SASKATOONEXPRESS - October 5-11, 2015 - Page 11
Voice of the Blades
Lazaruk approaching 1,600-game mark Les Lazaruk planned to spend a few years in Saskatoon before moving on (Saskatoon Blades/Steve Hiscock Photo) Darren Steinke Saskatoon Express es Lazaruk was looking for a way to get “back in the bigs” when he arrived in Saskatoon to become the play-by-play voice of the WHL’s Blades. The Winnipeg product spent 15 years in the media in Manitoba, which included working just over 10 and a half years hosting the hour-long pre-game and post-game shows for Winnipeg Jets NHL hockey games on CJOB radio. He was let go from his position near the end of 1993, but became part of the play-by-play team for the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team for its inaugural season in the Northern League in the spring and summer of 1994. Following that first campaign, Goldeyes owner Sam Katz told Lazaruk he needed him to sell radio time and ads on outfield fences. Lazaruk politely said no. “I really wanted to get back into hockey, and hopefully into an NHL situation,” said Lazaruk, who idolized the first play-by-play voice of the original Winnipeg Jets, Ken
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(Friar) Nicolson. “I thought if I could take a job somewhere in the minor leagues, maybe junior, and start there, maybe I will get an opportunity.” As Lazaruk was going through his job changes in Winnipeg, the old CFQC-AM radio station in Saskatoon was moving into the hands of new ownership, with plans to turn the operation into an FM station. Lazaruk was aware of what was happening in Saskatoon, and he contacted the station’s then-sales manager, Bob Fisher, to find out if they would take on broadcasting Saskatoon Blades games. A short time later, Lazaruk was in Saskatoon for a job interview with Fisher and the station’s general manager, Vic Dubois. He succeeded in landing the Blades playby-play role. He has held that position ever since, which includes calling 1,584 contests in the regular season and playoffs as he entered the 2015-2016 campaign. “Seriously, I honestly thought that this would be a pit stop to the next level when I first got here,” said Lazaruk, who is the
sports director for the radio company now known as the Saskatoon Media Group. “I thought maybe we will put in three or four years, maybe five tops, and then move on to something else, something bigger and better supposedly.” Bigger and better things never did come along, or at least nothing came along that could beat what he had in Saskatoon. Lazaruk twice turned down opportunities to move to Calgary to become the host on the radio broadcasts for the NHL’s Flames. There was no travel component with that opportunity, and Lazaruk had grown fond of piling up the bus kilometres on the WHL road. “Some people just think you are flat out loopy to do that, to travel on a bus in the middle of winter to be on the radio to call a team’s games that is major junior. Some people didn’t even know major junior hockey existed.” Lazaruk enjoys learning about the interests of Blades players. In recent seasons, he has been impressed with how connected
they are with their families through texting on smartphones to being active on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. He is also impressed with how focused the players are on their school work. “The education part is so huge nowadays,” said Lazaruk, who had stints working for the Winnipeg Free Press and the defunct Winnipeg Tribune before moving to radio. “They have to be on top of their education. If they are not, they are not going to play. “You see that. That is something I like to see is the kids really buckling down and really making something of themselves.” In seeing the players and the team interact with the local community, Lazaruk believes he has gained a better appreciation for how important the Blades are to the city. “The Blades will always be a big part of this city’s culture and fabric,” said Lazaruk. “It would be nice if they could have that big season and win, and I would love for it to happen only because I’d probably get a chance to do a little more travelling and get that season on into May. “It is not about me and my selfish desires. It is about what I think the team can do that would really enhance the feeling of the city.” Lazaruk believes the team has the people in place to accomplish big things, specifically giving reference to the club’s head coach and general manager in Bob Woods. He can envision Woods returning the team to the level of the early 1990s, when the Blades advanced to the league championship series only to fall in Game 7 in both 1992 and 1994. On Feb. 15, 2014, Lazaruk called his 1,500th Blades game, which turned out to be a 4-1 victory over the Rebels in Red Deer. He is thankful his wife, Verna, has been a rock of support. At age 56, Lazaruk said he isn’t sure how long he will be calling games. At the moment, he wants to continue until after the Saskatoon Media Group’s contract to broadcast Blades games expires in three years. “Getting to 2,000 I think would be cool, but that is so far off in the back of my mind,” said Lazaruk, who has never seen the Blades advance past the second round of the WHL post-season. “My selfish thought is I want to be there when the championship is won, if it ever happens.” Lazaruk will be pushing to see that selfish thought become a reality as long as his health allows it and his voice stays strong.
