Welcome To The U.S. Airwaves Mr. Cherry....Prepare to be Analyzed
Thursday, May 31, 2007
I know little about Canada's Don Cherry. The guy seems to be brash and unapologetic in a Billy Packer kind of way, but Canadians swear by this guy. He will be on U.S. Airwaves (Monday- Game 4) for the first time since calling the then Penguin Duo of Jagr and Lemeiux, "Mario and His Daughter" because of their hairstyles (mulletacular).
Not only will Cherry appear on NBC, but Brett Hull will make an appearance on CBC for Game 3. So what did Hull have to say about Cherry's appearance?
"He tells it like it is. If they did it on a regular basis, he would be just as popular down here as he is up there. Part of the thing that's missing, not with just hockey, but in all coverage in the American sports world, is some personality. I think that's why you see a guy like Terry Bradshaw, as popular as he is. He's not just Mr. PC, going through 'that was a nice catch and throw.'"- BHUmm...not exactly Brett. See as fans we like information over personality more often than not. But if you can pull both off we'll love you forever. Too bad no one will be watching to judge the interaction though. Sorry U.S. Hockey Fans...you are a strong fan base, and I admire your resolve, but 523,000 homes for Game 1? Good god that's bad (18% less than last year bad).
I understand ticket sales are strong, but that's only part of the equation. So what's the problem? Is it the game itself, the lack of U.S. stars, the fact that Versus can't be found??? Give me a reason to watch the Stanley Cup Finals other than recording the 5 minutes Don Cherry is on-air.
CBC's Cherry to Make U.S. TV Debut for Stanley Cup Final Game 4 on NBC (NBC's Press Release)
NHL Ratings Comically Bad (Lion In Oil)
NHL Ticket Sales Revived by Stanley Cup Playoffs (Ticket News)
(Photo via MJD's ultra-rad Debriefing.)
10 Comments:
Grapes is the best, old time fan.
But 'ockey still sucks.
ah the suit its blidnign me.
Cherry gives Craig Sager a run for his money in the fashion department.
It's probably the way hockey is shot. Somewhere, I read someone suggesting that they shoot the game north-south instead of east-west -- it would pick up more of the action.
I am from Da Burgh, used to love seeing Lemieux play. Moved to Detroit, used to love to watch Probert, Coffey, Kocur, Harold Sneptsss. Lot of anticipation and excitement...
The NHL screwed themselves with that strike, but I'm sure interest was waning then.
Maybe if they threw a few Vick pitbulls out on the ice to make things interesting...
Cherry is much more entertaining than Billy Packer. He's sort of a combination of John Madden and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Knows hockey inside and out, loads of personality, loves toughness and hockey fights, often slams European players for being overly soft. Politically incorrect to the max.
He does a weekly 5-minute intermission feature on CBC hockey telecasts called "Coach's Corner." Examples aplenty can be found on YouTube.
Well I could go through the pros and cons of everything, but basically the first two games of the finals have been fantastic.
Exciting games that have been truly entertaining. The quality of play has been astounding, even if no one (in the states) has seen it.
I know nothing of hockey or Don Cherry other than he wears crazy suits, but telling me that he's like Bobby "The Brain" Heenan has definitely piqued my interest.
Amen to that GM....I'm in this deal now too. I'll watch Monday, but Saturday probably isn't happening.
Could the NHL also not schedule these games when the NBA was on? Wouldn't that help???
I honestly think the ratings issue comes from the fact that no-one gets Versus, and NBC is currently at the bottom of the Big 4 network totem pole for sports coverage. But there are two things which should help the NHL in the future:
1) They are looking into importing Canadian television crews to cover US games, which will mean camera angles and shots will be much better.
2) As HDTV grows cheaper and enters every home, the fact that hockey is the sport which benefits the most from HD will help solve some of the most common complaints, such as "where's the puck?"
Aside from that, hockey would be a lot more accepted if it was cheaper to play, which is why I'm surprised the NHL isn't looking into supporting roller hockey or other ways to grow interest in the sport, whether its on ice or not.
Here's one, you can catch the mistakes made by the NBC announcers.