Knuckle Puck: Top 5 Don Cherry Suits

Each and every weekend this season I'll be taking a look at the random happenings and absurdities that occur in the world of hockey. Feel free to suggest stories, complain or otherwise babble at me via electronic mail.

This week in Knuckle Puck we're going to cover what is not only a very important topic but also a very festive one. It's going to be tough, but I've decided to pick the Top 5 suits that CBC commentator Don Cherry has worn. Cherry has always been very colorful, whether we're talking about the opinions coming out of his mouth during his Coach's Corner segment on Hockey Night in Canada, or the suits he wears, which many times seem to be attempts at trying to burn the retinas of his television audience.

Before we get started, I'd like to point out that there is a blog dedicated to Cherry's wardrobe called Don We Now Our Gay Apparel. It chronicles all of Cherry's fashion exploits and is part of the motivation for this list. And yes, if Don Cherry's wardrobe has a fan blog then, I guess, there really is a blog out there for everything.

What follows is a selection of five of the most ridiculous and most eye-catching suits that Cherry has worn over the last few years. I know I've missed some good ones, like this black and white retro suit, but that's where you come in, dear reader. Feel free to make your own list in the comments.

5. Red Velvet Christmas - Starting our countdown is the suit Cherry wears each year around Christmas. In fact, it's what he wore during Saturday night's Coach's Corner. Yes, this is just a plain red velvet suit. But that's exactly why it's up here -- because it's a velvet suit. You don't see that everyday. This also gets a few bonus points since it's the holiday season.

4. Do Not Adjust Your TV - This suit is something else. It's plaid and impossible to label it any specific color. It's blue, orange, yellow and about 200 others. It makes the list due to the sheer insanity of it. I'll need to follow up with photographer Bruce Bennett and see if his camera burst into flames after taking this picture.

3. Gangster Don Cherry - If Don Cherry was once a bootlegger in the 1920s, this is probably what he wore. During an appearance on CBC's Battle of the Blades -- the Canadian version of Dancing With the Stars -- Cherry wore this. I imagine that there was likely a tommy gun under his left arm and a flask under the right.

2. Hot Pink - It takes a certain kind of man to wear pink. And then sometimes there's a very unique individual who not only has the guts to wear a pink suit but does it on national television in an effort to blind millions of viewers. And, once in the history of the world, we have a guy who wears a pink suit on national television while covering the Stanley Cup Finals and makes his entrance by boat.

1. Red Plaid - I don't know where else this list could have ended. Don Cherry is known for his eye-catching (or -popping or -gouging, whichever you prefer) suits and his red plaid suit is the suit. It's the suit he's known for and is classic Cherry. It's such a classic, they even made a jersey out of it.