[Rumour] Ron Maclean to replace George Stromboulopoulos on HNIC

[Zarley]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

In fairness he hasn't been the "Mushmusic" guy for some time.

His show on CBC The Hour actually had some good interviews.

Yeah I'd agree that he's a great interviewer and I used to watch The Hour. I just think the attempted move by Rogers to pivot to a younger demographic backfired.

[Boreal]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

No, moved on as in assumed he wasn't gonna do HNIC again. Read the article.

Do you have some sort of insider info that he was pushing to have Strombo fired or you just making it up? Seems like a bizarre and unfounded accusation.

If you listen to the PuckSoup Podcast. Keith Olberman states he believed that HNIC with Strombo was the best sports studio show on the planet.

At the 57:00 minute mark he states

"...but this guy Moore, they way they did it, they hung Strombo out to dry and let it dangle there for a week, and who do you think leaked that? Do you think it was George Strombolopolous who leaked that story that he was being let go? So that narrows it down to Rogers or Ron Mclean. Who was quoted in one of the Canadian newspapers that "oh its not done, all the eyes aren't dotted and t's aren't crossed yet." He's quoted after the story leaks. That points a suspicious finger at oneself."

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by troutman

Why would Ron say anything publicly about his relationship with George? No need for that.

Agree 100%. It is all about Ron. Always has been, always will be. He is the most annoying host and as soon as he comes on I switch channels.

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by nobles_point

If you listen to the PuckSoup Podcast. Keith Olberman states he believed that HNIC with Strombo was the best sports studio show on the planet.

At the 57:00 minute mark he states

"...but this guy Moore, they way they did it, they hung Strombo out to dry and let it dangle there for a week, and who do you think leaked that? Do you think it was George Strombolopolous who leaked that story that he was being let go? So that narrows it down to Rogers or Ron Mclean. Who was quoted in one of the Canadian newspapers that "oh its not done, all the eyes aren't dotted and t's aren't crossed yet." He's quoted after the story leaks. That points a suspicious finger at oneself."

I've always found Olberman to be a massive blowhard, who likes to take hardline positions on things and then listen to himself talk about them in rambling diatribes.

[Steve Bozek]

Apart from his wardrobe, Strombo didn't embarrass himself on the show. His comments were usually reasonable and he let the 2 best panel members have their say without interruption. He certainly has solid interviewing skills and I seem to recall an earlier post indicating he actually had some experience as a sports reporter. I prefer him to what I'm seeing from Ron.

[curves2000]

I do think that Strombo, of whom I am not a fan of on HNIC, was put in a very tough spot and is the fall guy for what is clearly becoming a financial disaster for Rogers.

Sometimes the issue I THINK with the panel members is that are mostly ex players (except Elliot) and understand the issues that go on within a team. Some of the questioning and comments that Strombo would say just didn't jive with the reality of the team/locker room. There were many instances where someone like Kypreos or Hrudey would look at him with the "what is this guy talking about?" and it would show on TV.

Strombo, like all of us on this forum was a hockey FAN and not a hockey guy or an insider and it showed. Similar things happen when fan's ask players, coaches, GM's and media personalities questions about their teams or favorite player. When your in the know of a specific situation, it can make people who aren't as sophisticated look bad and this is especially true on tv. If we had video clips of every fan who asked Burke and Treleving questions about "Why haven't you signed Johnny for his $8 mil, careful before he walks" I am sure we would have seen plenty of eye rolls.

On another note though is the business deal that Rogers made may not look good. Ratings tanked and Rogers is scrambling to make up for lost revenue with advertisers and to cut costs. If bringing back a traditional HNIC is going to try and help them do that, than they will try it. If ratings continue to slide or stay flat and the annual escalator payment to the NHL goes up, then we are going to see them get even more jittery and start cutting other production costs. Using local broadcasters to show away games, having PBP announcers stream the radio broadcasts, cut travel expenses and more. A lot is riding on the HNIC ratings going back up and they may but there are structural problems with the NHL as well. If scoring continues to go down, games becoming even more blah and the product quality going down, ratings will continue to slide. If more and more people continue to cut cable and "the cord" as they say, than the revenue will fall. No amount of Ron & Don will be able to save Rogers, Don Cherry, who is over 82 years old by the way can't be expected to be on air forever.

Just my $.02, sorry about the long post.

[lazypucker]

The new generations usually don't watch the whole pre-game, intermission, post-game shows. They would rather just look up scores online and watch highlights if needed be. Or PVR the game and fast-forward all stoppages and commercials and breaks...

[Boreal]

Originally Posted by Mike F

I've always found Olberman to be a massive blowhard, who likes to take hardline positions on things and then listen to himself talk about them in rambling diatribes.

He has an ego like anyone else but he is frequently humorous. It was funny in the podcast when he referenced Ron McLean as the guy who sits next to that guy from Weekend At Bernies.

Strombo was good at his job. Case in point, Kypreos. Strombo would ask questions and pull things out of him that actually made him seem relatively intelligent. I find Kypreos palatable now.

I have no respect for Ron McLean anymore.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by nobles_point

If you listen to the PuckSoup Podcast. Keith Olberman states he believed that HNIC with Strombo was the best sports studio show on the planet.

At the 57:00 minute mark he states

"...but this guy Moore, they way they did it, they hung Strombo out to dry and let it dangle there for a week, and who do you think leaked that? Do you think it was George Strombolopolous who leaked that story that he was being let go? So that narrows it down to Rogers or Ron Mclean. Who was quoted in one of the Canadian newspapers that "oh its not done, all the eyes aren't dotted and t's aren't crossed yet." He's quoted after the story leaks. That points a suspicious finger at oneself."

