Breaking news: CJAD to get Impact soccer broadcasts

It looks like TSN Radio 990 will no longer be carrying Montreal Impact soccer games. On the eve of the team's much anticipated debut  in the prestigious Major League Soccer (MLS) circuit,  I have learned that the broadcast rights will move over to CJAD Radio 800.

Brian Wilde

TSN Radio 990, previously known as THE TEAM 990 and soon to become TSN 690, handled Impact broadcasts for the last few seasons. Most recently CTV's Brian Wilde did the play-by-play, joined by colour  commentator and soccer expert Noel Butler. Sources close to the scene tell me that the Impact's new MLS schedule just does not work since they also have the broadcast rights for the Montreal Canadiens. The vast majority of MLS games are on  Saturdays and the 34 game schedule goes from March until October. Unlike CJAD, which has Astral sister stations Virgin Radio and CHOM as backups, TSN 990 has no FM partners.

Noel Butler

So, TSN 990 will survive minus the Impact. Provided Butler remains on board, hosting his popular Oranges at Halftime program and popping up on other shows. TSN 990 listeners will therefore still get their fill of soccer news. CJAD gets another sports property to join the Alouettes. They were in fact the original broadcasters of the Impact.

Rick Moffat

I am told that Wilde would like to return as the play-by-play man. He is unquestionably passionate about the job, which was clear every time the Impact scored a goal and he went out of his mind. I was worried he'd burst a blood vessel. But there is always the chance CJAD will go to Rick Moffat, who did the Habs and is the voice of the Als or versatile Abe Hefter. As for who will do the colour, well besides Butler the best man for the job is former Impact captain Lloyd Barker, who remains busy on CTV as their resident soccer expert. There are a number of other former Impact players who might be available as well.

The Impact play their first MLS game on March 10 in Vancouver. Who will be in the broadcast booth?

Gary Carter: proud to say I knew him personally

There is a lot being said and written about the life of Gary Carter, the Montreal Expos legend who lost his battle with cancer at the age of 57.

Well, I was among those who can say that Gary and I knew each other on a first name basis.  When he joined the Expos for good in 1975 I was 13 years of age. My dad, Lawrence Frederick Cohen (aka Larry Fredericks), worked in the press box for  the United Press International wire service. In those days the team gave all media a pair of season tickets at cozy Jarry Park. From his seat high atop the crowd my dad could keep his eye on my younger brother Chuck and I.

Gary Carter began the season as the starting right fielder for the Expos. Chuck and I must have gone to close to 50 games that year. Our seats were located right near the players' families. This included the then young wife of Carter, Sandy. We spoke to her often. Gary's dad Jim flew in from California frequently and he was quite the gentleman.

It did not take long for Chuck and I to become big Gary Carter fans. My dad reported from the dressing room what an amazing guy he was. "He's calling  me 'Larr' already,"  dad told me proudly.

Carter was visible in the community. Each summer he accepted an invitation from Johnny Elias to come teach at his Grand Slam Baseball School, which happened to be behind my house. Here was a major superstar in the game coming to a community park to talk to kids because of a friendly relationship he developed with Elias, a batting practice pitcher in his spare time.

There was a reason Carter was called the "Kid."

My biggest thrill came at the age of 18. My dad always promised that when I was 18 and in CEGEP I could come help him in the press box. This give me dressing room access and a chance to see Carter in action with the media. Win or lose, he was always available for a comment and did so with a smile and plenty of good sound bites.,

The following  season  I had gotten a job at the now defunct Sunday Express Newspaper. The Express had a pretty steady readership and at a young age I was named assistant sports editor. I had a column with my baby face photo and wrote   a slew of stories each week on virtually every sport. It gave me great visibility among the athletes. One day I was in the dugout talking to then Expos manager Jim Fanning. As we concluded our chat, Carter walked by. He turned around, looked at me and said, "How is Mr. Cohen doing today? What can we expect this week in The Sunday Express?"

