There’s no faking that I know a lot about the inner workings of pro sports. I’ve worked with enough sports nuts to pick up a thing here and there but it’s not a realm that interests me enough to study.
However, over the years I’ve come to know and like a few players here and there. The first was probably Matt Dunigan, a Hamilton Tiger Cat who used to come on air at CHML here and there. Dunigan had young kids at the time and a panicked wife who worried his last concussion wouldn’t be his last. He finally listened to her, after memory problems and balance issues made the after-effects of his injuries impossible to ignore. He reinvented himself as a cookbook author and barbecue food show host.
Here in London it’s all about the London Knights and now the London Lightning. Oh and Olympic Gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir whom I recently interviewed. They’re very sweet and so tiny! I’ve met a few Knights but there’s really no rapport to develop with teen boys, nor would I want to have one. However the Lightning players are ambassadors for basketball and each and every one has been a decent, warm and personable person. My favourite was Gabe Freeman who really tried to make a life for himself here in London. He and Derek became pals and had plans to ride their motorcycles together before Gabe was unceremoniously let go. Gabe and previous coach Michael Ray Richardson didn’t see eye to eye and one day it came to a head and Gabe was released. Gabe can play anywhere overseas for big bucks but he had started a service club for underprivileged kids here and he was putting down roots. In a flash he was gone.
Now Mo Bolden has been cut. Mo was not himself when he came in for his weekly on-air chat last Friday. The usually gregarious and friendly man we know was replaced by a very low-key and quiet individual. We knew he didn’t like early mornings but this was different. Then came the news on Saturday that he, the team superstar, had been released.
The NBL isn’t the NBA just like the CFL isn’t the NFL, but it’s a tough life in pro sports, no matter what letters you’re playing under.