1/21/10 -Eugene Melnyk, Senators, Cullen, TFC

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: John Shannon
Guests: Basketball writer for the Globe and Mail, Michael Grange; Elliotte Friedman from "Hockey Night in Canada" on CBC, Eugene Melnyk, Ottawa Senators owner; Dan Shulman, ESPN broadcaster, Don Banks, writer for Sports Illustrated; David Branch, commissioner of the OHL; comedian Sean Cullen

It seems every time Melnyk comes on, McCown doesn't really talk about the Senators in any great detail, other than the cursory "how's the team doin'?" kinda questions. Melnyk always seems to be questioned about the PTS world more than anything. Since the tired notion of addressing the head shot issue was the topic of the week, that's what the conversation revolved around.

I thought Sean Cullen was the funniest thing on PTS in a long time! ...and Bobcat, just go to a TFC game the next time you get the opportunity. Or at least swear off of leaf games, will ya???

1/14/10 - @totalpts, CHFI, TSN, Kelley, Fay Vincent, Marvin Miller

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: John Shannon
Guests: Phil King, president of TSN; Sportsnet.ca's Jim Kelley, Dan Shulman, ESPN broadcaster; NHL executive Colin Campbell, NFL writer for Sports Illustrated, Don Banks; former commissioner of Major League Baseball, Fay Vincent; Clint Hamilton, CIS president.

"What's with the weird music around here? We've turned into CHFI!"...and so it began. Poor @totalpts getting slagged but thanks for playing some Oasis for me (note how Bobcat didn't get peeved over that one, eh??) More on our bud @totalpts coming soon!

Interesting to have the president of TSN appear on PTS. Has the president of Sportsnet ever appeared on PTS? Does Doug Beeforth ring a bell?? Not to me, so I'd be willing to bet he hasn't been on.

These segments with Kelley in fine form are also becoming classic! Is it me, or is Kelley much better as a guest than a co-host. I'm not sure why, but he is!

I am a big time Fay Vincent fan. He has a "Bert Sugar"-type adoration by Bobcat, and in turn the listeners. More gripping radio as a listener. McCown asked Vincent about Mavin Miller being in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Vincent called it an "outrageous scandal". Not being given the context ahead of time and having no clue on who Marvin Miller is, I decided to google him, and it's a fascinating story. He's alive at 92, and in an era where there is only Andrew Dawson going into the BHOF, he really should be put in to acknowledge the work he's done for Baseball.

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Monday, January 4th, 2010 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Stephen Brunt
Guests: Boxing expert, Bert Sugar; Darrell Davis, columnist for the Regina Leader-Post, Sports Illustrated's Don Banks; Rob Becker, attorney and legal analyst; Dan Dunleavy, radio play-by-play man for the World Junior Hockey Championship.

…and we're back in 2010! Better than EVER! Hope everyone out there had a great holidays and looking forward to a fantastic year here at the PTSR!

In the opening segment, McCown asked Brunt "It would be hard to send Eric Tillman to the Boys and Girls Club, wouldn't it?" ...and in that question epitomized the point of no return for Tillman. Tillman's only option as I see it is the Roughriders taking him back as no other organization would bring him on in any capacity. Being in Ottawa and remembering what impact Tillman had on this city, there is a tinge of sympathy for the predicament he's in for someone with vision shouldn't have. At the same time, at the time the allegations were made, he insisted that he would be given a complete discharge. Having said that, I don't think anyone thought the complete discharge would come under these admissions. Tillman is guilty. Ultimately the court of public opinion will judge his fate.

Bobcat also feels arenas should be located where people live and not downtown. As a result, I expect to hear absolutely NO negative feedback for the Senators building their arena in Kanata!!!

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Thursday, December 17, 2009 (4:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley, Chris Bosh, member of the Toronto Raptors, Don Banks, Ed Olczyk, Don Loding.

Awesome to hear Kelley on the radio again. I wasn't his biggest fan, but when someone is going through a struggle, you certainly want to see them come out on top.

In the interest of full disclosure here at PTSR, we did publish the news that Kelley has cancer on our blog directly from William Houston's blog. We also did ask PTS themselves if it was true, to which they said no comment. We were unaware that this had not be "authorized" by Kelley and apologize to him and want him to know that we will not be publishing any stories from William Houston's blog in the immediate future.

