Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Lisa Bowes: Toronto Mike'd #806

Episode Date: February 23, 2021

Mike chats with Lisa Bowes about career in sports media, her Lucy Tries Sports series of children's books, what she learned from being fired three times and why she won't be fired again.

Welcome to episode 806 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. CDN Technologies your outsourced IT department contact Barb she's Barb at cdntechnologies.com Palma Pasta enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville

stickeru.com create custom stickers, labels, tattoos and decals for your home and your business Ridley Funeral Home pillars of the community since 1921 and Mike Majeski or as I call him

Mimico Mike he's the real estate agent who's ripping up the Mimico real estate scene learn more at realestatelove.ca I'm Mike He's the real estate agent who's ripping up the Mimico real estate scene. Learn more at realestatelove.ca. I'm Mike from torontomike.com and joining me this week is Lisa Bowes. Well, hello, Mike, and thank you so much for having me. Congratulations.

Number 806. Well, you know, Lisa, as I read that intro and I saw in my notes it was 806, I had this immediate thought that are you 806 or 807? I actually need to confirm this. This is very important. Let me just check the official records here. Yeah, okay. Good news, Lisa. You are 806. We are factually correct on this show already. I love it. And you're 800 plus. That's the point, right? You're 800 plus episodes. So bravo, my friend. That is fantastic.

Oh, but it's quality over quantity, right? Like this might have been 800 terrible episodes. This might be the first good one. So who knows? Here we go. I have a song for you I'm gonna play you just a little bit of a song and then we're gonna get going here so where oh you see back-to-back recordings okay here we are here's a little song for Lisa I should be talking up this intro. It's a little longer than I remember it,

but we'll get a little bit of this, and then we'll talk about it. Do you know what I'm playing here, Lisa? There's something from back in the day. I couldn't tell you the exact year, but it's from way back. It's from way back. It's the eighties, something in the eighties. Oh, most deaf. Yes. It's definitely from the eighties. This is Lisa, Lisa and the cult jam. Oh, Lisa, Lisa and the cult jam. You know, sometimes I hear that Mike, and sometimes I hear the David Lee Roth, Bozy Bozy Bop, because Bozy is actually one of my nicknames.

And so Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam, indeed. Right. That was from the Crazy from the Heat EP, if I remember correctly. He covered California Girls by the Beach Boys. And then that one, I Ain't Got Nobody. Correct, sir. That is it. You bet. Yes. It's great when we can throw back to the 80s in fact i was throwing back to daft punk last night as i'm sure so many of us were from that era and i actually learned so much you know it's crazy how we we don't you know we don't

really get diet do deeper dives until things like that happen right the band breaks up and right right either somebody dies or a band breaks up and... Right. Either somebody dies or a band breaks up and then you suddenly like, it's like you don't know what you've got till it's gone, which is a Joni Mitchell lyric. And it's also true. Like, yeah. So maybe we're not appreciating Lisa Lisa

and the cult jam as we should. But that was my... I don't know. I don't know many Lisas, I'll be honest with you. But the first thing I thought of when I had Lisa Bowes on the program was Lisa, Lisa and the cold gym. So I don't know what that says about me. I'm

not sure either, other than the fact that I'll tell you my real name is actually Elizabeth. So if we do this again, you'll have to find some references to Elizabeth. Is that common?

Or Betty. Think about all the names you can create with Elizabeth. Well, there's Black Betty. That's for sure. I don't know if we can play Ram Jam there. That might be problematic. But Lisa, is it common to take the name Elizabeth and shorten it to Lisa? It is not.

No, it isn't. I think there's a lot of Lises and Lises, and my mom is actually Libby. There's a lot of Beths, right? But not really Lisa. So I don't, you know, most people don't know that, but there you go. Right off the hop here, Mike,

we're a few minutes in, and you've already got me revealing my true first name. Wow. That's a Toronto Mic'd exclusive. Now I know my lead when I write about this episode. I do want to speak to you about a mutual friend we have because just yesterday I did, this is going to sound crazy when I think about it, but we did a deep dive into an Etobicoke mall. So I don't know if you are familiar with Etobicoke. I'm only familiar with the aquatic center.

I went there for synchronized swimming. Is there an aquatic center or a swimming center there? There sure is. But I'm trying to think that's near like, I guess, yeah, not rural York, but like kingsway and bluer maybe there's something in there there's some kind of an olympic size pool there of some but but if you go to like dundas and east mall and 427 where it all converges we have a mall

called the cloverdale mall and uh i had andrew stokely on yesterday and we just talked about the Cloverdale Mall, like the history, our memories, the future, everything about the Cloverdale Mall for an hour. And then, of course, I found out that you know Andrew Stokely. I do indeed. And I'm sure I will get a note from him maybe about the quality of my mic here at the basement of my house. No, he's a great guy. And I was so happy to hear that he's going to be getting back into doing some baseball games. Fantastic. Yeah, getting some Jays gigs, right? The industry is really, our industry and media really has taken some hits, as has so many in the last year, two years. Well, for Stokely, it sounds like it's feast or famine during this pandemic because he'll have months with nothing.

And then it sounds like he'll be working like almost every day for months when it, when baseball starts up again. So yeah, feast or famine for Mr. Stokely, but I guess that's just the way it goes during a pandemic. You just got to put your head down and find your way around the corners. Right. And, and, and so, yeah, So Andrew Stokely. Hi. Hi to him. Sorry about the mic. When was the. Well, please. Not all of us can afford the Andrew Stokely twelve hundred dollar microphone. So please, you know, when was the last time you saw Stokely? When was the last time you saw Stokely? Oh, it's been a long time.

He and I are connected online and he knows my husband quite well, but it has been a long time. We actually had a wedding together because I'm pretty sure Andrew, he worked at BNN back many years ago. That's when we connected. There was a colleague getting married and, but we've stayed in touch. And so I support his endeavors and he in support, he supports mine. And, and so, and so yeah I thought that was I got a real kick out of seeing that he was on your show yeah so if anyone out there wants to dive deep into the Cloverdale mall the episode would be I

guess what is this this is 806 so go to 804 uh sort of like there you and and you have like a like are the bread in the Lisa Reyes sandwich there. Well, I have to share with you too, Mike. I don't know if you know that I'm actually from Toronto. I was born in Toronto, but I grew up, I spent some of my early time in Leaside. So I was on the other side from where you are there in Mimico. You're on the, well, yeah, I'm close to Mimico.

I'm in New Toronto right beside Mimico. But yeah, you know, you're on the other side of Yonge Street. I like to say that there's an east of Yonge and there's a west of Yonge, Torontonian, and they rarely mix. You're over there. Okay. So you grew up in Toronto. And just so we know, where are you now as we speak to you? I am in Calgary, Alberta.

So you have come west to Calgary. And so, yeah, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains is where I am right now. And how long have you lived in Calgary? So this is my second tour of duty, actually. I came out when I was with TSN. I came out to Calgary in the mid to late 90s. And then I came back to Toronto. And then I came back out to Calgary in 2004.

So in my second tour, I've been here since 2004. But my family is now all in Ontario. My husband's family is in Quebec. So we definitely miss our family during these interesting times. I also lived in Richmond Hill, too, and down on the Danforth. So I've had a few places that I've lived in the city, but I've come out to Calgary because of the love of the lifestyle out here. We're really active out here, obviously, with the mountains. I was going to ask you, like all things being equal, Toronto or Calgary, but it sounds like you're digging the Calgary vibe. I love coming back in the summer to Ontario. And I do that every year.

