My Indelible Bobby Hull Moment

TORONTO (Jan. 30) — If you were a young hockey fan in the 1960’s or 70’s, chances are you have a story about Bobby Hull. Perhaps even an autograph from the Golden Jet; among tens of thousands that he signed.… Read More

Henderson To Ballard: “Shove It!”

TORONTO (Jan. 28) — Unexpectedly, Paul Henderson beat me to the question. “Did you watch the Ballard documentary last night?” asked the man who scored, more than 50 years ago, the most–famous goal in hockey. I had deliberated raising the… Read More

Steve Stavro’s Bare Ass

TORONTO (Jan. 25) — Stories. Oh so many. And, they keep coming back when I reflect on my 23 years in radio. Such as the trip to Tokyo in September 1990 to cover the 96th Session of the International Olympic… Read More

The Leafs Have A Wild Card

TORONTO (Jan. 22) — There has been nothing overly special about the Toronto Maple Leafs during the past six weeks. Since mid–December, when the club sported a gaudy 19–5–6 record, it has built a rather pedestrian 9–6–2 mark in 17… Read More

TSN Pioneered Broadcast Inclusion

TORONTO (Jan. 20) — From its earliest days in the middle–1980’s as Canada’s first all–sports television network, TSN has valued the presence of female voices. This may be disputed by Sheri Forde and Natasha Staniszewski, both of whom, in recent… Read More

The Forbidden Leafs Angle

TORONTO (Jan. 15) — Here are words you will neither read nor hear from any person in the mainstream Toronto media: Auston Matthews is not performing nearly as well as he did last season. This is sacrilege; an opinion that… Read More

The Matthews–Marner Conundrum

TORONTO (Jan. 12) — Less than six months from now looms one of the most–compelling dates in the modern history of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Or, so it appears. Whether July 1, 2023 becomes such a colossus will be determined… Read More

How To Become a Leafs Reporter

TORONTO (Jan. 10) — While chatting with a fellow worker the other day, I recalled some of the youthful escapades that directed me toward covering the Toronto Maple Leafs for 17 years at The FAN–590, Canada’s first all–sports radio station.… Read More

Leafs Still Lack A Fulcrum

TORONTO (Jan. 7) — No one debates the skill. Or, on most nights, the resolve. Proof is in the formidable ledger of the Toronto Maple Leafs nearing the midway mark of the 2022–23 National Hockey League schedule: Over the past… Read More

Carrying the ‘C’–Word Into 2023

***NOTE: THIS BLOG WAS WRITTEN AND POSTED BEFORE THE DREADFUL SCENE ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD TONIGHT IN CINCINNATI. PERSPECTIVE ENTERED THE PRO SPORTS WORLD. PRAYERS FOR DAMAR HAMLIN OF THE BUFFALO BILLS. IT’S POSSIBLE HE SUFFERED FROM THIS RARE AILMEMT:… Read More

Half–a–Decade At Benjamin’s

TORONTO (Dec. 30) — I recently passed the five–year anniversary of my second career, as a funeral director’s assistant at Benjamin’s Park Memorial Chapel, a century–old family business on Steeles Ave., north of the city. You can likely imagine it… Read More

Burke Was Last of the Mohicans

TORONTO (Dec. 27) — Once upon a time, and for a long time, there was fiery, unfiltered opinion about hockey on Canadian television. That custom teetered the day Don Cherry was ousted by Rogers Communications (Nov. 11, 2019) and all–but… Read More

The Greatest Team — Ever?

TORONTO (Dec. 24) — With the National Hockey League pausing for the Christmas holiday break, there’s a potentially remarkable development at the top of the overall standings. And, it might include the Toronto Maple Leafs. Right now, it features the… Read More

The Sickest Industry

TORONTO (Dec. 22) — How heartening that Bell Media, in collective sincerity, “disciplined” another of its luminaries this week. Michael Melling, it was announced, would not return as an executive of CTV News. The former head of that division went… Read More

Eighteen Years… Three Sounds

TORONTO (Dec. 17) — I spent part of this morning watching a 90–minute documentary on the 1994 New York Rangers, the club that ended a 54–year Stanley Cup drought for Gotham. It brought to mind the privilege of being at… Read More

The Apathy of Success

TORONTO (Dec. 15) — It is so quiet right now in Leafs Land, you can hear a puck drop. The happy heroes of Hogtown have lost but one game in regulation over the past 34 nights. They stand third in… Read More

My Dave Keon Disappointment

TORONTO (Dec. 13) — While recalling, for this website, the life (and death) of Maple Leafs legend Borje Salming, I received near–unanimous cooperation from those who knew him best. Particularly, former teammates Darryl Sittler, Dave (Tiger) Williams, Ian Turnbull and… Read More

Have The Leafs Been Better Since ’67?

TORONTO (Dec. 10) — In the years since they last won the Stanley Cup, and though not returning to the championship round of the National Hockey League, the Toronto Maple Leafs have strung together a number of winning and undefeated… Read More