They may have knocked Don Cherry to the ice with a hit he didn’t see coming.
Now watch him get back up.
You people out there who want the 85-year-old Cherry back, here’s the news you have been hoping for. You people who wanted him to fade away are out of luck as the former NHL coach of the year is going to be able to exercise his free speech, after all.
Don Cherry’s Grapevine is back once again. This time as a podcast.
Coach’s Corner may be “no more” as his one-time Hockey Night in Canada sidekick Ron MacLean announced on Saturday. Cherry was fired by Rogers and Sportsnet for his “you people” who “come here” comment that was misunderstood and later spun as discriminatory.
Cherry wanted his opportunity to properly explain it. Now he is going to get that chance.
You read it right: Don Cherry and his no-holds-barred views are coming back on the air.
The Toronto Sun has learned you won’t have to wait long for the first installment of the new Grapevine. It will drop Tuesday morning and be available on Spotify and other streaming services every Monday during the hockey season.
And yes, the very first one will address Cherry’s firing from Sportsnet.
“But that’s not all we talked about,” Cherry told me Monday. “We are talking hockey, of course. It’s going to be terrific. In this one I am talking about The Rocket (Maurice Richard), one of the all-time greats.”
One thing for sure about the new show is MacLean will not be in his foxhole.
So who will be?
You may have noticed the word “we” in Don’s comments and since so many scrutinize every word he says and what he means by it, I asked.
Turns out Grapes has a new co-host. And perhaps hosts.
“My son, Tim, is going to do it with me and my grandson Del,” said Grapes.
At least he knows they won’t turn on him when the waters get rough as MacLean did.
“They did great,” Don said of Tim and Del. ”I think people are really going to enjoy this one and the ones we do down the road.”
Tim Cherry tells me the plan is to tape and post it every Monday.
“That way we cover off what happened on the weekend in hockey,” said Tim. “It’s going to be fun.”
For Don’s fans, who are already missing him and unlikely to tune into whatever Sportsnet comes up with to replace the 38-year-old segment, this will give them the opportunity to hear what he has to say. For Don himself, it will connect him with the hockey fans and players he loves while getting back on horse quickly.
It will be in audio broadcast to start with but Tim says it could grow into a TV-style show with cameras and sponsors.
If The Grapevine title sounds familiar it’s because Don’s television show, which Tim produced, was on the air from 1982-93 — filmed in Hamilton.
The new project will feature Don talking about the NHL and hockey and whatever he wants without any censorship.
If he wants to talk about poppies, he can do it without being fired. If he wants to talk about the troops or cops or firefighters or honour the fallen, no one can tell him to keep his nose out of it.
Mostly the plan is to talk hockey. And he won’t have just seven minutes to get it all out.
“The first podcast is about half an hour,” said Tim.
But if they ever find themselves in a position to need more time, or less, the beauty of podcasts is there are no constricting rules.
It also keeps Grapes in game shape while he considers other potential TV offers and opportunities.
Mostly it’s just the perfect outlet for Don Cherry to do what he does best: Be Don Cherry.
Yes Coach’s Corner is over: The new Grapevine has just been planted. Just call this the coach’s comeback!
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November 19, 2019 at 05:36AM
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