Monday 28 October 2013

Hurricanes This Week

Hurricanes This Week returns to the airwaves tonight on 94.1 CJOC.

It's our first program in a while with the Alberta civic election and Thanksgiving the past few weeks. Joining Fred and I on the program will be Hurricanes overage forward Brady Ramsay, WHL Commissioner Ron Robison, and Shaw Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos.

Robison will speak about team ownership after a Kris Versteeg's recent letter in the Lethbridge Herald. I will post the full interview with the Commissioner here on the blog once the show airs.

The program starts at 7:00 pm MDT.

Thanks,
Pat

9 comments:

  1. to fred..
    I understand you have your opinion about posters and their keyboard toughness as you say on the show but its boils down to they have the right to state their opinion also..if they attach their real names or not is not the issue...even if they did what would be the difference..if their unhappy with the current situation their unhappy.....bob

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  2. Very good program tonight.......Good for Fred Jack on his comments about all the negativism about the Canes lately. Well said......I'm sure everyone associated with the team---players, coaches, management, board are equally unhappy and frustrated with the team's record, BUT they continue to work, to do interviews, participate in community events. Of course it doesn't help any when the paper's sports editor has taken great delight in lambasting the team in harsh tones and caustic spirit in several of his articles lately.

    Steadfast fan

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  3. Fred is right on with his comments. I really liked Brady Ramsay's comments and his upbeat attitude. It sounds like the players like the new staff and the "professional" treatment they are receiving. An improvement over last year.

    For Steadfast fan good point about local sports editors delight. You are correct in your assessment of his writing.

    An Observer

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  4. Thanks Pat for interviewing Ron Robison, WHL commissioner with emphasis on the question of any team being up for sale. I would hope that his responses to your questions cleared the air on the process and that no individual or group is "entitled" to ownership.
    I too am fed up with all the negative comments, here on other blogs and in the paper. Trouble is some of the players read these things and what is being said about them is not only mean, but hurtful.

    Cudo's for the interview.

    Dump'n Chase

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  5. Personally, our sports editor has taken this issue beyond responsible reporting and editorial comment. His tweet patting himself on the back for "kicking up a s*#*storm" speaks for itself. His goal seems to be to create as much drama as possible.

    It's plain to me that the Lethbridge Herald continues to allow this because it sells papers. However, it also turns them into something similar to the rags sold at the grocery checkout. Those publications consider themselves journalists as well. Just my opinion.

    CDD

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  6. Not sure why Fred didn’t have the same passionate speech last season or before.
    I feel like the previous regime was and still is under much more scrutiny and harsh comments by fans and media alike.
    The previous regime were also doing what they felt was best to succeed and to this point were more successful on the ice.

    I am glad that Fred has a medium to voice his opinions and I enjoy hearing them whether I agree with them or not.
    I am also glad the fans have Pat’s blog as a means of voicing their opinions, anonymously or not.
    I think that this organization should be happy that people are passionate enough about the team to voice their opinions, even critically.
    There is nothing worse than a complacent city that doesn’t care or support the team (which we seem to slowly becoming).
    My family has purchased shares, spent in excess of 20K on this team, donated seats to organizations and want nothing more than for these kids to see success.

    People seem to forget that our coaching staff have all been drafted, had their hockey successes and are being paid to do a job. These kids are striving to do the same and are the team’s biggest assets and should be treated as such. When kids want out, the organization should find out why and fix the problem.

    I will take Fred Jack’s advise and be more mindful in my future comments as to not offend. I should be just as “accountable” in my support for the team.
    Long Run.

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  7. Wow. I just finished listening to the Hurricanes This Week broadcast. As for a response, where to begin? I don't have the time right now to give a fair and balanced response.

    For now, I just want to say that is probably without a doubt, the most in depth and serious Canes Cast ever. Not that I agree with all that was said but, great show Fred and Pat.

    canesrock

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  8. I too just heard the broadcast. I listen to away games, and the odd missed home game, and I really like the Pat and Fred team. I especially like Fred's take on things, I find him to be well spoken, and he has a unique, colloquial way of describing things. I love junior hockey, and I love the Hurricanes. But, according to Fred, because I have been critical of the team's performance over the past few years, I am not a "good" fan. He wants to know where "we" stand on the team's community involvement, on the team's work with the media, or on the "character" of the players and coaches. He wants to know why "we" are not giving kudos to the team for the wonderful things they do off the ice.

    The answer is simple. Most of us are hockey fans, pure and simple. Most of us enjoy well played, energetic hockey. And most of us are ardent, passionate Canes fans who are unhappy with the teams' performance, especially of late.
    Most have us have never questioned player's and coaches character, nor have we ever personally attacked said people. In fact, if one reads carefully into most of the comments, one will find that most people who actually give a damn enough to comment are shareholders, season ticket holders, and long time fans who just want to get to the bottom of this debaucle. Most of "us" understand that while it is important to allow players to develop, and to prepare them for the professional levels that some will find, this is an elite level of hockey, played by elite players. This club, and every other club in the loop, depends on fans and sponsors to pay the bills, and to make a profit. Somewhere along the way, fans (read:customers) have been forgotten, and made to feel as if they are a necessary evil. It feels to me as if we are being told to shut up, be patient, and endure.

    I am glad that the team is community-minded. I am happy that coach B is instilling a professional attitude with the players, and trying to create a new culture in Canesland. But this hasn't, and will not be the sole reason that this team succeeds. Somewhere along the line, it cannot only be the fans that are accountable. Fans deserve, and should demand, accountability from the coaches and players.

    I do agree with Fred, that a fan is a fan through good and bad, and that we should not be jumping ship beacause of a "rough" patch. But, let's not kid ourselves, there has been a lot of "rough" spots in the past few years, and a "good" fan does not accept obvious problems with blinders on and yet another "we'll get 'em next year" battle cry. Just because we keep having someone tell us that bovine excrement is actually daffodils and puppy dogs does not make it so. Just me and my keyboard courage and opinion.

    Charley

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    Replies
    1. Excellent reply Charley. I am a Hurricane shareholder and I take a lot of offense to Fred's comments on the show this week. It find it insulting that a guy who never has to buy a ticket to a game feels he needs to divide us into "good" fans and "bad" fans. Some people are simply looking for entertainment. THAT is what the Hurricanes should be thinking and how the team should be marketed. They are ONE form of entertainment among many forms in Southern Alberta. Although I am a shareholder, I'm no longer a season ticket holder due to my displeasure with the BOD and how the product on the ice has been torn down and reassembled since the Eastern Division Champion team of Michael Dyck in 2007/2008. In fact, I find some of the decisions on and off the ice absolutely unacceptable and unprofessional.

      While I still have an interest in the team on and off the ice, I will not put anymore of my family's money into the organization until I feel the BOD is ready to give the City of Lethbridge a better value for their dollar. (This is how I choose to protest vs. showing up a a game and booing the players who have no control over many of the decisions being made).

      Darren

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