Behind the scenes at HNIC

On a personal note

As a fan of The Hour, later GST and of George Stroumboulopoulos the person, I sometimes feel a bit left behind since he has moved on to his weekend job as host of Hockey Night in Canada. I just loved his interview style and his down to earth friendly personality. He is always able to relate intelligently to each person on a variety of topics whether they were a guest, or a fan, or a passer-by on the street. Music, travel, motorcycles, sports, politics, business, spiritual issues, film and television shows. All of that was open for conversation on his talk show. For Hockey Night in Canada obviously the focus is on all things hockey. His talent translates well to hockey talk but you can't convince all hockey fans of that yet. It does not matter to them that he started in sports radio, is a seasoned broadcaster and a huge fan of the game..

I like hockey but have never been a dedicated, jersey wearing, statistics gathering, entire season watching fan. I have only been to one NHL game in my life because a friend gave me a ticket and I had a great time. I used to live one block away from The Forum in Montreal (when it was still The Forum) yet never went there for a game. Hockey was always a luxury out of reach for us common folk. The Expos, The Jays and the Allouettes just seemed more affordable and in touch with the people. I do remember watching Hockey on CBC as a child and wanting to be the camera guy; that was my connecting point. Live broadcasting...that's where sports finds her audience.
 
Blogging for George and The Hour, that's how I connected to 'infotainment' television.  That's one reason I find this article from The Globe and Mail's media reporter, James Bradshaw, so fascinating. Connections... 

Hockey Night confidential: A sneak peak at the controlled chaos of the country's most iconic show


JAMES BRADSHAW - MEDIA REPORTER

The Globe and Mail


Published Friday, Jan. 09 2015, 9:07 PM EST

To see what makes the revamped Hockey Night in Canada tick, media reporter James Bradshaw looks beyond the smooth-talking analysts, the spherical cameras and the gleaming, $4.5-million set to find controlled chaos – or what HNIC staffers refer to as ‘the zoo’

MORE

Hockey Night in Strombo starts!

This weekend you can see George Stroumboulopoulos talking hockey. He loves hockey and is geared up for the new job on Hockey Night in Canada. Lots of nay sayers will soon realize it's really a natural fit.

Read more about the big changes in NHL coverage here

2014 NHL Awards hosted by Strombo

2014 NHL Awards returns to Las Vegas  June 24
Broadcaster George Stroumboulopoulos is hosting tonight's NHL Awards!

LAS VEGAS -- The National Hockey League announced today the order of the presentation for tonight's 2014 NHL Awards. Hosted by renowned television and radio broadcaster George Stroumboulopoulos, the 2014 NHL Awards will broadcast live from the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN in the U.S. and CBC online but at 8pm on CBC TV in Canada.
see more

George is in Las Vegas now and  tweeting about hosting the NHL Awards show. In previous years Strombo, a huge hockey fan, has presented at the show but this year it's all his!

StroumboulopoulosVerified account ‏@strombo

My Whip! #NHLAwards starts soon. @CBC @NBCSports @NHL #vegas pic.twitter.com/pTlfit2AL6

Paradise, NV

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Happy 100th Anniversary!

The place to be this weekend has to be Montreal! Forget Sundance forget vacations on some tropical beach somewhere.

Kicking off the weekend CBC presents

Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years, 100 Stars on CBC Television

The Montreal Canadiens franchise turns 100 this year!
George Stroumboulopoulos hosts this CBC Television special. Featuring well known personalities and hockey legends recounting the one hundred year history of The Montreal Canadiens, the culture that has surrounded the team throughout the eras and the passion for the Habs, resonating with fans across Canada and around the world.


The special can be seen on CBC this Friday January 23 at 9pm EST

This Saturday Jan 24th 7pm is The NHL SuperSkills and The All-Star Game will be on Sunday Jan 25th starting 6pm. There will be all kinds of events surrounding it to help celebrate the 100th anniversary in our historic hockey city. I don't think you could keep George away from Montreal this weekend to enjoy the celebrations. He will be there in the thick of things!

Get your hockey theme songs in now!

George was asking you this summer, if you wanted
Bragging Rights: the world will know you wrote an anthem that will be a key part of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada’s broadcast. The winning Theme will be broadcast as a key part of the program during the 2008-9 hockey season, and potentially beyond.

The Anthem Challenge entry period ends August 31 st and if you don't get your song in really soon one of those other songs is going to be the Hockey theme for years... just sayin'

They have an official blog page about the Anthem Challenge if you want to read more about it... plus other blogs and a facebook page.

Here are the key dates for those following the progress of this contest to it's exciting conclusion.

• August 31, 2008, 11:59 pm ET: Deadline to submit entries
• October 4, 2008, 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm ET: Semifinalist show
• October 4, 2008, 10:00 pm ET to Oct 7 11:59 pm ET: Voting for Finalists
• October 9, 2008, 7:00 ET: Finalists revealed during opening of the regular 2008-09 NHL Season
• October 9, 2008, 10:00 pm ET to Oct 10, 11:59 pm ET: Voting for Winner
• October 11, 2008: Winner revealed during CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada opening Saturday night broadcast.

Now get ye to a musical instrument and compose because there are only a few short days left...

Our Favourite Clips...Hockey Hate

In celebration of the NHL hockey finals I bring to your attention a feature The Hour broadcast on April 24 Th 2006.
click here

Hockey Hate

Sports & Hate, and hockey hate in particular, is explored with Ron Maclean, Mike Hogan (of the fan) and a bunch of different fans expressing their hate of the 'other teams'.

I am watching hockey as I write this post. I won't tell you who wins or who I hate, or why Steph A. and Ron Maclean have something against Bobby Orr....


But GO HABS!