CBC says "Bu-Bye Al"

[franko]

Strachan kicked while he's down

WILLIAM HOUSTON
Tuesday, October 18, 2005

A long running feud resumed a few days ago.

Hockey Night in Canada's decision to drop Toronto Sun columnist Al Strachan from its Satellite Hot Stove panel presented Howard Berger, a Toronto radio reporter, with an opportunity to resume hostilities.

In a piece written for hockeybuzz.com , Berger applauded Hockey Night's decision to dump Strachan, feeling the Hot Stove panel functions at "a level of sophistication that Strachan could never match."

Strachan brought a "personal agenda, bitterness and anger" to the panel, Berger wrote. Though conceding Strachan was entertaining, "at times," Berger came to the conclusion that his "whiney voice and predictable pandering are elements the show can easily do without."

. . .

"Strachan, conversely, seemed to be either misinformed or unprepared -- perhaps both. He almost always had an axe to grind, and it served to detract from the refinement of the show."

. . .

Strachan has been dropped by Hockey Night. Why?

"They weren't very clear on it," he said. "They said it was time to change direction. What I was told was that Nancy [Lee, the head of CBC Sports] didn't like handling the calls on Monday morning. She can't do anything about Don [Cherry], but she can do something about me." [loop to Berger's comments on a whiney voice]

full article

[jkr]

I noticed that the last two weeks & I was hoping it was a permanent change. Pierre LeBrun is a much better reporter and I like his work on The Score.

Even though Berger is a leafs reporter he usually calls things the way they are without much bias.

[Polarice]

jkr said:

I noticed that the last two weeks & I was hoping it was a permanent change. Pierre LeBrun is a much better reporter and I like his work on The Score.

Even though Berger is a leafs reporter he usually calls things the way they are without much bias.

Pierre is boring, Berger is far from bias, have you not read his blog articles?

[jkr]

polarice said:

jkr said:

I noticed that the last two weeks & I was hoping it was a permanent change. Pierre LeBrun is a much better reporter and I like his work on The Score.

Even though Berger is a leafs reporter he usually calls things the way they are without much bias.

Pierre is boring, Berger is far from bias, have you not read his blog articles?

I'd rather have boring and on the mark then Strachan's speculations that are usually wrong.

As for Berger, no I haven't read his blog but I did read his article blasting the leafs for their lack of player movement this year - it was very critical. Also, I hear him on the FAN590 in Toronto and I can actually stand to listen to him, unlike the homers on AM640 with their "leaf's lunch" program.

[Forum Ghost]

I'm a big fan of Pierre Lebrun's. I don't find him boring at all. He's very knowledgable, has good insight and has great contacts around the league. People respect him, which is not what I can say about Strachan.

Kudos to the CBC for getting rid of a guy that shouldn't have even been on the hotstove panel in the first place.

I still don't understand how/why Al Strachan gets paid to cover the NHL. The guy's a joke.