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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
Thursday Apr 04, 2019
Thursday Apr 04, 2019
Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth were like extended family for Toronto Blue Jays fans, all you have to do is mention their first names, and people in Canada know exactly who you are referring too.
From 1982-2004, the duo broadcasted the sights and sounds of Major League Baseball into cars, garages, workplaces and homes across the country via radio and later, the internet.
When a cancer diagnosis forced Cheek to vacate the booth permanently 15 years ago, Jerry Howarth continued to call games until a surprise retirement announcement in Feb. 2018.
Now he revisits his journey, from growing up in California to becoming the renowned voice of the Blue Jays for 36 years, in a new book aptly titled: Hello Friends!: Stories from My Life and Blue Jays Baseball.
Listen as he discusses what influenced his style, broadcasting two historic World Series runs in 1992 and 1993, and the evolution of the Jays fanbase, plus a blow-by-blow account of an unprecedented 53-minute 7th inning, in Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS …. From Bobby Cox to Jose Bautista and everything in between, our conversation with Howarth gives insight into how he did, and still continues to, touch us all.
Wednesday Mar 20, 2019
Wednesday Mar 20, 2019
His name is so obscure, it doesn’t even grace the title of a new book about him. Even if author Mark Hebscher included George Washington Orton in the title, would you know who he was?
Orton is Canada’s first ever Olympic medallist, reaching the podium with bronze in hurdles and then winning gold in steeplechase at the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris. For decades, what should have been a celebrated Canadian achievement, was essentially lost to history. Erroneously, his medals were credited to the U.S. as he was enrolled with the University of Pennsylvania and thus based in Philadelphia.
It took 70 years, before the International Olympic Committee corrected their books. By then, Orton’s accomplishment had faded in time.
A trivia question based on Orton’s feat sparked Hebscher to investigate and subsequently uncover more about this dynamic man born in Strathroy, Ontario, six years after Confederation. The result is The Greatest Athlete (you’ve never heard of) - Canada’s First Olympic Gold Medallist.
Hebscher is most recognizable for his 11 year run at Global’s SportsLine from 1984-1995 where he and Jim Tatti entertained viewers with their unique brand of humour and insight in the early days of sports highlight shows.
The father of the legendary Hebsy awards, now hosts his own podcast, Hebsy On Sports.
Please join us for a conversation about a true Canadian trailblazer - George Washington Orton
Wednesday Dec 05, 2018
Wednesday Dec 05, 2018
In our final episode of season 2, Phil Lind (Vice-Chair, Rogers Communications Inc.) and author Robert (Bob) Brehl step into the arena to discuss Right Hand Man - How Phil Lind Guided the Genius of Ted Rogers, Canada's Foremost Entrepreneur (Barlow Books).
What does this have to do with sports?
Well, quite a bit.
Lind was in lockstep with Rogers for the purchase of the Toronto Blue Jays 18 years ago, establishing Sportsnet in 1998 to rival TSN, as well as spearheading the Bills Toronto Series, which brought regular season NFL games to Toronto from 2008-2013.
Hear Lind and Brehl share their thoughts regarding these subjects and more on SportsLit.
Friday Nov 30, 2018
Friday Nov 30, 2018
Think all we cover are books about hockey? Well, given this market, you wouldn't be entirely wrong.
With that in mind, it's a pleasure to announce that in our latest episode, Glenn Stout (Series Editor - Best American Sports Writing, author - Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year) joins us via phone to converse about his latest release - Pats: An Illustrated History of the New England Patriots (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
Written with co-author Richard A. Johnson (Curator - The Sports Museum of New England), Pats is a meticulously crafted history of a team that has been in existence since Billy Sullivan was awarded an AFL franchise in 1959.
Go beyond nearly two decades of success with the triumvirate of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Bob Kraft, back to Bill Parcells turning the tide, and then further into history where futility and near- misses preceded it all.
From Gillette Stadium to Nickerson Field, welcome to our conversation with Stout about the full story of a franchise that many love and plenty loath.
Wednesday Nov 21, 2018
Wednesday Nov 21, 2018
The 1992-93 Campbell Conference Final was riveting. 7 games in all, the series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings had all the elements of high drama.
In his new book, The Last Good Year (Viking / Penguin Random House), veteran sportswriter Damien Cox (Toronto Star, Sportsnet) revisits the events that took place on and off the ice a quarter-century after he covered them as a beat writer.