Here's a message targeted towards William Houston who (as Kelley pointed out in the show), published the Kelley report of having cancer without Kelley's knowledge:
"As Kelley pointed out on Prime Time Sports last week, William, you are a slime bucket for publishing this without even calling Kelley first to see if it was okay to publish.

Even the dirtiest of journalists will call their subject to give them a heads up first before publishing something so personal. Kelley reports the news, he isn't the news itself. Even if he were, this is a show of disrespect for anyone, let alone someone of Kelley's stature.

Shame on you William. I hope you will call Jim to apologize and publish it here."

What's the big deal about Bosh getting a tattoo? Isn't he the last player in the NBA not to get tatt'd up?? Don't understand what the news is all about (let alone making a DVD about it.) Slow news day in Toronto, I guess?

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Tuesday, December 8, 2009 (4:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: John Shannon
Guests: Don Banks, Bob Elliott, Bert Sugar, Nick Kypreos, Glenn Howard, Michael Hiestand, Doug Smith.

Hiestand in trouble with NBC about comments he made on Prime Time Sports? Wow, I guess our Ameri-friends really do listen to this show, eh? Ah well, Hiestand is a big boy and has been a long time PTS contributor. Hope he doesn't change his condor on the show.

I spit out my drink when I heard McCown ask Kypreos the following, "Kipper, when you won the Hart trophy, would you feel hard done by if they changed the name?" Funniest line ever! Well done McCown!

Good chemistry between John SHHHHHHHHHHHHanon and the Bobcat. Good flow, and fantastic interchange on many occasions.

Interesting note from today's show: "Bobcat" received the name "Bobcat" as an adult. No other details provided, but enquiring minds want to know.

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Thursday, December 3, 2009 (4:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Stephen Brunt
Guests: Lead singer of Glass Tiger, Alan Frew, and Tom Anselmi, COO for MLSE, Vice chairman of Rogers Communications, Phil Lind, and GM of the Bills in Toronto series, Adrian Montgomery; president and CEO of MLSE, Richard Peddie; Sports Illustrated's Don Banks, Dan Shulman, play-by-play man for ESPN; legendary poker player Doyle Brunson; Brad Pascall, senior director of men's national teams for Hockey Canada.

Discussion in the first hour revolved around the leafs and whether or not they are "Canada's Team" as espoused by Alan Frew. The lyrics in MLSE's new "anthem" calls the leafs as such and it has caused a bit of a firestorm in Montreal, due to the 100th anniversary. (side note: when the hell does that 100th anniversary end???)

My take is anyone can call anyone, anything. If Alan Frew believes the Leafs are Canada's team, that's his opinion. If he decides to write a song about it, great for him. If a 'nation' of morons buys into it, more power to them. But remember one thing. The leafs may be Canada's most beloved team (and that's up for debate.) But make no mistake, they are Canada's most hated team. ...and stunts like this only embolden the resolve of us leaf haters.

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: John Shannon
Guests: Nick Kypreos from Rogers Sportsnet; Toronto Star basketball columnist Doug Smith, Sports Illustrated NFL writer, Don Banks; Paul Kelly, former head of the NHLPA; John Buccigross from ESPN.com
Hearing Bobcat read Winnie the Pooh was CLASSIC! Well done Bobcat!!!

We're down to 30% of our current staff at work, so the round table discussions will be missing this week!

Good to hear Paul Kelly back, and equally surpassing that he decided to stick around in the hockey landscape, as opposed to returning back to his roots as a prosecutor. As indicated, this is probably due to the fact that he still has a strong interest in returning to the Leadership of professional hockey is some capacity.

As a Sens fan, hearing that the Leafs are having problems selling boxes and there current predicament and performance is a source of great joy I take. The deep respect I have for Burke for the handling of the news of his son, is at a very high level. There is something more to Burke than meets the eye, and definitely more than his public persona would indicate. Read the full story here. Burke may not want to be a role model as a family member in this regard, however he definitely is that. You can bet Cherry won't touch this on Saturday night, as much as Ronny may want to!

