Cherry Speaks, Bloggers Cheer

Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry is the gift that keeps on giving to hockey bloggers. Whenever the guy opens his mounts, he's equally likely to say something entertaining, enlightening or outrageous. And when a Canadian Press reporter caught up with him at a racetrack in Toronto on Thursday, he was a little bit of all those things.

• He admitted that he's going to miss the theme music that's been with Hockey Night in Canada for 40 years when the show returns in the Fall, but hastened to add that he was disappointed that the composer of the song, Dolores Claman, didn't show more loyalty to the program;
  

• When it comes to a replacement, Cherry would be fine with The Hockey Song, the iconic tune by Stompin' Tom Connors, but would prefer to see You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet ,originally performed by 70s Canadian rock band Bachman Turner Overdrive, get the spot. One would assume it would be updated and re-recorded, much like Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting was freshened up by Nickelback;
  

• Defended Maple Leaf veterans Bryan McCabe and Darcy Tucker, dismissing calls for either player to be bought out of the remainder of their contracts; and

• Complained bitterly that Hockey Hall of Fame voters had passed over Ontario-native and Cherry favorite Doug Gilmour in the latest round of balloting earlier this week. Said Cherry: "That's ridiculous ... I'm not knocking the guys who were in there now but they couldn't carry his jockstrap."

• More or less acknowledged that Anaheim GM Brian Burke would be working in Toronto soon enough.

One question I would have liked to ask Cherry: What did he think of the contention of Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy that the Lakers lost the NBA title to the Celtics because they had too many Europeans on the roster?