18
Sports fans are never sure what they will get from the CBC's Ron MacLean.
It could be a pun, a non sequitur, an on-air argument with his Hockey Night in Canada partner, Don Cherry, or even a hell or a damn — not the sort of language you hear from other television personalities.
But whatever you hear and see, you can be sure it will be heartfelt, unpretentious and real.
That's how it was late Wednesday night, near midnight EDT, during the Olympics prime-time show, when, out of the blue, he announced his mother had died two hours earlier.
Related Articles
If there has been anything like this on Canadian television, we don't know about it.
The executive producer of Hockey Night, Sherali Najak, called it graceful and soulful.
MacLean's voice came close to breaking once or twice, but it never did. He seemed to try to explain why he stayed at Beijing rather than leave the Olympic city and return home to be at his mother's side.
Were we witnessing guilt as well as grief? Whatever the case, it was authentic, personal and moving.
"I don't want to jar you with this news," he said. "But I just got the word about my mom, who is 82 years old. Succumbed to pancreatic cancer. Mom's condition has been tough for about a year now. But she broke her hip on the eve of the opening ceremony and, if you know anything about cancer, once that trauma was added to the weight of her circumstance, it was a very difficult last 14 days."
And, needless to say, a difficult two weeks for MacLean, who was co-host of the CBC's coverage of the opening ceremony and has been on air nightly ever since.
His wife, Cari, left Beijing early to be with MacLean's mother. Ron flew home yesterday. MacLean and his wife and mother and father, who is 86, live in Oakville, Ont.
MacLean, during his 90-second chat to viewers, thanked the staff at Oakville Trafalgar-Memorial Hospital and also friends who visited his mother.
Then he said, "Grapes [Cherry] would always say, 'I'll be fine, don't worry about me.'
"I'm probably in that bubble of denial that you get into when you're involved in television. But the truth of the matter is, I gave her all I had all my life. So there's no harm in not having been there for the final moments. But I've got to get home, needless to say, to help out with some of the work at home."
Trevor Pilling, the executive producer of the CBC's Olympic coverage, said some of the network's Olympic staff knew about the poor health of MacLean's mother, but not everybody. He said MacLean made the right decision to discuss the situation on the air.
"We were completely supportive of whatever Ron decided to do," Pilling said. "The audience has a personal connection with him and, had he not just shown up on the air, people would have asked questions.
"Ron is a big part of a lot of people's lives on Saturday night [with Hockey Night] and the Olympics and other major events, and people feel a connection."
Najak, a close friend of MacLean, said: "He's been dealing with his mom's situation for a while, but he's pretty private about it and doesn't talk to anybody about it and hasn't really made it a focus."
He felt MacLean's decision to stay in Beijing as long as he did had been difficult.
"I think in his mind he wants to give so much to the show that whatever it is, he won't let that get in the way.
"But he's also a soulful type of loving man, so I'm sure he's dealing with it in his own way. I thought his announcement was handled gracefully."
MacLean wrapped it up by saying the prime-time show was in good hands with Scott Russell moving from the morning show to the evening.
"The ship's on its way, it's got a comfortable lead and nobody better to steer it," he said. "Enjoy the Games. The 29th Olympiad on CBC Television continues."