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Thursday, November 19, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: John Shannon
Guests: : Rob Zamuner, NHLPA representative and former NHL player; USA Today baseball columnist, Bob Nightengale; writer for the Wall Street Journal, Christina Lewis; Ed Olczyk, hockey analyst for NBC and Versus; Toronto Raptors radio colour commentator, Eric Smith; Don Banks from Sports Illustrated.

$550,000 for the Pontiac Silverdome…c'mon folks, we can come up with that change here and now can't we???

Bobcat and Christina Lewis seemed to be flirting a bit, no? Maybe it's my Friday afternoon ears??

Missed the Olczyk, Smith and Banks interviews but will add later today!

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Monday, November 9, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Stephen Brunt
Guests: Dave Andrews, Richard Griffin, Ed Olczyk, Don Banks, and Da'Shawn Thomas.

It's a cross between writer's block and a lack of any content worthwhile of reporting on today's show. While I was on the bench, I did listen to all the shows and was hoping to catch-up on what I missed but there was very little that I was inspired by.

Da'Shawn Thomas was an interesting story who started in the CFL, now at Western and invited to the NFL columbines. Interesting, but not compelling. Even Banks commented to McCown/Brunt wake him up if he makes it past the columbines.

Agassi will be on Prime Time Sports on Wednesday. Two interesting things about this. Firstly, Sportsnet continues to promote the interesting Mike Danton story, but no mention of the Agassi interview anywhere. Secondly, on Jim Rome earlier in the week he trumpeted Agassi's character as being impeccable as this would be the only reason he would "lay it bare" for a biography. What Rome was missing was the hypothesis by McCown late last week - that Agassi revealed his story about drug use, etc due to the story about to come out anyways. It will be interesting if McCown confronts Agassi on this point specifically, and while the show isn't being advertised by Sportsnet should prove to be one on the more interesting interviews of the year.

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Stephen Brunt
Guests: Hockey analyst for Rogers Sportsnet, Nick Kypreos; Gregg Zaun, Tampa Bay Rays catcher and Rogers Sportsnet post-season baseball expert; Damien Cox from the Toronto Star; Sports Illustrated NFL writer, Don Banks; Duane Forde, CFL game analyst for TSN.

After being mysteriously absent on Monday, McCown was back on Tuesday.

Not a peep about the current Sportsnet-Prime Time Sports issue on PTS - either via McCown himself, or on all of the teasers at the intro of the show. VERY interesting. I'm not entirely sure how many listeners knew (or even care) about the current Sportsnet situation. Heck, even with Kypreos in studio, McCown didn't take any shots…maybe it's me, but I could sense his mind was elsewhere tonight.

Word also broke earlier this afternoon that Prime Time Sports will continue to be on Rogers: LINK.

I wonder what those "internal" issues were all about? McCown has always been faithful and truthful to his listeners, and I hope he can divulge a bit about what has happened on his next show.

There's no way Bobcat is going anywhere from the FAN590. The only question is whether Rogers can continue to take the hits from McCown, particularly with the Olympics around the corner. My question is simply, why now? What has happened since September that has the big-wigs worried?

As McCown said in an interview with the Toronto Star about being replaced: "God, no. It never occurred to me. I don't know if it's ego or self-confidence ..." LINK

Are you like me? Getting tired of being dicked around by Sportsnet as a loyal PTS viewer?? …or as a radio/podcast listener, do you not care?

Sure beats talking about Phoenix, eh?

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: John Shannon
Guests: Tom Anselmi, MLSE executive VP and COO; John Branch, writer for the New York Times; Paul Waldie, business reporter for the Globe and Mail; Sports Illustrated's Don Banks.

TFC may be doing great as an "experience", live and in person, but the TFC ratings on CBC are brutal. There are almost as many people watching on tv that are attending games. McCown attending a TFC game is now a "definite maybe"?? Now this I gotta see! What do you guys think the chances are that he'll actually go?

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Wednesday, September 16, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Stephen Brunt
Guests: Glendale, Arizona council member, Phil Lieberman; Bob Elliott, baseball writer for the Toronto Sun; Don Banks from Sports Illustrated; ESPN's Mark Fainaru-Wada; NFL player agent, Leigh Steinberg.

