We lost another one and Rick Steiner, where is he now...

I saw this last week but forgot to share it with you. Bam Bam Bigelow died. That's right another wrestler dies young. I swear that these guys are dropping like flies. CLICK HERE to read an article about the struggles Bam Bam was having in Florida. These guys lived hard and fast and when the career ends they just can not shut it off. Too bad, they provided a lot of entertainment for me as a kid growing up. So when I hear of one of these guys, who were indestructable on TV every Saturday, dying it is tough to hear.

CLICK HERE and CLICK HERE to read a few articles about his death.

I saw Bam Bam wrestle a couple of times. I believe that the he was ont the card the day that Nick Chase called Curt Henning a pussy. Mr. Perfect is no longer with us also. Bam Bam was a big dude but what stood out about him over the other big men in the sport was his quickness and acrobatic ability. He could sky off the ring ropes and defy gravity. He always was one of my favorites and always will be.

Here is what the WWE site had to say about his death....

Bam Bam Bigelow passes away

Written: January 20, 2007
WWE.com has learned that former WWE Superstar Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow has passed away in Florida.

Kevin Doll, the Public Information Director for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Bigelow was found dead early Friday morning in his home in Hudson, Fla.

"We can confirm that Scott Bigelow was found in his home this morning. At this time the cause of death is unknown," Doll told WWE.com.

Doll also confirmed that the Pasco-Pinellas Counties medical examiner has taken the body and an autopsy will be performed.

Bigelow, 45, worked for WWE, ECW and WCW extensively throughout his 20-year sports-entertainment career. A former ECW Champion, ECW Television Champion and WCW Tag Team Champion, he is perhaps best known for his rivalry with Lawrence Taylor that culminated in the main event of WrestleMania XI in 1995.


Bam Bam RIP


Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy

Whilst I was searching for news on Bigelow I found out that another 'Bam Bam' passed away awhile back. Terry Gordy of the Freebirds passed and I did not even know about it. The Freebirds were one of the greatest tag teams ever and you knew a beat down was about to happen when you heard that song blast in an arena. Man I loved to hate those guys.

CLICK HERE to read about Gordy.



Last but not least I read an article about Rick Steiner the other day. He is not wrestling too much any more but has a new gig. He is selling Real Estate. Really. How much would that rule to buy a house from The Dog Faced Gremlin? Almost as great as getting a loan from Ric Flair.

If you are in the market for a house in Georgia, CLICK HERE and buy your house from Rick Steiner.

Minnesota Sucks...

A goal from 170 feet. Man the Gophers suck. Almost as bad as the viqueens. Watch this goal. Man I hate the Gophers.

Tom Preissing on Sportsnet and a lot of video to waste your time at work...

As you may remember from an old episode of TundraTalk, the Podcast that does not suck, Tom Preissing, formerly of the Green Bay Gamblers currently playing with the Ottowa Senators, sat down and gave us the answers we wanted to hear. Go back and listen to episode seven of TundraTalk, the podcast that does not suck, and do a bit of remembering.

Okay, now that you have that out of the way, we can move on. Tom recently was on Sportsnet, not the network that I work for, in a story that took him out to the local mall in Ottowa to see if anyone recognizes him. He is leading the league in +/- so they called it the 'Tom Preissing Plus Minus test'. This story is very funny and good on Tom for playing along. Have a look...



Preissing on Vimeo

My personal belief is that a lot more people would know who he is if he was a Canadain born hockey player rather than American. Up here they track all of their future stars from birth to death. It is hard for a Canadian hockey star to go anywhere without being recognized. That is why no one knew him. It probably would be the same in the states because no one cares about hockey. He was traded to Ottowa this year from San Jose so I imagine he could go anywhere in SJ and not be bothered.

Tom is a good kid and a great hockey player that recently has been rumoured to maybe coming to Edmonton via trade. How great would that be having two former Green Bay Gamblers on the same team. Kinda like last year with Greene and Conklin. Then in the playoffs we had Greene, Conklin, and Preissing all on the ice in an NHL game at once. That was historic.

CLICK HERE to read a good story on Tom.

NEXT: As I was at the game on Saturday I was informed that an interview that I shot ended up on YouTube. Funny how that stuff gets up there. It was when Pronger came back to Edmonton with Anaheim earlier in the season. Ilya Bryzgalov ranted about the weather and the fact that he thinks Pronger is a quote 'Good Guy'. His voice goes all high and it is hilarious. Have a look...



