"Covering many of the biggest names and greatest events in sports, it's a wonderful collection of yarns and reminiscences, told in Perk's inimitable style" ( Postmedia News ).Dave Perkins was once told by a bluntly helpful university admissions officer: "You don't have the looks for TV or the voice for radio. You should go into print." Which he did, first at the Globe and Mail, and then for thirty-six well-travel...

Two motorcyclists riding north, both on family duty:A girl journeying to Edinburgh, eastern Scotland and a fella to Carlisle, the north-west side of England. Both without any love or affection in the different lives, to which their families constantly harp on about, as in their mid to late twenties, they are told they are approaching their best before date.The long journeys are caused by a railway signalling strike; the necessity being, to attend a funeral for one, and a chri...

Five-Plus Tools” is a scouting term that refers to a rare and elite type of amateur baseball prospect. A player with five-plus tools grades out well above average in all five skill areas, known as tools: hitting, power, running, throwing, and fielding.While most baseball fans critique players who are already on the professional level, a scout needs to find raw talent and figure out if they’re the future.” In Five-Plus Tools, Dave Perkin, who was a professional scout and ...

Parents of teenagers may often wonder or even worry as to what their off spring may be up to when, with new found independence and freedom, they are out in the big wide world away from parental supervision. On the other hand when parents find themselves, after years bringing up their family, that they are once again able to holiday as a couple without the restriction of their youngsters in tow, what might they get up too?A Winter Break tells of such a tale, when Pete and Mary, persu...

Get to know the men who fulfilled their childhood dreamFrom the beer league to the minor league, hockey players from coast to coast often say they’d give anything to play just one game in the NHL. One Night Only brings you the stories of 39 men who lived the dream — only to see it fade away almost as quickly as it arrived. Ken Reid talks to players who had one game, and one game only, in the National Hockey League — including the most famous single-gamer o...

Step into the streets, arenas, coffee shops, and offices of Edmonton, and witness how the arrival of a teenage hockey phenomenon is changing the city’s fortunes.Once known as the City of Champions, Edmonton is at a crossroads. As oil prices continue to plummet, the economic outlook grows bleaker by the day. Political changes have ushered in an era of uncertainty. And, as though mirroring the city’s fortunes, the Edmonton Oilers continue to struggle on the ice, offe...

Hockey's most famous voice, now in his own words.If you are a hockey fan, you know Bob Cole's legendary voice.He has done the play-by-play for some of hockey's best-remembered games, including the Summit Series, Canada's gold-medal game in Salt Lake City, and twenty years of Stanley Cup finals. The infectious excitement in his voice, his boyish love of the game, and his uncanny ability to anticipate the play have earned him the affection of generations of fa...

Funny, fierce, and gritty, Bleeding Blue recounts every struggle and success of Wendel Clark’s rough-and-tumble journey to becoming one of hockey’s greatest heroes.As a young boy growing up in Kelvington, Saskatchewan, Wendel Clark never dreamed of an NHL career. The pro league just seemed too far away from the young man’s small-town life in the Prairies. But Wendel had a talent for hockey that was surpassed only by his love for the sport, and it wasn’t lo...

If you’re a sports fan, you know James Duthie.The biggest games, the biggest trades, the juiciest rumours—chances are Duthie is the guy you tuned in to hear talk about them. There are other experts and insiders, stats guys and analysts, but no one else who can talk about sports with the humour, the knowledge, and the charisma Duthie brings to every event he covers. He also makes the best spoof videos.The Guy on the Left tells the story of Duthie’s ...

In the spirit of Moneyball, the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays offers cutting insights on baseballBuck Martinez has been in and around professional baseball for nearly fifty years as a player, manager and broadcaster. Currently the play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays, Martinez has witnessed enormous change in the game he loves, as it has morphed from a grassroots pastime to big business. Not all of the change has been for the better, and today...

A tribute to the larger than life story of a hockey icon and hero.The hockey world mourned when Pat Quinn died in November 2014.Tough guys sobbed. Networks carried montages of Quinn's rugged hits, his steely-eyed glare, and his famous victories. Quinn made a few enemies over the years, but there was no one who didn't respect the tough working-class kid who had fought his way to the very top of the hockey world.He had butted heads with superstars, with management, and w...

**#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLERFirst he rewrote the record book. Now, to mark the NHL's ninety-ninth anniversary, Wayne Gretzky has written the story of our game.**In 99: Stories of the Game, Gretzky looks back on the last ninety-nine years and tells us, from his point of view, about the NHL’s most memorable moments. We already know what he means to the game. Now he shows us what the game means to him.From hockey's fierce early battles on natural ice; through its ...