That's a really stupid theory. Olberman is a total moron. There are a million people that could have leaked it. Stories leak all the time. There is absolutely no reason for Mclean to try and kick Strombo after he already knew he'd already gotten his job back.

[Magnum PEI]

I remember watching the press conference introducing Strombo. MacLean seemed really butthurt and tried to one-up Strombo. Now he's kicking him when he's down.

I really prefered Strombo. After the first month or two he was fine. Now I have to deal with Maclean's smugness again. Elliotte at least tones it down when hes on TV.

[Boreal]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

That's a really stupid theory. Olberman is a total moron. There are a million people that could have leaked it. Stories leak all the time. There is absolutely no reason for Mclean to try and kick Strombo after he already knew he'd already gotten his job back.

Why is it stupid? He was quoted in the paper yakking about something that hadn't officially happened. If he didn't leak it, which I doubt, he certainly validated it. If he didn't want to kick Strombo down the stairs he should have kept his mouth shut.

[FurnaceFace]

I may have said this pages ago, but I found George good at what he was there to do. In my view his job is a host and setup man. He's not there to be a "star" or make things about him, he's there to let the hockey guys answer the questions he tosses their way. I thought he did a good job of that and I always felt he asked questions with a "I've never done this before or I'm not as plugged in, what do you guys think?" tone. Ron, likely from doing this for his career, wants to bring his own insights in. I don't always mind that if he could just say "I'm seeing this, what do you guys think?" It's the extra anecdotes and Gene Principe-esque puns and such which drive me nuts. You don't need to act like you're superior to everyone, you're just a TV host. Deliver the question, and let the hockey guys answer.

I'd be curious to see what the stats from 5-6 years ago are comparing Coaches Corner to the Hotstove or whatever it was called in the 2nd intermission. In that segment Ron was more of a traditional host/setup guy. I was much more interested in hearing what the media guys had to say over Ron and Don's ummmmm "banter".

[Corral]

The Show is so much better with Ron back in the controls. The best part so far was his one-on-one with Bettman during the World Cup. The fact that Gary threw in that "and welcome back" with a smirk - tells me there is way more to this story than anyone here knows.

Ron is entitled to have an ego - i'm glad he brings it to HNIC.

[Boreal]

He's a dinosaur that fits in with the Neolithic culture of hockey. He's part of the same culture that consistently fawns over the Oiler perpetual failure. He paints a picture for a captured audience of white males and draws as many people to the game as a fight.

His insight is minimal because he wastes time making useless comments like Pierre McGuire more than asking insightful questions that draw more out of those around him.

He was suited to hometown hockey and the fact that he didn't bring a substantial audience with him to hear his diatribes is evidence how insignificant he is.

[Corral]

Originally Posted by nobles_point

He's a dinosaur that fits in with the Neolithic culture of hockey. He's part of the same culture that consistently fawns over the Oiler perpetual failure. He paints a picture for a captured audience of white males and draws as many people to the game as a fight.

His insight is minimal because he wastes time making useless comments like Pierre McGuire more than asking insightful questions that draw more out of those around him.

He was suited to hometown hockey and the fact that he didn't bring a substantial audience with him to hear his diatribes is evidence how insignificant he is.

Like I said to someone else on this topic - i'm glad Rogers disagrees with you.

[Boreal]

Originally Posted by Corral

Like I said to someone else on this topic - i'm glad Rogers disagrees with you.

I'm sad you're content with Rogers product.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by nobles_point

He's a dinosaur that fits in with the Neolithic culture of hockey. He's part of the same culture that consistently fawns over the Oiler perpetual failure. He paints a picture for a captured audience of white males and draws as many people to the game as a fight.

His insight is minimal because he wastes time making useless comments like Pierre McGuire more than asking insightful questions that draw more out of those around him.

He was suited to hometown hockey and the fact that he didn't bring a substantial audience with him to hear his diatribes is evidence how insignificant he is.

This is all you need to know about Ron:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/r...ston-matthews/

On the Edmonton Oilers' 2015-16 playoff hopes:
"Fantastic. I think for sure playoffs. I tell you who’s going to be lights-out this year is Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall.

"They went over to the World Championship and played with Crosby, which is similar to Messier and Gretzky. Not that they needed any encouragement but those two Oilers flanked Mario Lemieux at the crucial moment of the Canada Cup in ’87. Now you have two Oilers flanking Sid to a gold. You watch Eberle take off. He’s already been great in international hockey, but I think this is going to be his year, Taylor Hall’s year.

"And Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse will fit in. Gimme a glass of wine or a beer, and I think in two years they win the Cup. That may be a little eager, but I don’t think more than four.

[TheoFleury]

^ His knowledge of the game really shines through here. Classic Ron.

[Deelow]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

That's a really stupid theory. Olberman is a total moron. There are a million people that could have leaked it. Stories leak all the time. There is absolutely no reason for Mclean to try and kick Strombo after he already knew he'd already gotten his job back.

We don't exactly know how Ron was treated by Strombo the last 2 years. Surely they had some interactions. If Ron felt that Strombo was cold or a jerk to him, why not rub a little salt in? I would.

[Flames89]

Like Strombo, but far prefer Maclean. He is the voice of hockey and Saturday nights in this country.