The weekend kicked off Friday evening with the 5th Annual Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Dinner & Auction at the Delta Regina. The featured guests were New Islanders legends (from left): Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies. All are four-time Stanley Cup champions and members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Friday night was the first time this famed line has appeared in public together in almost 20 years.
The pride of Moose Jaw, Clark Gillies, was also a member of the 1974 Memorial Cup champion Regina Pats. He’s one of my all-time favourite people and he flew in from Long Island just for the event…
What a thrill it was to emcee the function and moderate the Q & A. It dawned on me again Friday night how lucky I am to get to do these things and meet these sports greats…
I have to admit I hadn’t heard great things about Mike Bossy but he was first-class and was very funny. In the photo above, “Boss” is describing how legendary Islanders goalie Billy Smith used to wash under his toupee in the locker room shower!
Our photographer Chris “Big Red” Harris from CKRM did a great job of capturing Friday’s best moments. In this shot, Bossy revealed he wasn’t much of a partier during his junior days. Clark Gillies responded with “I was!”
Canadian Senator Denise Batters of Regina is a lifelong Islanders fan and brought along this photo from 1985. She won a contest as an Islanders fan to go on a cruise with the team. From left: Bob Nystrom, Pat Lafontaine, John Tonelli, Batters, Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier, Islanders play-by-play man Jiggs MacDonald and Ken Morrow.
Senator Batters even provided me with a list of questions for the Q & A because, as I told the guys, “I like the Islanders but I don’t love the Islanders”. She agreed and they laughed.
Other celebrities on hand to be auctioned off for dinner were Matt Dominguez, Mike McCullough, Neal Hughes and three-time Canadian Olympian rower Rachelle Viinberg…
More celebrities: Don Narcisse, Fred Sasakamoose and the Tornado Hunter, Greg Johnson. Freddy is from Canwood, SK and was the first aboriginal NHL player. I said to him there have been lots since to which Fred replied, “But none were right off the reserve like me!”
We broadcast the SportsCage live on Friday from the Delta and it was a thrill to have Clark and Bryan drop by. Former Islanders teammate Bob Bourne said Bryan Trottier is, “the greatest human being I’ve ever met”. After meeting him for the first time, I’d have to agree.
Fast forward to Saturday night and here’s a shot of the 22nd Annual Moose Jaw Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Dinner at the Heritage Inn.
The keynote speaker was NHL great and Hockey Hall of Famer Doug Gilmour.
Rider defensive end John Chick was one of the guest speakers…
Rider receiver Geroy Simon spoke as well and here he gets some pins from a Snowbird. Geroy went up in a jet on Friday afternoon at CFB Moose Jaw…
The MC Saturday night was Scott Morrison. He was fabulous. I told him it was the funniest presentation ever given by a hockey writer. He’s now an executive producer of hockey at Rogers Sportsnet.
Roughrider rookie of the year Levi Steinhauer was honoured as Moose Jaw’s Athlete of the Year.
Three-time World Series champion and Blue Jays great Devon White knocked his speech out of the park. More on that below….
You’ve got to be impressed by this story. Regina’s Trevor Lakness (right) has waited since 1993 to meet his idol Doug Gilmour. Saturday night they made it happen and they posed for this shot.
The weekend wrapped up with the SportsCage Super Bowl party at the Four Seasons Sports Palace Sunday evening Way to go SEAHAWKS!
GREAT WEEKEND!
***
NOTES & QUOTES
* BOSSY: Where to start with all the fantastic stories these guys shared?! All the Islanders agreed their first Stanley Cup championship, against Philadelphia in 1980, was their most-cherished. Bob Nystrom scored the Cup-clinching goal at 7:11 of overtime. Speaking of the Broad Street Bullies, Bossy said, “They had guys nicknamed Hammer, Battleship and Moose. And those were their nice guys!”
