Amen...I couldn't have worded it better myself. Down here in the US I have always relied on CBC for my Canadiens coverage. I refuse to watch the Maple Laffs but I did tune in during intermissions and got maybe a 30 second highlight of the ceremonies for Boom Boom. Unfortunately I don't have MSG here so I missed out on the full ceremony. I was hoping that ESPN might have it on their website but it was a no go there too.

Great Idea Mario, heres my letter

 

Dear CBC

 

Waking up last Saturday morning and hearing the news of the passing of BOOM BOOM Geoffrion immediately made me think of the legacy he left Hockey and the way he single handedly changed the way the game is played today.  Discussions with friends and family on Saturday involved reminiscing of the glory days of the Montreal Canadiens and their rivalry with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  We were all waiting impatiently for Hockey Night In Canada to see a glimpse of what the gentleman meant to development of Hockey.  Moreover, we were waiting for coverage of the unique event that was to transpire that evening.  A legend passed away on the very day that his number was to be retired.  As if the story wasn't already intriguing enough, it happened to coincide with the day that the Great Howie Morenz, BOOM BOOM's father-in-law, passed away.

 

Imagine our astonishment, when we gathered around the television, both Leaf and Hab fans, only to see a brief video announcing the passing of Bernard Geoffrion; the video was no longer than any beer commercial that the CBC continuous plays throughout the evening. To top that off, after this disrespectful gesture, CBC immediately went right to the Toronto Maple Leaf Telecast; totally ignoring the celebration that was happening in Montreal, another CANADIAN city.

 

I have lived in Toronto and have watched Hockey Night in Canada religiously. However, in the past few years I have noticed an immense bias toward Maple Leaf telecasts.  Last time I checked, CBC was a NATIONAL station where people across Canada tune in to see what is happening across Canada.  Instead, my family and friends are forced to watch an insignificant Maple Leafs Game.  Whatever happened to showing other Canadian teams.  God forbid Toronto Maple Leafs fans get to miss a telecast. 

 

I admit, I don't know what makes good television programming, but I know for sure that I would have loved for my children to have seen the tribute to a hockey legend and the celebration of the life of a true ambassador of hockey. 

 

I would honestly hope that the CBC make a public apology to all Canadians who tuned into Hockey Night in Canada to celebrate the life of Canadians from coast to coast.  Going forward, I would like to pass on to the CBC, that I will not be tuning into their Saturday Night telecasts any longer; I will be paying the extra money to subscribe to RDS, yes a French station, where all Canadian teams are showcased, not just the Maple Leafs. 

 

The CBC should be ashamed of themselves for this tremendous oversight.

 

 

I have written CBC several times with similiar complaints. I did receive a response once when I asked if Eastern Canada had  NHL teams other than TORONTO. I was told that the ratings for Toronto games were significantly higher than for other teams which is why they continue to show them.

It seems strange that those figures should be so high considering that Ontario has 40% of the Canadian population. I would not be surprised if the poll was restricted to Ontario residents knowing the mentality of the hierarchy of CBC.

It is also no surprise that Domi's 100th. game was a highlite with CBC. He is the closest that the Laffs have to an idol. His claim to fame is that for 1000 games he has tried to maime and injure highly talented players in the league. He has no problem in identifying them since talent  is not a part of the Laffs organization.

I'm sick of the CBC... it's time to move HNIC to CTV or Global.  It was great not having CBC do the last Habs/Leaf game.  Bob Cole is a great guy, but his time has pasted.  He can't get anything right, and same goes for Harry Neale.  HNIC in Canada should focus on the game and the league, and not Don Cherry or the Leafs.  No wonder why leaf fans have no clue what's going on with the rest of the league. Any national coverage should focus on the league and represent all Canandian teams.  I have no problem with Don Cherry, but add him to a panel like they do in football discussing various issues around the league, and promoting it's star players like eric stall and rick nash, who do not play in Canada.

mperra (Admin) wrote:

