Hockey fans will get a double dose of commentator Don Cherry every Saturday during the 60th season of Hockey Night in Canada. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)
1. Hockey Night in Canada is celebrating its 60th season this year. You have been a mainstay on the Saturday night broadcast for more than half of those six decades. You turn 79 on Feb. 5, what keeps you going?
"Why I keep going is because I love Coach's Corner. I wouldn't tell CBC this but I'd do it for nothing. The best thing in the world is to be playing. The next best is coaching and the next best is to be on television doing Coach's Corner.
"If I think about it, I've been in the final the last 25 years."
2. You've had a voice during the four-month lockout on your Twitter account that has more than 128,000 followers in less than a year, but can you give us a hint of what you're going to talk about this Saturday and your thoughts on doing double duty on with segments during the early and late games?
"I can't let you know what I'm going to talk about on Saturday. I don't even tell Ron MacLean. But I am looking forward to doing the end of the first period in the second game. I've always wondered why they never asked me before. I never volunteered because my father always said 'never volunteer for anything.'
"People out West always wondered why I never talked about the second game. It's a smart move and I'm looking forward to doing it. I was asked what will be the difference in it and I said 'the beers will be a little colder when I get home.'
"It won't be a Coach's Corner. It will be just commenting on the first period of the second game and other games that went on. It will be about three or four minutes."
3. You credited NHL commissioner Gary Bettman with playing a big role in solving the lockout. Yet, you have always been a players' guy. Do you fear any backlash from the players?
"There is no doubt about Gary Bettman's part. Anybody in the right mind knows he pulled the trigger on it. If he didn't do it the season would not have been saved. It was either he approves it or doesn't approve it. I think that's the way it is.
"I've been at this a long time and I don't get worried about people getting mad at me."
4. Do you have any problem with a shortened season? Is it still meaningful?
"I think the shortened season will be absolutely tremendous. I know a lot of people are saying 'good,' too. You won't have those mid-season blahs. It's going to be a four-pointer every game toward making the playoffs. It's intra-conference. There will be a lot of animosity, as Ron MacLean would say, because of how many times you play each other.
"There might be a lot of injuries, but that's the name of the game. I'm looking forward to it."
5. Finally, which team do you like to win the Stanley Cup and why?
"Anybody who thinks they can pick the Stanley Cup winner before the season is out of their mind. If you're looking for a team that feels it still has something to prove, I'll still go with L.A.
"But I would also say the New York Rangers with [Rick] Nash looks like they're ready to make a move. But you can't tell. When you get an eighth-place club like L.A. annihilating everyone, how can you tell?"
Tim Wharnsby
Tim's worked the sports beat at The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun, specializing in Canada's one true sporting obsession - hockey. He knows the players, the coaches, the backroom boys and most importantly, the fans. That's what he brings to his stories. Knowledge, fairness and understanding are trademarks of a Wharnsby story. That's what you will get here as he writes for CBCSports.ca.
