Toronto radio host Bob McCown went off on Wayne Gretzky this week, calling him two-faced and forked-tongued.
The name calling had to do with Gretzky's appearance on Hockey Night in Canada last Saturday, during which he defended the National Hockey League's style of hockey. (It's been widely criticized as defensive and dull.) Is Gretzky two-faced? He sends out mixed signals. In one breath, he sticks up for the NHL game. But on his new DVD, Ultimate Gretzky, he talks of ways to increase scoring.
In 1999, he presented himself as a spokesman for bringing skill development back into kids hockey. A few months later, he turned 180 degrees and said there was nothing wrong with the system.
The important point is this: The notion that Gretzky, as a former superstar, should be the final word on all things pertaining to the game needs to be put away. He is not a progressive thinker. We're talking about somebody who wrote a weekly column in the National Post for a year, and if he said anything interesting or relevant, we missed it.
Gretzky calls himself a traditionalist, but which tradition does he support? Is it the tradition of offensive hockey in the 1980s, when he had his best years? Or is it today's gridlock?
Fisher issue on agenda
Journalist Red Fisher's dispute with the Hockey Hall of Fame will not be settled any time soon.
"We'll talk about it at the January meeting of the Professional Hockey Writers Association," PHWA president Kevin Allen of USA Today said. "I'll be essentially polling all the members to see how they feel about it." Fisher, the long-time hockey writer for The Gazette in Montreal, demanded that his name and plaque be removed from the Hall of Fame after the Hall sent out a release last June stating that media people were not considered "honoured members." Fisher, who helped set up the media wing in 1983, says Clarence Campbell, the chairman of the Hall at the time, assured him the media would have honoured member status.
But the Hall says writers and broadcasters have always been recognized only as winners of the Elmer Ferguson Award for sportswriters or the Foster Hewitt Award for broadcasters. The term honoured member is limited to players, builders and on-ice officials.
Several media winners said privately that a presence in the Hall and a plaque is good enough for them.
Some, who are still covering hockey, believe an honoured member designation may align them too closely with the NHL.
"Maybe at some point we'll need a resolution from our group [the PHWA]at least acknowledging that we view the Hewitt and Ferguson winners as our Hall of Famers, regardless of the Hall's distinction," Allen said.
Tough odds for Grey Cup
Why were the English-language and French-language television audiences for the Grey Cup game last Sunday down from 2002?
For starters, the audiences last year were huge. The CBC drew 4.4 million viewers, a Grey Cup record. RDS, the French-language sports channel, pulled in 1.019 million.
The CBC's 3.789 million this year ranks as the second largest audience since 1994, when the network drew 3.9 million (B.C. Lions-Baltimore Stallions).
RDS had a disappointing total of 620,000 viewers for the Cup, a 38-per-cent decrease from last year, even though the Montreal Alouettes were trying to win their second consecutive Canadian Football League championship.
François Messier, the vice-president of programming for RDS, said the game didn't get much buzz in Quebec, even with the appearance of the Als.
As well, this is a ratings period in Quebec. On Sunday night, Quatre Saisons aired a reality show against the Grey Cup that drew 1.4 million.
CBC signs on for skating
The CBC has signed a four-year agreement with the International Skating Union to carry the world junior and senior championships, as well as major international competitions and some speed skating events.
The CBC will be the host broadcaster for three competitions in Canada: the Four Continents figure skating championships in Hamilton in January, the junior world championships in Kitchener, Ont., in March of 2005 and the senior championships in Calgary in March of 2006.
David Masse, the CBC's director of programming, said the diminished interest in figure skating among viewers was not a concern.
"There has been a decline, but if you look over the last couple of years, the numbers are starting to climb back up," he said. "So, I think they're growing."
The shortage of Canadian contenders on the world stage is not a concern, either.
"There's still strong interest," Masse said.
"We'd love to have lots of people winning gold medals in Canada, but [the absence of medals]is not a fatal decision factor."
Three in Heritage booth
The CBC's Hockey Night will use a three-man play-by-play team -- announcer Chris Cuthbert with analysts Greg Millen and Glenn Healy -- for the telecast of the Heritage Classic outdoor game between the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Saturday.
The Satellite Hot Stove panel, during the second intermission, will be made up of Gretzky, Guy Lafleur and Dick Irvin.
Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. EST, Leafs TV, the club-owned regional channel, will rebroadcast the Cold War, the outdoor game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State that was played at East Lansing, Mich., on Oct. 6, 2001.