From that point on he always remembered my name, even after he was sadly traded to the New York Mets, the LA Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. I was among the elated fans when he returned to the Expos for his final season. The double in his final at bat at Olympic Stadium still gives me goosebumps.

Carter came back to Montreal as TV broadcaster for a few seasons. We heard him on local radio even after the team left town and witnessed him being honoured at the Bell Centre with Andre Dawson, his sweater number 8 lifted to the rafters.

There will never be another Gary Carter. I know he would have loved to see the Expos stay in Montreal and for him to one day be the manager. We can only dream.

Here is Annakin Slayd's tribute video:

One-on-one with Federal Treasury Board President Tony Clement

I have always appreciated the opportunity to sit down with members of the provincial and federal cabinet. Last Friday I was invited to meet Federal  Treasury Board President Tony  Clement, the man responsible  for the  overall management of the federal government's financial, human resources, and administrative activities.   The Treasury Board establishes policies and standards for management practices in a wide range of areas and oversees their implementation across the federal government.  Clement is responsible for preparing the government's expenditure budget (the Estimates) and monitoring program spending in departments. He was previously the Minister of Industry and Minister of Health, having been elected in 2006. During his eight years as Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament he served as Minister of Health and of the Environment.

My interview with Clement was made possible by the Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC), an organization which reminds of the former Canadian Jewish Congress  in its golden years. I spent 11 years as the national director of communications for the CJC. During most of that time, we were recognized as the Parliament of Canadian Jewry and did the type of political advocacy CJPAC now does. It is no doubt  because of the impressive work of CJPAC, and of course B’nai Brith Canada, why CJC was finally shut down.

Clement in Parliament.

CJPAC is a unique national, grassroots, independent organization. Its mandate is to activate the Jewish community in the political process in order to advance relationships with members of the Canadian political community and foster Jewish and pro-Israel political leadership. CJPAC mobilizes grassroots across the country, builds relationships with elected officials – of all political parties – and works for Jewish community interests, on a multi-partisan basis, during and between elections. CJPAC is Canada’s only political, national, membership driven Jewish and pro-Israel advocacy organization and does not endorse political parties. It works with elected officials regardless of their partisan affiliation to advance the interests of our community. See the very bottom of this article for more.

Corey Anne Bloom

Clement addressed some CJPAC leadership in a board room on the 20^th floor of the downtown  Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton accounting offices. I was greeted upon my arrival by Corey Anne Bloom, a partner at the firm.  Full of charisma, she on the CJPAC board and the type of individual which gives this organization instant credibility. It was her initiative to host the meeting with Clement and as such she guided me to a private room where Clement and his chief of staff Tenzin Khangsar were waiting. I must say there was an immediate feeling of comfort as Clement rose to shake my hand. He was very easy to talk to and we addressed a myriad of items, some of which included his “closed to the media”  CJPAC address.

In my Suburban city column, Clement elaborates upon the party’s intent to win some Montreal ridings in the next election – albeit some four years from now.

I was surprised to learn that Clement has “Jewish” background. “I’m an immigrant to this country, and my maternal grandmother, my ‘bubbie,’ was Jewish — from Syria,” he explained. “Canada has lived up to the promise that encouraged my parents to decide to seek their lives here with me, their four  year old son by their side. That promise is embodied in the values that I learned at an early age ― hard work, tenacity and a constant optimism that a great land like Canada always instills.”

Clement’s grandmother  was born in Aleppo. Her family, the Djebbahs, were Jewish mercantile traders  and spoke Arabic.  His mother, Carol (née Drapkin)  married Greek Cypriot  Peter Panayi in Manchester, England. They later divorced. She remarried Ontario politician John Clement, who adopted Tony. “My father was born in Cyprus, so I am very interested in the fact that Israel and Cyprus are conducting a joint venture in gas and oil exploration. I hope this will be successful for both countries. To have both sides of my heritage represented in that type of economic activity is very pleasing.”

While Clement  noted that he never really talked to his grandmother about her Jewish roots, his mother has agreed to put in writing as much as she remembers. “Obviously it is part of my heritage that I do not wish to lose,” he said.

