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A podcast on sports books where journalists Neil Acharya and Neate Sager discuss the latest titles with authors and athletes.
Episodes
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
In 2019, veteran live sports producer John Shannon was — no need for an euphemism — fired by Sportsnet.
As he has learned across nearly a half century in sports media, one has to evolve or die. In this memoir, Shannon writes of how he has absorbed and applied lessons that are wrapped as mortal blows in order not merely survive, but thrive in an often cutthroat field.
In “Evolve or Die,” he writes of how he had a vision, from his early life in the British Columbia interior, to be a storyteller. That aspiration led him to Toronto in the 1970s right at the inflection point for a sports broadcasting boom in Canada.
Shannon quickly became well-regarded as a producer with Hockey Night in Canada while in his early 20s. Later, he became executive producer (1994-2000) when that crown jewel of live sports production instituted the now familiar Saturday doubleheader and Satellite Hot Stove intermission panel.
Since 2009, Shannon has created a seemingly unprecedented second act in front of the camera as an analyst and insider.
Currently he is a regular panelist on Edmonton Oilers broadcasts and continues to co-host the Bob McCowan Podcast on Sirius XM Radio.
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
When it was announced that Hockey Hall of Fame centreman Bryan Trottier was releasing a memoir, one had to wonder why that had not already happened.
Trottier won the Stanley Cup six times as a player and once again as an assistant coach. The son of a Cree-Chippewa-Métis father and an Irish-Canadian mother from a Saskatchewan ranching family, he also earned multiple major awards an 18-season NHL career (1975-94).
Timing is the answer.
At age 66, Trottier believes he is far enough removed from the game where could tell some “secrets.” As well, In the age of Reconciliation between Canada and First Nations, the publishing industry is eager to amplify a story like his.
In "All Roads Home," the example that Trottier set for Indigenous youth in his hockey heyday is captured in a foreword by author and historian Jesse Thistle (author of the international best-seller "From The Ashes"). Trottier's narrative, written with esteemed Canadian sportswriter Stephen Brunt, details his obligation to make the people who shaped him proud, especially his family.
Over his life in hockey, Trottier has touched individual and collective greatness. He has also taken the time to listen, learn and share his experiences with Indigenous communities across Canada.
Join us for our conversation with one of the greatest hockey players of all time.
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Barrie Shepley had his eureka moment while working a summer job in an auto plant.
Captivated by Canadian swimmer Alex Baumann racing to gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Shepley realized that he wanted to be in elite sport. His skillset was best suited to being a coach.
Chasing greatness began with hustling. Starting from his residence room at McMaster University, he bootstrapped and helped triathlon move from a loose structure into something with a foundation, a fanbase and young athletes who would become its long-term future. One of them, first spotted in Sharbot Lake, Ont., was Simon Whitfield.
Eventually Shepley became Canada's national triathlon coach for several years beginning in 1991. In 2000, all his groundwork was validated when Whitfield became the first Olympic men's triathlon champion at the Sydney Olympics.
In Chasing Greatness, Shepley shares his experiences working with elite athletes and hobbyists who were bent on proving something to themselves. In addition to his commentary work, Shepley is cofounder of Personal Best, a Caledon, Ont.-based health and wellness firm that works with corporate and individual clients.
Saturday Oct 15, 2022
Saturday Oct 15, 2022
Friday Oct 07, 2022
Friday Oct 07, 2022
Corey Hirsch played 14 seasons as a professional goalie, including 108 NHL games.
He raised the Stanley Cup and came within a postage stamp goal of backstopping Canada to an Olympic Gold medal.
But the save of his life never happened on the ice.
It happened when he stopped short of driving off a cliff.
The plan was to finally be rid of intrusive thoughts he couldn’t shut off. Now he has learned how to deal with them.
Corey’s brain lies to him, it tells him things that aren’t true.
It is called OCD and the form he has is probably not what you think it is.