Also as I was on YouTube I ran accross these 'Knob Hockey' videos. About the funniest thing I have seen in recent memory. These guys shot their old slide hockey games and added sound of the players and stuff over the top of the game. They all are timed around the playoffs last year and relate to them. The first one is Bryzglov 'Behind the mask'. Have a look. This one will kill ya...



The next one is kind of mean spirited. It involves TundraTalk vetran and former Green Bay Gambler Ty Conlkin. Very mean, but very funny...



The next one also mentions Ty but stars Ryan Smyth doing a pre game pep talk in the locker room prior to game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Notice the ripped up head on Ryan represents how beat up he got during the series last year. This one will make soda come out your nose or spit it on your screen....



There are about 4 or 5 more up there for your parusing. Just log on to YouTube then search 'Knob Hockey'. The Fernando Pisani one is great and one about Rod Brind'amor being really ugly. Braveheart speech. If you do not want any part of YouTube CLICK HERE to go to the Knob Hockey site.

This last piece of video I have for you is a hockey fight involving George Laraque and some dude who does not really matter. It is about a month old but a good fight. The reason why I am posting it is because they had George Mic'd up. You get to hear what they say before they go. George wishes him luck. Classic. Most of the time when they mic a guy up they get lame audio, not this time. One of the best things that has ever been caught on a mic'd up segment.




NEXT: Also have a look at Megan Venner, of the East coast of Canada Venner's, blog. There is a link to the right. She is a working at home mom writing freelance. I think she is going to also right a best selling novel. I know the topic, it will be about how to work with as a reporter and keep your camera man happy. It will have chapters on how to get to press conferences early so the cameraman can eat all the free food he wants. You know good stuff like that. Now that I think about it, the way to keep a cameraman happy is basically keep him fed. Oh well, that will be a short book.


Have a great week.

Reid's Stock is soaring...

Boys. That's Steve Rodgers

Reid just so happened to have a close encounter with the Trailer Park boys last week also. He was doing his live hit from the Rush game when the boys just happened to run in on his hit. Hilarity ensued. To quote Ken Reid, "That was the single greatest moment of my non-illustrious broadcasting career." Rock on Kenny, rock on.

He has finally made it. A live with the Trailer Park Boys and it is up on YouTube. We truly are not worthy.

TundraTalk lands a big fish....

Tonight I went to an Edmonton Rush game for the second time in a week. Why do you ask, well this week it was because the Trailer Park Boys were the celebrity guests. I took the picture above last year, and the had the boys sign it. Cool, but the best thing was that I managed to convince Ricky to sit in for a Podcast. It was awesome. Just click the link to the right and it is all good.

There was only thing that was bad about the interview was the mic that I have for my iPod malfunctioned during some of his answers. So when you listen to the show keep that in mind. I had to do a bit of editing to help it make sense. I hope you enjoy it. I did. I actually made him laugh. He laughed when I called him a natural athlete. That was cool. He did the interview in the Ricky character so I asked him stuff as if I was talking to Ricky. Very cool.



Also here is a glimpse of what is coming. Marty went to his Playboy Mansion party and here is a sneak peek. I am hoping Marty will send me a play by play so I can share and live vicariously through him. Please...



Have a good weekend, we all know Marty had a great week.

KILLER BRETT FAVRE PICS AND SOUND BITES

Oh, have a look at Hauser's blog with the link to the right. Cool pics of him riding his bike on the ice at a Gambler game.

The Worm is in Edmonton, the Hip, and Coach J...

Thanks for the pic Jason

Okay so I am sure you are wondering "What in THE hell is Dennis Rodman doing in Edmotnon?" Maybe it was the annual 'weirdos of the world convention', or the 'Strip Club of the year Awards', or an 'S&M Jamboree'. If any of those was your answer, well you are wrong, and kinda right. He was in town to make an appearance at an Edmonton Rush Lacrosse game, and head to a strip joint immediately after. He made a point to tell us that several times. Along with name a number of women he has slept with. Classy.

