Bob Cole is going on the West side for the Stanley Cup conference final.
CBC is carrying the Eastern Conference final, which starts Monday either in New York or New Jersey, and Games 4-7 of the Western Conference final. Since Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson became the #1 team, they have worked the Western Conference final.
Given Cole's age (80) and home (Newfoundland), he doesn't normally travel that far, though he did a Canadiens game in Los Angeles this season. Once Cole is on the West Coast, going from Los Angeles to Phoenix is a relative breeze.
The Canadian networks do their odd split once again for the conference finals. TSN will carry the first three games of the Phoenix-Los Angeles Western Conference final. Chris Cuthbert and Ray Ferraro will handle the call. Game 1 is in Phoenix on Sunday.
Those on the U.S. side of the border will have to rely on NBCSN for those games.
With the Internet speculation about Cole's pbp calls in the Stanley Cup coverage, some wondered whether the CBC would draft Mark Lee or Dean Brown to work with Garry Galley. At some point, the CBC needs to figure out who would be the next #2 pbp guy, regular season or postseason.
The other possible compromise would have been if Hughson and Simpson had called the first three games of the Eastern Conference series and then had gone out west, leaving the East for Cole and Galley. This would have been awkward, but a way to save face for Cole.
Stay tuned to CanadianCrossing.com and the Twitter feed for more details.
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Hard to know what to make of the Ron MacLean 9/11 references before Game 6 of the Washington-New York game. Everything the CBC does these days gets a lot of grief, and MacLean did apologize for his choice of words. On American soil, the tragedy has reached demagogue status, mourning the loss of life without much thought to preventing it or dealing with the after effect of those first responders.
Too many politicians, mostly Republican, wrapped themselves in the flag and flag pins and didn't help those who suffered as a result of helping others on that day. And did little to punish those who had some idea this was coming.
Compared to that, what MacLean did wasn't nearly as offensive. But if you disagree, I get that.
Though MacLean, and his sidekick, Don Cherry can't be accused of not supporting troops, firefighters, and police officers.
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The Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada slot had the potential to be Too Much Hockey in the United States. The brilliant plan for Game 7 was to run both of the Eastern Conference semifinals 30 minutes apart on Saturday night.
Of course, the New Jersey Devils prevented that scenario.
For the U.S. outlets, NBCSN would have carried one game (Rangers-Capitals) and CNBC would have carried the other game (Flyers-Devils). CBC has both series and Canadian fans would have been left scrambling in that scenario.
CBC could have traded one of those games to TSN for a game in the conference final. Last spring, when the CBC traded a game to TSN on Election Night, the CBC just lost that game.
In previous years, the U.S. outlets would have had more trouble. NBC wouldn't jump in and show a game, even in the deathbed that is OTA on Saturday night, and CNBC only started being an outlet this year.
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Another tentative deal that will keep the Coyotes in Phoenix.
We've seen that as many times as Jack Nicholson's character types the same phrase over and over in "The Shining."
The NHL is filled with teams that could use a change of scenery: Dallas, Columbus, New York Islanders, Nashville, Florida, and Phoenix. The only one that makes Gary Bettman more passionate to justify his decision is Phoenix. The fact that the NHL owns the Coyotes and the Canadian teams are supporting the losses of the 'Yotes makes Bettman's position even more exasperating.
As the Phoenix Coyotes have made their way to the Western Conference Final against the Los Angeles Kings, a Disney movie script writer wouldn't believe a scenario where the 'Yotes get to stay in Phoenix only if they win the Stanley Cup.
Quebec has more than earned a right to one of these teams. The 'Yotes deserve to be that team, since the Atlanta legacy will take awhile to wear off in Winnipeg.
Seattle, Kansas City, and Hamilton, Ontario have good arguments, better arguments than the ones in Columbus, Nashville, Florida, and Phoenix. But if Quebec doesn't have a team in the fall of 2012, then the owners need to ask themselves what Bettman is doing for them by remaining in the desert.