Cherry is kind of the Rush Limbaugh of NHL hockey and he can be a bit of a polarizing figure. Like Limbaugh, most fans either like him or can’t stand him there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground.
Joe Warmington, Toronto Sun — Has Toronto Maple Leafs boss Brian Burke had enough of Don Cherry?Brian Burke is a big boy and you have to wonder if he is being a bit thin skinned. Burke like Cherry has been know for his off the cuff comments as well.
An insider told QMI Agency Burke is tired of Cherry criticizing his team — in particular, his coach — and he is contemplating asking for a meeting with CBC brass to complain.
“He is furious at the comment Cherry made about Ron Wilson not applauding for the troops and for other things too,” said an insider. “He is fiercely loyal to his guys.”
On Jan. 14, Cherry mentioned during a broadcast that visiting New York Ranger coach John Tortorella applauded when the troops were introduced at a recent Armed Forced appreciation game at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
He also called a clapping Leafs assistant coach Rob Zettler “a good Canadian boy.”
But he said Wilson and other coaches “couldn’t have cared less.”
The Leafs president responded to an e-mail asking him if there had “been a formal complaint,” but chose to not get into the fray.
“No comment,” Burke said in a return e-mail. “All-star weekend (is) hardly the time or place for a beef like this.”
Also, did Don Cherry bite the hand that feeds him? You have t wonder sometime if CBC will eventually throw Cherry under the bus or will they continue to employ the controversial figure. I am hoping the later.
