Ron MacLean Sucks

[Oleksiak]

If you're talking about the "tarp" comment, yes, that was infinitely worse than what Cherry said and I don't know how he survived it or anyone can justify it. And I say infinitely in the mathematical sense because I don't think Cherry said anything wrong.

For calling out Burrows and attacking his character in retaliation for an accusation about a ref who was so corrupt the league actually held him accountable. That by itself was grounds for immediate termination of employment. The tarp comment was even worse and frankly someone should have cleaned his clock right there on the air. There's simply no reason to allow this worthless piece of trash to continue to disgrace the country, the network, and the sport with his presence on a national broadcast. He has absolutely zero value as a broadcaster or as a person.

 

[Straight Fire]

Always the image that comes to mind with the "You must be fun at parties..." posters

Just noticed his right hand.

Guy's a total dork though. Thinks he's the mastermind of all things: music, movies, abstract knowledgd blah-dy-blah-dy-blah. Wonder if his female co-host of a few years finally had enough of his shit or if there was more to it.

He wants every broadcast to be him orchestrating the panel and the audience. He wants you to have his particular brand of social conscience, be angry when he's angry, be reminiscent when he wants you to be, weep all the time, worship the game and be awed by his nuance-filled takes. Bring the box of tissues and blank placards, he'll tell you what to think and feel and when.

Total nerd. Needs a gonch-pull for the ages.

 

[Straight Fire]

I can't stand how he pushes his music agenda on the show. He always thinks the songs he picks are the best songs in the world. Give me a break.

Nailed it.

*edit

Also, not sure if you remember when he did his own self-directed top 10 movies theme (no one else on the panel seemed to be included whatsoever, Jennifer Botterhil was already there so not that long ago). All the freaking movies were like from the 70s and 80s. It was so cringe.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Say that there was nothing for Cherry to apologize for, and let's move on.

Or, if MacLean did indeed find Cherry's poppy comment indefensible, MacLean could have resigned from Coach's Corner in protest, and Cherry would have had to find a different foil to continue doing the segment.

If you disliked Cherry's poppy comment (and many others throughout the years), the solution was easy: don't tune in to Cherry the next time around. Issue solved. If enough people did that, he'd be fired for low viewership numbers instead of for failing to suck up to the politically correct mob.

It's harder to get viewers back than it is to keep the ones you have. Plus, the goal is to increase viewers, and if the old donkey couldn't do his job without insulting large numbers of people, that's the reason to can him right there, and that isn't addressing the fact that he wasn't particularly good or insightful as an analyst anymore.

 

[Straight Fire]

It's not trying to drag his entire career
And hating him has nothing to do with Don Cherry and that situation

It's simply saying he is past his expiry by almost a few years now
he needs to retire from hockey broadcasts

he is bringing up stories and facts that have nothing to do with anything

They were discussing on the panel last playoffs if Toronto could come back against florida.

Then he randomly says Scotlands national animal is a unicorn………….
and it always leads to massive awkward silences.

I think in general it's a big mistake for all sports broadcasting to be anything more than extremely basic play-callers. Sport is freaking escapism and enjoyment. Even all the revealing of the intimate details and personal lives of these hero sports-players completely betrays the necessity of intrigue and mystery/secrecy surrounding them.

I think in Canada one of the best right now is Rick Ball (Calgary). He comes across as professional and succinct, to the point. Unfortunately it feels like he could get dragged into the muck of modern broadcasting which Ron pretty much exemplifies IMO.

 

[Straight Fire]

what ever happened to burkie being the next don cherry.

I doubt burkie would say "it's baby Jesus birthday" at Christmas and a million other things.

Burke is a fake tough guy who's nearly dead.

 

[Straight Fire]

Singh is already a massive Oilers honk

Stabbed in the back? Cherry was offered the chance to apologize and said no thanks, Maclean took the offer and did it and kept his job. Why didn’t you quit your job in solidarity with Don? Means about the same thing.

There is zero, zero chance Cherry was given a redemption scenario lol. There was probably a hundred groups watching his every movement, disecting every word so they could bury him for good.

