Ron is obviously not the best in the business as witnessed by the hatchet job on Burrows. His integrity/reputation is in the toilet right now. He has officially jumped the shark now to millions of Canadians.  That folksy aww shucks self dreprecating attitude is a mask

Posted by Dennis on 01/27/10 at 11:01 AM ET

I’ve met Ron and don’t really believe that the attitude you mention is a mask…he obviously felt strongly about the situation, for reasons maybe no one will know, and maybe did approach it the wrong way, but he did what every other person in the media did and that is give his opinion.  I think if he hadn’t been held to such a high standard based on the great work he’s always done, this may not be such a big issue.

Posted by Greg on 01/27/10 at 11:08 AM ET

Neither the CBC nor the Canucks need to be involved in destroying or reclaiming MacLean’s “integrity,” which I think is a poor word choice given a long history of excellence. The point more simply is if Ron did something unwarranted. I think a lot of people, including Burrows, Auger and Ron acted inappropriately.

Ron himself needs to say something. He either needs to concede that he spoke too harshly or that he was presenting an argument that others are free to interpret as too one-sided and that’s too bad. Stand by your words or play the statesman Ron. This is in your hands, not the CBC’s.

I do wonder if Ron is getting more ‘conservative’ as time goes on. He was Cherry’s brilliant foil when I was growing up and seemed much more interested in facilitating dialogue than he does now. However, my own perspective on the CBC has withered over the years as bombast dominates HNIC more and more. Cherry may be a staple but the additions of Strachen and Milbury (why he is allowed to have anything to do with the NHL is beyond me) have made a once interesting and informative broadcast into a Fox News style yelling match. If I wanted something like that I would watch Pierre McGuire, who competes with Milbury and Melrose for the hockey Darwin awards every time they are allowed on television.

There are so many smart people involved and interested in the game we shouldn’t shoot for the lowest common denominator. Raise the dialogue level.

And they wonder why people are looking to bloggers.

Posted by Osrt on 01/27/10 at 12:13 PM ET

Ron MacLean can have his opinions but he presented them in the wrong format.  The segment was set up to be an interview and an in-depth investigation into a league issue (allegedly conflict management between players and referees), having invited Colin Campbell.  In that setup, MacLean is expected to be a neutral host, yet he took hostage of the segment and used it to present his own displeasure towards a single player.  I think people would have less of a problem if he presented his opinions in a different part of the show, like a panel discussion, or if that segment stayed on the topic and included other players and referees instead.

Posted by Kel on 01/27/10 at 01:21 PM ET

Greg, there’s no mystery as to why Ronny had the strong opinion he had: he’s a referee.  He took Burrows’ accusation personally.  And he reacted with a personal attack. 

Great point by Kel.  When the segment started and Ronny had Colin Campbell as the guest, you expected some pointed questions towards Campbell.  But Ronny had his “thesis” to present and Campbell seemed to be just there to give Ronny’s view legitimacy.

As for Ronny being the best, I disagree.  Like most people on this board, I have not met him personally.  But I see of him every Saturday and he’s got a definite superiority complex about his views on hockey.  Great media members like Bob MacKenzie and Jim Hughson put across their views but you don’t get the sense that they believe everyone should agree with them - they are just well reasoned people.  Ronny believes he is the voice of hockey.  This is my view of Ronny.

Posted by Jerry from Prague on 01/27/10 at 01:34 PM ET

Ron flushed away his legacy with his attack on burrows.  Always respected him, but no more ever since that happened!  He is dead to me and CBC should have fired him!

Posted by Legacy Tarnished on 01/27/10 at 01:43 PM ET

I think that the idea of Ron Maclean as being ‘the best in the business’ is even being discussed illuminates how bad ‘the business’ is.

It’s a shallow, shallow pond in which Maclean blithely swims.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 01/27/10 at 02:46 PM ET

That folksy aww shucks self dreprecating attitude is a mask

I don’t see it.
To me he seems more like a league lover who used a his platform to give the league a free shot at one of it’s players who wasn’t present to defend himself.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
I do wonder if Ron is getting more ‘conservative’ as time goes on. He was Cherry’s brilliant foil ...

+1

Posted by Lindas1st from New England on 01/27/10 at 03:26 PM ET

“As for Ronny being the best, I disagree.  Like most people on this board, I have not met him personally.  But I see of him every Saturday and he’s got a definite superiority complex about his views on hockey.  Great media members like Bob MacKenzie and Jim Hughson put across their views but you don’t get the sense that they believe everyone should agree with them - they are just well reasoned people.  Ronny believes he is the voice of hockey.  This is my view of Ronny. “

Jerry from Prague

I can’t argue with that…good points, but i dont really see the superiority complex side myself.

Posted by Greg on 01/27/10 at 03:37 PM ET

MacLean has taken himself too seriously over the last few years, and we are now seeing the results.

Didn’t he get a large contract to stay with CBC a few years back? I think that is what turned him into someone who now believes the focus is, and always should be, Ron MacLean.

And then, of course, anyone that has been around Don Cherry that long is bound to become a bit of a jerk himself, too.

Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie on 01/27/10 at 04:21 PM ET

He really is a level 5 referee with experience up to minor pro. I don’t think that that fact should be left out of the discussion.

Posted by CRoy from Redford MI on 01/27/10 at 05:57 PM ET

While I am no fan of Mclean, what he said may have been unfair, but that doesn’t make it untrue!

Posted by Timbits on 01/28/10 at 12:31 AM ET