# Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.



## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

So Grapes' mouth got him in trouble again. 

He he called Ron Maclean, a savage for eating a seal meat burger. 
Now of course, he a racist, should be fired, etc etc etc. 


Here's the fun part. 
Anywhere else in Canada the seal hunt is considered taboo, except among the people it directly benefits

So Grapes is up the creek without a paddle. 
If he praised Maclean for trying seal, he'd be called a barbarian himself for going along with the socially unpopular seal hunt. 

By calling maclean a savage he's now a racist. 


He always shoots his mouth off. 


The thing that really gets me is, where's the great hue and cry from the anti seal bunch for Ron Maclean actually eating the seal?


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

He had to publicly apologize to Ron for his outrageous comment. It's not like you have a choice that far north. I can't even imagine what the price of beef or chicken would be?


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

Who? And depending on where the Maclean was, seal burger is probably quite acceptable. I wonder what he would say if the next time Maclean was back here he had fresh Rocky Mtn. oysters.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Don Cherry is there to entertain us.
People should stop getting worked up as if he was the expert in everything--but yeah--he was in a no win situation.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Don was joking.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I believe that they were in Newfoundland.
The seal hunt and it's consumption is pretty big in parts of NFLD.

I had the chance to try it bottled, I passed.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Cherry has long lost his relevance, and that's reason enough to retire/fire him. His comments were insensitive, ill-mannered, and poorly considered, making him at least sound like he has some sort of prejudice. Only he knows what's in his heart of hearts. To me, he always sounds like a trigger happy buffoon, but he appeals to some folks, clown suit and all. Serious hockey commentary gets lost behind his persona.

I wonder if Ron MacLean set him up.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

With Cherry if it wasn't this it would have been something else. He is what he is.

As for the seal hunt, I'm ok with eating the meat, but killing baby seals so rich people can have nice hats or coats.....

That's a different topic I suppose.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

Milkman said:


> As for the seal hunt, I'm ok with eating the meat, but killing baby seals so rich people can have nice hats or coats.....
> 
> That's a different topic I suppose.


Yes, yes it certainly is! I could have a rant fest with this! I won't though!


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Steadfastly said:


> Don was joking.



Yup thats exactly how I took it. Even laughed when he said it. People are way too sensitive (or obtuse for not getting a joke) that you basically can't say anything. Everyone is ready to jump down anyones throat for a comment that can somehow be construed as racist. Being native I've heard comments and for the most part I couldn't give a flying fuck what someone else thinks. 
I like Don Cherry.

- - - Updated - - -



Milkman said:


> With Cherry if it wasn't this it would have been something else. He is what he is.
> 
> As for the seal hunt, I'm ok with eating the meat, but killing baby seals so rich people can have nice hats or coats.....
> 
> That's a different topic I suppose.


Well if you're gonna eat the meat someone may as well get a hat out of it to.


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## deadear (Nov 24, 2011)

Although the kill can be brutal. You better be a vegitarian if you are against it. Some one does my killing for me.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

1) T'was a burger made from ground flipper. Flipper is generally considered the "best" part, resembling flank steak once the bones are out, and is the principal ingredient in "flipper pie". Back in '76 when I lived in St. John's, flippers were $18 the dozen.

2) I don't know what it's like now, St. John's having gone all hoy polloy on us with all their money, but back in the day, the radio station would announce that the sealing boats were coming into the harbour on such and such a day. You'd go down to the docks with a couple of clean garbage bags, walk onto the boat look in the hold, and point to the carcass you wanted. The fella standing by the hold would stick a pitchfork or some other implement capable of seizing a carcass, and stick the seal in your bag. They were already skinned, of course. At that time, "regular" hamburger (none of that fancy lean stuff) at the Dominion or Sobey's would run you about 3x the cost of seal meat.

3) Never did taste the stuff. Made the mistake of wandering into the kitchen while someone in the house I was sharing was cooking it. Because they dive, seals have a LOT of hemoglobin in their blood to hang onto the oxygen. The high hemoglobin does NOT smell pleasant when cooking. I suppose it tastes as good as any game meat, but once you associate the stink with the meat, game over.

4) One of my best memories of St. John's was walking down Water St. near the 2-storey Woolworth's they used to have. A flatbed truck parked on the street in front of Woolworth's was selling freshly killed and skinned seals. The blood was dripping off the back of the truck into the March slush on this main drag, and when a bus passed by you had to get out of the way lest you be splashed with bloody street slush. Very different way of life.


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## Stonehead (Nov 12, 2013)

Don's okay, you just have to disregard just about everything that comes out of his mouth outside of the hockey discussions. He comes from a different day and age but I like the hockey he likes which is too, a thing of the past.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

Most of the time, when it comes to hockey, Don is proven correct most of the time. 