Cam Hutchinson & Friends:
Views of the World Want fries with that draft? Burglar doesn’t do windows
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By RJ Currie he CFL admits it blew a last-minute call that stopped a Winnipeg drive and all but handed the win to Calgary. It’s nice the defending Grey Cup champs and perennial powerhouse Stampeders finally got the help they need. • A baby boy was born at Petco Park during a San Diego home game. The Padres say it’s rare for them to have an in-game birth, but not as rare as a playoff berth. • London-born British Chancellor George Osborne said he hopes to have an NFL team in his city within the next five years. “Me too,” said the mayor of Cleveland. • The New York Jets brought their own toilet paper to London. Now there’s a team desperate to get on a roll. • How high are expectations in Edmonton for the NHL’s No. 1 draft pick? This season local McDonald’s outlets will be called McDavid’s. • What’s the big deal about pitcher Jonathan Papelbon trying to wring teammate Bryce Harper’s neck? The Nationals have spent the last three seasons choking. • Reuters reports mathematicians used a unique formula to prove a 17th-century emperor fathered 888 children in just 30 years. He also excelled at basketball. • A pink diamond the size of a postage stamp is expected to fetch a record $28 million at auction. Or a few million less than Seattle QB Russell Wilson’s signing bonus.
• The Atlanta Hawks launched an Ashley Madison promotion to sell ticket packages. Presumably for games broadcast in high definition but low fidelity. • I’m not saying Winnipeg’s Grey Cup championship hopes are going down the drain, but the cushions sold in the Blue Bombers’ gift shop are shaped like toilet seats. • Miami NBA coach Eric Spoelstra got engaged to former team dancer Nikki Sapp. True love? Or just Heat of the moment? • New Scientist reports lack of sleep can cause people to be overly emotional. In a related story, Detroit Lions fans are increasingly stoic. • An extra point try in a Texas high-school football game caromed off a referee’s head and through the uprights. Who was the ref, Jose Canseco? • In NFL news, a salary dispute led Minnesota to cut ties with Ragnar, their Norseman mascot. Probably not the first Viking in history to end up axed. • A recent Pepsi commercial features Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch not saying anything. Not to be outdone, a Coke commercial shows Roger Goodell fining him. RJ’s Groaner of the Week In honour of the Pope’s U.S. visit, the Philadelphia Phillies gave out “Pope Francis rookie cards” during a game. Don’t laugh; word is he’s a real pray-maker.
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C Chong, on the Minnesota Vikings’ mascot being told to take a hike after asking for a pay raise from $1,500 per game to $20,000 per: “Meanwhile, CFL players are on the team’s side, saying, ‘What’s wrong with making $1,500 a game?’” • From Bill Littlejohn: “Taylor Swift’s publicist, in the wake of several Major League Baseball teams suddenly going cold after her concerts in their cities, denies that there’s a Taylor Swift curse. She says the only thing Taylor curses are ex-boyfriends.” • Janice Hough, on Jeb Bush saying he didn’t think the Washington Redskins should change their name: “Well, if anyone is likely to be clueless on how many Americans might find a name offensive, it’s a Bush.” • Torben Rolfsen, on the Islanders moving to New York City: “Fittingly, their new goal horn sounds like a mid-town traffic jam. It’s like a vuvuzela went electric.” • I always chuckle when there is a shoving match during a football game and every official throws his flag so emphatically. • Chong, on a couple returning to their home near Kamloops and finding a burglar sitting on the couch watching TV and eating. He also fed the cats, prepared a meal, shaved, showered and even took meat out of the freezer to thaw: “They called the police because he didn’t take out the garbage.” • From Hough: “Congrats to the Toronto Blue Jays for winning AL East. Stand by for Donald Trump to complain about immigrants taking more from Americans.”
• From Rolfsen: “Ol’ Meth” is: a) A dangerous illegal drug, b) The Oklahoma State Cowboys mascot, c) What Lou Holtz calls the University of Mississippi.” • Littlejohn, on September being the NFL’s first no-arrest month in six years: “That is if don’t include the Saints’ Super Bowl chances going into cardiac arrest.” • Chong, on Pete Rose meeting with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred last week: “Neither party would reveal what was discussed, but an unnamed source claims they agreed the Toronto Blue Jays are 3-2 favourites to win the World Series.” • Littlejohn, on the Governor of Kansas declaring October Zombie Preparedness Month: “He must be a Cubs fan.” • Hough, on Facebook being down for about an hour one day last week: “The horror. Millions of people were forced actually to work.” • I put my TV on TSN4 the other night to watch the Leafs play the Sabres and received an on-screen message saying the game was blacked out in my area. Maybe TSN was doing me a favour, but it seems odd that I wasn’t able to watch an event on a channel I pay for. • From Hough: “Who knew that PapelbonHarper would turn out to be far more riveting than Mayweather-Pacquiao?” • I like it when a football player on a visiting team gets kicked out of a game and has to do the walk of shame to the dressing room. • From Rolfsen: “Derrick Rose is threatening Evel Knievel’s Guinness world record for most broken bones.”