 

[ACLEVERNAME]

Just noticed his right hand.

A mere coincidence. He's strumming an air guitar with his shirt off, simple as that.

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

Ron Maclean is the reddit of hockey announcers.

 

[Kimota]

Trying to work in “town with money is like a mule with a spinning wheel” reference here but I can’t make it fit. Will save it for another day.

People don’t get it. Or maybe they do but can’t accept it? But here it is.

MacLean can’t be let go or replaced. Because for 40 years, Ron has been the face of HNIC. HNIC is collectively part of Canadian identity. This makes Ron a part of the collective Canadian identity. And at large, no one wants to change that. Generations of Canada associate him with.. Canada. We are not a country to toss aside what little national identity we collectively have lightly.

Witness Cherry, he had to go full plus another truckload unacceptable to get let go, and then still only because he wouldn’t say sorry. And remains a controversial let go. Because he too was HNIC, and part of our identity.

Ron is a comfortable old sweater, and it is worn out, there’s some holes in it, probably a couple of beer stains that won’t quite come out. And I say again, that you throw that sweater on every Saturday night and settle in, enjoy the night, get reminded of all the old times back in the day, and that’s a good feeling for a couple of hours. The demographics watching HNIC on cable are just fine with it.

He takes a relatively cerebral approach to hosting, draws on a lifetime of being around the game and makes some corny puns. I prefer it to loud hot takes.

He’s Al Davis calling Thursday football, if that helps provide context for my southern friends. He does it because he does it.

What do folks want? You’re not getting someone more knowledgeable. Raising their voice more would help? Honestly, I’m not looking for entertainment from it, I want depth of thought. Ron does a good job of guiding discussion, analyzing, and is probably unparalleled in drawing on hockey history at this point.

All I see is a corpse.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I really think they gave up on Strombo too soon. His ability to sit round table with players and do really good interviews was something they could have built around. Use his skills to build a magazine style show for the first intermission. Second intermission can remain the 32 Thoughts/Hot Stove.

Unfortunately, the entire product is about schilling the team the network owns and gambling. The sooner they lose it the better.

Hockey broadcasting doesn't deserve someone intelligent like Strombo.

Strombo would eventually get annoyed and destroy the bro culture of hockey players and the scandals that happen with in depth coverage and commentary.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

It's harder to get viewers back than it is to keep the ones you have. Plus, the goal is to increase viewers, and if the old donkey couldn't do his job without insulting large numbers of people, that's the reason to can him right there, and that isn't addressing the fact that he wasn't particularly good or insightful as an analyst anymore.

How's that worked out since his firing?

I think in general it's a big mistake for all sports broadcasting to be anything more than extremely basic play-callers. Sport is freaking escapism and enjoyment. Even all the revealing of the intimate details and personal lives of these hero sports-players completely betrays the necessity of intrigue and mystery/secrecy surrounding them.

I think in Canada one of the best right now is Rick Ball (Calgary). He comes across as professional and succinct, to the point. Unfortunately it feels like he could get dragged into the muck of modern broadcasting which Ron pretty much exemplifies IMO.

Been saying it for years. It's basically my one escape from worldly troubles. They need to just stick to sports and nothing else.

 

[PaulD]

I always get a kick out of these Ron Maclean posts. FFS he is essentially a moderator for the broadcast. Nothing more. He keeps things moving. He is good at it. He has done it for years. The one time they swayed they got someone an order of magnitudes worse. And I swear these Don Cherry gooch lickers will never pass up an opportunity to dunk on the guy. Get over it. An entire thread about an moderator on a hockey broadcast? Really, nothing else eh?

You are a Ron McLean fan. We get it. .... simply admit that without cutting up everyone else.

Cheers

 

[PaulD]

I've always been a huge fan of MacLean, and still am a fan of his, so I will continue to be a backer of his and support him.

Besides the whole Cherry thing, who brought it upon himself, I don't know what people expect of him. He's dull...he's boring...he's vanilla. Yeah, that's because Rogers has made the entire broadcast as such. Gone are the days where you'd have a Satellite Hot Stove led by MacLean with Strachan and Davidson who were unafraid to say something edgy and/or off-the-cuff.