I didn't obviously last year, but I love the city still. And I love the lakes and the trees. That's what I miss the most. But, you know, we have a young daughter. And so this is really a great place to raise her but I'm certainly not ruling out coming back to the city we definitely miss it do you drive a pickup truck I do not I do not and my brother who lives in the Sioux and I just want to give a shout out I'm actually wearing a hat this is a fit bodies fit minds My ball cap I have on right now is a nod to my brother and my sister-in-law who works at this amazing fitness studio. So they're inspiring people to move in the mighty Sioux. And so, yeah, from Sault Ste. Marie.

So, no, he actually has a pickup. And he has some rifles. Okay. I only joke about it. My wife's from Edmonton and we have a little joke. Like everyone she knows in Alberta drives a pickup truck. This is apparently very, a very Alberta thing to do.

So I was just curious if you had adopted that tradition. No, but there's a lot of SUVs, a lot of SUVs, a lot of, a lot of Subarus, right? Because we're in such hilly terrain here.

So you really want to have the great, all-wheel drive is brilliant out here. Did you, on a topical note, as we chat, it's like 4.10 Eastern time. Did you catch that news? Tiger Woods was in a car accident. Did you catch that news? Oh, I didn't, no.

Like he's not, it's not life-threatening. So I better present it that way maybe. Not life-threatening but uh there's like he had he might have broken both his legs like very serious you know injuries but not non-life-threatening but yeah oh you're kidding wow where where was this happening near los angeles because uh i just thought of it well first of all it's fresh. I was kind of reading up on it. But you talked about hilly terrain, et cetera. It appears as if he was driving his SUV too fast in hilly terrain. And so it's a single car accident, no one else in the car, just Tiger. But he definitely hurt himself, if you will, and not good for a professional athlete.

But he's lucky it's non-life- non-life threatening to be honest. Yeah. Well, thanks for telling me. No, I hadn't. I was, I was trying to set up my audio. Well, cause you knew Stokely would listen. You got nervous. Pressure was on. How do you think I feel Lisa? This is 806 times I've been nervous recording that Stokely's going to send me a note about my audio.

I have a note from a gentleman named Larry. And I did see you reply on Twitter, but we're going to bring this to everybody because Larry took the time to ask, do you still play soccer? Because he remembers you, he refereed you when you played in the Winnipeg women's soccer league. Wow.

I know that is quite something. Wow. And so I, as I said to Larry on Twitter and thanks for the question, I just play pickup whenever I can right now. I've actually moved off now into more things like golf, although I've played golf off now into more things like golf. Although I've played golf for about 30 years, but now I'm picking up the rounds a little bit more. I do

ski and snowboard, but soccer playing organized, I actually stopped playing organized soccer, I think in my late thirties. And now, and now it's truly just pick up and was trying to get my daughter into the game. But yeah, that's something I actually played pretty much my whole life. Like I started in Guelph, Ontario when I was seven and played with the boys. So I was that classic story, right? They didn't have girls teams back in the day. So good for you. I love that story.

But when are you in Winnipeg to play in the Winnipeg Women's Soccer League? So in Winnipeg, so in the Winnipeg Women's Soccer League? So in Winnipeg, so when I was, so when I started my career at TSN, I actually started as what we were known as flugans, Mike. Now a flugan is, from what I understand, it is a slang word, a German slang word for house fly. And we were the lowest of low in the TSN newsroom. And they called us flugans. And these guys, so myself and a host of others, you'd know many of their names, Rod Smith, lots of producers, some really amazing gentlemen who will be at each other's funerals, right? We've known each other for many years, started our careers there.

As a flugan, I really wanted to become a reporter. And so I started this journey of trying to get an on-air job. I wanted to be a reporter. And so the newsroom was a place where we really, you set your, you establish yourself right as a writer. We're writing the highlights for the commentators. And so I was, it took me eight months to try and find a reporting job. And this so in 1991 rod actually got the big call up to the network and they needed a replacement for rod wow and so i actually uh had a few auditions out west and i i wasn't getting any any sniffs and then i ended up getting an opportunity and my audition was actually covering the Jets Blackhawks game so I had to file for the six I covered the morning skate and then I went to the game later and did

the post-game report and that was my audition and so I remember my my boss at the time Peter Young and he said to me you know I think this would be really great you know you've got a lot of work you know you got a you really are green you've really got a lot of work ahead of you. But you know, I think it'd be a really great visual change from Rod Black, because Rod was there, I think, nine years, and he really, right, he was just rocking it. And so that's how I got my on air position was actually Rod Black got his opportunity. And then I got mine in Winnipeg. And that is a really long story. When you asked me how was I in Winnipeg? But there is the answer, Mike. I went there for work for CTV. Right. Because you're in Winnipeg before you go to Calgary,

which explains your first stint in Calgary. See, all these pieces fit together. That's it. Yeah. So it was Winnipeg, Calgary, Toronto, Calgary, but I guess it started in Toronto. So that's what happens, right? Like in any job, right? You get, you move around for your opportunities. And, and, and that's what I did within the TSN family. ceases to amaze me what a small world it is the canadian media especially sports media but really all media like how interconnected it all is like so i could have rod black on for episode 800 which was only last week and he came back for 801 by the way so there's two two different uh rod black episodes there but you could basic to find out and this is all a complete coincidence that you were kind of on the week after Rod Black, a complete random happenstance, and you get your break at TSN

in Winnipeg because Rod Black is, I don't know what you'd say, called up to the big show? I don't even know what... Yes, with the CTV network. And then he shortly thereafter was anchoring the 94 coverage of CTV's Olympic coverage in Barcelona? Well, there was a shortly thereafter was anchoring the 94 coverage of ctv's olympic coverage and in um barcelona well there was a really one there was barcelona right so those early 90s games yeah rod was the

was the host of that so it is amazing and i've seen you know some of the people that you've had on for sure i mean we go back many many years and but the flugan, we were on the row and we were banging away on, on typewriters, writing scripts for the commentators on typewriters. And so, and like writing, you know, like Jean, like Gino, for example, you should have Jean on the show. I don't know if you have it or not, but, uh, I mean, Gino Retta, Gino Retta. yeah. Yeah, he's been on the program, yes. Oh, okay, super, yeah. So all those times, that era of the flugan,

there's only so many of us that did that job and now they're called editorial assistants, but we wear those like badges of honor being the flugans. And so it was a unique time. I believe Gino Retta is you know in the aforementioned etobicoke uh sports hall of fame i believe oh yes i think so i mean i thought gene lived in mississauga area i think he's a like a like a tried and true etobicoke guy but unless

he moved recently which is possible but i think he's like uh he's in fact he used to he told me he actually coached uh rob and doug ford in football at uh in etobicoke so yeah there's a story there so okay so lisa lots to cover but i need to go back to a um we talked about you know larry wanted to talk about your soccer career there in the winnipeg league there. But my buddy Mark Hebsey, when he heard you were coming on, he DM'd me a question, which is funny because when you were doing that eloquent speech there about the Flugens

and playing soccer there, you mentioned that you guys would be at each other's funerals, you said. That was your words. And Hebsey wants me to ask you what it was like growing up with a father who was in the funeral business. Oh, wow. Is that a deep cut? I don't

know. Is that a deep cut? No, no. What's interesting, you may not know, I don't know if Hebsey knows this, is that actually my grandfather is a funeral director as well. So so he actually had a funeral home in Hillsburg and then he moved to Coburg and my dad grew up in the industry. And then my dad went into the industry. And in fact, he and his old partner, they started a removal service called McKinnon and Bose, which is still still operating today with Al and his crew. So yeah, it was really interesting. Actually, my father is very and I think sometimes there's a stereotypical kind of thing that people think of what what they but you know, really what they are mostly dealing with, Mike, is they're dealing with the living, right? They have to be very empathetic and are dealing with so much grief and loss.

