Guest GoHabsGo57 Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/310260 Could the CBC be facing another Ron MacLean-type public contract negotiation? Probably not, even though an online petition has already produced 227 virtual signatures pleading with Rogers Sportsnet to do everything it can to keep announcer Jim Hughson on its Vancouver Canucks broadcasts. The fear out west is that Hughson, the heir apparent to Bob Cole at Hockey Night in Canada, will abandon his regional Canucks duties when his Sportsnet contract expires at the end of this season. The fear at CBC is that Hughson, who has decided he can no longer serve two masters, will choose Sportsnet when his CBC deal runs out after the playoffs. "Doing both is really difficult," Hughson says from his Vancouver home. It's particularly tough in the NHL west, where every trip is a long one. Doing 47 Canucks games for Sportsnet Pacific, with many of those on Fridays and Sundays, coupled with 27 Saturday night CBC assignments (before playoffs) is just too much, Hughson says. "It's not completely impossible to do, but I don't know if it makes any sense to do any more," he says. Hughson says he doesn't want to play hardball. "I have great relationships with both networks," he says. ``I don't want to be a villain to anybody." At first glance, it looks like a slam-dunk for CBC. It has deeper pockets and the rate for national games is a lot higher than for regional ones. But Hughson's heart is on the Left Coast, so Sportsnet might not have to match the CBC. There's also the matter of the changing culture at the public broadcaster. While's MacLean's campaign netted him a huge raise, things are apparently a lot tighter these days. Add baseball into the mix and things get very interesting. Hughson is the best baseball announcer on Canadian television and Sportsnet might be willing to pay the big bucks to land him for both hockey and baseball. But 100 Blue Jays games might be more than Hughson wants to do and he has made it clear that his first love is hockey. Still, the CBC is making contingency plans. It has auditioned several potential baseball announcers, including the versatile Elliotte Friedman, in case Hughson hits the road. Since CBC's 24-game Blue Jays schedule doesn't start until June, there's plenty of time to settle that issue. From the CBC's standpoint, it just doesn't have enough talent to let Hughson walk away. With Bob Cole nearing the end, Hughson's value has risen substantially. More than likely, CBC will outbid Sportsnet, move Hughson into the lead role on HNIC and replace his lost Sportsnet salary with the baseball gig. ------------------------- IMO he should choose CBC. More money, plus the biggest Hockey Show in the world, Hockey Night in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arpem_can Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Maybe the thought of being a co-host on Hockey Night In Toronto is making him throw up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1970 Habs Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Tough decision. Hmm.........Who is going to give me the best deal with the most money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest King-Carey-31 Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Whichever one finds a way to get him into NHL 09, JIM HUGHSON MAKES THE NHL VIDEO GAMES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mauro_Biello Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Jim Hughson for prez. Seriously this guy is one of the best hockey announcers ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1970 Habs Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Jim Hughson for prez. Seriously this guy is one of the best hockey announcers ever. Actually I really like him too. He would be a great replacement for Bob Cole on HNIC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GoHabsGo57 Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Jim Hughson signs 6-year contract with CBC Sports CBC Sports reached a six-year agreement with broadcaster Jim Hughson on Tuesday. Hughson will continue to broadcast both NHL and Toronto Blue Jays games on CBC. "I'm honoured and excited to continue my association with CBC sports," said Hughson. "In the play-by-play world , Saturday night on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada is the best place to be, surrounded by the top professionals in the business. "And baseball, at a time when the Jays look resurgent, is a great change of pace I'm happy to be a part of." Hughson began broadcasting NHL games in 1979 and joined CBC's Hockey Night in Canada prior to the 2005-'06 NHL season. "Jim Hughson is a talent like no other, and we are thrilled to continue our partnership with him," Scott Moore, executive director, CBC Sports, said in a statement. "With Jim and Bob Cole, CBC Sports now employs the top two play-by-play announcers in this country for our hockey broadcasts. "Having Jim in our lineup exclusively for the next six seasons, on both our hockey and our baseball telecasts, is great news for our viewers and great news for CBC Sports." Courtesy: The Globe and Mail Sports - http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...lobeSports/home -------------------------------- Great deal for CBC! It looks like Rogers Sportsnet will have to look for a new Play-by-Play for the Canucks games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest miklin Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 at least he doesn't invent the game like Cole does (compare what actually happens and what Cole describes and they're often two different things) . One criticism is he talks too much, almost like a radio announcer. Will take a while for him to get rid of his Vancouver view of the NHL. as far as MacLean, he's still the monkey for the loudly dressed organ grinder. JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Iceman1509 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 "GRRREAT SAVE LUONGO!!!!" classic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TORHABSFAN Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 It shouldn't be that tough. Regional annoucer or National annocuer for Hockey Night in Canada.. seems like a no brainer to me. Stick with CBC.. What CBC should be doing is trying to get Chris Cuthbert back he is great and too good to be stuck besided a moron like Glen Healy. Keep Hudson in the West Coast and have Cuthbert on the East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjamessauve Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...ortsHockey/home Finally! I'll admit, I do still enjoy Bob Cole's calls from time-to-time, but Jim Hughson is no doubt the best play-by-play in the NHL today, and he should bring plenty of excitement, especially if it ends up a Montreal/Vancouver Final! (One can dream!