Former Regina Pat Kurt Wickenheiser was in the crowd and asked who, pound-for-pound, was the toughest player they ever faced. Bossy said, “I tried to stay away from the tough guys.” Bossy made no secret of the fact he was all about finesse and not much else.
He also joked that during his second NHL campaign he scored 69 goals while playing for $65,000/season. “You’ve heard of golfing your age?” Bossy said. “I scored my salary.”
Unless I read him wrong, he seems like a real engaging guy.
* AMAZING: Did you know 16 players were on all four straight Stanley Cup Islander championship teams? Netherhill, SK’s Bob Bourne was one of them but I learned last week he’s lost two of his four Stanley Cup rings.
* GILLIES: You had to be a pretty hardcore hockey fan to really enjoy Friday’s presentation. I asked Bossy and Gillies about using Titan sticks and they spent 10 minutes each talking about switching from Sherwood to Titan! Clark said, “Titan sticks were so great you could walk into a bar with one and walk out with a chick. They were that cool!”
Gillies almost needed to be helped onto the stage and admitted he’s had both knees replaced in the last little while. “You can wipe your tears away from crying for me now,” Gillies chuckled to the crowd.
Clark will be back in town this spring for the 40-year reunion of the ’74 Pats Memorial Cup team. “I’ll start wringing out my liver now,” Gillies quipped. “Amazingly everybody’s still alive from that team but I figure we’ll lose a couple that reunion weekend.”
* TROTTIER: Despite winning SEVEN Stanley Cups (six as a player, one as a coach), Bryan Trottier spoke less of a his accomplishments and more about his upbringing in Val Marie, SK in a Metis family. He makes his home in Pittsburgh now but you wouldn’t now it. Like his best friend Tiger Williams, he showed up in cowboy boots.
Everybody wants to know what it was like for the Islanders to face the upstart Edmonton Oilers in back-to-back Stanley Cup finals. Bryan said it was like sitting on a keg of dynamite, knowing the Oilers were about to explode at any second. They swept them in 1983 to win the Stanley Cup but lost to the Oilers in 1984.
* SOUR GRAPES: Gillies used that term referring to the 1984 Stanley Cup final. He said the NHL switched to a 2-3-2 format for the Stanley Cup final just before the series, which greatly favoured the younger Oilers. Clark figures the NHL did it because they didn’t want New York to tie the Montreal Canadiens’ record of five straight Stanley Cup championships. Trottier agreed and said he needles Oiler alumni about it all the time.
TO MOOSE JAW
* CHICK: Saturday’s event was great because I got to sit in the crowd as a guest of Molson/Coors and enjoy the entertainment. John Chick was rattled as he spent two days trying to get from Florida to Moose Jaw due to storms in the USA. However his speech was great, as always, and he joked to teammate Levi Steinhauer, “You never should have let us know you played for a team called the Peacocks!”
John also made no secret of thoughts on Henry Burris saying, “Just my luck there was no one else I would rather face in the Grey Cup than Henry Burris. I seem to come free against that guy more than anybody else!”
Chick spoke about growing up in Gillette, Wyoming and how people there don’t believe anyone could grow up and make anything of themselves but “I had a dream”. John’s philosophy in life is “Believe, know what you want, and go get it”.
He spoke for about 10 minutes, muttered that he wishes he was funnier, and then sat down to a standing ovation. He was great.
* GEROY: Superman seems at home in front of a microphone as much he does on the football field. I decided most of what Geroy said will stay in the room (regarding his departure from the BC Lions) but he had a lot of other funny stories.
Regarding the October 26 sideline blow-up between Kory Sheets and offensive coordinator George Cortez in Calgary, Geroy recalled, “I got a lot of credit for diffusing the situation and everybody said afterwards ‘What did you say to Kory to get him to calm down?’ I said, ‘Kory, calm down!'”
Looking back, Simon realized the Riders traded for him as much because of his leadership rather than due to his skills on the field. He said he helped recruit free agents Ricky Foley, Weldon Brown and Dwight Anderson and also, “finally convinced John Chick to leave that other league”.