And that's really what I learned from growing up in that environment is having that ability to be there for people. Well done. I've got to know Brad Jones. He's a funeral director with Ridley Funeral Home, which is here in New Toronto. And you're right. It's about, you know, compassion and empathy and being there for the survivors, the living. You're so right. So people think, you know, funeral home, they think of, you know, they don't think of that key part of the responsibility, which is, you know, comforting. It takes a special responsibility, which is, you know, comforting. Absolutely.

It takes a special person, I think, you know, to do that. And it's a service, right? It's a funeral service. And it's part of life, right? And interestingly enough, my father grew up in Maine. My mom was a nurse. Oh. And she actually worked at sick kids hospital.

And so she was seeing and having to deal with some really challenging times when she was a young nurse dealing with at sick kids and, and then my father. So it's an interesting environment to grow up in. No doubt. Okay. Hebsey well done on the deep cut there. Cause. Wow. I have never been asked that before. Well, you've never been on Toronto Mic before, Lisa. Oh, this is very interesting, and it's very refreshing. So thank you for having me.

Did you watch Six Feet Under? I did not. I heard about it. And there was also not just that show, but I know there have been quite a few reality based shows within that environment. Yeah, I don't know what my dad thinks of those or anybody in the industry, to be honest. Six Feet Under is one of my top five television shows of all time. So I highly recommend it. So if you can score a Crave subscription, you can catch it there. But I would just think it'd be interesting

because of course it's a family run funeral home that the Fisher family and sort of the center of that show. It'd be interesting. Okay, so check that out. That's your recommend for the day here. Your pinned tweet. Now, so we're going to do this.

Normally I kind of run through your bio and we're going to totally do that. But I'm going to start with your pinned tweet right now. And then we're going to kind of go backwards a bit. But your pinned tweet right now is, I'll read it. It says, to those of you who don't have guaranteed paychecks, stay positive, test negative, and keep hustling. And then there's some great hashtags like entrepreneurship, self-employed, contract workers. So Lisa, maybe speak to that because I follow you on Twitter and you're quite the advocate for people in your industry and others who get that. Well, you get that folder. I guess you don't even get the folder slid across the table because in

COVID times, it's like robocalls and maybe they email you a file or something. It's a little colder than ever, but maybe speak to that off the top here. foundation, he said that to me once and I said, I've got to use that. That is so brilliant. And I share that with everybody. Stay positive, test negative. I think that just really hits the nail on the head right now. And I think hustling really encapsulates, I think, what we all have to do today. And certainly in the media industry, we're constantly hustling just regularly. And then when we have layoffs or we have downsizing and restructuring, just like any industry right now, you just have to hustle. You just have to find your way around these corners and diversify and figure out how your skill set can therefore be used and be utilized in perhaps another industry and maybe an industry that you never even thought about before. And so I am

really a true entrepreneur and in that sense, and I am self-employed and like so many of us are now, I think I read somewhere, three quarters of the Canadian population are now self-employed and, and that takes a real, a certain mindset and you really have to, you know, stay with it. And I know, you know what I'm talking about, Mike. And I think the other thing about that tweet, the reason why I'm always trying to think of the positives, I'm constantly the half, the glass is half full. You know, I had my, my husband, for example, he got stuck on a CRA situation and he was so upset because I think he was on there for an hour. And then he had a

recorded message, had to leave a message. And then that was it, the end of his, of his call. And I said, well, at least you weren't like someone I just heard about who was on there for six and a half hours and never had a chance to leave a message and he's like I don't care about that other person but the point is you always have to find man oh man especially now and you have to find that positive and I just my heart breaks for so many people I'm looking at Air Canada Bombardier all those layoffs that are coming and I've had three uh significant job losses in my life okay so let's do this let's step through your career because then these will these will arise in the okay so my tweets make tweets make sense, I guess. Well, I will, I will point out that you're, it sounds like you, you're, you're, so your DMS are open. So is, am I right that your

DMS are open or is that, did I imagine that? But, uh, my, I think I've said to people, DM me for sure. If, if you want to vent or if you want to, you know, tell me what you do and, and I can maybe figure out, you know, sometimes having that other do and I can maybe figure out, you know, sometimes having that other perspective can help. Right. So, yeah, I think my DMs are open. I think I've got that. Okay. No, I just don't, I don't want to make the claim. And then someone's trying to DM you about their situation and they can't because you don't follow them, but your DMs are mine are open as well. So, okay. So some people you can't DM unless they follow you. Okay. So, and, and in this conversation it'll come up, you know, that interesting moment,

because I talked to a lot of people in the media, mainstream media, who had that moment where they couldn't get another mainstream media job. And they had, it's funny we talked about about funeral directors and funeral homes because I'm thinking of Howard Berger, for example, I was going to say Howie, Howie, Howie,

Howie's at Benjamin's, right? I think it is. Yeah. He, he had that moment like, and others that I've had conversations. Well,

I spoke with Howard, but I spoke at length with Storm and Norman Rumack. If you know that name, he was on the Fan 590. And Scott Ferguson, who was... Baseball writer, yes. Yeah, he was doing the out-of-town scoreboard until he moved to the team. And then we all know what happened there.

And then he was most recently on TSN Radio. And those gentlemen, Norman and Scott, have found new careers in security. So it's interesting when you realize, wait, maybe I need to change industries in order to pay my rent and feed my family. So this will come up sort of organically here. But TSN, you said 89. So when about do you start with tsn back in 1989 89 yes 89 i started as a i actually started in the technical side and then i looked across the the newsroom through the control room and i saw mark jones who is now at espn and and i thought wow that's really where I want to be

is the newsroom. I really want it. And I come out of, I went to phys ed, actually, I'm a phys ed major. I wanted to be a sports psychologist originally and got out of, in fact, playing soccer for, for Western is how I got involved in media. And then I graduated up early and then went to radio and TV arts at Conestoga and then volunteered at TSN in 89 in the tech side, and then got over into the newsroom, proved that I was able to write the highlights and then was hired in April, 1989. And so that job though, that's behind the scenes, like editorial assistant stuff, right? This is not in front of the camera yet.

Okay. No, this is not in front of the camera yet okay no this is not in front of the camera and then i i was really wanting though to try to get that reporting experience so they i would actually come in before my shift started and i want to share with you and i think it's okay to do so because we kind of laugh about it now but they were the macaroni days mike we made 50 a shift uh as, as flugans. And that was, we did, there was no overtime. And then the government came and took the tax. So that's, you know, $250 a week, $1,000, $12,000 a year. And then the government came. So living in Toronto, I lived on a girlfriend's couch in a one bedroom apartment down at Y and eglinton i mean those were the

those were the days though where you like you're fighting for you want to you want to move in your career you want to have that opportunity and and that's what that was all about and so then they would i would then ask them can i go down to the leaf skate at maple leaf gardens and i'd go down early and do the leaf skate and then grab the sound, do the interviews. And then I'd write up the little VO and then give it to Gino or Jim Van Horn or another commentator to voice. Or someone else with a big mustache. Yes.

