Author: Steve Murray

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Podcasts

The Lowdown Radio: September 29, 2009

Season three of The Lowdown rolled on with the annual NHL preview. On tonight’s show, Steve and Jackie give campus radio’s most thorough preview of the 2009-2010 NHL season. They start with a fantasy preview by picking the best players at each position and some sleepers to put you over the top. In the news, the guys talk about women’s habits including gossiping and hunting. In entertainment, there’s Jackie’s new single, It Came From YouTube, and a discussion of The CW’s poor ratings. After the break, the guys go back to the rink to pick each division winner, both conference champions, and the Stanley Cup Champion.

Click here to download the 10 MB podcast version.
Click here to download the 26 MB high-quality version.

On Lowdown Extra, the guys have even more fantasy hockey insight for you. They also do an in-depth breakdown of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. There are two more stories in the news, another entertainment story, and a disagreement over the Worst in Music. There’s a more in-depth look at division winners, including a look at if the President’s Trophy is a real trophy worth winning. They cap off the show by predicting the year-end award winners and add in a few more questions to their game of Over/Under. It’s the biggest Lowdown Extra ever at 1 hour and 9 minutes. It’s also CHRW’s longest ever podcast by three minutes over the three-year-old record set by Steve with Jackie making his first CHRW appearance as an interview guest. All the action comes to uncut and uncensored.

Click here to download Lowdown Extra.

1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray News

Not News of the Week

Even though it’s Tuesday, if it’s not worth talking about, then it’s still the Not News of the Week.

The 2009-2010 NHL season kicks off on Thursday night. There’s one man that won’t be taking the ice because he’s making a lateral career move. Veteran NHL defenseman Patrice Brisebois retired last week after 18 seasons and 1009 games. Unlike most retiring athletes, he’s not planning his eventual comeback. Instead, he’s going to fill his free time by driving in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. He’s run two races. His first race was at Trois Rivieres where he retired because of heat exhaustion. In his second race in Montreal, he finished in 12th after starting in 15th. He says his racing dreams include moving up to the Nationwide or Sprint Cup Series. If that doesn’t work out, he’d love to race in the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Podcasts

Lowdown Radio Preview: September 29, 2009

The second episode of The Lowdown on 94.9FM CHRW hits the airwaves tomorrow night. The show is all about the 2009-2010 NHL season. Two nights after the show airs, the season kicks off so Steve and Jackie dedicate the majority of the show to previewing the season. They break down the best fantasy players in each division and the sleeper fantasy players. They also predict each division winner and the Stanley Cup champion. Jackie also previews a single that hit #1 in the UK while Steve introduces the It Came From YouTube segment on the radio show.

The show goes live at around 6:30 PM Eastern. If you’re in the London, ON, listening area, you can listen live on 94.9 FM. You can also listen online at CHRWradio.com/listen.

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

F1 Singapore GP: These Are The Brakes

f1-singapore-2009-hamilton-checkersThe second night race in Formula One history was missing that intangible that the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix had. Maybe it was the initial spectacle that wore off. Or it could have been the fact that we didn’t have an unexpected winner as Lewis Hamilton held on to the lead from pole and was never really challenged. We did have two unexpected cars on the podium with Lewis and one was quite ironic. Meanwhile, the story of the race was brakes as drivers were forced to retire or back off massively. Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Fauxcoming Weekend

lacey-chabert1After my first day off from blogging in almost three weeks, here’s Lacey Chabert.

This weekend was “Fauxcoming” at Queen’s University which is a student initiated replacement for proper Homecoming. In fact, it’s an idea that we championed on the radio show to protest the end of Homecoming. Anyway, Neate Sager takes an in-depth look at Homecoming and the issues around it. (The CIS Blog)

The Queen’s Journal also had a live blog of the Fauxcoming party on Aberdeen Street. Am I the only one that thought a car being flipped was just a case of “boys will be boys”? The guy got an insurance payout and a donation from the students. He benefitted from that. (Queen’s Journal)

Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell may be a multi-time UFC champion but he’s no hot foot on the dance floor. Football and MMA insider Jay Glazer went behind the scenes with The Iceman for his Dancing With The Stars experience. (FOX Sports)

After the jump, sports movie hotties, a Western Mustangs cheerleader hottie, and Kimbo’s got a gun. Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Columns

The Humanoids: It Was A Mistake

Everyone makes a mistake now and then. It’s learning from those mistakes that allows us to learn. Of course, some folks won’t give you a chance to actually learn from your mistakes. Instead, you’ll get thrown under a bus and no one will let you have a chance to make up for yourself. Bill Buckner might have been a good player but all he’s remembered for is that one mistake in the World Series. Some of our subjects have made mistakes that can’t or won’t be fixed. One person hasn’t made a mistake but rather it was me making it (i.e. Mark Martin).