Marty McSorley slugging it out with Wendel Clark.
Pat Burns’ hot pursuit toward Barry Melrose.
Don Cherry kissing Doug Gilmour on the cheek.
Glenn Anderson’s OT winner.
Game 6, Kerry Fraser, a high stick and a non-call, followed by “the best game” of Wayne Gretzky’s career two nights later at Maple Leaf Gardens.
It’s all there, presented under the overarching theme that what transpired eventually marked a dividing line. The game was about to change under a newly hired commissioner and those 13 nights in May, define a now by-gone era.
Lend us your ears for a conversation with Cox about what unfolded 25 years ago, that for so many, is as vivid as yesterday.
Saturday Nov 17, 2018
Saturday Nov 17, 2018
Down Goes Brown injects a shot of humour directly into the NHL's funny bone.
Emerging from the blogosphere to the forefront of hockey coverage, Sean McIndoe (as he is also known) employs his perspective developed as an outsider to present a hilarious take on the often flawed history of the league in The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL (Penguin Random House Canada).
In 272 pages, McIndoe (The Athletic NHL) lays bare "the world’s most beautiful sport, the world’s most ridiculous league", from the impractical to preposterous, deconstructing myths and uncovering mind wilting gems along the way.
Even if you thought you knew it all, Down Goes Brown has another thing coming, find out more on the latest episode of SportsLit.
Wednesday Nov 07, 2018
Wednesday Nov 07, 2018
When you think of Johnny Bower, what comes to mind?
A loveable, charitable, kind man, who could be the archetype of the perfect grandfather?
Goaltender extraordinaire, playing at the highest level into middle age during the NHL's golden era?
All true, as is evident in best-selling author Dan Robson's new book about the legendary Toronto Maple Leafs netminder, but there is also more.
What was his original last name? Why did he change it? Where did he learn his patented poke-check?
Not every question has a direct answer, but Robson (The Athletic) provides layers to Bower’s story by examining his motivations, conveying the depth of his relationships and exploring his roots and familial ties.
SportsLit welcomes Robson back to the show for a conversation about his recent release, Bower: A Legendary Life (HarperCollins).
Wednesday Oct 31, 2018
Wednesday Oct 31, 2018
As hockey continues to evolve, so to do the people within the game, and those surrounding it.
Everyday Hockey Heroes: Inspiring Stories On and Off the Ice (Simon and Schuster) highlights individuals who have triumphed over adversity, overcome great odds and blazed new trails.
From household names like Wayne Simmonds (Philadelphia Flyers) and Andi Petrillo (TSN) to those who go about their lives far away from the spotlight, veteran broadcasters / writers Jim Lang (105.9 The Region, formerly Sportsnet) and Bob McKenzie (TSN) uncover uplifting stories from across Canada which are told in first person narrative.
SportsLit is pleased to have Lang join the program to converse about his latest release.
Thursday Oct 25, 2018
Thursday Oct 25, 2018
Come On You Reds!
For fans of TFC, uttering those words must have rung hollow through much of the club's existence.
The organization appeared to be constantly resetting, apathy was setting in.
Where had the joy of being a shiny new franchise gone?
Eventually they did get it right and won the MLS Cup in 2017.
Joshua Kloke (The Athletic Toronto) chronicles their story from inception in 2005, through the worst years, to the title run, in his latest book: Come On You Reds - The Story of Toronto FC (Dundurn Press).
He joins SportsLit to discuss his new release.
Thursday Oct 04, 2018
Thursday Oct 04, 2018
When Ken Reid (Sportsnet Central) is not busy doing TV, or raising his young family, he is collecting hockey cards and moreover, writing about them.
In 2014, he released Hockey Card Stories: True Tales from Your Favourite Players - which was a Canadian best seller, since then he has released two other books (One Night Only: Conversations with the NHL’s One-Game wonders & Dennis Maruk: The Unforgettable Story of Hockey’s Forgotten 60-Goal Man).
Now he is back with Hockey Card Stories 2, where he reveals more true tales from NHLers like Doug Gilmour, Guy Lafleur and “The Great One”, Wayne Gretzky.
SportsLit is pleased that Ken Reid returned to discuss his latest work, listen in to find out more about the hobby itself as well as the stories behind the stories about your favourite hockey cards.