1/19/10 - Kypreos, Cherry, HNIC, Gillett, Global TV

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: John Shannon
Guests: Jim Kelley, Sportsnet.ca columnist, Buddy Nix, Buffalo Bills GM; Rogers Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos, Former owner of the Montreal Canadiens, George Gillett; Lyle Bauer, Calgary Stampeders president and CEO; professor at Montana State University, Michael Meyers.

The dinosaurs of hockey continue with Kypreos being one of it's class clowns. How he can defend the "culture" in hockey, and in turn, indirectly justify the Cromier hit is absolutely disgusting. The disdain I have for the protectors of fighting/head shots/hits from behind/the code is similar to the way I feel about republicans and leaf fans!

Maybe Kypreos is eying the HNIC job when Cherry leaves.

There's a lot in common with the UK press and the Montreal press, eh Mr. Gillett? ...and who knew McCown had a broken heart from Global??

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: Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Bruce Arthur
Guests: Globe and Mail sports writer, David Naylor; Scott Moore, executive director of CBC Sports; Ed Olczyk, NBC and Versus hockey analyst; legal expert Rob Becker; Keith Law from ESPN.

Nice to hear some real music on the podcast breaks...instead of the studio music. Cheap Sportsnet bastards won't pay for licensed music on the TV airwaves.

Would love to know more details about the books that McCown/Naylor have going on. It still sounds like it's at least a year away though for anything to be produced. Hope the History of Prime Time Sports makes it to fruition.

"Don (Cherry) is a bit of a dancer" - Scott Moore. Does anyone in Canada know this side of Cherry?

Looking at the Kelly-NHLPA situation, McCown has recently argued that Kelly's fundamental mistake was not getting rid of the 'old guard' and letting the Executive Board continue to run, without putting in "his own guys". The problem with this argument is that it is all in hindsight. No one saw this coming and unfortunately McCown's comments come after the fact. If McCown thought this, why not say it before instead of after Kelly was fired? ...and a bit sick of the "Sword of Damocles"
saying too! For those that need it, here's the link to what the reference is all about:
LINK

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

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Bruce Arthur
Guests: Chicago Blackhawks general manager, Stan Bowman; Tom Anselmi, VP and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment; Paul Godfrey, former president of the Toronto Blue Jays; ESPN.com's Lester Munson; baseball columnist for the Toronto Sun, Bob Elliott; Don Banks, Sports Illustrated NFL writer.

Sorry for the lack of updates last week. Both of my kids under 3 have been sick and it's been kleenex hell dealing with all the runny noses (sniff, sniff!) I blame it on McCown infecting my family with whatever he had last week through the radio!! No updates from Thursday and Friday as a result...apologies!

Blackhawks remind me of the Sens from the Yashin days - tons of potential and sky's the limit.

Why can't the NHLPA fire the Executive Committee and bring back Kelly? I think Kelly would come back under the right circumstances. If not, the NHL should hire him. It's a lot easier to leave Kelly fired than keep Kelly and fire Penny, Pink and Hardgrove of the NHLPA. It's hard to believe that the NHLPA will do what's right. More likely, they'll do what's easy as their track record clearly shows. Lester Munson and Bob McCown circled around the same themes in their interview.

Which mess would you rather be part of - the Jays or the NHLPA???

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Friday, September 4, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Roundtable with James Deacon, Michael Grange, and Gord Kirke.

McCown to open the Roundtable: "We did our best but I must confess failed miserably in trying to ascertain why Paul Kelly was fired. After Buzz Hargrove, Paul Kelly, Ian Penny all showed up, we got nothing and apologize for the waste of time to our listeners."

Say what you want about Bobcat, he really does value his listeners time. My biggest gripe is, all of these players knew they *had* to come on Prime Time Sports. I personally feel they used the show to save face and McCown needs to evaluate these players in the middle of an interview and hang up on guests that are not forthcoming with information. If not, those who feel like "using" Prime Time Sports as an avenue to "show face" will continue to do so without answering the questions that need to be answered.

