She’s Got Legs!

I’ve just finished my work on Tim Horton’s Hockey Day in Canada, and am posting another of my favorite stories from the CBC TV Sports production. It was put together by Chris Kayaniotes.
My job these past several years has been to co-ordinate and supervise the production of all the features in the show. One of the great things about the show is that we get to see these great stories that otherwise wouldn’t find a platform, including this one about Irene Bryson and her unbelievable set of legs!

CBC’s Wojtek Wolski Feature

One of the highlights of Tim Horton’s Hockey Day in Canada on CBC TV this year was the profile of Colorado Avalanche forward Wojtek Wolski.

The piece, produced by Bryan Gardner, Richard Ajecoutay, and Jennifer Haynes received a lot of compliments from different corners.

In an earlier G4S post, Haynes recalled the day the production team caught up with Wolski.

The finished product tells the story of a Polish immigrant to Canada whose dreams in his adopted country came to life thanks to hockey. He has not forgotten his roots, as you can see in this story.

Ultra Mountain Runner Circles the Globe Twice

Ok, that’s not quite true. However, Anton Krupicka is a runner who started logging his miles in 1995. Recently, the odometer went over the 50-thousand mile mark. That, my friends, is twice the circumference of the earth.

Krupicka is a graduate student in mountain hydrology,  living in Boulder, Colorado. When it comes to 50-mile and 100-mile races at altitude, he’s pretty tough to beat.

Read on for the Good4Sports Question and Answer, and post a comment about the running marvel.

Wolski’s Holiday Magic

Guest Post – by Jennifer Haynes of CBC Sports

Wojtek Wolski has big eyes for the net and a big heart for the kids

Next month’s Hockey Day in Canada on CBC TV Sports will feature a  profile of Wojtek Wolski, of the Colorado Avalanche. It’s being produced by my colleagues Bryan Gardner and Jennifer Haynes. In this guest post, Haynes gives us a behind-the-scenes peak at a special shooting day from the production. Read on and leave a comment about athletes acknowledging their roots.

Can YOU keep a promise?

Retired NHL’er Tim Taylor knows how to keep a promise.

Maybe that’s why he was able to earn a spot on two Stanley Cup Championship hockey teams. Read on and leave a comment about how someone’s ability to keep their word can shape what kind of teammate they become.

Water’s Transforming Power

Deadman's Corner. Grantchester Meadow, UK. Photo courtesy the Outdoor Swimming Society

Taking back the water.
Not to drink, but to swim in.
Read on about the UK’s Outdoor Swimming Society, and leave a comment about the group’s move to get people out of indoor pools and back to the great outdoors. And if you have a favorite swimming spot, you may want to write about that too.

Habs 100th anniversary game

Legendary broadcaster Dick Irvin will co-host the Montreal Canadiens’ 100th anniversary game Friday night against the Boston Bruins.

G4S asked him what he might be thinking about as he steps onto the ice to open the pre-game ceremony.

Birth of a runner- at the Human Race 2009

When Monica Lafon returned to her native Mexico city after three years in Montreal, the last thing she thought she would be doing is running.

But along came a cause, and off she went.

Read her guest post, and comment on what motivates you to exercise.

“Life is Good”

Ironman O'Neill

Patrick O’Neill is back to work in New York’s Financial District. But on November 22, 2009, rating financial risks was the last thing on his mind. Instead, he completed a personal transformation: from the everyman to the ironman.

Ever wondered what it must be like to complete an ironman triathlon? Read on, as Pat O’Neill takes us stroke by stroke, pedal by pedal, and step by step along his Arizona Ironman race.

Chantal Peticlerc Strikes Gold Again

16 Days in Beijing- Chantal Petitclerc's new book

In her new book 16 Jours à Pékin (16 days in Beijing), Chantal Petitclerc describes one of the most heartwarming scenes of sportsmanship that I have ever heard of. Read on about it, and post a comment about the importance sportsmanship.

O’Neill finishes ahead of Ironman goal!

Pat O’Neill surpassed his own expectations at the Arizona Ironman.
In his first attempt at the ultra triathlon distance, O’Neill completed the course in 11 hours, 36 minutes, and 4 seconds.
Not bad for the Montreal Irishman-turned-New York banker!! Actually, it was a good two hours ahead of what he thought he would do.
O’Neill wrote an earlier post for Good4Sports about his journey to the start line, and has promised a post-race reflection once he recovers!

Video Post: Dick Irvin describes what he learned from Danny Gallivan

Danny Gallivan - one of the great play-by-play commentators

The late Danny Gallivan is one of four people being inducted into the CBC Sports Hall of Fame today. For many hockey fans in Canada (and in particular in Montreal) he remains one of the most unique play-by-play voices of all time. In some ways, he created his own language unique to the trade, bringing a lyricism to the game he was describing.

For many years, his partner in the broadcast booth was Dick Irvin.

In this comment recorded for the Good4Sports blog, Irvin talks about what he learned from Gallivan.

Dick Irvin pays tribute to Danny Gallivan from Bob Babinski on Vimeo.

Looking around the internet for material on Danny Gallivan, I came across this delightful bit from Mike Myers, recorded in 1986 for Hockey Night in Canada.

Mike Myers pays tribute to Danny Gallivan from Bob Babinski on Vimeo.

And finally, here’s the link to one of Danny Gallivan’s most famous calls — the Guy Lafleur playoff goal in 1979 to tie the game between the Canadiens and Bruins at 3.

