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???

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Thursday, December 10, 2009 (4:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: John Shannon
Guests: Elliotte Friedman, John Bitove, Darren Rovell, Buck Martinez, Dan Shulman, Chris Rudge, Allan Walsh.

Friedman returns!! Some great historical stories about McCown and negotiating his morning contract and his current contract with the FAN590. Love it - fascinating stuff. You can also sense the deep respect Friedman has for McCown. I think I've mentioned it before, but after listening to Friedman and McCown there seems to be a mutual bond between these two (probably similar to Strombolopolous). I just wonder how nerve racking it is for Friedman and other younger media personalities who grew up listening to Bobcat and are now in the position to work side-by-side with him. I'd be pissin' my pants, and not figuratively either!

Bobcat getting freebies from the Hockey House - c'mon Bobcat…put that pass on eBay! For more info on Hockey House, click here - looks impressive, but geez it looks expensive!!!

Here are two of the t-shirts from zazzle.com that Rovell hinted at:
I guess all Tigers can't climb trees
Tiger Did Me

Martinez was caught in a bit of a fib. He said that he spoke to Shulman about the radio opportunity before accepting it. As soon as Shulman came on, they asked him about it, and he said he had no knowledge about it before the announcement. Hmmmm…something weird about that, and Shannon and McCown knew it. Martinez also called John, Jeff…not a good start. Ah well, we'll always have that play from home plate with the broken leg, won't we??

At around 6:40 during the Chris Rudge interview, McCown exploded on Vanoc, etc for the "smoke and mirrors" these organizations utilize in asking for public funds and then exponentially raising the funds closer to game time. This is going to be coming to a head when McCown heads to Vancouver. I will be listening to see if McCown will end up "exploding" on his traditional view during the Olympics. It will be impossible for him not to, although if the freebies keep coming in, it's gonna be tough!

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Thursday, October 8th, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Bruce Arthur
Guests: ESPN's Dan Shulman; Elliotte Friedman, reporter for "Hockey Night in Canada" on CBC; Paul Beeston, interim CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays; Rich Lerner from the Golf Channel; Lyle Bauer, Winnipeg Blue Bombers CEO.

Friedman returns!!! Again, because there was no TV, he was allowed on. TSN apparently wanted Friedman at the same time HNIC/CBC wanted him too. Friedman has come a really long way since joining CBC in 2003 (has it
really been that long?)

Hey McCown - GET BACK ON TWITTER DAMMIT!!! There wasn't a revenue stream when you started coming on twitter and there hasn't been one since. It's a way as fans that we could communicate and since twitter has stalled, so has that connection. Speaing of Fadoo, it seems to have fallen quite a bit as well, in terms of McCown's presence.

Get the feeling that Beeston has known all along who the new President of the Jays is going to be? Seems he's just waiting for the post-season to be over to 'pluck' him from another organization.

At a quote today from McCown that is now amongst my favourite: "If you're happy with what you are doing, don't screw it up. If you're not happy, don't be afraid to make yourself happy." Such a happy thought going into the weekend!

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Thursday, April 9, 2009 (6:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Stephen Brunt
Guests: Comcast SportsNet hockey analyst, Al Morganti, and Neil Smith, former NHL GM; Don Logan, president and general manager of the Las Vegas 51s; Doug Armstrong, Team Canada's GM for the world championships

Sometime ago, Morganti and Smith would appear on Prime Time Sports on a weekly basis. Not sure why this has stopped, as the insight they both bring is from different areas and very insightful. Predictions from both on the playoffs…

A quick note on the upcoming x number of days while Bobcat isn't on Prime Time Sports. Bob McCown IS Prime Time Sports. Prime Time Sports IS Bob McCown. Period. No matter who the guest host is, they pale in comparison to what Bob brings to the show. As such, when Bob McCown isn't on Prime Time Sports, the review will not be reporting.

The only guest host that came marginally close in Bob McCown's absence was Elliot Friedman. Too bad due to contractual obligations, he can't host (and even rarely be a guest) on Prime Time Sports.

Why is it that we rarely find out how long Bobcat's gone for when he takes these breaks?

Do you turn off PTS when Bobcat isn't on? Do you get this feeling of being cheated from something that's routine? DO you think McCown should be working 200+ afternoon's a year (I'm sure Bobcat would love that!) Agree? Disagree? Feel free to vent below.

Wednesday, March 4 - 5:00-7:00

Here are the ways to listen to Prime Time Sports that I am aware of:
1) Podcast
2) Sportsnet TV
3) Radio
4) Rogers Digital TV, Channel 504 (maybe Bell too?)
5) Fan590 streaming

Normally, I listen/watch using option #2 and option #1 as a plan b. During certain times, Prime Time Sports isn't broadcast on TV and unfortunately for whatever reason, viewers aren't notified in advance that this will be happening. As a result, for those of us that set out PVRs, we panic when Prime Time Sports isn't broadcasted (or maybe it's just me!) Thank god for the other options on a day like today!

Elliote Friedman made a rare appearance on Prime Time Sports today. Bob McCown and Elliote Friedman have a great chemistry together, second to only the Bobcat and Brunt. For some reason due to contractual issues between CBC and Sportsnet, he rarely comes on Prime Time Sports anymore. Perhaps his history on The Score prepped him well for live tv banter, but he always holds his ground better than most that come on. Another great job this afternoon.


The way in which Bob McCown devises questions that no one else has thought of astounds me. As today is trade deadline day, I have literally been watching TV for 11 hours. I have seen Burke interviewed at least 6 times from different news sources. When Burke came on, I figure, what else could be asked from the man that hasn't already. When McCown asks questions like, "did you make more calls today or receive more", "did you make any calls to inquire about players" and "walk us through your day - how are deals devised", you know he's on his game more than anyone else. The responses that came from Burke were equally thought provoking. A podcast to check out for sure. As Stephen Brunt said to end the interview, "on a day when many days were spoken, this (interview) was different."