The local CBC news program, “CBC News at Six” , has recently shifted from a half-hour TV news program to an hour long one.

At first I feared this shift would give even more time to Marianna Simeone, who’s “My Take” segment delivers everything you don’t want in an opinion column – a disjointed and vacuous soliloquy that results in yawns and impatient channel flicks rather than furious blog posts and impassioned emails.

But an interesting ripple has been added to CBC’s nightly news cast: Habs coverage from diminutive ex-Habs/Bruins tough-guy (and West-Island native) PJ Stock. Career stats: 5-21 with 523 penalty minutes in 235 games. TV stats: 2-0 in two broadcasts.

For a brawler, Stock’s surprisingly un-fugly, and despite the weirdly clipped delivery, is able to speak intelligently and unemotionally about the Habs. In a world where hockey commentators use the word “boom” as a verb, Stock offers a refreshingly straight analysis of the Canadiens’ game. Even the astonishingly wooden Michel Godbout seems engaged with Stock’s take on things. Compared to TSN’s segment “Win, Lose & Tie” with ex-Leaf pugilist Tie Domi, Stock’s segment is practically Shakespeare.

Along with other Montrealers, I’ll keep watching in the coming weeks to see if “Stock Talk” can maintain my interest. However, given that “CBC News at Six” now has a full hour to cover stories about potholes and broken water mains, I suspect Stock will be benched in favour of something more ‘relevant’.

However, that could just be “My Take." Why don't you boom me one of yours?