Finally Simon noted that when he arrived in Regina he felt that the attitude around town was that “we hope to win the Grey Cup” but hopes he’s turned the attitude to “we expect to win the Grey Cup”.
His most impressive comment, in my opinion, was “We’re about winning and nothing else”.
* “DEVO”: I came to see Doug Gilmour but came away equally impressed by Blue Jays great Devon White. He helped the Jays to the 1992 and 1993 World Series titles and I was sad when he left but he was able to capture another championship with the Florida Marlins.
One thing I take away from these baseball greats is how BIG they are. On average, they’re far bigger than hockey players. White’s speech was fine but it really got going when he invited questions from the crowd. And the #1 topic facing the MLB right now is steroids.
“You really want me to talk about that?” White quizzed. “First off, Joe Carter, Robby Alomar, Devon White, the core of the Toronto Blue Jays, we did it the right way. There were guys I idolized but when I found out they were on (steroids), it was letdown. Just like the fans. But baseball knew it was going on, and allowed it in order to bring the game’s popularity back.”
Regarding the current state of the Blue Jays, White said, “I spent five years in Toronto and we took for granted that we played in front of 50,000 every night. Now we go to the stadium and there’s all these empty seats. We’re like, ‘what happened?'”
* “KILLER”: These guys were all awesome but most everybody showed up to see Dougie Gilmour, the pride of Kingston, Ontario, and he didn’t disappoint in his 20 minute address. Here are some notes:
– Don Cherry has always made a big deal out of Gilmour because they’re from the same hometown but Doug admitted, “It’s only because Grapes went to school with both my parents!”
– St. Louis Blues captain Brian Sutter gave Gilmour his nickname “Killer” because he was a skinny little punk with a mullet who reminded him of Charles Manson.
– He took some questions from the crowd but said, “Don’t ask me about Gretzky”. That was the end of that. We all know to what he’s referring.
– Gilmour won a Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989 but ended on bad terms with that franchise. He chose to earn $30,000 with the Canadian mens team rather than $600,000 with the Flames if GM Doug Riseborough didn’t want him any longer. Shortly thereafter he was the featured player in a 10-player swap with Toronto. He still holds the Leafs single-season points record which he still feels is odd since he grew up as a defenceman until the pro’s.
– Doug is currently the GM of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs and took some heat this year for trading his son. However he said, “He’s got to do it on his own”.
* WELL DONE: That dinner in Moose Jaw was amazing. It was a SHOW! Hopefully we’ll be able to attend in the years ahead and THANK YOU MOLSON for having me as your guest.
—
The one thing I took away from the weekend is that Henry Burris is fielding offers from the Eskimos, Bombers, REDBLACKS and the Alouettes. Expect Hank to sign with Ottawa.
—
That’s all for this week. On Tuesday I’m headed out of the country so blog updates will be sporadic but you’ll still get all the key information here.
Why leave anything in the room? If Geroy spoke about something in front of dozens of people then what's the danger in posting it on a blog?
Anonymous
10 years ago
Mike McCullough was a busy man with you on Friday then with the Grey Cup at the Bronco game in Speedy Creek on Saturday. He was joined by Diamond Ferri, Jaj Smith, Dan Clark, Jordan Cisco and Gainer. The guys were great. I'm old enough to remember Freddie Sasakamoose playing and he was unbelievable should be in every hall of fame there is.
Old Cuss
Anonymous
10 years ago
Hi Rod; Graham DeLaet had a $545,000 weekend also.
dewey
10 years ago
gr8 photo-blog roddy! when u leave the country,kindly take the virtue squad with u….n kindly leave em there when u return!!…those hoods r an EMBARRASSMENT to the sport,n more importantly,this GR8 province!! r u still supportin these delinquents…..so glad laycock won!!!
Anonymous
10 years ago
What a great post! Loved the photos and stories.