Ironman

The Start at Tempe Lake

GUEST POST
There’ll be 2000 starters at the November 22 Ironman Arizona in Tempe Town Lake, but I’m really just interested in how Pat O’Neill will fare.
I’ve known Pat since we were little kids. He was once an excellent skate boarder, has always been a good swimmer, and continues to be an excellent skier; but until recently that was the extent of his interest in sports. So it was with a measure of surprise that I learned he was going to tackle an ultra distance triathlon.
Pat works in the banking industry and lives with his family in Montclair, New Jersey. He was working across the plaza from the twin towers when the planes struck 9/11. He’s had a front row seat for many of the dramatic changes taking place in the United States since that day.
This week he finds himself on the cusp of his own transformation. Read on for Pat’s Guest Post.

Stan Smyl on Discipline; G4S Videopost

Stan Smyl, captain of the Vancouver Canucks between 1982-1990, was considered the heart and soul of the team. He was picked Most Valuable Player in three different seasons. After retiring, he coached in the Canucks organization before becoming a scout. He’s now senior advisor to the General Manager.

In a video clip recorded for the Good4sports blog, he talks about the value of sports. Post a comment on what you think the greatest value of sport is.

Former Canucks captain Stan Smyl on Discipline from Bob Babinski on Vimeo.

Why Expos went south; new book looks at glory years

Jeff Reardon, Warren Cromartie and Gary Carter celebrate playoff win over Phillies in Montreal, Oct 8, 1981. (CP Photo/Andy Clark)

So the Yankees won another World Series. What about that, eh? Hard to imagine that there was a brief moment in time when the Montreal Expos baseball team earned more revenue than the Yankees – that was in the early 80’s, and long before baseball would crash and burn in Montreal. Alain Usereau has a new book about the Expos glory years. After reading the G4S Q+A with Usereau, weigh in with your favorite memories about the Expos and with your opinion about why the team didn’t make it Montreal.

In a New York State of Mind

Guest Post

Yankees winning World Series just one of the highlights for New York sports fans last week

Between the Yankees’ World Series win, last week’s marathon, and the Rangers’ games, it was hard not to be thinking about the Big Apple last week.

My friend and colleague, CBC Sports producer Mike Dodson, did more than just think about it- he took a bite out of it. Read his Guest Post, and comment on your own favorite New York story.

Fanning the Flames with a swine flu controversy: Skaters jump the queue foregoing transparency

 

Captain Jarome Iginla, Olli Jokinen and the Flames jumped the H1N1 queue

 

A senior staffer of Alberta Health Services has been fired . The Calgary Herald newspaper is receiving messages from hockey fans who say they’ll no longer support the Flames. And the government in Alberta continues to ask questions about how health department officials last week released coveted supplies of the H1N1 vaccine to inoculate Flames hockey players, their families, and other team personnel.

What arguments could you make, if any, to defend the decision to jump the queue?  Read on for my view.

Reuniting with an old friend-baseball

Matt Stairs - regular Canadian content in World Series

I see a couple of my favorite ball players have had something to say in how the World Series is playing out, but it’s not clear if they’ll get another kick at the can. The Philadelphia Phillies’ Pedro Martinez and Matt Stairs were on the losing side of Game 2 the other night.

If I favor the Phillies over the Yankees, it’s because Martinez and Stairs are both former Expos, and Stairs comes from Stanley, a small town in New Brunwick, which isn’t far from where I started my broadcast career.

Stairs is a no-nonsense meat and potatoes guy, who’s managed to parlay his lumberjack forearms and average talent into a long and productive career (17 seasons, more than 250 homers).

Pedro Martinez has never been shy of the microphone

Martinez matured into a dominant starter while playing here in Montreal in the 90’s, and he remains one of the most colorful and talented pitchers in the game.

Read on and then post a comment about who your favorite performers of the baseball post-season, current and past.

Plante’s 50th sparks memories

The courageous innovator-Jacques Plante

Stu Hackel has a great piece on Jacques Plante and the evolution of the goalie mask in his ‘Morning Skate” blog on NYTimes.com. This weekend marks the 50^th anniversary of Plante becoming the first National Hockey League goalie to wear a full face mask.

Plante was still playing when I was growing up, and he was one of my earliest heroes. His wandering style, combined with his courage to don the mask when the establishment was telling him not to, made him a larger than life character.

After reading this G4S entry, post a comment about your favorite Jacques Plante memory and how he’s changed the game of hockey.

The Mask that changed the game of hockey

He was an original in so many ways, including his practice of knitting toques while sitting in the dressing room.

It was such a different era. So I think this is the perfect occasion to offer up a special Guest Post from someone who experienced that era from a unique perspective.

The image of Plante knitting is recalled by Heather Shaw (nee Adair) who, in response to the G4S recent post on How Small is your World,  writes this piece about how her late husband Len Shaw played an integral part in the Montreal sports scene of the early 50’s.

Capable of more than he thought

G4S Q+A with Alastair Humphreys

Alastair Humphreys-Age:32, Born:Yorkshire, England, Occupation: Adventurer

Alastair Humphreys' next big expedition is to the south pole

Sometime in the next 18 months, Alastair Humphreys will set off on what he calls the first return journey to the South Pole on foot. The expedition  -SOUTH –   is the longest unsupported (human-powered) polar journey in history. The 1800 mile walk will take 4 months to complete, while Humphreys and his pal Ben Saunders haul 200kg sleds.

Humphreys has dedicated his life to demanding, marathon-type adventures around the world, including a 4-year-solo bike ride that covered 60 countries and 5 continents.

Read the Good4Sports Q+A with Humphreys, and post a comment about what you think of expeditions that take adventurers to remote parts of the world.