Paul Romanek, Vic Rauter. Yeah. And so that was sort of the laid the foundation for then for, I felt it was a great foundation for me then getting that job at CTV in Winnipeg where I had to be an anchor and a reporter. Okay. Now you, I, it'll sound almost, I think on the podcast, it'll almost sound like I beeped out what you said because I had a noise coming through my Stokely. Don't get mad at me. Okay. But I had this USB thing and there was a little,

little buzz I had to close a thing and there was a little little buzz i had to close a window that was making a noise so it almost sounded like i censored you but i did not you said 50 bucks a shift right five zero my friend i still have the paycheck i still have one of my paychecks i was keeping that that was such a big deal when i got that paycheck and now it's all yellowed and like i i know but i've kept that in a box somewhere now are you you're living with your parents at this time no i was a university mate she let me uh yeah sleep on her couch and i remember i i had a car at the time and i paid 150 a month to park my car a month so that was really cutting into that paycheck but uh wow what an

experience at the early early days of tsn so that's you know the the network had just been on the air four years so it was very early times in in canadian sports media okay so i at this time late 80s very late 80s uh in canadian sports media like maybe you can even run this off the top of your head possibly, but what are the examples of like woman in front of the camera? Yes. In Canadian sports media in the late 80s. So there's not very many at that time. Teresa Herger,

then Teresa Cruz, T was in Calgary doing the TSN Calgary Bureau at that time. And then she came to Toronto. Before her, there was Terry Libel at TSN and before her, Diana McDonald. Those were very early days of TSN. And at the same time, my amazing colleague, I mean, gosh, Brenda's done about 10 Olympic games,

I want to say. And that's Brenda Irving from CBC. And Brenda started at CBC in Montreal. She is a true contemporary of mine. Down in the United States, there was not a lot more. So contemporaries like Hannah Storm and Andrea Kramer, Jeannie Zalesko, who I just loved on Fox, and Robin Roberts. There are many more in the U.S., but at that time in Canada, there were very, very few of us.

And certainly for me as a writer, I guess I can say I was the first of the flugans of the females, yeah. I'm wondering if we could put, does Ann Romer get, does she qualify? Because Ann Romer was a sports reporter. Yes, she did do. That's correct. You were right on that. And also, Marilyn Dennis. Hopefully I'm not missing anybody, but Marilyn Dennis actually did

some work in Calgary with TSN. Early 80s, yeah. I did not know that. Very interesting. Okay. Sorry, who is the day who sorry i can't remember her name but you said it actually the name of the day one tsn-er uh the is it debbie don't i i want to say it's diana mcdonald and someone will probably it's either diana or it's um terry

libel i think it's terry libel only because've seen the video. You see like, you see Michael Landsberg, for example, and Peter, Peter Watts. I don't think it was Peter Watts. I was going to ask you about him later because I know, because I know you were close with him and we can talk about him, but Wells. Tom Wells. Yes. I think he's a day one or at TSN. I think, I think. Yes. We call them TSN originals. Okay. Cause Jim Van Horn's on that list too, of course. The great Jim, day one are at tsn i think i think yes we call them tsn originals okay because jim van horn's on that list too of course uh the great jim rock jock jim van horn but yes we actually had

a couple of years ago in the summer of 2019 we threw a reunion the 35th reunion for tsn that was a it was amazing yeah so everybody a lot of people from the old building, we call it the old building on 1155 Leslie. And that was the original TSN building before they moved to the atrium on Shepherd and now at 9 Channel 9 Court. Now, since we brought up his name, are you comfortable maybe sharing some memories of Peter Watts, who, you know, left us far too soon here, but you knew from TSN. Well, it's interesting, you asked me about my family and the funeral industry. And, and really, I ended up taking a fairly, you know, I was, it was my pleasure and my honor, actually, to help Pete's siblings with his funeral. And we actually had two funerals, one in Kingston, with his funeral. And we actually had two funerals, one in Kingston, which is where he is from, and one here in Calgary. And the thing about Peter Watts that I think I'd like people to know,

and we actually established a memorial grant for university with youth sports. So for any first year students that want to take on journalism, media studies, that type of thing, we actually have a fund for that from the money that was raised around his death two years ago. What I really want people to know about Peter is that he really, he really was somebody that was such a mentor to so many of us in the business and some really big names in Canadian sports media. A very humble man though, who really, he had time for everybody and his siblings really had no idea. And Pete was out here for 20 years. So after he left TSN, he worked in radio and he had a show on QR 77 for 20 years that was not just sports, but it was about politics.

It was current affairs. And so some TSM people came to his service here in Calgary and they were blown away by Pete's influence in Alberta. And he also did work in horse racing and for Spruce Meadows and with the stampeters and really well-respected man. And, and so I felt very honored and privileged, you know, to help carry his legacy on through this memorial grant with his siblings who are still in Kingston. And so,

and many of the people you were just talking about, Mike, they went to his service in Kingston. So Pete was a real TSN original and a real mentor to so many of us. Yeah. And I mean, only in his sixties when he passed away, which just feels way too damn soon, but for us, Toronto centric people, you know, we, we know him from TSN of course. And then you find out he had this fantastic career in Calgary that we, you know, just, you're just unaware because you don't, you know,

you don't hear Calgary radio. No, exactly. But yeah, he's a, he's a Queens boy. He's from Queens. And, and it was a real honor for me to help the family and to continue to help the family and to, to make sure that Pete's legacy lives on. Very nice. I know on, on the, on Twitter, et cetera, I know you were, uh, amplifying, you know, messages from the family when Peter passed. So, uh, yeah, I knew he was, you were very close close to him so i'm sorry for your loss well you know he was with me my whole life pretty much my whole working life from those tsn days that we're talking about when i knew nothing and i'm

like 22 years old to his death uh when i'm 32 years later right Right. So here we have you trying to be a reporter for TSN. There's not a lot of role models in Canadian sports media. There's a few at least, but like, you know, you mentioned Teresa, Teresa Hergert-Cruz, who's, you know, she, she was sort of the, for me anyways, who was too young to remember the, those, the early, early days of TSN. She was sort of the first time i saw a woman sports reporter uh was was on tsn was theresa so but i will tell you i had lots of of of role models

but they were it was dan patrick for me at espn that's who i wanted to be like is dan patrick so for me as a woman you might but for sure there weren't many for us to see and we always you know you hear that phrase a lot and I and I use that with my with my my kids books is you know you have to see it in order to be it and and yet Phyllis George is somebody who I saw when I was still in university right when she went on NFL Today at CBS right and just be able to see her in that in that venue, in that milieu, on the screen, that's a big deal for me. And then at that moment, as I'm now working at trying to, you know, establish myself in this industry, now I'm

looking at other broadcasters that I want to be like, and not necessarily women like Dan Patrick. I just love Dan Patrick on SportsCenter. So how did you get the break here to become a reporter for TSN? So I was at CTV, as I was telling you, you know, and getting that job when Rod got the call up. And they were looking, TSN was looking at expanding the Winnipeg Bureau. And then they were looking, TSN was looking at expanding the Winnipeg Bureau. And at that time, it was sort of a neat collision because I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave CTV actually, but I also, I came from TSN and it was kind of neat to think, wow, like I started as a flugan there and now they're wanting me to maybe come and do the on-air job. And I really was fighting for it. And so I got hired to do the Winnipeg Bureau. And then shortly thereafter, this Finnish phenom arrives in Winnipeg. And that really helped establish me as a reporter, as the rookie season of Taimu Solani. Because I probably filed, I would say on on average maybe a you know once a

week on him so that was a big deal Mike when when that happened for me and and he also helped Winnipeg he put Winnipeg on the map he put the Jets on the map right we obviously had the Blue Bombers as well but and in those days they really took a lot from the bureaus like some really my god I even did like a monster truck story and I got into the monster truck you know I did ice fishing in Selkirk we were doing all sorts of you know different things not just pro sports so yeah Taimou arriving was a was a big deal too for me as a reporter 76 76 goals that rookie season, if I remember correctly. My thoughts, yeah, you bet. Yeah, I remember that. And that's when the White House was established, you know, white noise. Those were really fabulous times to be a reporter in Winnipeg.