Are you doing Sportscage tonight or are you officially on V?
Will be on the air today at 4 pm. Thank you my friend.
RP
Anonymous
10 years ago
Great pictures and stories from both events. Can't blame Gilmour for still being bitter about that blown call where Gretzky should have been thrown in the box, yet he goes and scores the OT winner right after that. The Flames sure screwed up when they let him leave; Theo Fleury expressed his disappointment in management for it in his book. That's just how it goes I guess.
Have a great vacation Roddy.
Rex
Anonymous
10 years ago
Next up: the 54th Annual Saskatoon Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Dinner featuring Bobby Orr – Friday February 7th.
It's great we can attract all the talent to the province for these events in all the cities.
Anonymous
10 years ago
Absolutely. These athletes know how much effort this province puts into fundraising and therefore they are more than happy to make themselves available to be here for it. Then on top of that, all the smaller Kinsmen and Kinette clubs across SK going all out to raise as much money for Telemiracle as they can leads to an incredible amount of money that stays right here at home.
If the Roughriders are one thing that unites everyone in this province, Telemiracle is another. Bobby Hull and George Reed were part of the very first one actually. It's up on YouTube.
Anonymous
10 years ago
Thank god they held the dinner in regina and not saskatoon! Regina is a true sports down with championships and solid attendance for events like these to boot! saskatoon is always such a disappointment when it comes to ticket sales, fan support, etc.
On behalf of coherent people all across this province I wish to extend the following statement. Nice try cupcake! Give it a rest!!!! Really!!
Anonymous
10 years ago
Hey genius, Saskatoon's Kinsmen sports dinner is already sold out. Get a grip. Why does there always have to be city-bashing around here.
Anonymous
10 years ago
Devo Killer THE Boss Trotz Clark The Polecat Bourny Narco Chick
What a lineup – well done Saskatchewan! Word has it that Lanny is coming this spring too.
Anonymous
10 years ago
Great blog with photo's…Lots of memories and a million stories. Jealous.
Kevin Gallant
Anonymous
10 years ago
Yep, Graham DeLaet had a $545,000 weekend and now has almost $1,000,000 in last two tourneys.
Not too bad for a kid from Weyburn
Anonymous
10 years ago
@Kevin Gallant,
Why back in the day when you were doing Play by Play were the Pats "it" in Regina? Why do they struggle so much today?
Anonymous
10 years ago
DaLaet is awesome but he's no champion though! Wanna meet a champion or two (hundred thousand) come on up to Regina the city of champions baby!!!!!
Anonymous
10 years ago
I have never understood grown men getting pictures taken with other grown men they do not know…..lol
As for Brian Trottier bveing a great human being, if you knew his mom Mary, you would understand. A saint.
Looks like a great night. Fred Sasakamoose is a wonderful man.
Riders need to implement a sportscoat and tie policy for their players in certain events. No offence, but, it is only right.
Finally, for every first nations kid who has made it, there have been 100 get totally screwed or ignored.
You do a great job at this stuff Rod!
Anonymous
10 years ago
Hey Roddy, I am sure you will publish dates for the 40th reunion. I was playing my last year of bantam that year, had Pats season tickets and never missed a game. Also, would love to bring my stick. I have to this day a Victoriaville stick signed by all players of the '74 Pats. It would be great to have on hand and get some updated signatures.
Anonymous
10 years ago
Getting pictures are you serious? Rod had a picture of him with Ron Jeremy a couple years ago. That's a once in a lifetime opportunity share with the world.
Anonymous
10 years ago
Killer and Lakness look like they just got in from a cross country killing spree in that picture. If I am wrong, tell me……
Why leave anything in the room? If Geroy spoke about something in front of dozens of people then what's the danger in posting it on a blog?
Mike McCullough was a busy man with you on Friday then with the Grey Cup at the Bronco game in Speedy Creek on Saturday. He was joined by Diamond Ferri, Jaj Smith, Dan Clark, Jordan Cisco and Gainer. The guys were great.
