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Don Cherry Supports the troops! - MERGED THREAD

  • Thread starter Thread starter MAJOR_Baker
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MAJOR_Baker

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So what is the deal with my BUDDY Don Cherry?  I heard someone was angry with his opinion about Hockey?  The CBC is going to censor his television program, is that true?

[moderator note:  I couldn‘t stand it any more - nothing censored - just a "spelling" correction]
 
Don Cherry‘s on a 7 second delay for his little program during Hockey Night in Canada for some silly comments he made.

He‘s like an icon though.
 
How can anyone get upset at anything Don Cherry says? Consider the source. He‘s purely entertainment in my opinion. Don Cherry, otherwise known as the tunnel of wind.
 
If he (S_Baker) is going to post something in Canadiana he‘d better do some research. A professional soldier or not. How hard is it to look up Google or Yahoo or MSN?

By the way I e-mailed CBC and told them that after 25 years of being a CBC television and CBC1 radio listener I will cease doing so and advise others to do the same. Grapes may be a bit of a wind bag and spout off foolishness but this is not about getting some hypersensitive french language commisionner all peeved. This is some pretty blatant censorship. And with crappy programing like Survivor, My fat fiancee, Blind Date, Real TV etc Coaches Corner is quite tame. I mean who really thinks that wearing visors is whimpy? Don probably said the same thing in the 79 about helmets. Now everyone wears them. Is keeping your eyesight safe a bad thing? No one is really going to buy into what he said and he knows this. Don supports ( and perhaps rightly so) Canadian players in our national sport very strongly. It‘s too bad that this spineless guy Redekopp could not deal with it anyother way. Why not just gun tape his gob shut?
 
It‘s all a load of crap!!

I saw no anti P.C. comment‘s, what he stated is fact.
European and French Canadian player‘s do wear face shield‘s as we all know and that‘s why we have the high incident‘s of high sticking that every one‘s bitching about now.

We should ask Jean Belivuae and some of the other old timer‘s what they think.
 
Sorry Spr Earl,

I gotta call corn on that last post. The worst offenders for high sticking, Brashear, Orszagh don‘t wear visors. Neither do McSorley, Tkachcuk Hossa to name a few more. High sticking happened long before visors and maybe even helmets. Sure it‘s worse now. But that is because there are so many more players out there instead of the number there was 20 yrs ago.
 
Grapes comment was BS because we all know that French Canadians are the best hockey players in the world. I haven‘t seen one wearing a visor for a while. And who cares anyway it‘s a visor, are you not a man because you have a shield of plastic in front of your face I mean come on. I respect Don Cherry and all but this comment wa a little out of line but all Canadians know by now that Cherry is pure entertainment, he‘s paid to mix it up and piss people off
 
Originally posted by Fly_Boy:
[qb] Grapes comment was BS because we all know that French Canadians are the best hockey players in the world. [/qb]
I don‘t believe Grapes even made a comment on the skill of french canadians as hockey players....I thought he was talking about visors...I don‘t think he was making a correlation between visors and skill...
 
I think Don Fairy should shut his hole. He should have called it quits after Rockem Sockem 4, what‘s he at now? 12? Sure he‘s good for Canadiana but someone put a leash on him and only bring him out for parades. We‘ve got enough retards with opinions (myself included at times) without some dork wearing our flag as a tie spouting off nonsense on national tv. Coach‘s Corner is becoming so old in content it‘s like watching reruns of the Beachcombers. On the bright side, at least Cherry didn‘t pull a Janet and show his nipple. Ron Maclean would never recover from that sight.
 
I, being a Canuck fan am supposed to hate Cherry. But I enjoy watching coaches corner because the guy is such a joke. No offense to any French Canadians here but I think sometimes stuff said about them is blown out of purportion, definatly after watching a show about the laws in Quebec. I watched something in Law class that showed that it was a offence to have english on a sign that was bigger than i think 1/4 of the french part of the sign. Eatons had to change their name to Eaton in french. I know if western provinces did this they would be ridiculed.

Sorry about any spelling mistakes I am really tired.
 
Don Cherry is tops in my books. Sure he can be offensive, bit if you actually listen to what he has to say you‘ll see that he has several issues that he puts above all else on his plate. They are
  • safety and well-being for all hockey players, especially kids
  • the welfare of the game of hockey, especially in Canada, but not strictly so
  • the promotion of Canada and Canadians to the rest of the world
I think Don Cherry is a bright spot in Canadian television. Obviously other people do to. Just look at all the Cherry-knockoffs every sports station and even non-sport station has! There‘s only one original, though!