I have to say, I have some fantastic memories. Now with that, and because you asked me about, you know, being a female in this business, and I also like to always remind people that I am just a reporter. Obviously, I'm female. I am a sportscaster. That's it, guys, full stop. And Robin Brown, who was at CBC Radio when I arrived in Winnipeg, and Ashley Prest, who wrote for the Winnipeg Free Press. So there were lots of women, even in the early 90s. And I think of Cynthia Lambert. Geez, she was a beat writer for the Red Wings in Detroit. So in the print world, there were quite a few women at that time. But, you know, Coach Murphy, he really didn't, he really had some his his view was that we we really shouldn't be in the locker room.

And so that was actually a very interesting time. And what ended up happening was that he the Blue Bombers then made a policy for all of us, all reporters. And we were not we were we had to actually interview the players postgame in an ante room, like a separate room from their actual team locker room. So that affected all reporters, not just those of us double X. Right. Let's shout out the late, great Alison Gordon, who was covering the Jays for the Toronto Star.

And I remember she had her own battles to try to get, you know, equal coverage of the Blue Jays in the late 70s. Exactly. Yeah. This goes back many, many years when we really do the deep dive. Yeah, it goes back many, many years. And I think Lisa Olsen in Boston and she had all sorts of interesting challenges. Olson in Boston. And she had all sorts of interesting challenges. If I remember lots of has been written by it about it, but it's such a small part of the job too. Right. Let's all also, let's not forget that. But I actually had a camera follow me and a camera fall, covering the stampeters in the dressing room. And that's just really some interesting footage to see that scene.

And I have to say that really what it shows, it just shows me doing my job. And the players are just, we're just doing our jobs, right? And we're in there, we're getting our information, we're getting out because I got a deadline. We're not loitering in there, trust me. And it smells. It's loud. The music's going. You can't get great audio, you know?

No, no, no doubt there. No doubt. So how do you move from Winnipeg to Calgary? So then I am promoted then from Winnipeg to a busier bureau in Calgary. So, you know, incredible opportunities by TSN to then move to uh Calgary obviously with the Olympic facilities there's a lot more happening I was going to ask you that

was my question because I forgot about the whole Olympic aspect here because in my mind they both have both Calgary and Winnipeg have at least at the time had NHL teams and CFL teams like so to me they're equal but of course you're about, you're explaining right now why Calgary is a promotion, uh, from Winnipeg. Yeah. A busier bureau. And then at that time, they also, uh, you know, if you were doing good work, then TSM would promote you to cover like a Stanley cup playoff series. Right. So fantastic opportunities i was given by the network in calgary and uh 97 to 99 you're actually on the desk right tsn sports desk then i get yeah my dream job absolutely at that time i'd work really hard 10 years i guess or well seven years at that point uh to try to uh to get

that commentator position which is where I started on the weekends with Gene. Yes, honestly, you were great. I watched a lot of TSN back then, and you were fantastic. And why does it end for you at TSN? Yes, well, that is that job loss that I talk about. When I did send the tweet out about the three job losses I've had. One was devastating. The second one was annoying. And the third was just. So this is the first one. This is the devastating one. really didn't see it coming coming and I think there's a lot of people maybe who are listening to this who are who've also felt that where you're just not expecting that call and for me and I

actually Mike I incredibly I found some of my old journals if you can believe it from those those those years and I called it June 16th 1999 I actually called it Black Wednesday. And I actually had called the meeting. So unlike most layoffs or firings, York, hello, you know, can you please meet us in the boardroom? For me, I actually had, I had a show proposal. And I was in the middle of writing a Tony Fernandez story. And I had a show proposal and my notepad, I was going to bounce on up there and give them my show idea. And in going on up, they actually they called and they said, you can come up for your meeting a little bit earlier. And I see here in my journal that I've actually written that,

that to say I was in shock is an understatement. I actually thought they were joking originally. It took five minutes. I shook their hands and thanked them for the time and for bringing me into Toronto. The reason, quote, I was not the presence that they needed, end quote. So I then, I see I've written here that I went home, I was it was very weird and surreal. I mean, I've been with them for so long. One minute, I'm shot listing for a Tony Fernandez

story. And the next minute, I'm fired. Mom and dad came in, they were very shaken. And so I also want to send a big hug and a strong vibes to the families of all of my, my colleagues and mates and for any people outside of Bell Media, anybody who's going through this, because it is very hard on, on the families. It's one thing to be the person to, to have this happen to, but then your support group is shaken as well. And so Mike, all I can tell you is that it's a subjective business, very subjective business. When you're in front of the camera, it can sometimes be

something as simple as that, or, you know, just you're not a right fit. But in saying all that, six years after that happened to me, and I was devastated. I'm telling you, I was depressed. I didn't get out of bed. I didn't know what I was going to do. There's a fear of the unknown fear of, of what was I going to do? I mean, I was in Canada, and I had offers in the United States, but darn, you know, I didn't want to leave my home. didn't want to leave my home and so I whatever I just bared down and and I had then some fantastic opportunities that came out of it with the score thanks to Anthony Tichoni gave me a life raft raft and I was able to stay in in Canada and then later went to CBC and worked for Sports Journal and then I came back out to Calgary as I told you you, to CTV. And lo and behold, I then start working for the network again. So six years after they said, no, your presence is no longer needed. Then I'm back backfilling on my own job and helping out. And then 2010, I'm also being part of the Olympic discussion.

So I guess to make this really, you know, encapsulize the whole thing, here's a really tough job loss for me. I mean, I wore that network every day. And it can be hard when it's a public firing too. But when people reach out, and that's also the other point here, guys, if you know of someone who's lost their job oh man reach out any way you can because it means so much to them to just hear and to feel those warm vibes because then reality is going to creep in and the reality of the situation so if you can just reach out and keep

checking in on them i guess is the other thing you know the bell media cuts i want to say mike that's about two weeks ago now i'm going to say can you hear oh yeah no sorry i thought you were okay i'm so sorry i thought you were going to make a point about the bell media okay i'm just asking you i think it was two weeks ago yeah yeah oh yes yeah it was it was that was a pregnant pause mike that. That was classic. I didn't want to interrupt you. You were on such a roll. I didn't want to pollute the process. Well, I'm really passionate about, obviously, I'm really passionate about getting our children moving these days,

which is why we have these Lucy Tries sports books. But I'm also passionate about our industry. And it hurts me. I'm hurt. I'm hurt for them. I'm, I'm sad about our industry, about Canadian journalism and, and where it's going and how all these cuts and restructuring and everything. I understand it though. But I know how emotionally, physically, mentally draining it is on people. And that goes for anybody who goes through job loss. So I guess

I'm, I'm sort of opening myself up to, to helping people because we all need to help each other through those hard times. And, and in my case, there's an example where, yeah, it was a hard time, but bear down, you get through it. And then look at that. I ended up, you know, filing for them again. So, so we're definitely going to talk about Lucy Tri Sports, these children. We have time, Mike. Well, I'm going to make time because I got a lot of cover. But this first time, I guess, in, was it 1999? Yes.

