Wednesday, July 19, 2017
The End of an Era
I spent last
Saturday roaming the hills north of Belleville at the Trillium Wood
Golf Club. The were in the midst of the 30th Annual Rick
Meagher-Medigas Celebrity Golf Tournament, helping raise funds for
less fortunate individuals. When the tournament wrapped up, the event
had raised more than three million dollars.
The
tournament was the brainchild of Rick Meagher and friends. It just so
happened that many of them worked at Medigas; however, Rick's family
was also very involved at that time. As most of you know, it takes
many hands to pull off a successful golf tournament.
On hand this
year were many celebrities. To their credit, most of them stayed
through the dinner and auction, and added to the fun. From the world
of baseball, Kelly Gruber and Al Woods from the Blue Jays. Kelly
lives in Texas nowadays, but likes to come to Canada to help out with
events. He was on his way to another event in Prince Edward Island. I
asked him if he planned to try a little lobster while in PEI. “No”,
he replied. “ I plan to try a whole lot of lobster while I'm
there!”
I spent the
afternoon traveling nine holes on Rob Ray's golf cart, chatting about
this and that. I congratulated him on his selection to the Belleville
Sports Hall of Fame. Their Induction Ceremony takes place in
September, and I do hope Rob will be able to attend. He spends his
winters behind a microphone, chatting about Buffalo Sabres hockey. He
also owns a restaurant in Buffalo, and often helps out there in the
summer. Rob is in great shape, but confessed that he likes to nibble
on the product while at work.
Rob Ray and Darryl Sittler
The
ever-present cell phone sat between us on the golf cart. His eight
year old son was playing against West Seneca in a ball tournament.
Rob got several updates from his wife during the afternoon. He tried
to mask his disappointment when he heard that his team was losing,
and that his son had struck out. They also have a 13 year-old-
daughter.
Rob Ray was
a battler in the NHL, to say the least. His name is on everyone's
list as one of the toughest guys ever to play the game. But he can
also excell when it comes to verbal battles. Part of his foresome was
the incomparable Bill Holmes, from Wellington. Right from the first
tee, they became sparring partners, adding to the hilarity.
Doug
Gilmour, Al Iafrate, Mike Palmateer, Wendell Clark, Stephane Richer,
Dale Hawerchuk, Brad Richardson, Andrew Shaw, Derek Smith...to name a
few. They all stayed and chatted with friends and fans long after the
last ball landed in the 18th hole.
Across the
pond, Roger Federer raised the trophy yet again as the reigning
Wimbledon singles champion. It was his 8th triumph at the
tournament, and his 19th Grand Slam victory. Without
question, he is the best male tennis p[layer ever to walk on the
courts.
The Blue
Jays suffered a humbling loss on Sunday against the lowly Detroit
Tigers. They showed some life, winning one of the games in the Motor
City. But walking in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th
inning really stung. There are long days ahead for our Jays.
And the
RED/BLACKS have yet to taste victory in Ottawa. Again this year, the
western teams have dominated. Hope to see you soon for one of their
games in Ottawa!
A tip of the
old baseball cap to Keith MacDonald. A member of the Belleville
McFarlands when they won the World Championship in 1959, Keith has
been a community leader for decades in The County. (Please don't
mention that I wrote that he is celebrating his 90th
birthday!)
James Hurst
July 18,
2017.
# posted by James Hurst @ 4:12 PM 
