Hockey Night in Canada analyst Don Cherry has been fired. Also: Laura Rutledge is joining Get Up! full-time, and the FCS Championship is moving up from ESPN2 to ABC.
Hockey Night in Canada’s Cherry fired
Rogers SportsNet announced Monday that it has fired longtime CBC Hockey Night in Canada studio analyst Don Cherry for comments he made about Canadian immigrants during an intermission report on Saturday. Cherry, who had been part of CBC NHL coverage since 1981, implied Saturday that immigrants were insufficiently grateful for the sacrifices of Canadian service members, citing a perceived decline in the prevalence of Remembrance Day poppy pins in Toronto and elsewhere.
Rogers apologized for Cherry’s comments Sunday, as did his longtime co-host Ron MacLean. [ESPN.com 11.11]
Rutledge joining Get Up! full-time
ESPN has reached a multi-year contract extension with reporter Laura Rutledge, who will join the cast of Get Up! on a permanent basis, it was announced Monday. Rutledge, who has been with ESPN since 2014, had been making weekly appearances on Get Up! since last year.
Her expanded role on Get Up! will not affect her other primary role, serving as host of SEC Nation on SEC Network. Rutledge will also continue to make appearances on other ESPN properties, including SportsCenter. [ESPN PR 11.11]
FCS Championship latest event to move to ABC
ABC will televise the NCAA FCS National Championship this year, marking the first time the event has aired on over-the-air television since 1994, The Dickinson Press reported last week. The game will air January 11 in its usual Noon ET timeslot.
ESPN2 has aired the game in recent years, with last year’s audience of 1.00 million viewers the smallest since at least 2012.
After years of starving ABC of sporting events, ESPN is beefing up its broadcast sibling’s lineup. In addition to the FCS title game, ABC will air college basketball games for the first time in years this season. The network has also simulcast ESPN’s annual NFL Wild Card, Pro Bowl and NFL Draft coverage. [Dickinson Press 11.7]
