Todays post is …well….short…I had lunch with an old friend yesterday …who’s a sports reporter with the Regina Leader Post…Murray McCormick…He loves the Italian food in the Soo…and Jason Bell who’s with the Winnipeg Free Press…They flew home last night…I took my daughter to her piano lesson at Thomas Walls later in the afternoon…Walked my dog after supper…and went to bed early…I know what you’re thinking…This is the most exciting thing I’ve ever read!!!…Well…I live on the edge…and it gets better…This morning I got up…Had a shower…Drove to work…Saw a fox sitting in the middle of Second Line by Strathclaire…just staring at me as I drove by..but not moving…My guess…It was injured..Called the police and told them about it…I hope it made it…Did my show…Wrote this…and am now going to prepare Solid Gold Saturday Night for this weekend…So now it’s time for you to calm down…Settle the heart a little and go back to what you were doing…which I figure is at least as interesting…likely more so… than my last 24 hours…And do you know what the funny thing is about all this?…No …Me neither….anyway…See you on the radio…

Full Story

After 6 years of planning and hard work…it’s over…The Scotties Tournament of Hearts has come and gone…with…I’d have to say…”The Queen of Curling” Jennifer Jones and her Team Canada Rink taking a third straight title after a hard fought come from behind 8-7 win over Sandra O’Roarke’s Rink from PEI…What a great 9 days…What fun it was…What fine ambassadors for the sport the competitors were…What a fine job the committee did in hosting it…and to all 450 volunteers…way to go…and to Sandra Randa and Tom Coulterman…who came up with the idea to host it back in 2004……good thinking…I’ll likely never have an idea as good as that one…if I live to be 100…I was proud to be from the Soo and have become a big fan of womens curling…Heck…curling in general…I’ll be watching the Briar…Worlds… and the Olympic curling with great interest…Bon Soo is underway…lots of activities for the whole family…get your Carnival button for entrance to dozens of events…Thanks to Rob and Anne Garofolo …and son Mathew… for inviting me to their house to watch the SuperBowl…Teresa Little and Tony Zappacosta were there too…They were my travel companions to Sandals in the Bahamas last month…Great people all…Teresa..Thanks for the group shot…You guys look great…Me?…I think I should lose a couple of pounds…and…congrats to the Linda’s Pet Grooming indoor soccer team…of which my daughter Sam is a member…Two games this weekend…Two wins…I think they’re peaking at the right time..I hope so anyway…That my story today…See you tommorrow…on the radio… 

Full Story

Hey…We’re headed towards the weekend…and the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Championship…How about that Team Canada/ Ontario game that wrapped up draw 16 and the Round Robin last night….Team Canada prevailed 6-5… thanks in no small part to the play of T.C. Skip Jennifer Jones…She must have ice in her veins ..making several precise and key shots to help ensure the win under a ton of pressure…and…she’s a really lovely person to boot…Even though I kind of wanted to see our Team Ontario win it…I wasn’t too dissappointed with the outcome…They could meet again…So… now that the round robin is over here’s the way the playoffs shake down…This afternoon at 3:00 Team Ontario…which finished 4th plays a tiebreaker against the other 4th place team…Manitoba…Tonight at 7:30 the first and second place teams…PEI and Canada face off…The winner goes directly to Sunday afternoons final…Saturday afternoon at 1:00 …third place B.C. plays the winner of todays tiebreaker…being a homer…I’d love to see Ontario as the opponent…Saturday night…7:00… The loser of the first and second place game plays in a semi final against the winner of the 1:00 game …Then whoever survives that… heads to Sunday afternoon’s final at 2:30… Have you got all that?…Bottom line…It’s a big advantage to finish the Round Robin in first or second spot…You either advance to the final after one playoff win ..or get a second chance to make it the hard way…Playoff tickets are $25.00…$30.00 for the Final…You can get yours at the Essar Centre Box Office…The Heart Stop lounge is also  hopping  this weekend…Tonight Super Freak entertains…Tomorrow evening it’s Rock Star Live…Admission is free…Check out James Warner Smith live from “The Lounge” this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon from 3:00 until 7:00 on EZ Rock….He’ll have the full scoop on everything Scotties….Walmart celebrates the Grand Opening of it’s (now) Superstore tomorrow morning…I’ll be broadcasting live there tomorrow from 9a-1p…Tomorrow night at 6:00 I hope you can join me for Solid Gold Saturday Night on EZ Rock…6 hours of classics from the 60’s and 70’s…Sunday morning…It’s soccer with my daughter…Go Sammi…She’s playing against my boss Scott Sexsmith’s daughter Lindsay…We’ve promised not to embarrass the kids by yelling too loud or fighting in the bleachers…(He’s afraid of me anyway)…So…Have a great weekend…Be safe…and I’ll see you Monday…on the radio…

