Sportsnet: Bob Cole’s final HNIC game will be Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens

[Azure]

No issue if he is slow to call the play. My issue is with his complete love affair with McDavid.

I get the guy is good, but he isn't so far above everyone else this year that you simply don't talk about a single different player during the entire course of the game.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Azure

No issue if he is slow to call the play. My issue is with his complete love affair with McDavid.

I get the guy is good, but he isn't so far above everyone else this year that you simply don't talk about a single different player during the entire course of the game.

Someone brought this up in another Bob Cole related thread, but Bob Cole calls the play from the perspective of who the person made the play. He doesn't have favorites; it just seems that way when you're losing. The other team's kicking #### out of yours, and his call is indicative of that.

If Gio makes a great play to break up a 2-on-1, Bob Cole is excited from Gio's POV. If it sounds like Cole is falling all over himself praising McDavid, it's because McDavid is doing a whole lot to take notice of. Which he is.

This man called Paul Henderson's goal on the radio. He has witnessed the careers of Gretzky, Messier, Lemieux, Sakic, Yzerman, Jagr, Ovechkin, Crosby, Bure, Fedorov, Lidstrom, Bourque, Roy, Hasek, Brodeur, all of them. Bob Cole was at most of the defining moments of their careers. He's seen all of that and he's in awe of Connor McDavid. Because of course he is. I'm in awe of Connor McDavid. I've never seen a hockey player who scared me if he touched the puck anywhere on the ice. If McDavid has the puck, the other team is not safe. It's tough to find that.

It's not like Cole calls a ton of Edmonton games, or has the chance to watch that many. He's 85 years old, he spends the week in Newfoundland, which is three and a half hours ahead of us. It's possible he wakes up and cues the western games on his tablet, but I doubt it.

Kevin Quinn and Drew Remenda watch Connor McDavid every night. Jim Hughson is a star####er. For most guys, I agree there's no need to pump his tires with every spare ounce of dead air.

You know Bob Cole hasn't been handed some directive from Kevin Lowe or MacT to talk the kid up. Nobody's telling him what to say. He loves the game, and he calls it like he sees it.

I will admit, that this most recent game was not Cole's strongest. Hamonic/Hanifin gave him a ton of trouble, and he was mixing up a lot of things. It was the first time in a while I found it truly distracting. But again, 85. He's gonna have off nights.

But oh, that voice.

Both my grandmother and grandfather on my mother's side have/had Alzheimer's/dementia. Barring a cure, I fully expect to lose my mind in about 40 years. As the disease progresses, patients can think they're back in their 20s, or teen years, since those are the only memories they can access.

If for some reason someone manages to place me in an Alzheimer's ward, I'll want the 2002 Gold medal game on loop. To fall asleep every night in hopes that 'surely, that's gotta be it'.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

I will miss Bob Cole.

What I won't miss are the ridiculous negative comments about him on here.

I'm not sure why people care so much about these criticisms.

Hockey announcers are in the public eye. There are positives and negatives. Bob Cole spent a lifetime having a famous voice and getting paid to announce hockey and reaped the benefits of such. It's not like he spent a lifetime working to end world poverty.

I'm not sure why people think he should be immune to judgement. It's literally his job to call hockey and he's not as good at it anymore. I'm thankful to Edgar in accounting for his years of service but the guy cost the company 100k last year and he should suffer the consequences.

That being said it was an amazing career with some amazing calls, and I still feel great nostalgia for all those Saturday night double headers in my parents' house growing up.

[GGG]

There was a playoff game that went to overtime a few years ago and was Chicago vs someone and had a two or 3 minute stretch of end to end hockey. And Cole was fantastic during it. When the whistle finally blew he was out of breath and sounded exhausted. That was the last great Bob Cole call I remember and he was the best.

I think that playoff series benefitted him because he could prepare for multiple games of the same teams. He just doesn't have the capacity anymore to do different teams every week. He was the best but probably should have retired a few years ago.

Peak Bob Cole and even 80% Bob Cole was the best. What we have now is a shadow of that which is why its disappointing. I hope he can enjoy retirement.

[CMPunk]

If people on here didn't complain about the announcers so much, I wouldn't even know who's calling the game.

[Thor]

He will always be the voice of huge hockey moments for me from my childhood, none bigger than Game 5 against Montreal in 88, I can still hear calls for the goals in the 3rd.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty

I'm not sure why people care so much about these criticisms.

Hockey announcers are in the public eye. There are positives and negatives. Bob Cole spent a lifetime having a famous voice and getting paid to announce hockey and reaped the benefits of such. It's not like he spent a lifetime working to end world poverty.

I'm not sure why people think he should be immune to judgement. It's literally his job to call hockey and he's not as good at it anymore. I'm thankful to Edgar in accounting for his years of service but the guy cost the company 100k last year and he should suffer the consequences.

That being said it was an amazing career with some amazing calls, and I still feel great nostalgia for all those Saturday night double headers in my parents' house growing up.

People care because negativity can be draining. We get a lot of negativity about his player or that player around here. Some is warranted some is not. Announcers seem to get a lot of negativity. Yes, Bob Cole is nowhere near as good as he once was but I don't feel the negativity directed at him is warranted. Some people's complaints about broadcasters feel so full of vehement disdain and I can't figure out why it matters that much. It should be something easy to overlook if people don't have such negative attitudes and unfair expectations of perfection for the world.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Buff

People care because negativity can be draining. We get a lot of negativity about his player or that player around here. Some is warranted some is not. Announcers seem to get a lot of negativity. Yes, Bob Cole is nowhere near as good as he once was but I don't feel the negativity directed at him is warranted. Some people's complaints about broadcasters feel so full of vehement disdain and I can't figure out why it matters that much. It should be something easy to overlook if people don't have such negative attitudes and unfair expectations of perfection for the world.

Lets be honest. Cole now has issues keeping up to the flow of the game. It was slightly noticeable Sunday night. I don't hold it against him because he's frikking 85 years old! There are very few of us here that will be functioning as well as him in their mid-80's so the fact that he can still call a game and not be a major distraction is a feat in itself. I'm not going to criticize him at 85 years old because he's had a stellar career and been involved in a lot of famous goal calls going back to when I was a kid. A lot of people these days simply aren't happy unless they are unhappy or outraged about something whether it be the PBP announcer, Cassie Campbell, their favorite whipping boy player, a Trump tweet, etc. It is what it is, but in the case of Cole I feel some of you need to cut him a bit of slack here.

[lazypucker]

Is Bob Cole scheduled to call any playoff games?