By the way, I don‘t have the reference right now, but didn‘t some bright mind quickly count up the visor ratio for Francophone and European players to others and actually find that Cherry was right and these players did actually have a greater tendency to wear visors?
 
Originally posted by gate_guard:
[qb] I think Don Fairy should shut his hole. He should have called it quits after Rockem Sockem 4, what‘s he at now? 12? [/qb]
12? 15 was 2002-2003!

Anyway he‘s just a big nut who likes to hear himself talk. No need to censor him.
Oh, and the best hockey players are from the prairies, not Quebec! They have the best goalies!
:cdn:
 
The CBC is pucked in the head.
Instead of terminating Cherry, they should terminate the puckheads who are considering giving him the boot (oh, wait - apparently these jerks are already scheduled to receive the heave, ho ... hmmm ... methinks the CBC needs to hear from some REAL Canadians ...)

"... Cherry fans can visit cbc.ca and click on ‘contact us‘ to voice their opinion, or phone the CBC at 416-205-3311.
"
(P.S. for the benefit of the Nintendo generation - once upon a time in typing class, a typing drill was: "now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party" - but, I digress ...)

Grapes wrath limited
By Chris Doucette, Toronto Sun


THE POSSIBLE demise of Coach‘s Corner should have hockey fans screaming louder than a Don Cherry suit, but the CBC says it has only received "a handful" of complaints so far. "I have been checking with our switchboard and certainly there have been people calling in, but there‘s been no major flood of opinion or comments," Ruth Ellen Soles, a CBC spokesman, said yesterday. After a tumultuous 23 years, Cherry‘s contract is about to expire and the CBC has yet to offer him a new deal.

Cherry fans can visit cbc.ca and click on contact us to voice their opinion, or phone the CBC at 416-205-3311.
CBC doesn‘t have a clue

LOVE HIM OR HATE HIM, CANADIANS TUNE IN TO WATCH DON CHERRY, AND BILL BRIOUX SAYS OUR NATIONAL NETWORK WOULD BE NUTS TO DROP HIM

By BILL BRIOUX




CBC ICING Don Cherry is like NBC telling Donald Trump, "You‘re fired!" A front-page newspaper report yesterday suggested that, after 23 years, CBC would not renew Cherry‘s contract after it expires at the end of this season.

CBC spokesman Ruth Ellen Soles side-stepped the issue yesterday by telling The Sun that the network has no plans to negotiate contracts with any CBC personalities until after the hockey playoffs are over.

Cherry is the star of the only hit CBC has: Hockey Night In Canada. Sure, people tune in to see the game, but would anyone watch The Apprentice if The Donald was dumped?

While ratings for hockey have slipped, HNIC still averages 1.286 million viewers per week, skyrocketing toward 4 million during the Leafs playoff run. Aside from Canadian Idol, it is the only Canadian-produced show among our nation‘s Top 20 and the only CBC show to average more than a million viewers.

RANTINGS RILED

There have been rumblings for weeks that Cherry‘s 70-year-old neck is about to be chopped clean off his crazy high collars. His politically incorrect rantings about Europeans apparently never sat well with the guys named Rabinovitch and Redekopp who run the public broadcaster.

They‘re both leaving at the end of the year, so why not get rid of the only right winger in the entire organization and let some other government-appointed boob clean up the mess?

A lot of Canadians -- and not just "new" Canadians -- wince at some of Cherry‘s more politically incorrect views. Others, like my dad, a WWII vet and the most tolerant man I‘ve ever met, never misses Coach‘s Corner and can‘t get enough of Grapes.

But love him or hate him, we watch him. He is one of the few TV icons we have left. And for CBC to not renew his contract because he might say something offensive is like American Idol telling Simon Cowell to quit picking on those kids.

People tune in to Cherry to hear him say something outrageous. The fact that CBC slapped a seven-second delay on Coach‘s Corner earlier this season -- after Grapes popped off about French Canadians, visors and valour -- revealed the network for what it is: A left-leaning laughingstock.

At his worst, Cherry is our Triumph The Insult Comedy Dog. He says out loud what a lot of people think. His Kingston-good, Russia-bad shtick gets old quick, but when he leans into the camera and tells the kids at home to keep their head up and fire it around the glass, a lot of couch-coaches nod.

If the CBC brass thought Canada went nuts when they tried to axe Cherry‘s straight man Ron MacLean last year, look out. A nation of true-Blue pitbulls are ready to rise up and bite the Corp. in the cojones.

Canning Grapes would be just another example of an aloof and arrogant organization out of touch with what viewers want or think.

Ask a CBC executive about nosediving ratings and he‘ll haul out binders of bull---- showing that Canadians are "satisfied" or "more than satisfied" with the performance of the network.