MacLean is extremely well spoken and doesn't fumble along, very articulate and knowledgable, and he can dictate the flow of a panel like no other. Rogers gave him the folksy Hometown Hockey, which he was perfect for, but got stale after a few years. Now he is stuck with Friedman, who has become the ultimate corporate chump, Bieksa, who is the only breath of fresh air in the entire broadcast, and Botterill, who is just there.

All the alternatives are no better. Duthie is just as dorky and folksy and he conducts an even more robotic TSN panel. Amber and Caroline Cameron are suited for the lesser roles they have right now. Marek is just too nauseating that he'd wear out his welcome very fast. And someone new like Strombo was an unmitigated disaster -- looking back on some of his shows, he was completely miscast, barely had a clue what he was talking about, and the guy exudes adult ADHD.

Fact of the matter is, Rogers has completely destroyed HNiC and the prototypical hockey broadcast with amateur level stuff, and nothing or no one is going to repair that at this point as they ride these last few years of their failed deal to its conclusion.

I am not a fan of McLean, but I really enjoyed this post. One of the very best I've had pleasure of reading on HF.

 

[branch]

I recognize that Ron is a broadcasting legend, but I can't forgive him for how he rolled over on Don Cherry

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I recognize that Ron is a broadcasting legend, but I can't forgive him for how he rolled over on Don Cherry

Yeah it's wild he didn't stand up for his Xenophobic and Racist buddy. It's sad when that happens.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

Man I wish I could find it, there was a channel with videos of old HNIC/CC segments and one of them featured Ron Maclean doing apologia for iirc Graham James (who assaulted Sheldon Kennedy), spinning it as some kind of misunderstanding.

 

[Recipe Unlimited]

I think Ron MacLean is ok, he tries too hard sometimes, which I don't think is a good trait in a host. I can't deny that he is iconic though. I'd rather him be the host of HNIC than most other hosts out there. Jeff Marek better not be the replacement for Ron MacLean because that is such a massive downgrade. David Amber is ok, he has potential.

James Duthie is the best panel host I've seen so far, but not sure how enjoyable he'd be to the rest of the country on a national stage.

 

[Dynamic]

You are a Ron McLean fan. We get it. .... simply admit that without cutting up everyone else.

Cheers

I don't even know how one would be a Ron Maclean "fan". That is my entire argument. He is the moderator and can keep things moving from segment to segment. He has a good memory and is a living breathing encyclopedia of hockey.

It is just my opinion but to me not liking Ron McLean is like walking up to a completely competent and nice cashier at Wal-Mart who does their job but you decide to "not like" them for some totally insane and irrelevant reason.

 

[shaner8989]

He’s a puppet. He’s boring. Time to go

 

[CascadiaPuck]

I don't even know how one would be a Ron Maclean "fan". That is my entire argument. He is the moderator and can keep things moving from segment to segment. He has a good memory and is a living breathing encyclopedia of hockey.

It is just my opinion but to me not liking Ron McLean is like walking up to a completely competent and nice cashier at Wal-Mart who does their job but you decide to "not like" them for some totally insane and irrelevant reason.

Pointing out an example again: Burrows incident. Did his behaviour through that incident strike you as that of a “vanilla moderator”? I know he’d like for his status to be the one you describe. And heck, I used to believe he was good in that way a long time ago. But over the years he simply hasn’t been that guy enough - and he has earned some deserved flak. And, again, it’s not always about Cherry.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Yeah it's wild he didn't stand up for his Xenophobic and Racist buddy. It's sad when that happens.

he sure as hell didn't stand against it

 

[LeafGrief]

Yeah it's wild he didn't stand up for his Xenophobic and Racist buddy. It's sad when that happens.

 

[tfwnogf]

If Ron's presence on the panel and his poems enrage the masses, then I'm all for it. Long live Ron MacLean.

 

[pedis]

Hate the guy, he was don cherrys sidekick and not even a very interesting one. If anything bring back don and dump this bum