the 4th star

Question: Hey, why do you keep hating on the boys at TSN so much?

Answer: Oh, I don’t know, but this is a good place to start.

First, TSN decided to talk the non-issue surrounding Alex Ovechkin into the ground — so much so that Ovechkin himself turns an intermission interview into an on-air spanking on the 80-pound James Cybalski in the bowels of the Air Canada Centre the other night. Now the network has decided to blow on the fading embers of the story by putting together a piece about how Washington coach Bruce Boudreau became annoyed with the same old questions today:

“It’s 10 friggin days since it happened,” an irate Boudreau told TSN.  “We have talked to Tampa’s coaches, we have said our speech. The people that are bringing the crap up are you guys. Nobody cares about it anymore. You guys want to bring it up because you want to see a riot, then you want to talk about retribution. It’s the dumbest thing in the world. You gotta have better stuff to talk about.”

The reigning Jack Adams Award winner was not done there, as he continued to blame the Canadian media for creating a story where he believed that there was none.

“You guys coming from Toronto to find out an answer on retribution where there should be no retribution at all,” he continued. “He scored his 50th goal in a zero-zero game. It wasn’t 8-0 where he made a mockery. If Tampa scores a couple of goals and wants to do a celebration, go for it. We have talked to everybody we can talk about. It’s a done deal as far as I’m concerned.”

Yeah, ten days is a lot to give a story, guys. Ten days is a lifetime to give a non-story.

The other night, after Cybalski’s stupid question blew up in his face, studio host James Duthie starts off the segment by jokingly suggesting they (TSN) have given the topic too much play. Bob McKenzie, the only sensible one on the panel, quickly agrees. Duthie then attempts to grow a full discussion on the topic of overkill, bringing the Ovechkin celebration subject and it’s un- Canadian way front and centre again.

What’s funny is that TSN doesn’t get it. They think they’re being funny, or that people at home want to keep hearing about this. They think they’re the only game in town when it comes to hockey coverage in this country and for actual live games during the week, maybe they are. But what they don’t realize is that by continuing to play up things like this or replaying the same old tired highlights (the Top 10 on the dinner cast is pathetic) they have become a joke of ESPN proportions. Any sane or sensible sports fan in Canada already knows that what these guys do or say isn’t real analysis or insight — despite how loud or how often they say it or how many monkeys they bring on set.

As a whole they have become what Don Cherry already is.

A ridiculous vehicle for boosterism and sensationalization. That’s the un-Canadian part in all this.