Friday, March 28, 2008

GRAPES GETS LAST WORD ON THE ROY-AL RUMBLE

Don Cherry's comments about whether he'd hire Patrick Roy to coach a NHL team might be the most perceptive thing I've heard anyone say about last weekend.


"I'd hire him because he's a winner and that (his intensity) is what made him a winner as a goaltender. But he's got to learn. All he's done is hurt his club."
-- globesports.com
Two points to piggyback on to what Cherry said. He made the point I was trying to make about six days ago; he just understands people better than I do.

Last Saturday, we saw the dark side of the intensity that made Patrick Roy the only three-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner come out in a very ugly, regrettable way. Roy's passion gets romanticized and hyperbolized, so people should just be willing to accept that dark side. Take all of him or none at all.

The second point is that for all people say about him, Don Cherry goes a little deeper than a lot of TV talking heads. That's an underrated part of why he's a national treasure. American media has often used Dick Vitale, as an analog to help explain Grapes' act, but that was so far off; one-note acts such as Vitale don't dare to go so deep.

Granted, Bobby Knight, who's demonstrated more than any other sports figure that your strength is often your weakness, is now working for ESPN. Americans might better able to relate to Cherry soon enough.

(The quote's from a William Houston column which also has choice insights into Jays TV voice Jamie Campbell, if anyone's interested. Thanks to Pete Toms for the link.)

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