George Stroumboulopoulos to host Hockey Night in Canada

[The Red Polar Bear]

I'm already sick of them using the "dream team" line.

It's kind of like the KHL all-star game.  All of the best broadcasters not on TSN.

 

[Sudafederov]

Looks like Jeff Marek is getting a big role. He has really grown on me since going to Sportsnet.

Marek's great. He's always been so criminally underused by Sportsnet though. The guys barely on their broadcasts. He should have always been in Millard's spot, and by the sounds of it Marek is still not going to have as big of a role as Darren.

Couldn't agree with this more. Marek was underused when they had him jockeying the iDesk on CBC too. He was great on Leafs lunch with a more advanced line of questioning with guests etc.

 

[LittleHockeyFan]

love Marek, that's a great idea!

not so happy about the Strombo in for MacLean. Okay for the habs games, but I want someone neutral for the Leafs games and that ain't Strombo.

why can't they use RobDM for this?

 

[dappleganger]

I enjoyed the Olympic coverage where they had sportsnet, cbc and tsn all contributing. Oh well.

 

[Kessel Run]

Ron and Don will still be together on Coach's Corner.

 

[2badknees]

Not a fan, to say the least. Just a matter of time until lefty politicians and actors make appearances on HNIC for softball questions. I'm sure justin trudeau has already been booked for the season opener.

Jeff Marek on the other hand, is a terrific talent; he should be paired up with Friedman as host/co-host, but i guess thats not sexy enough for rogers. Clearly image trumps hockey knowledge.

 

[Strangelove]

Not a fan, to say the least. Just a matter of time until lefty politicians and actors make appearances on HNIC for softball questions. I'm sure justin trudeau has already been booked for the season opener.

Jeff Marek on the other hand, is a terrific talent; he should be paired up with Friedman as host/co-host, but i guess thats not sexy enough for rogers. Clearly image trumps hockey knowledge.

"Lefty politicians?" Let's keep this sort of drivel off the hockey board, friendo.

 

[Kin]

I like the decision. HNIC has needed to move away from MacLean for some time now. I'm disappointed that Coach's Corner will continue to be Don saying stupid things while Ron decides that providing a counter point and being yelled at is more trouble than it's worth but, well, there you go.

I'd rather have someone passionate about their team but capable of objectivity than someone neutrally reporting on games like they were a really serious business. Stroumboulopoulos is an excellent interviewer who can hopefully tilt things towards the Elliotte Friedman intelligent analysis sort of things and away from the Don Cherry/PJ Stock stuff.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Not a fan, to say the least. Just a matter of time until lefty politicians and actors make appearances on HNIC for softball questions. I'm sure justin trudeau has already been booked for the season opener.

Jeff Marek on the other hand, is a terrific talent; he should be paired up with Friedman as host/co-host, but i guess thats not sexy enough for rogers. Clearly image trumps hockey knowledge.

"Lefty politicians?" Let's keep this sort of drivel off the hockey board, friendo.

Bringing up lefty politicians online is a good indicator to skim past.

 

[louisstamos]

Not a fan, to say the least. Just a matter of time until lefty politicians and actors make appearances on HNIC for softball questions. I'm sure justin trudeau has already been booked for the season opener.

Jeff Marek on the other hand, is a terrific talent; he should be paired up with Friedman as host/co-host, but i guess thats not sexy enough for rogers. Clearly image trumps hockey knowledge.

"Lefty politicians?" Let's keep this sort of drivel off the hockey board, friendo.

Bringing up lefty politicians online is a good indicator to skim past.

 

[2badknees]

Ah, good old Don. Despite his often nonsensical ramblings, he and Mclean have forgotten more about hockey than strombolopolus will ever know.

 

[Kin]

Ah, good old Don. Despite his often nonsensical ramblings, he and Mclean have forgotten more about hockey than strombolopolus will ever know.

You do realize that hosting a studio show isn't the same thing as being an analyst or reporter, right?

 

[2badknees]

Ah, good old Don. Despite his often nonsensical ramblings, he and Mclean have forgotten more about hockey than strombolopolus will ever know.

You do realize that hosting a studio show isn't the same thing as being an analyst or reporter, right?

You do realize that you took my remark out of context, right?

 

[louisstamos]

On top of which, Strombo knows his hockey.  He's a Habs fan, so he's no genius  , but I think he knows enough to be able to do what Millard, Duthie & McLean do.

 

[Kin]

Ah, good old Don. Despite his often nonsensical ramblings, he and Mclean have forgotten more about hockey than strombolopolus will ever know.

You do realize that hosting a studio show isn't the same thing as being an analyst or reporter, right?

You do realize that you took my remark out of context, right?

I don't think I did. Both of your posts made reference to your belief that, somehow, Stroumboulopoulos doesn't have enough "hockey knowledge" for the job which genuinely makes me wonder if you know what the job really entails.

 

[2badknees]

I don't think I did. Both of your posts made reference to your belief that, somehow, Stroumboulopoulos doesn't have enough "hockey knowledge" for the job which genuinely makes me wonder if you know what the job really entails.

The job involves hosting Canada's premier hockey show. I think a strong background in hockey would be a prerequisite, which GS does not have. If you're saying his general "studio host" persona is more relevant (of which I believe you overrate his ability), then we disagree.

This is clearly about image, and not substance as far as Rogers is concerned.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I don't think I did. Both of your posts made reference to your belief that, somehow, Stroumboulopoulos doesn't have enough "hockey knowledge" for the job which genuinely makes me wonder if you know what the job really entails.

The job involves hosting Canada's premier hockey show. I think a strong background in hockey would be a prerequisite, which GS does not have. If you're saying his general "studio host" persona is more relevant (of which I believe you overrate his ability), then we disagree.

This is clearly about image, and not substance as far as Rogers is concerned.

What was Ron MacLean's strong background in hockey knowledge when he was hired?

 

[Kin]

The job involves hosting Canada's premier hockey show. I think a strong background in hockey would be a prerequisite, which GS does not have. If you're saying his general "studio host" persona is more relevant (of which I believe you overrate his ability), then we disagree.

This is clearly about image, and not substance as far as Rogers is concerned.

I think you're vastly overrating the complexities of being a studio host on a sports TV show. Elliotte Friedman, who by your own post you suggest is pretty good at his job on Canada's premier hockey show, didn't have a strong hockey background before he got the job. He was a reporter who covered, at various times, such disparate sports as the NBA, CFL and Olympics. He wasn't a hockey lifer by any means but seems to have grasped the concept of talking about hockey.

Most studio hosts aren't ex-athletes or ex-reporters who've spent their lives in the particular sport they're working on. That's just not really how broadcasting works. Is Darren Millard a hockey expert? Did Jamie Campbell play 20 years in MLB? James Duthie? Bob Costas? What great level of football expertise did Howard Cosell bring to Monday Night Football?

You're basically holding Rogers here to a standard that just doesn't exist in sports media. It's not rocket science.

 

[TML fan]

Not a fan, but I never really pay attention to the host so whatever.

 

[Peter D.]

Great hire.  I thought Strombo was destined for broadcasting stardom when I first saw him on Much, and here he is today.