That‘s fine. Rationalize away market share, ignore the realities of broadcasting in the 21st century. But if CBC wants to run the network with no regard for ratings or fan favourites, it should forfeit its cushy $800-million annual tax haul.

If you‘re going to throw away the most popular asset you have, do it on your own dime.

Style suits dapper Don well
By CHRIS DOUCETTE, TORONTO SUN


A SATURDAY night without Grapes seems as wacky as one of Don Cherry‘s outfits. And while the CBC could try to fill the Coach‘s Corner star‘s shoes, they‘ll never replace Cherry‘s clothes.

"Who‘s going to wear a red velvet suit or a pink plaid suit?" Saul Korman, of Korry‘s Clothiers to Gentlemen on the Danforth, said yesterday. "Only Don Cherry could pull off those outfits."

Cherry‘s attire is not only unique, but it‘s also well made, quite likely from the finest materials available, Korman said.

"Everything is just done to perfection," Korman said. "He‘s a movie star in clothes."

Cherry‘s wardrobe, which has been a hit with his fans for years, has also been great for those who sell menswear.

"He‘s probably the best thing to ever hit the clothing industry because he never stops dressing," Korman said. "He‘s flamboyant and you either love him or hate him."

And it seems Cherry is as as knowledgeable about clothing as he is about hockey.

Anita D‘Abbondanza, owner of La Camicia, a shirt factory in Concord, says Cherry "knows exactly what he wants.

"I don‘t think anybody else would get away with it," she said of Cherry‘s fashion sense. "But for some reason, when it‘s on him, it just looks good."

Her father began making Cherry‘s trademark shirts with the high, stiff collar around 1980. She took over the business about four years ago.
Cherry‘s time at the Corner may be over
Grapes doesn‘t expect to hear from CBC about renewal


By BILL BRIOUX AND JOE WARMINGTON, TORONTO SUN


COULD IT be true that the coach with the collars and his dog Blue might just be through? Enjoy the next few weeks, folks, because it might very well be the last for Don Cherry and Coach‘s Corner on Hockey Night In Canada. "I have had a good ride," the outspoken coach told The Sun last night.

Cherry wasn‘t denying the possibility his 23-year run on Saturday nights might very well be winding down? "It doesn‘t look so good," Grapes said before heading to the Hershey Centre to watch his beloved IceDogs OHL playoff game. "If it happens, it happens. I am not going to worry about it."

‘A TOUGH YEAR‘

Cherry confirmed for The Sun that the CBC has not offered him a contract to return next season. "They haven‘t talked to me," he said. "I haven‘t heard from them and I don‘t expect to hear from them."

The CBC has not commented on his status.

The 2003/2004 hockey season has been extremely difficult for Cherry: "It‘s been a tough year."

His popular post-first period segment was slapped with a seven-second delay after his comments about French Canadian hockey players landed him in hot water. A stern rebuke from CBC executive vice-president Harold Redekopp, and an investigation by Canada‘s language police clearly stung the 70-year-old TV icon.

While Cherry acknowledged there is a very real chance his long association with the network‘s best-watched show could be nearing an end, he insisted he is focused on the playoffs. "I‘m having fun with [HNIC host Ron] MacLean and I can hardly wait to get down there. I just show up and do Coach‘s Corner."

NEGATIVITY

Told that his departure from CBC would be like NBC telling Donald Trump, "You‘re fired," Cherry shot back, "Yeah, I wish I had his hair."

But on a more serious note, he said he‘s a little tired of reading so much negativity by "political reporters" about himself in the press. "It seems every time there is anything bad in the world, it‘s me," he said. "But I guess if you are going to give it out, you have to take it."

Cherry said he hadn‘t heard that 74% of respondents in a TV poll wanted him to stay but said he appreciates the support.

And, he said, there is still a possibility things will get done between he and the CBC.

"I remember one time it didn‘t get settled until one week into the season."

Cherry leaving? Say it isn‘t so ...


By JOE WARMINGTON




NO WONDER I saw Charlie Moon out there on Yonge St. singing the blues. Don Cherry and the CBC may be parting ways? Say it ain‘t so! What the heck will people do at about 8 p.m. on Saturday nights?

This might be the boldest thing the CBC has done since they put Don Cherry on the air in the first place. And it might be the stupidest since they played hardball with his sidekick Ron MacLean a couple of years back. Whoever is behind this latest beauty certainly doesn‘t remember the outcome of that battle. Fans from coast-to-coast spoke up and MacLean got his well-deserved raise.

