| |
VIEWPOINT: SCOTT OAKEQ
& A
Each
week, Sports Online will turn the tables on Scott Oake, who's used
to peppering others with questions.
What
are your thoughts about CBC's decision to let Chris Cuthbert go?
I consider the commentators at CBC Sports a family. I count Chris
as one of my closest friends and I hope there's a way he can continue
to still be one of our principal performers. The prospect of him not
working with us leaves me heartsick.
In many ways, CBC Sports is like a hockey team - you often hear players
say the worst thing about a trade, or retirement, is "they're not
going to be around the guys anymore." That's how we feel about losing
Chris. It's like losing a teammate I worked in the trenches with.
How do you feel about what transpired last weekend in New York
between Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and representatives of the NHLPA?
First off, lets review the stages of disappointment:
For five months, both sides held firm on their philosophical positions
– the owners demanded a fixed link between player salaries and
team revenues. The union refused to accept a salary cap. If the season
had been cancelled at this point it would have been disappointing,
but fans would have expected it and maybe understood the decision,
given the lack of progress in negotiations.
But what happened in the last few days before the [NHL commissioner]
Gary Bettman's announcement only heightened the disappointment.
For five months, it didn't seem anything could bridge the divide,
then, to the surprise of many - players and owners included - the
two sides came off their entrenched positions. Almost everyone believed
a settlement couldn't be far behind because they were just talking
about salary cap number. When they failed to reach an agreement it
was doubly disappointing.
Then there was the rally to save the season. Owners and players, believing
a deal was close, reached out to each other. So, they go meet in New
York on Saturday, accompanied by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
The two sides talk for six hours, but, it falls apart again and there's
no deal. That's triply disappointing.
In my opinion, if there had been a secret meeting to determine how
they could have screwed this up beyond repair, this might have been
the plan they would've come up with.
What's obvious about the whole fiasco is that both sides wanted a
settlement, but I think one of big reasons this fell apart is because
neither side wanted this particular settlement.
Bettman was getting a lot of heat from owners for coming off linkage
and offering a $42.5-million salary cap. [NHLPA boss] Bob Goodenow
was also feeling heat from the players, many of whom didn't want a
salary cap in the first place.
So, if you're looking for one overriding reason why it all fell apart
in New York, I think it's because neither side had their hearts in
it.
What do you think of Bettman's allegation that Saturday's meeting
was a "set-up" by the NHLPA designed to embarrass the league?
I really don't care who said what to whom, or how the meeting was
organized. All the accusations mean little.
The fact is, they had what looked to most fans and the media a glorious
chance to get the game back on the ice and avoid the almost nuclear
wasteland they find themselves in now.
I don't put much credence in the accusations being hurled by either
side. I just know it was a monumental failure.
What are your thoughts about Governor General Adrienne Clarkson's
idea that the Canadian and U.S. women's national teams square off
for the Stanley Cup?
There's no question that women's hockey has advanced leaps and bounds
in recent years. It's highly competitive and pretty good hockey. But
I would follow the advice of one of the great women players, Cassie
Campbell, Team Canada's captain. Campbell said "leave the Stanley
Cup with the NHL and we'll compete for a different prize – our
own prize."
The Stanley Cup was originally created to celebrate hockey at its
highest level. I think most people would acknowledge there still are
a few levels between the NHL and women's hockey.
What do you think of Canada's performance on the ski slopes of
late, particularly Francois Bourque's bronze-medal performance in
the Super-G?
I know Alpine Canada officials aren't very happy about the lack of
medals at the recently completed world championships, but I believe
our alpine program appears to be headed in the right direction.
There have been enough positive results this season to suggest that
they're on the right track. Every once and a while you'll hear from
an athlete like Bourque, who didn't even count Super-G as a specialty,
who breaks through for a bronze medal. That tells us things are being
done right.
Did you see Barry Bonds' spring training news conference? What's
your reaction to his tirade against reporters?
Barry Bonds clearly decided before he took to the microphone that
his best defence was a strong offence. He blustered his way through
the press conference, refusing to answer any of the steroid allegations
against him. He probably felt he was justified, believing he was giving
reporters a taste of their own medicine.
The evidence against Bonds is reaching the overwhelming stage. For
example, on the night he set the record for most home runs in a single
season he publicly thanked Greg Anderson, his personal trainer. Anderson
has also been implicated in this steroid scandal.
So, it's fine for Bonds to behave that way in a press conference;
all the while, evidence continues to mount and eventually he won't
be able to escape these questions.
Lightning Round:
Who's going to win the Tournament of Hearts?
Jennifer Jones of Manitoba
If you were Pierre Lueders, who would you pick to be your breakman:
Giulio Zardo or Lascelles Brown?
Zardo shouldn't lose his job because of injury or suspension.
Which film will win Best Picture at the Oscars?
The Aviator is the only one I've seen, so I guess I'll vote for that.
We'll talk again when I've watched the other four movies.
Who plays Bettman and Goodenow in the film version of Lockout:
The lost season?
Danny DeVito will play Bettman. The role of Goodenow will be played
by James Gandolfini.
|
 |
|
Scott began his career by volunteering at the university radio station during three years of pre-med. studies at Memorial University in St. John's, Nfld. After two summers working at CBC-St. John's in radio and television, he was hired full-time in 1974. Since then, Oake has covered the Olympic Winter and Summer Games and the Commonwealth Games as a commentator for wrestling, hockey, alpine skiing, swimming, rowing, diving, boxing and athletics.
FULL
BIO
|
