SOCHI, RUSSIA

The truth on Don Cherry at the Winter Olympics: He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to spend his 80th birthday travelling half-way across the world.

“I’d rather be home,” said the bombastic star of Coach’s Corner. “But there’s nothing I could do about it. I’ve never been to Russia. I had no interest in going.

“But I had no choice. They wouldn’t let me (skip). They sold extra (ads) for me. Anheuser-Busch has paid for nine of my appearances. I was in a tough spot on this one. I couldn’t stay home.”

Another surprising truth about Cherry: He’s loving his first trip here and he didn’t think that would be possible.

“When I think of Russia I think of old Moscow and people sweeping the streets, the old ladies, it’s nothing like that around here. The image I thought coming over is quite different from what I’ve seen. We went downtown to get our beer and honestly I couldn’t believe it. It was like a shopping mall. I didn’t expect that. The people have been so friendly. Really, I have nothing to complain about.”

Sixteen years ago, in Cherry’s last Winter Olympic work, he had lots to complain about. He hated his time in Japan. Got sick.

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“Honestly, I thought I was going to die over there,” he said. “Don Drysdale had just died in a hotel room just before the Olympics. And I kept thinking the headline was going to be ‘sports announcer dies at Olympic Games.’ Believe me, I have no fond memories of that time.”

But Cherry is here at 80, alive and well in Russia, feeling great, without jet lag, looking younger than his age and able to be awake for his 2:30 a.m. Coach’s Corner hits here even though he’s barely eating but making sure he “has several Buds a day.”

Three of them this morning, he said.

“It keeps me going,” he said. “I’m happy as long as I have my beer.”

Cherry did get to watch a made-for-TV movie on Russian television the other night, a docu-drama on the life of the late hockey star Valeri Kharlamov. He came away impressed, even if he didn’t understand a word of the dialogue.

What was particularly fascinating to him was how the Russians altered the ending of the famed Canada-Russia hockey series of 1972, ending with a 7-3 victory of the Russians. Paul Henderson, for the record, wasn’t a factor in the movie at all.

“It was a great hockey movie, one of the best I’ve ever seen. Even if they changed the ending,” said Cherry. “But they made (Phil) Esposito look like Dracula. I thought they did an awful number on Phil, he looked like a maniac. But other than that, it was a well-done movie.

“And they had a scene that Harry Sinden nodded to Bobby Clarke and gave him the go-ahead (to break Kharlamov’s ankle). That never happened. But I understand what they’re doing. I’m in show business. But overall, the whole thing was pretty good.”

Much as he does at home, Cherry walks around Sochi as something of a celebrity, or at least here as an oddly dressed hockey celebrity. He has worked bits on Russian television for almost a decade and “I’ve had a lot of fun doing it.”

On the street, everybody has a question. An anonymous Czech came up to him and gave him grief for “giving it to Tomas Hertl” earlier this season.

“I had to pause for a minute. I remember giving it to Hertl. I said ‘Who are you?’ He said he was a Czech. I told him, I honestly thought (Hertl) was Russian.”

Cherry does admit a love for the way Alexander Ovechkin plays the game and doesn’t quite share the same adoration for Evgeni Malkin. “Pavel Bure is my favourite Russian but I like Ovechkin. He wears Coach’s Corner T-shirts.”

When asked about Malkin, the Hockey Night In Canada star answered: “I like Ovechkin.

“More than that, I love Canada. I love our forwards here. Our B team could be in the medal round. We have the leading guy in assists, the best passer in the world, not here (Joe Thornton). And we’ve got (Brent) Seabrook at home, the best plus player of any defenceman in the NHL. He’s not here. Here’s how it works: The other countries have 15-20 good players. We have 40-50 good players.

“We have a good team. I know everyone’s putting pressure on the Russians to win and if they lose it will be ‘Ovechkin lost.’ That’s the way it goes when you’re at home. But we’re doing well. We should win. If we don’t do well the whole country will be depressed.

“We should be depressed. We expect gold. Silver is no good. We’re winners. That’s what we do. If we don’t get gold, it’s a disaster.”

Cherry believes the ’72 Series is serving as the backdrop to the hockey tournament in these Games, and the Russians are looking at this as “payback time.

“You see lots of references to it on TV, I saw the movie. I sincerely believe the theme song for this team is the ’72 Series. It keeps coming up over and over.”

Travelling to Russia was no party for Cherry on his birthday. That kind of travel never is. He had a six-hour flight delay in Frankfurt and when he went to check his bags, he was fined for his luggage being overweight.

He offered up a credit card to pay the bill and was told cash only. He offered up American money and was told Euros only. When he said he had no Euros, suddenly strangers in line began offering up money. “People just started peeling out bills,” he said. “The Germans were not very friendly. The people in line were.”

Now settled in and with the hockey tournament a day away, Cherry has been at almost every practice to date. He likes the rink, can’t wait for the hockey, is enjoying his beer, doesn’t mind his accommodations, and has just one concern.

“The dogs,” he said. “I went for a walk today and saw these two little dogs just wandering around, kind of following us. I see these homeless dogs and that really bothers me. I might bring them home with me. I love these dogs. I just hope nothing bad happens to them.”

steve.simmons@sunmedia.ca

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