Have you missed Bob Cole?
You know, the stentorian voice blaring, "The Russians are going home," and "Oh, baby!"? The Vin Scully of hockey? We wonder whether the final was the poorer for Cole's absence from the play-by-play for the first time in almost 40 years. Put another way, was Jim Hughson up to the challenge of calling a Stanley Cup final?
It's moot, of course. Hughson was measurably better than the 2009 Bob Cole he replaced. The B.C. native can shape a game as well as the recent vintage Cole, but he also allows other voices into the passion play. He has a contemporary sense of humour and an eye for the absurd humour that Cole misses. Cole can still rattle the timbers with his wonderful pipes, but Hughson has vocal range to spare as well.
Comparing the two in their primes is pointless. Cole was Pavarotti - operatic, dramatic, a solo aria building to a climax in even the most mundane game. Hughson is more like REM, an ironic, cadenced synthesizer who can hit the high notes but prefers to save his repertoire for the signal moments.
The former voice of the Canucks and Maple Leafs is a worthy successor to Cole and Danny Gallivan (the sine qua non) who claims his own turf but still makes those around him better. (Craig Simpson has advanced by light years working at Hughson's elbow.) So should we miss Cole? Of course. The same way we miss Gordie Howe, a man who dominated a different era. But time has passed, the game has evolved, and it's time to invite Hughson into Canada's homes with open arms. The baton has been passed. The time is right.
THE BUTT STOPS HERE
ESPN The Magazine is doffing the swimsuit issue and heading straight for the birthday suit. For its inaugural Body Issue, ESPN is asking Olympic athletes to pose nude - tastefully, artfully, gracefully. But still buck naked. Usual Suspects suspects that ESPN saw all those charity calendars with Olympic athletes posing nude and discovered money it could have instead. The mag says it'll all be very Annie Leibovitz. Very Richard Avedon. And the articles will be insightful. But the medal winners will still be naked. End of message.
HURT PARADE PART TWO
As he briefed the media at the start of training camp last week, Stampeders head coach John Hufnagel announced, "Being the first day of camp, the practice will be closed." There was a momentary hush in the room, a tension broken only when the 2008 CFL coach of the year cracked a smile and laughed, "No, no ... just kidding."
The fact that some in the room bought Hufnagel's little jest, even for a moment, speaks to a sea change between the many new faces of the media (including Twitter, Facebook and blogs) and the clubs seeking to control the message. When it comes to spy games, the CFL has traditionally been more Get Smart than 24. It avoided the excesses of the NFL's Draconian media machine. But that is morphing rapidly. Already this preseason there have been rumbles along the fault lines of new information channels available to the fan (and rival teams) in the internet age.
The Stampeders' website revealed JuJuan Armour's heart murmur this week, but he was unavailable to discuss it with the press for several days. Montreal and Winnipeg initially denied reporters access to players at rookie camps, with the Blue Bombers also restricting interviews to only the morning session of two-a-day practices. There was even some chatter about the use of cellphones during practice and denying reporters direct phone access to coaches and GMs.
Mike Petrie is the director of community and media relations for Calgary and, in a former life, one of the best CFL beat reporters around. As such, he has a foot in both camps on the issue. "You have to protect yourself and your channels of information," he said. "Teams aren't trying to be difficult. But stuff happens, and you have to protect yourself."
A reasonable sentiment. We'll see how long it lasts when a struggling coach puts his own survival ahead of the information flow.
OLD LANGE SIGNS
The great Mike Lange, Penguins play-by-play announcer and wordsmith, had plenty of exposure during the playoff run. Three favourite all-time Lange-isms: Hop in the Cordoba, baby, we're going bowling; You can scratch my back with a hacksaw; Get in the fast lane, grandma, the bingo game is ready to roll. Asked his favourite of the three rivers that meet in Pittsburgh - the Allegheny, the Monongahela or the Ohio - Lange says: "The Monongahela. It has the biggest carp."