23
One week after Mike Milbury signed on with Hockey Night in Canada, former NHL coach Marc Crawford was announced yesterday as a game analyst for the show.
The two acquisitions will improve the commentary on Hockey Night, but they also raise questions about additional on-air plans, particularly the roles of Bob Cole, Greg Millen and Mark Lee.
Hockey Night is not finished hiring. A new play-by-play voice could be announced in a few weeks. And sources say Pierre LeBrun will accept a job with Hockey Night and ESPN after resigning from The Canadian Press and Rogers Sportsnet.
Another change at Hockey Night will have the Western play-by-play team of Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson working, for the most part, in the East on Saturdays to call the first game of the doubleheader.
Related Information
That telecast, however, will not always involve the Toronto Maple Leafs, as it has in the past. If the Leafs struggle through a losing season, which is expected, the CBC's distribution of their games could be limited to Ontario.
Hughson and Simpson would call a national game involving the Ottawa Senators or Montreal Canadiens. Cole and Millen would announce the Leafs' telecast in Ontario.
Crawford, who will be based in Vancouver, will provide analysis for the second game in the West, but he says he doesn't know who his play-by-play partner will be. If a new announcer isn't hired, Crawford's partner could be Lee.
This is Crawford's second stint with Hockey Night. He worked as a game analyst for the first half of the 1998-99 season before taking over as the coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
"He made an immediate impact," recalled Sherali Najak, the show's executive producer. "He obviously has a great knowledge of the game and, of course, he knows the Western teams."
Crawford, who signed a one-year contract with the CBC, also received job offers from TSN and ESPN to work as a studio analyst.
"I laughed and said I must not be a very good coach, because I've received three offers to do TV," Crawford said. "But at the same time, it was flattering."
He chose the CBC because the sole Saturday night telecast would allow him more time with his family. And he prefers the booth to the studio.
"I like being in the rink and this gave me an opportunity to be there," he said.
LeBrun will appear on Hockey Night's Hotstove and perhaps other segments. At ESPN, he will write for ESPN.com, sources say, but may appear on other ESPN platforms. Milbury's assignments will include Hockey Night's pregame show and Hotstove.
Hoops and pucks
It's been a quick turnaround for basketball analyst Jack Armstrong.
A few days ago, he was out of work. Now, he's the co-host of a new afternoon show on The Fan 590 in Toronto. As well, during the NBA season, he will work as a Toronto Raptors game analyst on TSN and also appear as an NBA insider on TSN's SportsCentre.
Armstrong and Doug MacLean, the former NHL coach and general manager, will be the co-hosts of The Game Plan on weekdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT. The show will start on Aug. 18 on The Fan.
Curiously, they've never met and hadn't even talked on the telephone as of yesterday afternoon.
"Nelson [Millman, The Fan's vice-president] called me up one day and said, 'Would you be interested in hosting a radio show?' " Armstrong said. "It kind of blew me away. I never expected it and never envisioned myself doing it. But then I thought, this could be an intriguing thing, working with a highly respected guy who definitely isn't lacking for opinions."
In addition to the radio work, MacLean will work as a hockey analyst for Sportsnet.
Trouble ahead?
China has imposed Internet access restrictions on the media at the Olympics, but the measures have not affected the CBC crew at Beijing because they are able to go online directly through Toronto.
The International Olympic Committee appears to have surrendered to the clampdown. The IOC has agreed to the blocking of "sensitive" sites if they appear to be unrelated to the Games.
But Scott Moore, the head of CBC Sports, said he doesn't believe this issue is over.
"My guess is some interesting things will happen when the rest of the media gets here," he said yesterday from Beijing. "Most of the press and our people arrive in the next two or three days. Depending on what the Chinese reaction is, things will either improve or there will be some major controversy."
- With Jack Armstrong calling Raptors games for TSN with Matt Devlin, and Leo Rautins moving to the studio, Brian Heaney is out as TSN analyst.
- The Fan will launch a new show this month, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EDT, with host Doug Farraway.
