Hockey

BPM Sports: no, Michel Villeneuve will not co-host the comeback show
Maxime Truman
BPM Sports: no, Michel Villeneuve will not co-host the comeback show
Credit: “What’s up with BPM Sports, Max?” If you only knew how many times I’ve been asked that question over the past few days. And when I say people, I’m talking as much about the station’s loyal listeners as I am about people from the Québécois sports and/or media scene. So, what’s going on? You’ll understand […]

“What's up with BPM Sports, Max?”

If you only knew how many times I've been asked that question over the past few days. And when I say people, I'm talking as much about the station's loyal listeners as I am about people from the Québécois sports and/or media scene.

So, what's going on?

You'll understand that I can't write everything down. For 1,001 reasons.

But the departures of Tony Marinaro and Martin Lemay – who hosted two of the four shows on the weekday schedule – are the talk of the town. And rightly so!

What can we divulge on this July 21, 2025?

1. Tony Marinaro decided to leave the station several weeks ago. Tony brought freshness to the BPM Sports schedule in a difficult time slot for sports talk. He's under contract for a few more weeks, and will announce in due course the new slot where he'll be talking sports (among other things) in French. Because he's not done with his Francophone adventure yet.

2. For his part, Martin Lemay learned last week that the station preferred to go in a different direction – that is, with a different voice – for its comeback show. No, it wasn't Martin Lemay's performance that prompted RNC Média's bosses to do this.

Let's just say that if you put your house up for sale and it's costing you a lot to run/maintain, and you quickly get the price you want, but you're not due to take possession until six months after the accepted offer to purchase, chances are you'll cut back so you don't lose too much money before going to the notary, right? #ReadBetweenLines

3. The morning show (Max Lalonde, Gilbert Delorme and Anthony Désaulniers) and Laraque – Gonzalez should return to a time slot and format similar to what they were in 2024-25. Laraque – Gonzalez achieved the station's best ratings last spring, and the morning show has been on a strong upward trend for the past 18 months.

Expect fewer star contributors than last year, however.

4. I don't think we'll be trying to replace the inimitable Tony Marinaro. I'm repeating myself, but scoring between 10:00 and 11:00 in the morning has always been very difficult at 91.9 Sports/BPM Sports.

Remember the analogy of the house that's already sold, but the deed is still pending..

5. Who will replace Martin Lemay when he returns? I'm told an announcement will be made in August. If I were forced to gamble (legally) a few hundred dollars, I'd be tempted to put it on “a voice that listeners already know and hear on the station.”

But I don't like gambling. Money's much too hard to earn to go out and lose it like that..

Oh yes, the rumour that Sylvain Chamberland (Arsenal Média), Réjean Tremblay, David Garel(Hockey30) and Michel Villeneuve will be accompanying us on our return home is false. Bertrand Girard(Hostile Offer) had some very good information about the morning and lunchtime schedules, but the rumours he was hearing about the return show were wrong.

I'm not saying these people won't ever get a microphone on BPM, but it just won't happen for four hours next September..

6. I don't know if we'll continue to broadcast a live show on weekends. If so, it will be a show where young people will continue to gain experience, but I have big doubts about that possibility.

7. I'm far from convinced that the station will continue to broadcast Rocket and CF Montreal games in 2026. We'll respect our agreement with the Montreal CF, which expires at the end of this year. But everyone I spoke to told me that nothing had been signed for 2026. Neither with the Rocket nor with the Montreal CF.

It will be interesting to see what the people in place in the future decide to do with live sports broadcasting. Will it be part of their strategy?

8. Several star contributors will not be returning. Bob Hartley, André Tourigny, Mathias Brunet, Simon “Snake” Boisvert, Alain Crête, Éric Bélanger, Renaud Lavoie, Martin Leclerc, Pierre Dorion, Anthony Marcotte… many of them will be leaving. It remains to be seen who will stay.

9. It will also be interesting to see whether the Athletic Commission will remain a priority for the brand. Its creator, Alexandre Panneton, is now VP at CF Montréal, and a few big podcasts could be leaving for other climes, I'm told.

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