Sports

Baseball springs eternal

Expos’ fanbase remains loyal 20 years after team’s demise April 8, 1969, was a day to remember. As writer Mordecai Richler put it in his report from New York, where the new Montreal Expos played their first-ever game: “The Expos trotted out onto the field for their first major-league game, out of town. They opened…

The ‘underrated’ Peter Mahovlich: his legacy with Habs

The Canadiens needed more offence. This guy promised that in the 1970s What player is being described here? “With a long-legged, deceptively quick stride and superior puck-handling skills, he had no difficulty proving his rightful place on the big stage. [His scoring and physical approach] were indicative of his versatility. [He] could be a smooth…

Football scores big in Quebec

A traditionally anglo sport has exploded among francophone athletes There’s been a Quiet Revolution in Quebec team sports in recent decades – francophones have started playing football in large numbers. “Canada is hockey”, it is often said, but English Canada has long supported other team sports, too. Every high school across the rest of Canada…

Expos roll through the Townships

Fans cheer old faves in charity road trip Baseball was back – for one evening. The fans wanted to see their Montreal Expos stars again, and they loved it. At this seven-inning charity softball game in Sherbrooke on Wednesday evening, the crowd rang through “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the fifth-inning stretch,…

Havana home run: Cuba loves its baseball

by David Winch, Montreal Gazette March 13, 2015 HAVANA – It is late February, sweltering hot, and the Cuban baseball season is in full swing. We are racing in a shiny 1955 Dodge taxi to the stadium, where hometown team Industriales will face cross-island rivals Pinar del Rio this evening, in game 2 of a…

The Galchenyuk moment (2015)

— Now passed! Raw talent is not enough ____________________ Note to readers: In 2021, Alex Galchenyuk was suddenly back in the news as a promising  acquisition for the Leafs. This comes after a bumpy three years spent among multiple NHL teams. Early in 2015, the young Canadiens  star seemed to be emerging as a terrific…

The ‘phénomène Gainey’ hits France (1989)

In July 1989, Bob Gainey shocked the North American hockey world by announcing he was leaving the big time, the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens, for a position as player-coach of a team called the Squirrels – les Ecureuils – in Epinal.

For a player who has tasted virtually every top-level honor the NHL offers – Stanley Cup champion, Canadiens captain, all-star and multiple trophy winner – Gainey’s decision might seem like a big step into the unknown.

The Big M: Bruins-killer. The fabulous 1971 Habs-Boston series

This feature celebrating Frank Mahovlich,  published before the 2014  Canadiens-Boston series, took a fresh  look at that classic ’71 Habs’  upset  David Winch, April 2014 First published at hockey blog TopShelfwithBK MONTREAL — The Bruins looked unbeatable. They finished the season with the best record in the NHL, after a run to the Cup the…