Come on!

The CBC has announced today that they have signed the veteran team of play-by-play "commentator" Bob Cole and "analyst" Harry Neale to two-year contracts. I think this news may have ruined my vacation.

These two are no closer to being commentators or analysts than I am at being an astrophysicist. Bob Cole can't remember any of the player names (except for the Leafs' top two lines) and Harry Neale's idea of analysis is limited to old, overused and idiotic catch phrases such as "I bet he wished he could have that one back" or "the Ottawa player beat the goalie, but he couldn't beat the post".

Anyone who knows hockey knows that these two cannot follow the flow of the game anymore and they cannot properly convey to the viewer how the game is unfolding. This should be obvious by simply reading that "Cole, 74, has been a fixture on HNIC since 1973...". Neale is young buck of the duo at age 70.

Now, before I am accused of agism, I want to go on record as saying that there are many people who are able to work well into their 8th and 9th decades. Bob Cole and Harry Neale, however, are not part of this group.

I guess this means that I'll be watching more games on RDS and NBC this winter.