We of course had to go and interview him, which he really wasn't interested in doing, and see what he is up to. He dropped many 'F' bombs and really did not say anything. He did get to give a pep talk to the Rush team before the game. That was interesting. Lots of 'Kick thier asses' and 'F#@k Calgary' and stuff like that. Kinda funny. I wish I could show it to you but I am still stinging from the Ryan Smyth Jacket thing so I will not. If you come and visit me I will show it to you. Worth the watch.


Dude is big

Now you know I am not going to waste my Saturday evening at a Lacrosse game unless I get a pic with the man to add to my 'Brush with Greatness' collection. He was so annoyed with having to do anything except drink beer and go to a strip joint. You can see it in his face. The owners of Von Dutch custom motorcycles were there also as his entourage. Quite an entertaining bunch. That is one of them with all the muscles in the pic below.


He did a lot of this, standing around


Hip, Hip, Hip

Donna and I went to see one of our favorite bands last night, the Tragically Hip. If you are Canadian you love this band, if you are American, you might have heard of them. That is pretty much the way it goes. Donna and I try to see them whenever we can. We have even bought tickets to a show in Ames Iowa for Plant/Page which they were supposed to open, but did not show up, so we got our money back. The Hip are one of the best live bands I have ever seen. Right up there with Soul Asylum and the Foo Fighters. They are now the leaders for me in bands that I have seen more than once. Four times. Three here at Rexall Place and once in Kimberley Wisconsin.

Here is a short clip from the show. The sound is bad on this camera and it only records 30 seconds so I will know not to take this camera next time. Sorry. Anyway here is Poets... There are a few more up there if you want more...



Hip sing Poets at Rexall Place jan 14 2007 on Vimeo


FINALLY


Coach J on the left

Got some bad news this week, my High School Football coach died. Todd Johnson, Coach J as we knew him, as died in December. He was a good coach that we all thought looked like Hulk Hogan with a beer belly.

I remember the first year I played for him. My parents made me write him a letter to tell him that I was coming to Hazen and to let him know what position I played. Basically a resume. I did not want to do it but they made me. Well the first practice I had it seemed that every guy on the field was gunning for me. Come to find out, he read the letter to the team. Nice. I basically had a target on my back from day one. Thanks mom.

When we were seniors, grade 12 for you Canadians, we (Nick and me I think) bought him one of those lucite clip boards with 'Coach J' engraved on it. He was really proud of that clipboard, at least he made us think he was. Good man. I will miss him.

Here is an article on Coach J. RIP.




A true coach
By MICHAELWEBER
Bismarck Tribune
Rick Philion worked with former Hazen football coach Todd Johnson for only one season.

However, that one season greatly impacted the man who became the head coach of the Bison in 2003.

"I learned so much from him that year," said Philion, who served as an assistant under Johnson during in 2002. "At that time, he was getting ready to retire and he took me under his wing and taught me everything he could. He had such a big heart. He was a big man and a little rough on the outside, but kind of soft on the inside. He cared about everyone around him."

Johnson's big heart stopped beating Dec. 30. He died suddenly at his home in West Tawakoni, Texas at the age of 63. Funeral services are scheduled for today at the Hazen High School gym.

Johnson, a native of Bismarck, came to Hazen in 1981 after stints in Washburn, Cooperstown and Buckeye, Ariz. He coached football and and track and field there until his retirement in 2003.

"He was a very good coach and teacher ... and a great friend," said Chris Sorensen, who was one of Johnson's assistant football coaches from 1988 through 1999. "He had a way with the kids. He was always honest and fair with them ... all of them. They knew exactly what he wanted, what he expected of them."

"He loved the kids and they loved him," Philion said. "They were at the forefront of just about every conversation you had with him."

Hazen athletic director Jerry Obenauer played football for Johnson from 1986 through 1989, starting all four years. He also was a thrower on Johnson's track and field teams.

"When Todd spoke you listened. ... We had so much respect for him," Obenauer said. "If he asked you to run through a brick wall, you did it. You knew as a player that he knew what he was talking about ... you took it all as gospel.

"He challenged you and he pushed you to be your best. You always wanted to give 110 percent for Todd."

Johnson excelled as a coach in both football and track and field at Hazen, but his football teams gained the most notoriety, winning nearly 150 games during his tenure.

The jewel of his coaching career was his 1996 team, which gave him his only state championship. Led by the hard running of Len Crouse and Clint Mannie and a ferocious defense that allowed only 38 points, the Bison went 12-0, capping off the campaign with a 20-0 win over Hazen in the Class B 11-man title game.