The he old man knows hockey. Inside out, backwards and forwards. 
He is a product of his generation, and frankly, I like it. He has no filter, in public completely honest (don't know behind closed doors) 

has the personal conviction to stand behind his opinions, and the self respect to admit when he's wrong. 

but he does shoot his mouth off a lot.


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

djmarcelca said:


> but he does shoot his mouth off a lot.


Always has. The man is, and always be a moron.

Ted Nugent is in the same "idiot boat" but I do like his view that if you hunt or kill an animal, you do not waste a single bit of it. No, I do not agree with the seal hunt UNLESS you are not able to feed your family any other way. (And I mean food, not making a living)


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

Scotty said:


> No, I do not agree with the seal hunt UNLESS you are not able to feed your family any other way. (And I mean food, not making a living)


That's where I have to disagree, the seal hunt is necessary here on the island and if anything the yearly cull is still down in numbers. A lot of people think of the white coats they see on tv next to Pamela Anderson or Paul McCartney, in real life they're about as cute as giant sea rats... It will be a sad day when the government finally caves to the extremists and leaves the population unchecked.


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## Guest (Feb 11, 2015)

guitarman2 said:


> Well if you're gonna eat the meat someone may as well get a hat out of it to.


I'd buy a coat if I could afford it.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I am not against or for the seal hunt. However, the argument that the seals need to be culled so that the fish population is not harmed doesn't hold water when you consider that there was so much fish when the explorers started coming over that Jacques Cartier was moved to say that the fish were so plentiful that you could walk on them. On the other hand, the exploitation of the seas natural resources has put many species out of balance.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The days when the The Narrows had Russian, Portugese, and Norwegian fishing ships to-ing and fro-ing are long gone, what with the moratorium. And while I have little doubt they played their own role in fish stock depletion, the facts are that seals eat a LOT of fish, simply because that's what they eat. They are not herbivores, and they do not prey on other sea mammals. They eat fish. It's no different than the relationship between wolves/coyotes and deer/caribou. And when the populations of the hunted/eaten starts to get alarmingly small, there really isn'T much other choice than to figre out a way to make the hunter/eater population smaller. In the case of fish stocks, I suppose one could impose a total moratorium on fishing of ANY kind, but that'snot ikely to work, now, is it?


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## Rodavision (Feb 26, 2010)

guitarman2 said:


> Well if you're gonna eat the meat someone may as well get a hat out of it too.


I agree it only make sense to not be wasteful. Meat is meat. Why not eat what is available and not waste any part. If you think eating chicken or beef or pork is somehow a nicer option perhaps it is time that you spend a week following some of these industries in person from start to finish, you will be unpleasantly surprised. 

It is illogical to be against eating one animal but be fine with eating another, or eating an animal and throwing parts in the land fill. If you are vegetarian that is at least logical as you are showing compassion for all animals.

As far as Don goes people forget that the NHL and people like Grapes are simply there for entertainment. You can't take any of that stuff too seriously. If they are causing discussion and entertainment then they are doing their jobs well. If they were boring then no one would watch and we wouldn't have anything to discuss besides guitars, pedals and amps!


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

Steadfastly said:


> On the other hand, the exploitation of the seas natural resources has put many species out of balance.


THIS is exactly right. So because human rape and pillage the seas, we must cull other animals so we can "manage" the remaining stocks? 
When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

Rodavision said:


> I agree it only make sense to not be wasteful. Meat is meat. Why not eat what is available and not waste any part. If you think eating chicken or beef or pork is somehow a nicer option perhaps it is time that you spend a week following some of these industries in person from start to finish, you will be unpleasantly surprised.
> 
> It is illogical to be against eating one animal but be fine with eating another, or eating an animal and throwing parts in the land fill. If you are vegetarian that is at least logical as you are showing compassion for all animals.
> 
> As far as Don goes people forget that the NHL and people like Grapes are simply there for entertainment. You can't take any of that stuff too seriously. If they are causing discussion and entertainment then they are doing their jobs well. If they were boring then no one would watch and we wouldn't have anything to discuss besides guitars, pedals and amps!


Logic escapes some people though!

Don Cherry is such a colorful character. I take him with a grain of salt! Some things you just can't take too seriously!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Does anyone have any facts or data indicating that all of the parts of the "hunted" seals are used?

I used quotation marks because calling clubbing a baby seal hunting is an insult to hunters IMO.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

I miss Howie Meeker. I learned alot about hockey from him. Especially that "you can't do that against Gretzky. Back the tape up. Back it up. Now watch."

I can't recall anything hockey related I've learned from Grapes. But I kinda quit the NHL in the 90's so maybe I've missed his teaching moments.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

High/Deaf said:


> I miss Howie Meeker. I learned alot about hockey from him. Especially that "you can't do that against Gretzky. Back the tape up. Back it up. Now watch."
> 
> I can't recall anything hockey related I've learned from Grapes. But I kinda quit the NHL in the 90's so maybe I've missed his teaching moments.


Howie Meeker was likely one of the best broadcasting teachers TV has ever had. 

