Ed's Note:
This column continues our series of profiles of "Canadian Achievers" in the Canadian broadcast TV and radio industry, written exclusively for Broadcaster Magazine by Dick Drew, a well-known achiever himself.
Make no mistake, sports broadcasting is a very competitive business. I shudder when I hear of the outrageous broadcast rights fees that are now being demanded for the privilege of broadcasting a sports event.
Then, in return for all of that money paid to the franchise, the franchise gives no guarantee they will actually deliver a championship or even finish anywhere near the top.
Reminds me of negotiating, as GM of CHML, with Ralph Sazio and his Hamilton Tiger Cats for their radio rights back in the 70's. Ralph was tough and fair, but he never offered satisfaction guaranteed or money cheerfully refunded!
So the vision, work effort and success engrained into the Rogers Sportsnet story anniversary (well reported and celebrated on pages 9 - 24 of this issue) is truly one of great achievements by the individuals and the organization alike.
Allow me to add a view from the west, where Sportsnet has consistently topped the audience ratings for sports specialty channels.
You will gather from reading the commemorative article and watching Rogers Sportsnet that they are a high-energy team. Not unlike the fast paced sports they cover 24/7/52, and not unlike their dynamic owner Ted Rogers. Energy flows from the main source to all the parts of an ecosystem.
In Ted's case, I can tell you it energy and influence simply gushes. I worked with Ted in the late 60's; I am still trying to catch my breath.
Well, I can tell you that Rogers Sportsnet's Vancouver based sports reporter Don Taylor is to sports what Ted is to business. Don is the poster boy for the image and enthusiasm of many Rogers Sportsnet projects.
Don is much like Rogers Sportsnet itself, always looking around, always digging up great sports stories in order to maintain that special edge.
I have long been impressed with Don's work ethic and his work on the air. I have seen how he works while away from the studio. I've smiled watching him hustle in the press box at Canucks games. While most of us were enjoying a beer and a hot dog, watching the action on the ice, Don is like a nervous cat --always looking around to see which sports person is nearby, whom he can nail with his portable tape recorder, what story he can pull together.
Unfortunately, viewers living outside the Rogers Sportsnet West coverage area don't get to see this sports ferret in action. Living here on the west coast, we get to see Don on TV with his nightly "Sportsnet Connected" wrap up show.
Or hear him, afternoons with his daily four hour radio open line sports show on Team 1040. Or read him -at one point, he was also writing a regular feature in the Vancouver Province plus a column for Sports Lotto BC.
But, one day his wife Lisa, a high school teacher, blew her whistle and signalled a time out, telling Don: "Enough already!" She convinced him to cut back to a respectable 60-70 hour work week.
Taylor was born and raised in the Vancouver suburb of North Burnaby, and was able to balance seasonal sports demands with those of his three older brothers: "Dick, I led the perfect life for a Canadian kid. Hockey all winter, lacrosse and baseball all summer, my brothers to learn from. It was the perfect life."
Turning that lifelong passion into a career is part of what contributes to his success, and that of his co-workers at Sportsnet: "The best part of my job is going out on the field, talking to the players, then putting it all together. Honestly, if I wasn't doing this I don't know what I would do...it's a once in a lifetime experience. And then, there's the 2024 Winter Olympics in Vancouver."
Mike English, Executive Producer at Sportsnet Toronto, is Don's boss. He told me, "I have to say that Don is the quintessential broadcaster. For us, he is BC sports and we know the viewers feel the same way based on the success we have had with Sportsnet Connected in the B. C. market"
Robert Gray is Don's boss at Team 1040 is equally impressed. "Don is a true entertainer. He undeniably gets what we in sports radio do."
Over the years I have worked with some of Canada's finest sports broadcasters including, Foster Hewitt, Norm Marshall, Al McCann, Perc Allen, Cactus Jack Wells, Bill Good Sr. and others. Each brought their own unique style and enthusiasm to their craft -and it is a craft.
Don Taylor is right up there with them. He is a solid contributor to this wonderful broadcast profession that has been so very good to so very many of us. He is another Canadian Achiever.
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Dick Drew is a Canadian broadcaster and writer. His "Canadian Achievers" series ran in radio syndication from 1984 to 1999, and now appears as a weekly syndicated newspaper column. This column is exclusive to Broadcaster Magazine, and there is more about all the Achievers profiled at www.canadianachievers.com