MacLean Prepares For First "HNIC" Broadcast Without Don Cherry

Sportsnet's Ron MacLean said that he will be "on the air" for Saturday night's "HNIC" broadcast, but there is "no word" on what the first intermission will look like following the firing of Don Cherry, according to the CP. A Sportsnet spokesperson said they are "considering options" for the broadcast. MacLean said of the time typically reserved for Coach's Corner, "I am not saying anything yet to the subject right now. I have to have these days to make sure I'm right in what I say this weekend. To think about all that is going on and process it. And that's where I'm at. And I'll leave it at that." Meanwhile, about 20 people "gathered peacefully" outside Rogers Media's Toronto HQ yesterday to "protest Cherry's firing." A "consistent needle-mover throughout his career," Cherry's firing has "dominated the Canadian news cycle since his departure was announced Monday" (CP, 11/13).

DIFFICULT DAYS: In Toronto, Joe Warmington writes one can "tell from his voice these have not been easy days for MacLean," as he is "worrying about the well-being of his close friend and the criticism he has faced for his response after last week's controversial Coach's Corner broadcast." MacLean and Cherry have been "partners for 35-years on Coach's Corner" (TORONTO SUN, 11/14). The GLOBE & MAIL's Cathal Kelly writes there are "no winners" here. Sportsnet loses because they are "now stuck" with a $5B hockey package they "can't afford and no one to provide the face of it." MacLean loses because he will "spend the rest of his career being asked" about his "low" thumbs-up gesture to Cherry (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/14).