BTW, you and I are dating ourselves!


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

That's 'cause no one else will date us!


Ba-dum - crash. 

Two shows daily. Remember to tip your waitress............


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> I miss Howie Meeker. I learned alot about hockey from him. Especially that "you can't do that against Gretzky. Back the tape up. Back it up. Now watch."
> 
> I can't recall anything hockey related I've learned from Grapes. But I kinda quit the NHL in the 90's so maybe I've missed his teaching moments.


Howie was wonderful, and perpetually enthusiastic. Apparently, now in his 90's, he lives in Parksville, BC.

Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, because it was darn near 40 years ago, but didn't there used to be a Howie Meeker's Sporting Goods near the corner of Lemarchand and Freshwater Rd in St. John's? I remember it as being at one of those V-type intersections.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

High/Deaf said:


> I can't recall anything hockey related I've learned from Grapes. But I kinda quit the NHL in the 90's so maybe I've missed his teaching moments.



Lots. 
Calling out floating players
no touch icing, he was calling for it for three seasons before the NHL, adopted it. 
"Head on a swivel" tells people all the time to keep your head up and watching your surroundings when digging in the corners. 
Planting yourself in front of the goalie to block his vision or redirect a shot. 
Keeping your lanes even when every instinct wants you to chase the puck. 

A lot of this stuff is the kind of stuff you should have been taught in junior and major junior, but it's amazing how many players make it to the NHL, and make mental boners, most get them coached out and improve, but lots burn out too. 


A lot of players can't coach, Grapes was a medium talent player that learned the game and how to talk to players of his day to get the best from them.


"GET THAT $0.50 PLAYER AWAY FROM MY MILLION DOLLAR PLAYER!!!!"


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2015)

Milkman said:


> .. calling clubbing a baby seal hunting is an insult to hunters IMO.


That's (unfortunately) the most humane way to do it, without ruining the coat.



Steadfastly said:


> Howie Meeker was likely one of the best broadcasting teachers TV has ever had.


Don't forget this little guy.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

laristotle said:


> That's (unfortunately) the most humane way to do it, without ruining the coat


Sounds like a really challenging hunt. I'll bet they put up a hell of a fight and are hard as hell to catch.

Kind of like hunting carrots.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Which is why it is described by locals as a "harvest", rather than a hunt.

Friggin' mainlanders (it's a technical term, and alternative to CFA or "Come from away") used to smirk when there'd be the annual blessing of boats and sealers down in the harbour in St. John's. A priest would come down and wish them all safe passage and return home. Yes, the whitecoats and their mums wouldn't necessarily go on a murderous rampage like a grizzly, but it was dangerous work, nonetheless - ice floes not being the most hospitable place in the world. Sometimes people didn't come back.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Like your mainlanders, we used to get uniformed people (usually from somewhere east) complaining about the chuckwagon races when I worked at the Stampede. What they didn't understand at all is there is no happy little ranch place for old thoroughbreds to go hang out once they turn around 5. Unless they are good enough to stud, they are useless for anything but racing - that's all they know. They live for it. But no one will pay to keep a useless horse. They sadly become dog food or glue.

Those chuckwagon ranchers buy those old thoroughbreds and give them a second lease on life. And the horses are doing what they love - competing. They live a pretty good life with the ranchers, they're well taken care of. I would bet those horses would rather die in the middle of a race than waiting for the pneumatic hammer.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

High/Deaf said:


> Like your mainlanders, we used to get uniformed people (usually from somewhere east) complaining about the chuckwagon races when I worked at the Stampede. What they didn't understand at all is there is no happy little ranch place for old thoroughbreds to go hang out once they turn around 5. Unless they are good enough to stud, they are useless for anything but racing - that's all they know. They live for it. But no one will pay to keep a useless horse. They sadly become dog food or glue.
> 
> Those chuckwagon ranchers buy those old thoroughbreds and give them a second lease on life. And the horses are doing what they love - competing. They live a pretty good life with the ranchers, they're well taken care of. I would bet those horses would rather die in the middle of a race than waiting for the pneumatic hammer.


I gave you a like for the above. BTW, I'm from the east. I like to think I'm a bit of a realist.


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## Rodavision (Feb 26, 2010)

High/Deaf said:


> Like your mainlanders, we used to get uniformed people (usually from somewhere east) complaining about the chuckwagon races when I worked at the Stampede. What they didn't understand at all is there is no happy little ranch place for old thoroughbreds to go hang out once they turn around 5. Unless they are good enough to stud, they are useless for anything but racing - that's all they know. They live for it. But no one will pay to keep a useless horse. They sadly become dog food or glue.
> 
> Those chuckwagon ranchers buy those old thoroughbreds and give them a second lease on life. And the horses are doing what they love - competing. They live a pretty good life with the ranchers, they're well taken care of. I would bet those horses would rather die in the middle of a race than waiting for the pneumatic hammer.


Well said.


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