I mean, I totally relate. Like, you can only be blindsided like that once, right? Is it one of those deals where one time you can get me, like you didn't see it coming, blindsides you, it crushes you, that you're almost hesitant to put up like, I don't know, to decorate your cubicle or whatever. Like you don't, you can't even settle in anywhere again because you simply don't trust that it won't happen again.

Well, that is a really good point. And I think that everybody, everybody who goes through that process, I can't think you can't help it kind of feel like that. Always looking over your shoulder or, you know, and especially when you can hear, oh, they're going to be doing some cuts. And then it brings back it triggers for you. Those other times, right, that you went through this, but it hardens, it hardens you in a good way. It's like you're battle-worn. I like to think of it. It's like really like Rocky, right? He's taken the punches. He's you're, you're taking the punches, but it builds that resiliency in you, right? You're standing in the ring. You're standing in the, you're like, I looked at the TSN that first, uh, that, that TSN and I had a tough time, Mike, getting over that word firing. Right. I don't think I ever accepted that word,

even though I did write it in my journal as I just shared with you. Right. But I couldn't say that word. You were taking it personally. Is it that you saw it as a personal slate that we're better off without you? I think, you know, I felt like it was such a fail, a fail, a weakness, right? And remember, and I'm pretty young, like, you know, I'm in my early, I guess I'm in my early 30s. And I'm such an A type, trying to strive for excellence all the time. And to hear fired, and I probably took me 15 years, I would say, Oh, I've been let go, or they let me out of my contract. I couldn't

accept that I was fired. And and you got to get over that. I think and you have you can't bury it, please do not bury it, my friends, like, like, like I buried it. It doesn't help you in any way. But then when I get to the second thing, which was a redundancy, which is a really cool word, But then when I get to the second thing, which was a redundancy, which is a really cool word to say you're out of your work. I was really I wasn't as as devastated because I'd already been through the devastation. Who fired you? I don't even like the idea. Somebody fired Lisa Bowes once. But who fired you a second time? who fired you a second time? It wasn't a firing. It was just when CDC,

when they make changes with their, their, their programming and their, and the show that I was working on, they, therefore my actual position became redundant. Gotcha. They call it, you are made redundant. Yeah. That's nice. Yes. So it's just a different way of really restructuring. And they are going to like end a show then you're redundant so therefore you can so i had opportunities within cbc so please yeah i was never fired from cbc um but but then in three years ago well actually sorry

mike now four years ago i sure well it would be March of 2017. So, you know, we're talking about the Let's Talk campaign, Bell Media. Well, there was a bunch of us that our jobs were eliminated. And so I was a layoff. And so the layoff is now even less affecting me because I've now gone through a couple of ones before. And I've had a gentleman on LinkedIn reach out to me and say, I've had six of these things. Right. So they're badges of honor, my friends. They're badges of honor, man. Own them and know that they're going to make you stronger, even though it's really, for lack of a better term, sorry, mom, it just sucks right now. It can suck really badly for so many people. It's just a brutal process, but you will get through it.

Is suck a bad word? I've lost touch with the bad words now. No, it's not really, but I know my mom saw this. I don't know who this is. So maybe you'll tell me, but somebody who goes by the handle Lars, where does that look? So I'll read the whole thing. Maybe it'll make more sense in context, but Lars where wrote me and said,

I worked with Lisa at the score. She showed the on. She, she showed the junior on air talent, Tim, Sid, Steve, Coolius producers, and the production production team how to become better so this

is nice words from lars weir who did work with you at the score he just wanted to know like what did you learn while you were at the score because the score is your next the score I really did oh it was such a freeing world I think coming from where I had come from there was a little more structured and I felt a little more able to be myself I I guess coming from TSM where I think the voices started to get in my head and when I was so confident when I went there coming out of Calgary and I just felt the voices in my head. I almost, I didn't even know what I was doing half the time. Like I was so freaked out for lack of a better term that coming to the score and being given the freedom to, to truly,

to be myself was so amazing. And, and everybody was so hungry. Yeah. Sid and, and Tim and everybody was just so fired up to try to, you know, try to cut into the numbers of TSN and, and then later Sportsnet. And, and, and I just, I love that experience. And then we had an opportunity to build a show called Sports Access, which is way ahead of its time, in my view. And I'm blown away, actually, that there still isn't a show that, but they're coming. They're coming.

Like Tara and Ali over at Sportsnet, they're doing an amazing job as they're doing that top of her game. And they're trying to do it amidst COVID when they don't have access to athletes. But at the end of the day, everything is a, is a story. If you've got a compelling story, man or woman, you're going to watch that, right? Parasport. I'm blown away. We don't have more on that. Those people are incredible and all of us watch that and just think, how are they doing that? We should have, I might, for my money,

we should have more para on on these shows on the news shows at least once a week why aren't we i don't know but you know i love the score and and if anything i could do to help um you know create create good content i was always always about that let's create good content coolius and i you know cabby yeah of course yeah the cabster so cabby used to write for that show for coolius and i on the weekend i hate to say that coolius and i show cabby wrote for the show the show is the show and steve and i were just the anchors on that show we're at the end of the of the line and cabbie we we said one day on it we were writing it down on a napkin we're out for beer after the show on a napkin we're like what could we cabbie we do cabbie on the street let's get

cabbie to to interview people on the street and you can do streeters cabbie on the street you know we're like brainstorming and cool this is brilliant producer. Coolius and I go back to those TSN days. And so that's Cabby. Cabby started with us on the score. Yeah. Cabby on the street. Now the rest is history. He's in Vegas now, right?

He's doing well in Vegas, I believe. Yeah. He's amazing. And, you know, he's an actor. Like, you know, I remember having great conversations with him, driving him home after the show. I love the score and we'll always have a special connection, all of those of us who worked at the score.

Did you work with Hebsey at the score? I did not. I missed Hebsey at the score. Missed Hebsey. Okay. Blink and you miss it. Okay, gotcha. We miss each other, but, you know, he and Jim Taddy,

they're the ones that really started this whole thing with the highlight show in Canada with Sportsline yes guy but yeah don't tell Jim I said that he might send me an invoice I'm pretty sure he he threatened to do it once so I just started doing it more I would love I would frame my Jim Taddy a cease and desist if he sent me one for saying yes guy I would frame it yes gal yes yes gal you made history Lisa in 2000 because you were the first I want to get this right this is very important Canadian broadcasting history the first uh play-by-play voice for the National Women's Hockey League correct that's pretty cool pretty cool. But Mike, here's the big thing that I want you to take away is that that was really cool that I was the first, but man, I wanted to be good. I

didn't want to just be the first. And I heard Everett Fitzhugh, who's the new voice for the Seattle Kraken. And he said the same same thing he might be the first black man calling an NHL team you know calling the NHL games but he doesn't want to just be the first and that's how I felt about that and that's now is that 20 years?