I'm old enough to remember Freddie Sasakamoose playing and he was unbelievable should be in every hall of fame there is.
Old Cuss
Hi Rod; Graham DeLaet had a $545,000 weekend also.
gr8 photo-blog roddy! when u leave the country,kindly take the virtue squad with u….n kindly leave em there when u return!!…those hoods r an EMBARRASSMENT to the sport,n more importantly,this GR8 province!! r u still supportin these delinquents…..so glad laycock won!!!
What a great post! Loved the photos and stories.
Are you doing Sportscage tonight or are you officially on V?
Best …
Will be on the air today at 4 pm. Thank you my friend.
RP
Great pictures and stories from both events. Can't blame Gilmour for still being bitter about that blown call where Gretzky should have been thrown in the box, yet he goes and scores the OT winner right after that. The Flames sure screwed up when they let him leave; Theo Fleury expressed his disappointment in management for it in his book. That's just how it goes I guess.
Have a great vacation Roddy.
Rex
Next up: the 54th Annual Saskatoon Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Dinner featuring Bobby Orr – Friday February 7th.
It's great we can attract all the talent to the province for these events in all the cities.
Absolutely. These athletes know how much effort this province puts into fundraising and therefore they are more than happy to make themselves available to be here for it. Then on top of that, all the smaller Kinsmen and Kinette clubs across SK going all out to raise as much money for Telemiracle as they can leads to an incredible amount of money that stays right here at home.
If the Roughriders are one thing that unites everyone in this province, Telemiracle is another. Bobby Hull and George Reed were part of the very first one actually. It's up on YouTube.
Thank god they held the dinner in regina and not saskatoon! Regina is a true sports down with championships and solid attendance for events like these to boot! saskatoon is always such a disappointment when it comes to ticket sales, fan support, etc.
Hey Wilbur, long time no see. When did you get out?
On behalf of coherent people all across this province I wish to extend the following statement.
Nice try cupcake!
Give it a rest!!!!
Really!!
Hey genius, Saskatoon's Kinsmen sports dinner is already sold out. Get a grip. Why does there always have to be city-bashing around here.
Devo
Killer
THE Boss
Trotz
Clark
The Polecat
Bourny
Narco
Chick
What a lineup – well done Saskatchewan! Word has it that Lanny is coming this spring too.
Great blog with photo's…Lots of memories and a million stories.
Jealous.
Kevin Gallant
Yep, Graham DeLaet had a $545,000 weekend and now has almost $1,000,000 in last two tourneys.
Not too bad for a kid from Weyburn
@Kevin Gallant,
Why back in the day when you were doing Play by Play were the Pats "it" in Regina? Why do they struggle so much today?
DaLaet is awesome but he's no champion though! Wanna meet a champion or two (hundred thousand) come on up to Regina the city of champions baby!!!!!
I have never understood grown men getting pictures taken with other grown men they do not know…..lol
As for Brian Trottier bveing a great human being, if you knew his mom Mary, you would understand. A saint.
Looks like a great night. Fred Sasakamoose is a wonderful man.
Riders need to implement a sportscoat and tie policy for their players in certain events. No offence, but, it is only right.
Finally, for every first nations kid who has made it, there have been 100 get totally screwed or ignored.
You do a great job at this stuff Rod!
Hey Roddy, I am sure you will publish dates for the 40th reunion. I was playing my last year of bantam that year, had Pats season tickets and never missed a game. Also, would love to bring my stick. I have to this day a Victoriaville stick signed by all players of the '74 Pats. It would be great to have on hand and get some updated signatures.
Getting pictures are you serious? Rod had a picture of him with Ron Jeremy a couple years ago. That's a once in a lifetime opportunity share with the world.
Killer and Lakness look like they just got in from a cross country killing spree in that picture. If I am wrong, tell me……
wow