It turns out the King is in the Coach’s Corner!
It’s one of those moments where the King of Canada gave a medal to the King of Canada. It’s only fitting that Canada’s unofficial monarch was bestowed a medal by King Charles himself.
“Look what they sent me,” said a delightedDon Cherrywith a smile. “It’s a medal from the King himself.”
It sure was.
“Donald Cherry: By the command of The King, the Coronation Medal hereby conferred upon you in commemoration of His Majesty’s Coronation as King of Canada and in recognition of your valuable contribution to your country.”
Long contribution to Canada
It’s a nice medal with the King on it and a ribbon and a certificate that rightfully talks of Cherry’s contribution to Canada, which far exceeds almost four decades on Hockey Night in Canada doing Coach’s Corner. The charity that he has been part of, the support the troops and the fallen officers and firefighters, and being a voice of condolence when we lost our Humboldt Saskatchewan junior hockey team members is a big part of this honour.
“I guess somebody over there in England didn’t know about all that went on here (in 2019),” Cherry teased.
Of course, he’s referring to his very public firing by Sportsnet for his “you people, you like our milk and honey” and the “least you can do is throw a couple of bucks” to a veteran to buy a poppy comment.
I like to think what happened here is the King did what Canada should have done — rejected all of the unfair attacks on Grapes and celebrated his patriotism and love of country and freedom.
Whatever the reason, it’s nice to seeCherryget that honour.
“I got one from his mom too,” said Grapes.
Will turn 92 in February
There’s no one more deserving, and a legend like this who will be 92 in February should be pushed to the front of the line.
While Don downplays being given the medals from Buckingham Palace and is not pushing for the Order of Canada, you know as a proud Canadian he deserves all of those accolades.
It was great to see Don again and he’s doing OK. We talked hockey, Blue Jays and, of course, a little politics.
“President Trump is still my guy,” said Grapes who always believed the 47th US president was merely trolling Canada when he was talking about becoming the 51st state.
I expected that answer. I didn’t expect this one when I asked about Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“I like Carney,” said Grapes. “I think he’s doing a pretty good job.”
Cherry added: “I think he’s doing alright. He has a tough job but I like where he’s at.”
That’s the best part of Cherry. His independence. You never know what he’s going to say. And he’s not afraid to say it.
End of Grapevine podcast
I think that is why a lot of people were looking forward to this year’s season of the Grapevine podcast he and his son Tim did every Sunday since he was fired on Remembrance Day six years ago.
But, Don says, despite having many listeners, he has decided to not do it anymore.
“I just decided it was time to pack it in,” he told the Sun.
This means the coach is officially retired from public life after decades of top service. But he’s not blue about it.
“It was fun, but everything has it’s time,” said Cherry.
Ending the podcast was speculated about after the Stanley Cup in June when he and Tim signed off as their “final” podcast, but both said at the time that they just meant for that season and intended to come back again for the 2025-26 season.
But Grapes told me that as the hockey season is getting going, he thinks this is a good time to retire it and not be as public anymore and be a little more “quiet.”
Much deserved but his voice every week on that podcast will be missed.
“You can still visit,” he joked.
And we have a tentative plan to do a Cherry’s Corner in early 2026 just ahead of the Olympics. But a lot of people are saying to me that we might want to do something during the World Series since Grapes got his prediction right for Game 7 against Seattle.
Well, he has another prediction.
“The Jays will beat the Dodgers, I predict,” said the one-time coach of the Boston Bruins who also played a lot of baseball. “Los Angeles has more talent but I love this Blue Jays team. They are scrappers and that kind of team is hard to play against.”
If Cherry’s right, somebody should give that guy a medal fit for a king.