21 years almost yeah and so what an incredible opportunity it all started again with Anthony Ciccione and the score. They had us doing actually some youth sports hockey, women's hockey, which is very challenging hockey to call, to be, to be honest with you. And, and I was very new at it. I was, I took a lot of hits on that. I was really trying right. And, and,

and hockey is you need reps. I took to basketball much quickerockey is you need reps. I took to basketball much quicker. It's a totally different pace. Hockey, you need reps. That is going for any broadcaster that wants to pick up that skill set, man or woman.

You've got to go and call junior games. You've got to get in the booth and rep, rep, rep. Get your at-bats. Too many, sorry, too many sports. No, you're so right, though. Like anything else, it's like hosting a podcast. You've got to put in your reps. Yeah, you've got to put in the time, and you'll get better and better over time.

No doubt. Now, we are very close. I know, very close to talking Lucy Tri Sports because I got a lot of questions there. But I want to give you props again because you were nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. We used to call these Gemini Awards. I'm sure that was what it was called at the time. I'm not sure when it changed. But Best Writing in an Information Program or Series.

So that's cool, too. Very cool. And again, wonderful. That's the opportunity that I was given from CBC, which is long form documentary. Right. So quite different type of writing. And I learned so much from CBC. I cannot say enough about the almost two years that I spent there. I was became a much better writer and producer for my time spent at CBC.

They really know journalism. Well, Andrew Ward is a he's a good fotm by the way lisa you are now an fotm as well so you can you'll get your fotm jacket i'm couriering couriering i can't even say that word how can i do that couriering that out to uh that is a tough word to say you know can you say it it is you're you're sending it to me. I'm sending it to you via courier. That's what I'm going to change it to. But Andrew Ward, he, Andrew Ward writes, I used to work at CBC. And when I listened to guests who worked in broadcasting, but not at the CBC, there is a difference because Andrew listens to every episode, by the way, you have a unique perspective. This is for you, Lisa. You've had, you have a unique perspective. This is for you, Lisa. You have a unique perspective having worked at both. How would you compare or contrast your experiences? This sounds like an exam. It feels like this is like an entry exam or something. That's a good question.

So it is, it's solid. It's a solid ask. And it was, by the time I got to CBC, I almost, it was almost an awakening of, oh, okay. So this is actually what we're trying to do in an interview. I was so blessed, Andrew, to be able to get training from a man by the name of John Sawatsky. And he would help ESPN and he would help CNN anchors, all the great interviewers about how you set up an interview. And I had no training whatsoever on things like that. And I've been at TSN for many years and CTV.

And now all these networks do this type of training. But back in that time, they wouldn't necessarily have that for us, but CBC did. And wow, I am so grateful for that process to be able to have that workshop. It made me a much better interviewer, a much better writer. And as I said before, and that's really why myself and Richard White were able to receive that nomination for that Canadian Screen Guild. That's completely from the training from CBC. Amazing. And that CBC show is a sports journal. And it's no longer around, but sadly, but many of your listeners are probably aware of E60 and 30 for 30 and that sports journal.

Yeah. Looking at issues, issues like, so the headlines and then the issue below the headlines. One of my favorite stories, because I'm chatting with you in Toronto is Gary Roberts doing a story with Gary when he was playing for the Leafs and it was about his asthma and how he battled through asthma and wonderful, powerful story for all the kids and, and people who have, you know, who are struggling with asthma to show it, there's an NHL or that's able to make that happen. And so, yeah. So some wonderful content that we did, Mike, I gotta say.

I'm telling you society has been dumbed down to a point where that thoughtful nourishment is no longer appealing to the masses. That's my rant. Because I think we can all agree that Michael Jordan, that's an incredible doc on Netflix. Oh yeah, I did enjoy consuming that when it dropped on Netflix, no doubt. No doubt. I think we can do the same type. And I think TSN is also doing that, right? They have, they've actually bumped up some of their long form and you're seeing that bits and pieces, but I still think you make it compelling. And I think that, you know, Ted Nolan, that was a beautiful piece done by TSN on Ted Nolan. That's long form. It's not, it's not a half hour, but it's long form because it's probably

seven or eight minutes. I actually think that the reason this podcast exists right now is because I was looking for something that was a deeper dive, like a longer form free flow conversation instead of all the, you know, three to seven minute, you know, sound clips or sound bites that you seem to get from the mainstream media these days. So I'm a big fan of the long form. Beautiful. You filled the need. My father always taught me. That's what we have to do also in COVID times when we have job losses,

you have to find a way to fill the need, right? Right, right. Okay. So let's, so you mentioned this is the final firing. We won't dwell on it too much, but you were, of course, you were the CTV host and reporter for women's hockey at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. I just talked to Rod Black about this. What a magical time that was.

That must have been amazing, right? Oh, it's incredible absolute career highlight for sure and for it to be a home games i mean it's who knows if uh that'll ever come around in our lifetime again and the energy in vancouver and i think the pride that the country felt and that in fact the the consortium which was right a group of the TSN, the Sportsnet, CTV, the consortium, what a brilliant, brilliant job they did to work all the multi-platforms that they did, right? Long form, the online piece, right?

All the different channels that you could watch it. The theme song, the look, everything. It was, I've never been more proud to be part of something. And I feel very blessed that I was on the list and stayed on the list and was able to be part of the women's hockey coverage for that. And how many eyeballs were on that women's gold medal game? Well, they say that in that third period,

as it went to that third period, it was inching closer to 8 million. third period, as it went to that third period, it was, it was inching closer to 8 million. So really have to be on your game, just like an athlete at an Olympic games. And you have, they have their moment, they have their maybe 50 seconds or whatever it might be. Same thing for us in front of the camera. You've got your moment and you've got to, you got to nail it. Well, there's not a lot of Canadian programming the past 20 years that reached 8 million eyeballs. I'll tell you that right now. Yeah, the Grey Cup's always a big thing, right?

The Grey Cup's big. Sure. You had the Golden Goal, obviously, which is the next night. And Chris calling that game, that's a career highlight for him, right? I still remember Sydney yelling, Iggy! Yes, absolutely. everybody could hear that i mean and then and then i think it's matt cade i want to say it's matt i don't want to get that wrong but i'm pretty sure it's matt cade he he wrote a children's book about the golden goal wow okay and it's out there and you can go and pick that up and it's brilliant. Well, speaking of brilliant children's books, Lisa, let me tell you about

since you set it up. Well, since you put that on the tee, I'm going to hit it out of the park here. So, uh, you Lisa Bowes are the author of the Lucy tries sports children book series. Like tell us what inspired it, what it is. And then I have yet another amazing question from Angie Ward about the series. Okay. Well, in a nutshell, how this happened was when I was in Vancouver, actually covering women's hockey. My young daughter at the time was two.

I'm reading books to her and then a eureka moment happens for me. I come off the air and I think, oh my gosh, we could create a series of books for children and their parents that actually educate them about different types of sport. Let's get on mainstream for a bit. And so off I went thinking I could create these books before Vancouver. Well, that did not happen. It took me seven years and 14 rejections on the very first manuscript before Lucy Tries Luge was published. I want to give a shout out to Orca Book Publishers for taking it on. And with the whole thing and how it has really evolved, Mike, is that this is really about encouraging

all kids to be active, number one, and to do so as they're learning to read. So Lucy is a global perseverance champion. We have to also remind kids to try. That's why it says tries. It's not, yes, it's Lucy tries sports. So she's trying right now. She's up to five sports and in French and Spanish and simplified Chinese. So she's really, you know, she's really hitting it out of the park. But I want to make sure that I do get this in is that especially with COVID now, our little ones are just are not moving like they should be. And they're losing their organized sport and the activity levels are just dropping. And this goes back to me as a phys ed major, so I'm coming full circle on my degree, that we,

this is the children's health crisis, and I just want to encourage everybody to try to really get these little ones moving, because their bodies were designed to move, so Lucy is a relatable figure for them, and she inspires them to move. And she is for boys as well. 100% she's empowering for little girls because she's a girl. Right. But it goes back to my career, Mike, in many ways. It's a parallel journey.