Turning to Canada’s leadership during the global economic crisis, Clement said that  our country has been recognized around the world.  “Last year, both the IMF and OECD forecasted we would have among the strongest economic growth in the G-7 in 2011, and again this year,” he remarked in his speech to CJPAC. “And for the fourth year in a row, the World Economic Forum rated the Canada’s banking system as the world’s soundest. In addition, three credit rating agencies — Moody’s, Fitch and Standard and Poor’s — have reaffirmed their top investment-grade ratings for Canada.  Forbes magazine recently ranked Canada the world’s best place to do business.

“By any standard, Canada has weathered global economic crisis and ongoing financial uncertainty well, particularly when compared to most other developed nations. And, while we remain concerned about the number of Canadians who are still out of work, Canada is one of only two G-7 countries to have recouped all of the jobs lost during the global recession. Indeed, more Canadians are now working, than before the downturn. Almost 600,000 more Canadians are working today than when the recession ended, resulting in the strongest rate of employment growth during the recovery by far among G-7 countries. But we are not out of the woods yet. As we emerge from the worst recession since the Great Depression, we know Canadian families are worried about their jobs and their financial security.

“We understand that our role as government is to create the conditions in which Canadians will thrive. And we believe that it is the ingenuity, the aspirations and the determination of Canadians that is the driving force behind economic growth and jobs ― just as it was for my family, and I’m sure many of yours. But Canadians and their government have also learned valuable lessons from economic crises throughout our history. Over the years, Canadians have learned that chronic deficits are a mortgage on our future. Chronic deficits create higher taxes, and lead to less opportunity and less freedom for our children and our grandchildren. Ultimately, they squander our treasure.

Clement has been known for embracing the power of new Internet-based technology and innovation. “Web 2.0 tools like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs are used by all Canadians, including media and our government, to inform, raise awareness and keep in touch,” he said. “Think about our technological advances within the past ten years, and how we communicate now as opposed to 2002. Here in Canada, the government recognizes that these tools and ideas can be a potent agent of transformation. So we’re taking advantage of them to improve the efficiency of our operations and the quality of the programs and services we provide to Canadians. This includes using Internet-based tools that allow people to share information, engage in a dialogue and collaborate in the creation of content.

Clement explained  that he had the honour of hosting the first Government of Canada Tweet chat on Twitter, where he invited Canadians to ask me questions live on the Internet.” The topic was Open Government, and the experience was amazing,” he said. “That’s why Web 2.0 are all becoming an integral part of a modern, open and collaborative workplace, and an effective way to enhance communications and connect with Canadians.”

Postscript on CJPAC. Here is a statement that their Quebec chief Steeve Azoulay sent me:

"CJPAC is charged with engaging the Jewish and pro-Israel community in a way that charities and lobbyists cannot. There are many organizations that perform outstanding work with both Government and the community. However, these organizations are funded by charitable dollars and therefore cannot be involved directly in political action. CJPAC, on the other hand, is able to fill this role because it is funded by individual and corporate non-charitably receipted donations. Since our mandate is categorically different from that of any other organization, it’s extremely unlikely that our work was a factor in the restructuring of CJC – which is borne out by the interviews with CIJA/CIC/CJC leadership and board members throughout their restructuring process.”

The dry humour of NDG's Sean Keane

Dating back more than 20 years ago, when I would regularly frequent the late Ernie Butler's original Comedy Nest, one of my favorite standups was NDG's very own Sean Keane. His dry humour and unique delivery was rip roaring hilarious.

I bump into Sean from time to time at Provigo in NDG and we talk about old times. He is a modest fellow and took a  lot of prodding for me to find out that he recently returned from an appearance at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, which was broadcast on CBC TV.

 Here is a link to his set. Just click  on the third dot and wait for the commercial to end.

During this broadcast, host Jon Dore explored the boundary between good and bad behaviour with very funny guests Keane, John Wing, Darren Frost, Shazia Mirza,  Mike Ward, Elvira Kurt, and Dan Licoppe.