Johnson was named Coach of the Year in 1996.

"We had a great group of kids. ... It was one of those dream seasons," Sorensen said. "We were a very physical team with a tremendous defense.

"It took awhile for him to get that state championship and when it happened, it was pretty exciting. He certainly deserved it."

Johnson guided the Bison to the 2001 Class AA championship game, where they fell to juggernaut Dickinson Trinity.

Obenauer said Johnson continued to follow the Hazen athletic scene after moving to Texas in 2004. Of special interest was the Coal Bowl, the annual Hazen-Beulah football game.

"The Coal Bowl was always a huge deal to him as it is to everybody in Hazen and Beulah," Obenauer said. "Todd loved coaching in that game and he had so many stories to tell about them."

Sorensen said Johnson tried his best to stay in touch with former players and assistants.

"He was good about that," he said. "A lot of folks liked to keep in touch with him, too."

Johnson is survived by his wife Pam, five children and six grandchildren.

Hot Rod has cancer...

So I got the new DVD Rowdy Roddy Piper - Born to Controversy for my birthday and I watched it tonight. It was really good. Showed a lot of old stuff and some new. I always like Roddy from way back but I forgot how great he was. The stuff he did back in the day was innovative. Not a wrestler going now that can come close to his skills in and out of the ring. My favorite quote from him is "Just when you thought you had all the answers, I change the questions."

The stuff he did leading up to Wrestlemania one was crazy. He really is the main reason why that show was so huge with wrasslin' fans and the non believers. That show was huge back in the day. I remember seeing highlights on ESPN the next day. No lie.

So I log on to the internet, because I hear they go 24 hours now (Garner told me that), and hit his WEB SITE. There it is, he has been diagnosed with Lymphoma Cancer.



Hot Rod had just won the tag titles with Ric Flair and was touring europe when he had trouble in the ring so he went to the doctor and they found it. Amazing.

CLICK HERE to read an great article about Piper and the cancer.

No doubt Roddy will kick cancers ass and come back strong. Good luck and God speed Roddy, as always I will be rooting for you.

If you wish to send him a get well note here is his address...

Roddy Piper
18645 S.W. Farmington Rd. PMB 312
Aloha, Oregon 97007
USA

New Podcast and some TV bloopers...

Just a short post this week. I did a podcast for you to listen to. It's about fricken' time. I hope you enjoy it. I stopped Mr. Paul Lorieau, an opera singer, who sings the anthems at Rexall Place. He is a great guy and a great singer. Have a listen to his answers to my stupid questions. Click the link to the right....





I am hoping that in the next few weeks I will have an interview with Pete Peeters goalie for the Philly Flyers back in the day. He is the guy who was on the ice when Gretzky scored 5 goals to hit 50 in 39 games. He has some great stories and I am going to try to coax them out of him.



I am also going to get Rod Phillips the voice of the Edmonton Oilers. He has been calling Oilers games since the begining and is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He too also has some great stories. That should be a good one. So staye tuned, one of these days we will also debut the official theme song of TundraTalk. That will be awesome.

Okay, I found some old bloopers on YouTube for you guys to paruse. Some of this is very funny. National stuff, local stuff, and just some really bad screw ups. The first one is called the PhotogBlues. Not a great song but funny if you are a photog.

CLICK HERE to watch the hilarity.

The next one is called Tapes of Wrath. It is really old but very funny. It is funny that bloopers are the same pretty much but always with different reporters. There is about three versions of this one and they are all worth the time wasted at work.


CLICK HERE to laugh at people in the seventies.

I just can't show you guys other people's stuff, I HAVE to include one of my own. Here it is, from 1995, Club Photog. A short film put together by yours truly for the Christmas tape. Starring Don Schmith, Keith Murphy, yours truly, Sean Elliot, Mark Boden, Brian Peter, Sonja Heitsusan among others that I cannot remember thier names. Voiced by Keith Murphy, of the Dead Moines Murphy's. One little side note, see if you can spot the nudity in that clip. It is there, just watch for it. Oh and there is a shot from the thursday night poker club in there too. Taken at my apartment.



Club Photog on Vimeo

HAVE GOOD DAY AND GET BACK TO WORK!!!!