Children, first of all, they do not see color or gender. So when we get to adult world, we tend to, right? And you know, I kind of said earlier, guys, I'm a sportscaster. Obviously I'm a female. Well, Lucy is a kid. And if, and, and if boys love her too, little six, seven, eight year olds, boys love her too. Then my deep subtext here is that as boys see a strong, courageous character like Lucy, that will also help form the perception of girls and then women later in the workforce. So it's really trying to make that connection for boys also to see girls in that space. boys also to see girls in that in that space shout out to my wife monica because uh i have a four year old and we have a four year old and six year old and the four year old was supposed to be a

timbit this winter and the six year old was going to start house league hockey and then the pandemic shut both down so my wife thought let's try a build an outdoor skating rink and like i actually have i was i was like uh how do you do that like and she's like oh and she got a book she got a book from the library and she wrote down here's the things we need to do and i was literally like the muscle on this project she was the architect and that is fantastic i love seeing that i love hearing that i love seeing that. I love hearing that. I love seeing all the kids out there playing in the snow. Many kids can't access organized sport either, right? Right, right. So for those who cannot, it's just about moving those bodies and playing with your caregiver, playing with your friends and your family and playing at school and moving those bodies. And, and I love to hear that. And I think obviously if you send me my jacket, I'm definitely sending you a Lucy book. Oh,

I will send you a Lucy book. Would they like hockey, basketball, soccer, short track speed skating or luge? And the reason why I do luge a lot in my virtual school because you're in calgary well it's because it's something they can do in the snow at distance during covid smart right and it's easy access for families just sledding smart luge is that sport where i watch it exactly once every four years exactly but if your kids are on their back and they are going down the sled then they are losing very very true very smart but uh hockey is the on their back and they are going down the sled then they are losing very very true very smart but uh hockey is the big thing here because they they have been uh enjoying the backyard rink and they get out there and it's the smartest thing ever so shout out to my wife who also put together a really nice little youtube video on how she did this uh she's a lot

smarter than i am she just needed me to hammer in the spikes i was just there to hammer in the spikes all right the and Andrew Ward question here. He's a proud grad at Western like yourself. You're a Western grad, right? I am indeed. So is Andrew. He loves the

Lucy Tri Sports series. His wife, this is Andrew's wife, works in a public library and uses these materials to encourage literacy His wife, this is Andrew's wife, works in a public library and uses those material, uses these materials to encourage literacy. Encourage literacy. I need literacy help myself right now. Encourage literacy seeking success by age six, especially with girls.

Okay, I think I know what he's saying there. So in the series, the books seek to reinforce healthy child development. This is Andrew selling your book, by the way. And then he says, tell us about the series and what led to us. You've kind of already done that, but I should have read this maybe earlier. But lots of love there from Andrew and his wife who works in a public library. They love your series. Well, that's wonderful. If I hear from teachers and librarians, those are, means so much to me when when they, you know,

offer their feedback and give support for the series, because it really is a passion project for me, Mike, and I'm really trying to make a difference in our, our declining physical activity and frankly, in our literacy numbers for our kids. So what we do know is if the kids get an active start, just like what you're doing with your family, if they have that active start, they will have an active life. And therefore, a happy and healthy life, right? If they're healthy, they're happy. It all works. And that's why I always like to, I know I'm always on about this on my Instagram.

I'll often post me walking, my little walking rants. I'll often post me walking my little walking rants, but man, it's so helpful when you can just get outside and go for a walk, especially for all of those people who are, are struggling right now. Okay. Lisa, amazing, amazing stuff. Uh, this has been fantastic before I play us out here. Can you be fired a fourth time? Like, I don't mean that to be glib, but like, are you now at a point where like you control your own destiny? You might lose a client or two, but can you actually be fired? Or is it that's that third time was the

last time? I think I'm now, I'm going to rephrase that Mike too. I am now fired up. Every time I get a rejection, I am fired up. So rejection for me now is pure motivation that's my mantra now and in fact i just had a school board actually because i'm in cross canada doing these virtual school visits with lucy so for elementary schools and i'm i'm in i'm i'm all it's wonderful and i i feel very blessed i'm actually coming into toronto next week oh wow yeah Yeah, but I did have one school board that say that they were not approving my program. Oh, why not? What did they say the reason was?

They didn't. They just said it has not been approved. And I hear that and I say, thank you. Thank you for that motivation. It fires you up. I am not fired, Mike. I am fired up.

Lisa, I love it. So honestly, so inspiring and much success with the series and everything you're doing nowadays. And thanks for making all this time for me today. This was awesome. Well, thank you for having me. A Lucy book is on its way. before I read my sponsors maybe first we make it very clear that if somebody listening wants to buy

the Lucy book for their niece, their nephew their daughter, their son, their cousin heck, for their library how can they buy this book very quickly, because you are giving me this moment, I will very quickly

just say that Lucy books are available anywhere books are sold. So if you can support your independent bookstore guys, because they need your help. I always try and do that. But yes, you can find them at Indigo, online, Amazon, at orcabooks.com. And if you support Canadian creators, James Hearn, our brilliant illustrator, we would just love for you to help us to inspire our kids to keep moving and keep reading. And that brings us to the end of our 806th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Lisa, are you at Lisa Bowes? At Lisa follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Lisa, are you at Lisa Bowes? At Lisa Bowes on Twitter. Yes, at Lisa Bowes Facebook. At Lisa Bowes creates Instagram.

And Lucy, Mike, of course. Lucy has her own. Oh. At Lucy tries sports. She's on Twitter too. Okay. I got to tweet or tag her on this tweet when I promote this show. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery, they're at Great Lakes Beer. Fresh craft beer. I didn't bring them up in the episode, but if I ever do get to meet you, Lisa, I got some fresh beer for you. I'll take care of you from Great Lakes Brewery here. Thanks, Mike. I love it.

Thank you. And I'll get you lasagna because thank you, Palma Pasta. They're at Palma Pasta. Frozen lasagna. They're in Mississauga and Oakville. I don't think they will deliver to Calgary, but when you're in town, I'll hook you up. Sticker U, they actually do deliver to Calgary.

Get your Lucy Tries stickers and decals at Sticker U. Smart, smart. CDN Technologies are at CDN Technologies. Ridley Funeral Home, they're at Ridley FH. And Mimico Mike, whenever Mike whenever Lisa you get the itch to move back to the city I recommend Mimico

I know it's a little west of young for you but Majeski Group Homes on Instagram is how you can follow Mimico Mike see you guys all next week

and I'll play this guitar just the best that I can this podcast has been produced by TMDS And I'll play this guitar just the best that I can. This podcast has been produced by TMDS and accelerated by Roam Phone. Roam Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business and protect your home number from unwanted calls. Visit RoamPhone.ca to get started.