Full Story

The first thing I’d like to mention is how proud I am of my daughter Sam…She did a great job on her speech yesterday in front of her school and guests…Actually…she makes me proud on a regular basis…and..Congrats to all the kids at Tarentorus for doing a good job…Today is the final day of round robin play at the Scotties…Draws are at 10:30…3:00…7:30…I think the game most want to see is the Team Canada/Ontario match at 7:30…Tickets for round robin play are $20.00…Playoffs…$25.00….The Final….$30.00….Tickets are still available for all games…although I have heard the final is getting close to selling out….but not yet…There is much to be decided with todays play…PEI is on top at 7-2…followed by Ontario…Canada…Manitoba at 6-3…. BC and Saskatchewan are at 5-4…As I write this…all are still in the hunt…Admission to the Heart Stop Lounge at Soo Curlers is free for the rest of the Spiel..Tonight it’s the Dirty Little Swing Band performing…EZ Rock’s James Warner Smith will be doing his show from the Heart Stop from 3-7 this afternoon, tomorrow afternoon and Saturday afternoon…At some point…for me…Go by and moon him when he’s talking…He’d like that…ok…maybe not…One traffic note this morning….Hwy 17 east of Nairn Centre is down to one lane due to the environmental clean up taking place because of Tuesday’s fatal accident…Work should be completed by supper time… That’s the view from my post….See you on the radio…

Full Story

It’s a Quickie today…because today I’m off to see my daughter Sam do her oral presentation at school…She’s speaking in front of the school and guests…She’s so much better at public speaking than I was at that age…I think her Mom might be worried about her choosing broadcasting as a career…So far it’s teaching…and we’re good with that…A couple of Scotties Tournament of Hearts notes…The draws start one hour earlier than usual today…at 9:30…2:00 and 6:30…The reason…TSN is showing hockey after the 3rd draw…Tickets are available for…ALL DRAWS…That’s….ALL DRAWS…$20.00 for the round robin…$25.00 for the playoffs…and $30.00 for the final on Sunday…and don’t forget Russ Howard will be at Coles tonight…7:00… to sign copies of his book…”Curl to Win”…That’s my scoop today…See you on the radio… 

Full Story

The groundhogs have spoken…All of them saw their shadows…6 more weeks of winter…yippee…6 more days of curling at the Scotties…Tickets at the Essar Centre Box office…Team Ontario is tied for first at 4-1 with PEI…and they play tonight at 7:30…Admission to the Heartstop lounge is now free for the rest of the week…My daughter and her classmates are down at the rink now…no doubt enjoying themselves…I am headed in a similiar direction…Mike Nanne’s office across the street…I love going to the dentist…Well…love might be a little strong…maybe a lot strong…See you on the radio…

Full Story

Happy Ground Hog Day Eve…The biggest holiday of the year…for rodents anyway…It’s one of my favourites…I love ground hogs…deep fried…I’m kidding…don’t call Green Peace…Did you check out any of the curling this weekend…It is fantastic…I was at the Essar Centre yesterday for the afternoon draw and of the four games going on… focused on watching Ontario…with Soo native Tara George…nee Coulterman…defeat Alberta…and at the same time…Team Canada bounce Saskatchewan… These women are so good…Also I found an old friend…Murray McCormack…whom I have’t seen in 35 plus years… He’s here covering the event for his paper …the Regina Leader Post and other CanWest Global properties…He’s a busy man…We’re hoping to hook up later in the week once he gets his routine down…There are 3 draws today…Ontario …as I write this..is currently playing Saskatchewan and faces B.C. …skipped by 2 time Scotties champion Kelly Scott tonight at 7:30…Jennifer Jones and Team Canada play The Territories at 3:00 and Newfoundland and Labrador at 7:30…Tonight at the Heartstop Lounge at Soo Curlers…it’s DJ Night…For Platinum Club members…make sure you pick up your copy of The Heart Chart…the official Scotties newspaper…daily at either the Essar Centre or the Heartstop and look for the EZ Rock ad…It contains a new bonus code everyday…then log on to ezrocksoo.com to pick up your 1000 points…Still with curling….Tomorrow morning at 8:40 on EZ Rock I’ll be talking to former Briar,World and Olympic Champion Russ Howard…who’s in town covering the Scotties for TSN…He’s got a new book out entitled “Curl To Win” which he’ll be autographing tomorrow night…7:00…at Coles in the Station Mall…That’s the story from this vantage point…It’s time to …HURRY HARD…home…Tickets for the Scotties…by the way…. are still available for all draws at the Essar Centre box office…See you on the radio……. 