Speaking of a mistake, it’s a mistake if you don’t catch some of next week’s episode of The Lowdown. It’s our big fantasy hockey and 2009-10 NHL season preview. The Lowdown Extra is going to be over an hour long with mostly hockey talk. That’s more than double the length of a regular radio show. That next episode will air on September 29th at 6:30 PM. Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

Gretzky Resigns From Phoenix Coyotes

In a move that has been anticipated since he went MIA at the start of the Phoenix Coyotes’ training camp, Wayne Gretzky resigned from his position of head coach of the team.

Gretzky’s departure was a near certainty given the ongoing court case over the future ownership of the franchise. Neither Jim Balsillie nor the NHL has included Gretzky in their bids for the team. Gretzky’s current contract is rumoured to be worth up to $8.5 Million per season and neither party wanted to take on Gretzky’s contract going forward. In Balsillie’s case, Gretzky did not want to move from the Phoenix area to Hamilton under Balsillie’s proposed plan.

It’s interesting to note that only the proposed bid of Ice Edge Holdings included keeping Gretzky on board in any capacity. Jerry Reinsdorf didn’t get far enough in the process to indicate whether he would keep Gretzky on board or not.

There is a historical irony that will come out of this, though. The greatest player in hockey history has been forced out of the NHL by the worst franchise in hockey history. You think that a smart business man like Balsillie or someone in the NHL would try to keep Gretzky on as an ambassador. I guess the NHL isn’t that forward thinking.

Ulf Samuelsson was originally rumoured to be getting promoted from associate coach to head coach. However, recent rumours have former Dallas Stars coach Dave Tippett stepping into the hot seat.

1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: Very Lively

Blake Lively was the star of this past Sunday’s Emmys. That red dress has launched her into the realm of the A-list celeb.

Former Russian President Boris Yeltzin was notorious for his love of alcohol. It wasn’t just at home that he loved to drink. Bill Clinton’s empty liquor cabinet can attest to that. (Daily Telegraph)

You can say a lot of things about Oregon Ducks football coach Chip Kelly. One thing you can’t say is that he isn’t a class act. A fan demanded his money back from his trip to a bad road game and Kelly sent the man a cheque. (EDSBS)

Is it sad when the fan that paid to get into the Russian soccer game is better than the overpaid capitalist dog that’s a star player. I guess in Soviet Russia, stars cheer you. (Off the Post)

After the jump, the end of the Lego house, the greatest basketball shot ever, and the failure of the Dallas Cowboys’ Party Pass tickets. Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Podcasts

Lowdown Radio Classic: November 27, 2007

It’s another classic Lowdown radio episode. This interview probably put us on the map as the best interviewing show on CHRW. On this vintage episode, Steve talks to former Western Mustangs defenseman Greg DeFelice who tells some great stories of his days with Mustangs hockey in the 80s and playing with Wayne Gretzky. First, though, the guys discuss the infamous 2007 salmonella outbreak at Western. In entertainment, Steve and Jackie debate the merits of a love song by a guy that has a really high-pitched voice compared to Barry White. Jackie reviews the Disney movie Enchanted starring Amy Adams. After the commercial, Steve and Jackie debate the merits of a proposed ban on selling cigarettes on the UWO campus. (In case you were interested, the student union banned the sale of cigarettes based on 55% voting in favour from a 20% voter turnout.) And we wrap up the show with their first time playing Oddsmakers.

Click here for the 10 MB podcast version.
Click here for the 37 MB high-quality version.

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

Formula One 2010 Schedule Announced

Slightly lost amid the World Motor Sports Council hearing about the Renault Crashgate, the FIA announced the 2010 Formula One schedule. As has been rumoured for several months, the Canadian Grand Prix will be on the schedule. Despite being left off the previously released provisional schedule, the South Korean Grand Prix is listed on this version of the 2010 calendar. There will be a total of 19 races in 2010 starting in mid-March and running through to mid-November. The full schedule and analysis after the jump. Continue reading →