First segment McCown and Brunt talked about books, and writing. Whatever happened to the two books McCown was to produce next year?? Know what's going on? Drop us a line in the comment section. A book of fiction selling well Bobcat? How about a book about the leafs winning the cup thousands of years in the future (if we're talking about true fiction?)

Hearing from Arizona Council Member Phil Lieberman was a hit of reality on the Phoenix issue. Who will assist the small businesses that will suffer with the Coyotes departure? Certainly not the NHL nor the Balsillie camp, both of whom are out for themselves. Balsillie only cares about getting a team in the southern Ontario market. Bettman only cares about getting those lucrative expansion/re-location fees on his terms.

Line of the day when Bob Elliot was introduced..."Bob's not hear, it's Doug MacLean!!" ...and Bob Elliot agreed with McCown too saying McCown "was right". Interesting. Guests that skirt around the MacLean issue never get a full diatribe on the subject as McCown has remained steady that he won't discuss it anymore but if others want to discuss it, he'll listen.

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Tuesday, September 8, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Stephen Brunt
Guests: President and CEO of the Toronto Argonauts, Bob Nicholson; David Peterson, chair of the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games Bid; Don Banks from Sports Illustrated; manager of team travel for the Toronto Blue Jays, Mike Shaw; Brahm Resnik, reporter and anchor for News 12 in Phoenix.

Nothing like the best combo in sports radio, Brunt and McCown!!!

If you think Bettman v Balsillie is insane, imagine Bettman vs MLSE? The battle lines are drawn and the next few days will dictate exactly how close those two are headed towards battle.

David Petterson, Chair of the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games Bid came on and supposedly the two of them had a loud altercation regarding the bid. Bobcat has been a long time advocate of no public funds going to sporting bid tournaments, especially the olympics. Hell, he's even critical of the Vancouver Olympics that he'll be attending at broadcasting at! When it came down to the Pan Am Games, Bobcat was pretty adament that it was the wrong way to proceed based on a multitude of factors. While it was a very, VERY civil conversation, if this thing gets closer expect a major battle between Peterson and Bobcat on the airwaves.

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Tuesday, September 1, 2009 (6:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Sports Illustrated football writer, Don Banks; Lester Munson from ESPN.com; GM of the Toronto Argonauts, Adam Rita.

Only 1 hour for the review today as the podcast was reduced due to the Jays doubleheader.

Kelly appearing on tomorrows show in his first and so far only interview after being fired from NHLPA.

Bobcat stated today, "While they are the most likable, most approachable of all professional athletes, NHL Players are collectively the most stupidest group I have encountered and demonstrated this (their lack of business knowledge) repeatedly through the years."

I simply don't understand this move. In the era of professional sports, so much is kept hidden from the people that pay the bills. Why does Heatley *really* want out? What does the NHL *really* find objectionable in Balsillie? ...and why did the NHLPA *really* fire Kelly? I'm not sure it serves everyone best by not divulging these issues, as in the age of the internet, sports radio and the wider fan interest in sports, rumours and speculation carry with it more legitimacy than ever before.

In this case, the NHLPA and their constituents (by their silence) look completely unjustified in firing Kelly. Perhaps more importantly it leaves a downright scary glimpse into what the future of the NHLPA and collective bargaining with the NHL could be.

Prime Time Sports: Wednesday, March 31st, 2009

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Jim Kelley
Guests: Pat Brisson, Don Banks, Jack Armstrong
2010 - the year the cap in the NHL will drop a minimum of $5 million...The cap will hit no team harder than the Sens with the 7 year deals for Spezza/Heatley at 8 million+ per year. Check these numbers out:
2009/10 - 35 million on Heatley, Spezza and Alfie
2010/11 - 23 million on Heatley, Spezza and Alfie

2009/10 will be ok for the Sens as the cap should remain above the $50 million mark. What the hell are the Sens going to doin 10/11 if the cap goes down to $45 million (according to Pat Brisson on Prime Time Sports this afternoon)? 1/2 the salary on 3 players? In 2011/12, the Sens have committed 30 million on only 6 players….YIKES! ATTN: OTTAWA MEDIA…you may wanna get on this story!! To see your team and how brutal the next few years will be, click here.