Full Story

It’s curling week in Sault Ste. Marie…and the festivities begin today…The Scotties Tournament of Hearts is finally here…and I’m pumped…Now…the first draw is tomorrow afternoon at 3:00…but prior to that first draw….The Ford Hot Shots Skills Competition…Essar Center–1p-4p…All Scotties participants will take part..The finals go tomorrow from 1:15-2:15 prior to the first draw…The winner gets a free 2 year Ford lease…It’s free to watch…The Heartstop Lounge is at Soo Curlers on Anita Blvd…Free shuttle busses will be running between the venues all day long…all week long… starting prior to the first draw each day…around 10:00 a.m….most days…until until around 11:30p.m….after the last draw…and you can even park at Soo Curlers and take a shuttle to the Essar…Now…tonight the partying starts at The HS Lounge…and it’s Community Night…Free admission to everybody over 19 and over…Shania Twin and a band from out west The Chevelles will provide the entertainment..They played at the Scotties last year and were quite a hit…After tonight… admission is with a Scotties Tournament draw ticket from that day…Soo Curlers has room for about 1200 people…TSN’s live feed will be shown there as well…so you won’t miss any of the action..Tickets are still available for any or all draws to see it all live at the Essar Centre..Best way to get yours…right at the box office…although they are available on line…It’s going to be a great week with world class competition in the Soo…I hope to see you there.. If not…I’ll see you on the radio.. 

Full Story

Hey there…How’s it going…eh?….That opening line is as Canadian as … well… curling…Speaking of which…This morning on EZ Rock I spoke with Team Canada skip Jennifer Jones…She’s in the Soo to defend her Scotties Tournament of Hearts title for the second year in a row…She is a lovely woman…an accomplished curler …and lawyer….and a pleasure to talk to…I wish her the best….The action starts at the Heartstop Lounge at Soo Curlers tomorrow night with Shania Twin..(no charge)…and on the ice at the Essar Centre Saturday afternoon at 3:00…If you can’t get to the rink…TSN will be all over it…A week of national exposure for our fair city…Russ Howard is part of the broadcast crew covering the spiel…He’ll be my guest Tuesday morning for a discussion about the goings on at the Essar…and his new book…”Curl to Win”…He’ll be autographing copies Wednesday night…7:00.. at Coles in the Station Mall…The Musical Comedy Guild will also be busy at the Station Mall this weekend…They’re holding auditions for their upcoming production of The Wizard of Oz Tomorrow night at 7:00…and Saturday afternoon at 1:00… for adult lead, featured and ensemble roles…Saturday morning at 10:00 kids can audition for Munchkins parts…and if you want to play Dorothy… show up Saturday at 3:00p.m…All auditions will be in the old Wendy’s China Cabinet location…That’s todays post…bundle up..It’s cold and windy today…See you tomorrow on the radio..

Full Story

Hi-de-ho neighbour…Let the games begin…That will be todays theme…Game 1)…Earlier today on EZ Rock My guest was Ford Upton who’s with Lakeshore Kiwanis and in charge of their ucoming Trivia Night…They’re still looking for teams…It’s Thursday Feb.11th at the Marconi Club…Doors open at 6:30…The first round begins at 7:30…It’s geared towards adults…Teams consist of 6 to 8 players…cost to enter is $25.00 a person…First prize is $800.00…second is $400.00…Third is $200.00….They’ve got about 25 teams entered so far but are looking for another 15 or so…To enter or to find out more call Bonnie Marcil at the Viau Financial Group…942-5588…or the Kiwanis Hotline …946-7915…and yes it’s licensed…Game 2)…Stump Scottie tomorrow morning at 8:15 for Lotto Max tickets and encore numbers…Jackpot is 20 mil…Game 3)…Curling…The Scotties Tournament od Hearts begins Saturday afternoon at the Essar Centre…Tomorrow morning at 8:40 Jennifer Jones the two time defending champ will be my guest on the air…Tuesday morning…olympic, world and national champ Russ Howard will be here…He’s in town as part of TSN’s crew to cover the Scotties…Russ recently wrote a book entitled “Curl to Win”…We’ll talk about the Scotties…his curling and broadcasting career…and his new book…FYI…He’ll be at Coles in the Station Mall next Wednesday evening at 7:00 to autograph copies of it…Still with curling…Nobody likes to party more than curlers…The Heartstop Lounge will be located at Soo Curlers on Anita Blvd. with shuttles running between the Essar Centre and The HS Lounge on a regular basis…It all kicks off with Shania Twin Friday night…Admission is free…They’ll have entertainment every night throughout the Tourney… After Friday nights kickoff entry is with that days draw tickets…That’s the poop from my deck today…See you on the radio…

Full Story