Here is a clip of how Sean says he met his wife:

How poor was Sean?

Who is Aubrey Dan?

 Who exactly is the man behind Dancap Productions?  Montrealers are probably very fortunate that Aubrey Dan is so familiar with our city from his days working in the family business, Dan was appointed to run Novopharm Limited and  the Novopharm subsidiary, Wampole Canada Inc., an herbal supplement and vitamin manufacturer.

“I used to be in Montreal on a monthly basis,” he told me from New York City last week. “So I certainly recognize what a great city it is.”

Dan will be back here on March 13 when Dancap brings the Canadian premiere of Shrek the Musical to Place des Arts for a six-day run. He already had it booked for the Toronto Centre for the Arts, March 20 to April 1. Cognizant of the fact the PDA has a lot more  availability these  days since the Symphony Orchestra moved into its own digs, Dancap has made its move. With experienced promotions expert Claudette Dionne on board, all signs post to a successful experience here which would open the door to a lot more of their productions.  Jersey Boys and Memphis are just two more that could get the green light down the 401.

“We actually had considered bringing Jersey Boys here first,” he said. “The timing did not work out and a Canadian tour of the show will start in Western Canada. I am optimistic for 2013 though. Right now I am looking forward to getting to know the Montreal market and to build a connection with the Place des Arts.”

Dan is a Canadian businessman, Tony-Award® winning producer (MEMPHIS), impresario and philanthropist.  He is founder and president of Dancap Private Equity Inc., Dancap Global Asset Management, Dancap Catering Inc., and Dancap Productions Inc.  Born in Toronto, he graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in Administrative and Commercial studies in 1985. Soon after, he joined Novopharm Limited.   In 2002, he founded Dancap Private Equity, a private firm that invests its own funds from a $50 million investment base in mid-market Canadian businesses, and as co-investment partner for medium to large sized international businesses. Dan also founded Dancap Global Asset Management, a company with a singular mandate to build wealth over the long term by providing best practices in asset allocation, portfolio construction, investment due diligence, and investment management. The company's investment focus includes alternative assets, such as private equity, private debt, infrastructure, commodities and hedge funds, as well as traditional assets including public equities, fixed income and real estate.

In 2007, Dan launched Dancap Productions with an inaugural season that included The Drowsy Chaperone, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 3 Mo Divas, successful revivals of beloved shows like My Fair Lady as well as summer presentations Of Avenue Q and the Tony Award®-winning Jersey Boys.

After a two year run with Jersey Boys, Dancap Productions returned to presenting a subscriptions series of award-winning Broadway theatre.

Dancap’s 2011 subscription series featured the Canadian premiere of five new musicals direct from Broadway:  9 to 5: The Musical, based on the hit film with music and lyrics by the incomparable Dolly Parton; Next to Normal, the most talked about show on Broadway and winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama; Come Fly Away, Twyla Tharp's electrifying celebration of the music of Frank Sinatra; The Addams Family, a new musical based on the TV and film characters; Memphis, , winner of the most awards in the 2009-2010 Broadway season including the Tony Award for Best Musical; and the return of The Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s  South Pacific.  Coming up next is  In the Heights, the Jersey Boys Tour,West Side Story, Beauty and the Beast and AChristmas Story.

Aubrey Dan is a very generous philanthropist, donating millions of dollars, primarily to health and education charities, and other worthy causes. Together with his wife Marla, the Dans have donated more than $20 million to organizations that include: Sunnybrook Foundation for their women and babies program, now called the Aubrey & Marla Dan Program for High Risk Mothers & Babies ($8 million); University of Western Ontario's Social Science Department, resulting in the program being named the Aubrey Dan Program in Management and Organizational Studies ($5 million); Baycrest Centre Foundation in honour of his father-in-law Reuben Cipin ¬– Reuben Cipin Healthy Living Community in Toronto ($5 million); the Judy Dan Wound Care Centre (named in memory of Dan’s mother who passed away in 1995 due to Diabetic complications), whose work focuses on preventing unnecessary amputations and reducing patient suffering by treating diabetic wounds with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (in excess of $700,000); University of Toronto Leslie Dan Facility of Pharmacy in honour of his father ($2.0 million).

