged. The Gary-Roberts-is-all-that thing during the playoffs just made you want to call the Canadian Board of Television Relevance (if there is a CRTC out there as it’s rumoured there is, there might as well be a CBTR). The guy played nine minutes a game and hit nothing but the boards. He doesn’t score anymore, can’t handle the puck and was virtually invisible if you watched the NBC telecasts (maybe NBC telecasts a different game from a parallel universe???). But to Cherry and the CBC, Roberts was Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal all rolled into one.
Meanwhile, ol’ Don ignored Crosby and most of the Red Wings for reasons known only to him. It’s kind of sad to watch a once-intriguing ex-hockey-coach-turned-broadcaster collapse into his own personal grievances. And the “I-was-only-doing-it-to-help-the-kid,” take on his own criticisms of Crosby sounded a tad disingenuous.
Remember when Cherry hit MacLean with an elbow pad a couple of years ago. MacLean needs to return the favour.
Perhaps my kids are right. Perhaps things just get old and Hockey Night in Canada is old. Maybe, what they’re doing here is just trying to get younger.
And if you need more proof, consider this little nugget: The CBC has decided that it’s probably going to drop it’s Hockey Night in Canada theme music because it, evidently, doesn’t like paying a $500 per game fee to the still-living composer in order to claim the rights. This is the same network that pays Cherry and MacLean about a million dollars a year between them to make us crave NBC and TSN, but don’t like the idea of giving $30,000 a year to the woman who created their identity. But hey, it’s taxpayers money, CBC obviously has a mandate to do what it pleases.
At first, I lamented CBC’s decision to dump the theme and then I thought, “Well if TSN has a collective brain bigger than a walnut, those folks will start sending cheques to the composer, Dolores Claman, and start using the theme themselves.” TSN’s broadcast crew is already better than CBC’s, they might just as well take the theme music — the best there is and, without argument, Canada’s second national anthem.
Listen, I still love Coley and I don’t hit the mute button when Scott Oake comes on, but the rest of Hockey Night in Canada (don’t get me started on the Toronto Hot Stove) is a waste of good broadcast time.
TSN has long been the superior telecast and now, with an expanded schedule of game coverage, Rogers SportsNet’s pretty extensive coverage of the two Alberta teams and Shaw’s NHL Centre Ice, there is a good chance we all just might forget CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada ever existed.