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innis_Mor Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...ortsHockey/home Finally! I'll admit, I do still enjoy Bob Cole's calls from time-to-time, but Jim Hughson is no doubt the best play-by-play in the NHL today, and he should bring plenty of excitement, especially if it ends up a Montreal/Vancouver Final! (One can dream!) 'ole Bob was calling Hossa "Crosby" last night!! The guy's as blind as a bat! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plyWxrHLE14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny_canuck_21 Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 'ole Bob was calling Hossa "Crosby" last night!! The guy's as blind as a bat! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plyWxrHLE14 Isn't it great to be able to criticize somebody because they are old. Cole has been a great announcer throughout his career, but it's obvious he should have retired some years ago. It's not his fault that CBC wanted him to stay on. He is 75 or 76 now. Who has ever done professional play by play at that age? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
js2 Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 Ugh.. Hughson somehow makes hockey games boring for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innis_Mor Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 Ugh.. Hughson somehow makes hockey games boring for me. I agree. I thought the Memorial Cup guys were great!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innis_Mor Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 Isn't it great to be able to criticize somebody because they are old. Cole has been a great announcer throughout his career, but it's obvious he should have retired some years ago. It's not his fault that CBC wanted him to stay on. He is 75 or 76 now. Who has ever done professional play by play at that age?Didn't know what age he is, not relevant. Execution is not there for him, whatever the reason is. He's a play-by-play announcer that is not able to see and/or recount the play. We should give Babcock and Therrien calls while we are at it, and tell them to get Chelios and Laraque back on the ice. They've been great throughout their careers as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franck5890 Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 Can he call the primetime Saturday night games too? Just give Cole the permanent boot already... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mauro-Biello Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 Ugh.. Hughson somehow makes hockey games boring for me. WHaaaaa? I'll have to disagree with that. Bob Cole makes those kinda mistakes all the time. Plus he and his analyst seem to talk about the plays that are more irrelevant or they talk about things that never happened. And you gotta love Jim Hughson's voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHaul Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 I'll admit that Cole has "lost a step" with age (wrong names, etc), but I must say that he's always had and still does have a great voice for the game. He can make any play sound exciting. Might not keep up with the play as well as he once did, which is natural with age, but "OHHHHH BABY! FOR SURRRRRE!" is he fun to listen to. His call here, in the dying seconds, was just classic: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
js2 Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 I'll admit that Cole has "lost a step" with age (wrong names, etc), but I must say that he's always had and still does have a great voice for the game. He can make any play sound exciting. Might not keep up with the play as well as he once did, which is natural with age, but "OHHHHH BABY! FOR SURRRRRE!" is he fun to listen to. His call here, in the dying seconds, was just classic: I'll sure miss his voice as I grew up listening to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourtrax Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 Cole can inflect well, and infuse what he's saying with some excitement. Trouble is, what he's saying makes less and less sense as time goes by, to the point where you half expect him to get excited about an icing call while missing the fight breaking out at the other end of the rink. And let's not even get into his blatant pro-Leafs bias. It's time for him to retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innis_Mor Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 I'll admit that Cole has "lost a step" with age (wrong names, etc), but I must say that he's always had and still does have a great voice for the game. He can make any play sound exciting. Might not keep up with the play as well as he once did, which is natural with age, but "OHHHHH BABY! FOR SURRRRRE!" is he fun to listen to. His call here, in the dying seconds, was just classic: My most memorable: at 4:34 of this great docu-clip of 93 Cup run: "DES-JAR-DINS !!" Super call!! But like Chelios, Bob Cole's not the same anymore. Danny Gallivan in his prime, then Bob Cole in his -- great stuff!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHaul Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 My most memorable: at 4:34 of this great docu-clip of 93 Cup run: "DES-JAR-DINS !!" Super call!! But like Chelios, Bob Cole's not the same anymore. Danny Gallivan in his prime, then Bob Cole in his -- great stuff!! I remember that one well too. Was just great. On another note, that video made me feel terrible for Cuthbert. He went from calling the game with Irvin doing colour, by the sounds of it, to GLENN HEALY. Talk about a downgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jl-1 Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 Danny Gallivan or René Lecavalier both rank miles ahead of Bob Cole, probably the most overrated play-by-play announcer in history. Close second (in the overrated category) would be Pierre Houde of RDS. On the other hand, Jim Hughson is excellent, arguably the best in the business today. I've been fortunate to be able to listen to him for many years now on the Canucks' broadcasts on Sportsnet Pacific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 I have nothing but bad memories of Hughson, though it's not his fault. I just always associate him with Don Taylor because of NHL 2002 and 2003. Those games were unplayable with Taylor's commentary, thank goodness you could turn the announcers off. Taylor had the most innane comments I've ever heard, he was worse than John Madden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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