Dan received an honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree (honoris causa) from Assumption University in 2008. He is a member of the Young President's Association (YPO) Ontario Chapter, Baycrest and Institute of Private Investors (IPI).

Dan is spending a lot of time in New York City these days  for what promises to be huge it: Prince of Broadway. The new musical will debut next November, celebrating legendary Broadway director and producer Harold “Hal” Prince. It will in fact forgo the pre-Broadway engagement in Toronto.

“As Prince of Broadway has developed over the past year, we have come to the conclusion that the show must go directly to Broadway,” said  Dan. “Over the past year, the scale of the show has grown so considerably that the costs of a pre-Broadway try-out no longer make financial sense. While we are of course disappointed that the production won’t premiere in Toronto, the financial implications coupled with the creative team and acting company schedules necessitated this revised plan to open directly on Broadway.”

Celebrating one of the most influential and successful careers in the American theatre of the past 60 years, Prince of Broadway will look at the circumstances and fortune, both good and bad, that led to Hal Prince creating some of the most enduring and beloved theatre of all time, including The Pajama Game, West Side Story, Fiorello!, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Evita, and The Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running show in Broadway history. Mr. Prince said, “Happily, Susan Stroman is co-directing with me and David Thompson is  writing the book for a cast of my favorite performers, most of whom I’ve worked with numerous times. I’ll miss opening in Toronto because that city has been very good to me on many occasions. But hopefully,Torontonians will visit us in New York and, if things turn out as well as we wish, we’ll visit them subsequently.”

Prince of Broadway will feature words and music from the shows that have earned Hal Prince a record 21 Tony Awards.

Here is Aubrey Dan's press conference, in which he unveiled his 2012 subscription series:

  

Litvak Polachek passionate about striking out leukemia

Claudia Litvak Polachek is grateful to be part of Montreal’s vibrant Jewish community. As the happily married mother of three and a noted community activist, she has made her presence felt her over the years via her involvement with a number of organizations. However, it was not for happy reasons that she and her family immigrated to Canada from Chili when she was only four years old.

Claudia Litvak Polachek

“My aunt was dying of leukemia and we came here to support her,” Litvak Polachek recalls. “Sadly, she lost her battle a year later. She was only 23 years old.”

Litvak Polachek’s nephew got leukemia when he was only six years old. While  he beat the disease and  is today a healthy 21 year old, her uncle was not so lucky. He was diagnosed with  leukemia eight years ago and passed away five months later.

Given the degree that leukemia has touched her family,   Litvak Polachek  has decided to focus attention in her role as Women and Science Chairperson of  Weizmann Canada to raise $110,000 for much needed equipment at the Weizmann Institute of Science  in Israel to further their important research on the disease.   As of this writing, more than half the funds have already rolled in. On Wednesday February 8 the Segal Centre for the Arts (5170 Cote St. Catherine) will be the site of an exclusive cocktail dînatoire and a special  presentation of  the play  Scientific Americans.

“I really hope we can reach the complete goal that night,” Litvak Polachek says. “We have choices in our lives. We can sit and fear that this disease will take another life from us or we can play an active role to help fund leading research in hopes of finding a cure.”

Litvak Polachek first became involved with Weizmann four years ago. She was immediately taken by the groundbreaking research being done on so many fronts. “I decided to take my committee in a new direction and not necessarily just raise money for  Women of Science. I asked our director, Susan Stern, whether I could marry my love for Weizmann and my commitment to do something for leukemia research and she gave me the go ahead. It turned out someone had pledged to build a room for leukemia research, but they needed the equipment. I knew then that I had found the right project.”

