Boss!

There was an interesting footnote to Chris Zelkovich's column from Friday. The article, revolving around Bob McCown's Prime Time Sports, was interesting enough, but what struck me was the "SUMMER HOCKEY" hodgepodge at the end. It read:

"There's little doubt that Bob Cole and Harry Neale will be back with Hockey Night In Canada this fall, but changes are surely coming. Cole's agent Elliott Kerr says he has no doubt the 74-year-old announcer will be behind the microphone doing what he's always done. CBC Sports head Scott Moore has indicated that, too. "We're in the process of reviewing all facets of Hockey Night from last season and looking at continuing the tradition of improvement every season," Moore said. ``I'm hopeful both Bob and Harry will be back next season." But don't be surprised if CBC starts easing out Cole by assigning Jim Hughson to a lot more of the early games. The guy has to retire sometime."

Small birds read that article, and immediately fell from the sky, dead. Is CBC finally prying Bob and Harry out of the broadcast booth? My best guess had that happening about 10 years after the earth crashed into the sun. I'll spare Bob and Harry the sharp tongue that Brian Duff was licked with, but the simple fact is that the once-great duo has lost a step. They frequently miscall games and melt down more often than Brian "Boom Goes The Dynamite" Collins. Although that seems apparent to any observant Leaf fan, CBC's refusal to give anyone else a chance on Saturday night made many of us think we were stuck with Cole and Neale.

Scott Moore's comments, however, give me some hope (however small) that the HNIC early game might be called by someone else in the near future. Following a sentence that hints at a retooling at HNIC with a remark hoping for the commentators' return translates into bad news for the duo and good news for HNIC viewers. At the very least, Moore's comments tell us not to buy stock in Bob Cole or Harry Neale. Thank fuck.