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The following is a feedback complaint I sent to the CBC in wake of CBC's decision not to carry the retirement ceremony of the late Bernard Geoffrion.  I invite others to do the same.   http://www.cbc.ca/contact/index.jsp   ---   t is with utmost disgust that Bernard "Boom Boom" Gerffrion's retirement ceremony was all but omitted from the CBC airwaves last Saturday March 11.   How can Tie Domi get more coverage for playing in his 1000th NHL game over the passing of a hockey legend is beyond me.   What has Tie Domi contributed to the game of hockey?  CBC, hockey rights holders, should have known that Mr Geoffrion introduced the slap shot.  It is for players like him, a trail blazer of his time, that goalies today where facial masks.   Normally, I do not care what broadcasters do, however, the CBC is different because the CBC is Canada's public broadcaster, representing ALL Canadians regardless of their location, province, city, and language.   Enough of doing what's best for the ratings, or appeasing the advertisers, and why Montreal hockey coverage (except for games against Toronto and the other Canadian club)ceases to exist on the CBC.   CBC made a grave error in not broadcasting the ceremony across the country.  Or at the very least not offering split coverage (Canadiens vs NY Rangers across Canada, and Tampa vs Toronto for Southern Ontario).   Bernard Geoffrion was a legend in this country and this is the thanks the CBC gives its public?    To think, the ceremony was carried live on MSG and in New York on MSG's outdoor video screen in New York City.   Have the CBC no shame?   I would sincerely hope CBC makes a public apology, to all Canadians from coast to coast, but more importantly, to the Geoffrion family, who deserve better.   For the ceremony to be relegated to a brief high light reel is an embarrassment.    A great opportunity to teach people about the face of hockey, and its history was squandered.   Instead, let's teach Canadians about what Tie Domi has brought to our culture.  What a disgrace!

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Great stuff Mario!!! With ya 100% I did get to see the ceremony and i tell ya, and true habs fan had watery eyes by the end. They we're showing shots of the crowd and you could see some of the fans fighting to hold back tears, and a suprising amount of them were males. Others let it all go and were bawling like a little boy who skinned his knee in kindergarden. It was quite the ceremony, probably one of the most touching in sports history, considering how great Boom Boom the person was, it was hard not to let a tear of respect out for him. Hopefully one day, CBC will lose the bias broadcasting. If not the might as well re-name it HNIT

This is my complaint letter to the CBC.

Dear CBC,

We have been devoted and loyal Hab's fan and hockey fan in general.

Over the years, we have put up the CBC's endless couverage of TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS games, but we feel they went to far last week-end in not showing the celebration of BOOM BOOM's life and the retirement of his number. This was a great and important moment for all hockey fans across the nation, and it was a travisty that the CBC, which supposedly stand for the CANADIAN Broadcasting Corporation, did not air this ceremony. This was not only an important moment for Hab's fans but for all Canadian hockey Fan's alike. Whether you are a Sens's fan, a Hab's fan, an Olier's fan, a Canucks' fan, a Flames' fan or EVEN A TORONTO MAPLE LEAF'S FAN, this celebration was a great moment, and it was sad to see that the CBC associated this celebration with the hockey team BOOM BOOM played for, and not with what BOOM BOOM did for all of Canadian hockey.

It was BOOM BOOM's contribution to the sport that enable hockey and more specifically Canadian hockey to evolve into the sport that Canada associates its national identity with.

We could sit here and list all of the achievement's that are associated with BOOM BOOM's life, but that would take to long. All we know is that the celebration of his life and the retirement of his number should have been aired during hockey night in Canada last week-end.

While we are at it, we would also like to address the fact that the CBC has in its possession the two most bias commentators in sports entertainment today - BOB COLE AND HARRY NEIL. Both these commentator's, but mainly BOB COLE, have never shown an ounce of praise or respect towards to Montreal Canadians Hockey Club. In watching Hockey Night in CANADA, it would seem that the only canadian hockey team worth something is the TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS.

We always have the intention to watch the Habs vs LEAFS game on the CBC but five minutes into the game we must switch to RDS because of BOB COLE'S OBNOXIOUS and sometimes FALLACIOUS RAMBLINGS about the HABS. I would like to watch the hockey games on the CBC, however, I must ressort to RDS because not only do they offer a critical and unbias analysis of hockey games but they critizes and praise not only the Hab's but their opponenets as well.

In conclusion, we ask that the CBC publicaly apologizes to all CANADIAN hockey fans across nation tonight on Hockey night in CANADA (March 18th 2006) for not showing BOOM BOOM's celebration. Also, we ask that BOB COLE AND HARRY NEIL show the same respect to the Montreal Canadians that RDS' YVON PEDNAULT AND RéJAN HOULE show to the Toronto Maple Leaf's whenever these two teams play each other.

Yours truly,

Devoted canadian hockey fans.

AB Habman wrote:
 Good stuff!  PS. Where have you been?

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Loads of school work!!!!