Don Cherry and American TV: Together Again (Now with 100% Less NBC!)

Don Cherry, meet Barry Melrose.

There's a match made in playoff heaven. Don Cherry and American TV. It's a nice surprise we weren't expecting come playoff time, sort of like when you wake up Saturday morning and think that it's Thursday. When you finally realize that it's Saturday, you're on top of the freaking world. That's about how this news makes me feel. Call it creepy but that's the truth. Just think of the possibilities! All of them end with Cherry turning into hockey's version of Stephen A. Smith. Maybe not that extreme. No, certainly not that extreme. But I digress...

According to the Globe and Mail (FH plug + BMR plug = someone up there better be tipping me for this) Cherry is going to be joining ESPN's Sportscenter for the rest of the playoff run. Cherry and fellow CBCer Ron MacLean will be doing live cuts from the Eastern Conference Finals and then later for the Stanley Cup.

What's really important here is getting to the bottom of ESPN's motivation for the move.

Here's a few possible answers.

1. The WWL really, really likes his suits.
2. They're gearing up for a return to the NHL on ESPN in the near future.
3. Cherry is getting a tryout for a soon to be resurrected NHL2Night (are pigs flying?).
4. If NBC did it, it has to be good.
   

I'm not really sure what the real motivation for this is. Maybe ESPN just wants to add a little spark to their playoff coverage. Not a clue. Let's just hope that no matter what happens, he and Melrose don't trade fashion tips (one possible scenario, pictured).