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: President of the Hamilton Tiger Cats, Scott Mitchell; Anton Thun, NHL player agent; Paul Kelly, former NHLPA executive director; Vancouver Canucks GM, Mike Gillis; columnist for the Globe and Mail, Stephen Brunt.

"Stunned, saddened and disappointed." - Paul Kelly

The interview with Kelly showed one thing. He's unbelievably loyal. Almost to a fault. Although he didn't want to speak about the details of his firing, he refused to take shots at the NHLPA. Class the entire way through, and one hopes that Bobcat rips into the NHLPA when their representation comes into Prime Time Sports tomorrow. (Did I mention class?)

Best lines again from "BruCown"
McCown: "I have a new use for the Globe and Mail!"
Brunt: "You got a dog???"

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 with Bob McCown: Monday, August 31, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Brian Cooper of Sports & Entertainment L.P.; Toronto Sun baseball columnist, Bob Elliott; Buzz Hargrove, interim ombudsman for the NHLPA; Ernie Els, golfer on the PGA Tour; president and CEO of the Edmonton Oilers, Patrick LaForge.

"Kelly is smart - smart like Bettman is smart. …and whatever my differences are with Gary, I've always acknowledged this is a really bright guy."

What the hell??? Bob, have you been sipping the kool-aid while you've been away? I never thought I'd see the day that I'd hear McCown say this! I think it's safe to say that through the past couple of years, McCown had a deep 'intrigue' in Paul Kelly. He didn't dodge questions by Bobcat, was honest and was a refreshing change from the normal Hockey Executives.

I can remember McCown in the past hanging up on guests in the past for not answering questions and not wanting to waste the time of the listeners. I was waiting for McCown to hang up on Buzz Hargrove who did a great tap dance around questions without answering a damn thing. I felt my time was wasted, not by Bobcat but by Hargrove not answering the fundamental question of WHY Kelly was released as Head of the NHLPA.

Somewhere, Bob Goodenow is laughing his arse off.

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Wednesday, June 3, 2009 (5:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Stephen Brunt
Guests: NFL writer for Sports Illustrated, Peter King; Paul Godfrey, former president of the Toronto Blue Jays; NHLPA executive director, Paul Kelly; ESPN's Dan Shulman; Pat Gillick, advisor to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Memories of Skydome, eh? It's amazing to me being bred in Toronto and now living in Ottawa that I can head back to Skydome with my 2 year old son and be immediately taken back to the time where I frequented the park with family and friends. Even though, I must admit, sitting in
great seats in the 200 level doesn't feel the same as making the trek all the way to the top row in the 300 level!!

Reminiscing is never a bad thing!

Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown: Tuesday April 21, 2009 (6:00-7:00)

Host: Bob McCown
Co-Host: Stephen Brunt
Guests: NHLPA Executive Director, Paul Kelly; David Leadbetter, golf coach

McCown has been all over the Coyotes situation for (at least) the past 2-3 years. I recall Bettman saying in an interview that the Coyotes weren't getting cash infusions but were only getting advances to their share of the pie which was going to come anyways in the off season. Bettman has had a knack of getting franchises out of these kinds of binds by bring the knight riding the white horse to the rescue (note: reminder to myself to send Melnyk a thank you note!) To quote Paul Kelley, "(Bob) I like you am a little bit sceptical." How many times can Bettman do this? With Tampa? With Nashville? With Dallas? According to Bobcat - up to 8 different NHL franchises are up for sale.

I'm sure David Leadbetter was interesting. Heck - looking for other writers for the blog exactly for cases like this!! Drop me an email if interested!

Interesting that Brunt commented on the Hawks saying that they haven't won a cup since 1961, bad ownership, enormously long drought, and a backwards franchise. But if you play good hockey, people will appreciate it and turn it back into a hockey town and make it work. C'mon Brunt, doesn't this logic work for football in Ottawa??