People such as Hirsch can drown in irrational thoughts about harming themselves or others, contracting deadly diseases and/or need constant self-assurance about their sexual orientation.
Corey, like so many others that suffer from this mental illness was ready to end it all…but he didn’t, he got help and came forward.
While so many out there suffer, often in silence, Hirsch uses his platform to make sure they aren’t alone.
Five years after his important mental health revelation in The Players' Tribune, his new book with Sean Patrick Conboy goes deeper into that journey from despair to hope.
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Ken Caminiti was the type of ball player that fans loved.
He electrified third base and the batter's box with a formidable combination of grit, finesse and power.
However, it was what the one-time unanimous NL MVP (1996) did after his playing days that stands above the great fielding plays, all-star appearances and revitalizing the San Diego Padres franchise.
In 2002, Caminiti came clean about baseball's worst-kept secret.
Author Dan Good paints a portrait of a big-hearted man who lived life on the edge and how his public confession forced Major League Baseball to confront its steroid problem.
Join us as Good discusses his book Playing Through the Pain.
Monday Aug 15, 2022
Monday Aug 15, 2022
Rickey Henderson is as enigmatic as he was dynamic on a ballfield.
Major League Baseball's all-time leader in runs scored and stolen bases and greatest leadoff hitter of all time vexed and perplexed teammates, fans and the media as much as he did opposition over a 25-season career.
Even up until his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, questions of who Rickey actually is and what has driven him to be so singular have remained.
In June 2022, Howard Bryant (senior writer, ESPN, and a two-time Casey Award winner) released Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original. In the 380 pages, he provides the context that helps explain Henderson’s motivations and Henderson’s value in the age of advanced analytics.
Sunday Jul 10, 2022
Sunday Jul 10, 2022
We finally landed Survivorman.
Les Stroud is a creator who is best known for his world famous TV show, but he is also a musician and an author.
In March 2021, he released Wild Outside: Around the World with Survivorman, his first book aimed at a youth audience. It recently won a Yellow Cedar Award presented by the Ontario Library Association for nonfiction books intended for readers in grades 4 to 8.
Using condensed and illustrated versions of his adventures, Stroud intersperses nature facts with advice on spending time outside, no matter where that is.
After the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic delayed his appearance on SportsLit, Les joined us to discuss this book as well as his latest projects, plus some humble career tales from a man who does things his way.
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
Tyrone (Muggsy) Bogues is one of the most recognizable “names” in NBA history.
At five-foot-three, he is the shortest player to ever play at basketball’s highest level and he succeeded with four teams across 14 seasons during the rugged 1980s and '90s. A testament to his focus, talent and toughness.
In April 2022, he released Muggsy: My Life from a Kid in the Projects to the Godfather of Small Ball, written with Jacob Uitti (Triumph Books).
Muggsy pays tribute to a loving family who supported him through his maturation into a true player from inner-city Baltimore to the time he established himself as a pro point guard, whose career peak came as the engine of the expansion Charlotte Hornets.
His playing days lasted from 1987-88 until an abbreviated season with the Toronto Raptors in 2000-01.
Currently, Bogues is an ambassador and community advisor with the Hornets franchise in Charlotte. In between watching the NBA Finals where close family friend Steph Curry goes for a fourth title with the Golden State Warriors utilizing a playing style that he helped push, Muggsy joined us to talk about his life and how it has inspired the lives of others.
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Just Win Baby!
Sounds simple enough, but how do you get there?
Talent alone isn't always the answer.
The inner game is often the hardest aspect to manage.
André Lachance (Manager – Women’s National Team - Baseball Canada 2004 – 18) and Jean François Ménard (Author - Train (Your Brain) Like an Olympian) have years of practical and professional experience in mental performance coaching from boardrooms to a baseball diamond and even the circus (Cirque du Soleil).
Utilizing what they have learned, the duo combine to offer their strategies on building team chemistry.