Canadians just may have to do it again. Stay tuned. The question has to be asked, are they really serious about not having the TV and hockey legend next year? Cherry clearly thinks so. In talking with him last night he seemed blue -- and I don‘t mean any pun about his dog. "It has been tough all along," he said of his time with the CBC.

It‘s not easy being one of the few people left in Canada today with clearance to call it as he sees it. As time goes on, that clearance has been downgraded from a live segment to one with a seven-second delay.

In a way Cherry is kind of the last man standing from the pre-politically correct era where people said what they think.

If it‘s true that Coach‘s Corner is done it will be a day of national mourning for millions of supporters who get what he does. And what he does is far more than talk about hockey. He‘s for the troops, the cops and those having a tough time with illness. He‘s Canada‘s biggest cheerleader and the country‘s biggest patriot.

When I was out in the Persian Gulf last year on board HMCS Iroquois and HMCS Regina, the men and women piled in front of the TV to watch that little piece of Canada from so many thousands of miles away.

They worship him. Just two nights ago I saw that same kind of scene in the Foster Hewitt Gondola, where dozens of hockey people and hockey journalists pile together to see what the coach is saying. They are too cool to admit they like him, but they never miss what he has to say. It‘s amazing really. The man has accomplished something that‘s very hard to accomplish. He‘s been a star on a national stage for 23 years. He‘s never kissed one butt and yet is still Canada‘s most famous Canadian. Whether he‘s selling subs or videos, Cherry is in hot demand, long after other stars have faded.

Who knows where this all leads and I‘ll bet CBC will have Don Cherry on our airwaves for years to come. Whether they like him is irrelevant really. It‘s the audience that decides what shows stay and what shows go.

All you need to know about Don Cherry is if there is a charity in need, he‘s there and when Conan O‘Brien‘s show on NBC called he chose to do Mike Bullard‘s floundering show on Global instead. The Scrawler‘s backing you, Don. And so will a lot of other Canadians.
 
I heard this in a movie, forget which one....but anyway in Cherry‘s defense: fuk em if they can‘t take a joke.

:evil: :fifty: :cdn:
 
whoa, that would explain why he wasn‘t on hockey night in canada tonight. it really sucks when people become obsessed with political correctness. lets hope people make as much fuss over him as they did with Ron. they just aren‘t the same without each other. like batman and robin, or starsky and hutch.
 
Just thought I'd remind y'all:  Tonight might be Grapes last appearance on HNIC.
(jeez, Louise ... I still can't find that smiley face with the thumbs up ...) :cdn:
 
Monday, Jun 07, 2004    Email this to a friend
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Cherry dismisses swan song talk, plans return to "Coach's Corner"


TAMPA, Fla. (CP) - If Don Cherry has his way, he'll be back for at least another season of "Coach's Corner."
Whether the CBC wants him to return is another question altogether. The network has said it won't begin to discuss contracts for next season until the NHL playoffs are complete - at the earliest. "I'm going to tell you I'm going to be back," Cherry said Monday before Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in Tampa. "I haven't talked to anybody and nobody's talked to me, which is not too good.

"But how could they get rid of me? I mean really, how could they get rid of the No. 1 guy that's watched in Canada? They made me a star, wouldn't it be stupid to get rid of your star at the height of his popularity?"

Cherry ruffled some feathers with CBC management this year with his controversial rants. His contract expires this week and there has been speculation that the public broadcaster will not bring him back.


The 70-year-old commentator has become a Canadian hockey icon during his 23-year run at the CBC. But Cherry feels he has plenty of options if he doesn't return.

"I try not to think ahead about what would happen. You never know where you can go. I love radio, that's the big thing," Cherry said.

 
"I don't know, I might go back and do my first love which was colour (commentary). But I don't look that far ahead. It's been a tough grind for two months here, I'm going to go to my island and relax for a little bit."

Cherry is reportedly paid $500,000 to $700,000 a year for the popular Hockey Night in Canada segment with Ron MacLean.

There's little middle ground with Cherry, known for his unique fashion sense and biting commentary. He's often criticized for his anti-European rants and politically incorrect statements, but many feel his tell-it- like-it-is style is a breath of fresh air.

Cherry thought this year's final might go the distance. While he prefers the Flames' lunch-bucket style of physical, crash-and-bang hockey, he was impressed Tampa forced a deciding seventh game.

"There's 19 Canadians on that (Lightning) team," he laughed. "Would you like to be coming out in overtime (in Game 6) for the whole deal? They came out smoking and it was no surprise."

While Monday night could mark Cherry's final appearance on Coach's Corner, his approach to the show won't change.

"Just be great as usual," he said with a chuckle.


© The Canadian Press, 2004


http://www.mytelus.com/sports/article.do?pageID=sports_home&articleID=1632877
 
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