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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 25, 2020
Wednesday Nov 25, 2020
Joe Murphy lives in the precarious crack that lies between an uplifting ending or a tragic conclusion.
Once upon a time he was the first NCAA player selected in the NHL Draft, a Stanley Cup winner and an eccentric teammate, but today he is homeless and in clear need of mental health care.
Could a vicious hit sustained in one of the 779 career games he played from 1986-2000 have significantly altered the path of his life to where it is today?
Journalist Rick Westhead (TSN) digs deep into the story of a gifted Canadian kid that went to the top of the hockey world, and the untreated brain injuries that may have caused his unsettling descent.
Tuesday Nov 24, 2020
Tuesday Nov 24, 2020
Ron Hawkins sings of "a wounded soldier from the bad old days," in his song Peace and Quiet, which Tim Thompson wove together with archived footage to create his acclaimed ode to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
That lyric rings true when examining the tenure of former captain Rick Vaive.
A prolific scorer, he was named team captain at the age of 22 and netted three-consecutive 50-goal seasons while enduring a circus-like atmosphere and futility during the Harold Ballard era.
At his peak between 1980-87, he achieved great personal success on the ice, but it also marked a time when the franchise’s legacy to past glory was fully severed. It was a paradoxical experience as a professional in a life that through various contributing circumstances, “left him on the edge of the limelight.”
Catch 22 is the title of his memoir which he wrote with journalist Scott Morrison and it was released on Nov. 17. Here is Vaive, in his own words.
Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
Manon Rheaume was always in a league of her own.
Mention her name to hockey fans and most will remember the media frenzy that accompanied her appearance in net with the Tampa Bay Lightning during NHL exhibition play in 1992.
While GM Phil Esposito got the attention he sought for his expansion team, Rheaume’s professionalism under the spotlight illuminated the way forward for women’s hockey.
Inspired to tell the story on film, actor/producer Angie Bullaro decided that a children’s book could also light a spark for future generations and so Breaking the Ice was born.
Hit play and hear what they both had to say!
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
On Nov. 3, 1995, the Toronto Raptors tipped off against the New Jersey Nets and changed the sports landscape of the city.
The Raptors are now a team to be reckoned with but it wasn’t long ago that people would have laughed at the notion they would ever win an NBA title, let alone by the time their 25th anniversary rolled around.
Why did they become champions? What were the turning points? How comedic, chaotic, tumultuous, and triumphant has the last quarter-century been?
Raptors beat writer Doug Smith (Toronto Star) has pretty much seen it all covering the team from Day 1, and oftentimes he would say, “Man, that’s one for the book.”
Now you have it.
Sunday Oct 25, 2020
Sunday Oct 25, 2020
If you are a hockey fan, you probably know the story of Willie O’Ree. In 1958, he became the first black player to skate in an NHL game when his Boston Bruins faced the Montreal Canadiens.
The feat wasn’t heralded at the time and Mr. O’Ree’s NHL career lasted just 45 games, though he would go on to play professional hockey until 1979. Following his retirement, he remained far from the public eye until 1996.
At that time the league was being run a new regime that was focused on expanding the game into new markets and exposing the sport to different demographics. In O’Ree, the NHL saw a perfect ambassador who had first-hand experience to drive an inclusive message.
The rest of his life story is remarkable as well, from an ancestor believed to have found freedom through an early form of the Underground Railroad to his own direct path navigating the segregated southern United States as a baseball prospect…and there is much more.
We are pleased to have him join us to discuss his new book Willie – The Game Changing Story of the NHL’s First Black Player, written with Michael McKinley.
Tuesday Oct 13, 2020
Tuesday Oct 13, 2020
Whether it is an attention-grabbing quote, transaction or ruling, Brian Burke has always made a splash wherever he has worked, from the NHL head office, to running a marquee franchise.
He is well known for his tenure as the leagues’ disciplinarian and his time at the helm of the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2007. Since stepping away from management, he has become an analyst with Sportsnet.
In his newly released memoir written with Stephen Brunt, Burke sets the record straight on his very colourful and sometimes controversial experiences in the game, while navigating life lessons, balancing familial responsibility and dealing with tragedy along the way.
Fair warning, there was no truculent talk or pugnacious exchanges, just good conversation.
Monday Sep 28, 2020
Monday Sep 28, 2020
As a child, Sami Jo Small had visions of summer Olympic glory, but those podium dreams would be realized through a winter sport.
When she began playing hockey as the only girl on a boys team in Winnipeg, there had yet to be an IIHF Women’s World Championship or competition at the winter games.
An excellent athlete, she landed a scholarship to Stanford University as a track and field competitor while moonlighting in net with the men's club team. A subpar meet led to a chance trip to Calgary, there, the national program happened to be scouting for Nagano 1998.
That ticket led to a journey that wasn’t even possible when she first signed up to play.
Small discusses the role she played as well as the ongoing fight for equity and inclusion in our newest episode.
Wednesday Sep 16, 2020
Wednesday Sep 16, 2020
As we entered a new millennium, the LA Lakers were in search of the sequel to Showtime. GM Jerry West was looking for answers after the curtain had dropped on Magic, Kareem and Worthy.
He found them in Shaq, a larger than life centre and a petulant, singularly focused, rising superstar named Kobe. In assembling this new era of dominance under head coach Phil Jackson, The Lake Show was flying high...but with a whole lot of drama unfolding behind the scenes.
Jeff Pearlman (current host of Two Writers Slinging Yang Podcast, former sr. writer at SI and ESPN columnist) is well versed with such themes. This, his ninth book, follows along the arc of trouble in paradise established in earlier works such as Boys Will Be Boys about the wild 1990s Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl runs, and Love Me, Hate Me, which details the inner machinations of "anti-hero" Barry Bonds.
Welcome to our conversation.
Tuesday Mar 10, 2020
Tuesday Mar 10, 2020
Before Auston Matthews, there was another American star that wore No. 34 for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Twenty years ago, on March 11, 2000, his life changed forever and a promising career was compromised in an instant.
Bryan Berard was a dynamic defenseman, drafted first overall in 1995, he won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year after his first season. Just days after turning 23, and on the rise, an errant shot attempt permanently blinded him, but his story didn't end, or begin, with this horrific injury.
Along with Jim Lang, Berard released his memoir titled Relentless - My Life in Hockey and the Power of Perseverance, which chronicles his emergence as the Rocket from Woonsocket, through a remarkable return to the game he loved.
Join us as he recounts his tale of family, fate, fraud and fortitude.
Wednesday Mar 04, 2020
Wednesday Mar 04, 2020
It’s a first! We cover a children’s book. Put your preconceptions aside, because although The Ice Chips series is aimed at kids, the historical and contemporary themes carry a weight that people from all ages and walks of life can appreciate.
So, who created this ongoing tale of a diverse time-traveling minor hockey team? Prolific Canadian journalist/author Roy MacGregor (O.C. - 2005, Hockey Hall of Fame - 2012) and his daughter Kerry.
With the fourth installment just released in February (The Ice Chips and the Stolen Cup), Roy spoke with us over the phone from his home in Ottawa, about this project, classic material, as well as the state of sports media.