One of the most rewarding aspects of this project for Litvak Polachek has been the support she has received from husband Garry and her three children, Jacob, Nathanial and Hanna.  The boys are part of the B’nai Tzedek Program  for kids celebrating a bar or bat mitzvah to get a real idea of what tzedakah is all about. Money they received as gifts are set aside in a special individualized  Jewish Community Foundation Fund. Once a year, they choose what charity and/or Jewish agency they would like the accrued interest from their individual funds to go to.

“Jacob and Nathanial bought their own tickets for our fundraising evening from their B’nai Tzedek proceeds,” notes the proud mom. “I cannot tell you how special that made me feel.”
For more information about the event, called Claudia’s Hope for a Cure, call 514-342-0777  or log on to  http://itsinourblood.weizmann.ca/.

Ettingers : reincarnation of Briskets ; Il Etait Un Fois

Two of Montreal’s once legendary restaurants are back in business, merged into one entity and guided by the culinary genius who is responsible for their creation. I attended the official grand opening of Ettingers Deli (www.ettingers.ca), located at 9100 Newman (corner of Dollard) in LaSalle and I came away very impressed.

This unique and contemporary style deli and bar is the brainchild of well known respected restaurateur and real estate magnate Saul Ettinger, the man who brought us the Briskets smoked meat chain and Il Etait Une Fois, home to the juiciest burgers in town.

Thirty years ago, Ettinger opened his first Briskets deli on  Bishop Street. Twelve  franchises in Montreal and Ottawa soon followed.  As Saul says, people who remember dining at Briskets described the smoked meat sandwiches as "addictive." Briskets smoked meat was not only homemade, but it was never pumped. “Most smoked meat in Montreal and elsewhere were and still are prepared with briskets that are pumped with phosphates and a preponderance of nitrates and sodium,” Saul explains. “ This pumping technique is used in order to increase profit margins by making the briskets heavier. Strange, isn't it---the government bans the use of phosphates in your dishwasher and laundry detergent, but allows it in food? Briskets' smoked meat was made with unpumped briskets using a tightly-held secret recipe. They were dry-cured the truly old-fashioned way over a period of two to three weeks, producing superior smoked meat---smoked meat that was mouth-watering, and truly addictive.

Briskets smoked meat sandwiches were just about everywhere, be it  the Olympic Stadium concession stands or catered at private parties.   As for Il Etait Un Fois, the classic hamburger spot was located in a standalone building in heart of Old Montreal at a time when it was a relative ghost town, Saul  recalls pioneering  a new phenomenon. While McDonald's was selling burgers for as little as as 60 cents, he decided it was time to introduce Montreal to a gourmet half-pound burger at $5. In those days, the thought of a burger for $5 was ludicrous. Yet, within a short few weeks, Il Etait Un Fois attracted huge line-ups and rave reviews. Saul's burgers were made through a rarely used secret process that turned out the juiciest and most scrumptious burgers in Montreal. And along with mouth-watering burgers and incredible fries, the menu included specialities such as homemade beer-battered onion rings and fish n' chips as well as fried mushrooms and foot-long dogs.

Another of Saul's visions was launched on the Trans Canada. It was and is still called Linguini, an Italian restaurant situated in a rustic log cabin built by Saul on the south side of the 40 just west of Morgan.

  

For years after Saul retired from the restaurant business, he still hosted dinners and parties where he would serve his amazing smoked meat. Without exception, those who partook in these affairs, would beg him for his recipe and strongly suggested he open up a deli. 

Charles Benedek, Warren Kleiner and Saul Ettinger

 

Decades after his great restaurant successes, a good friend and protégé, Bob Luxenberg, Saul's step-son, Warren Kleiner, and Warren's best friend, Charles Benedek,  joined forces with the legend and Ettingers was born in a former car dealership facility on Newman. Not only is this a pretty restaurant, with flat screen televisions, comfortable seating and plenty of parking – but it is truly a dream destination for Montreal diners who can experience Briskets and Il Etait Un Fois under one roof.

They officially debuted in November and the soft opening has been a success. AT the ceremonial affair, charismatic LaSalle Borough Mayor Manon Barbe cut the ribbon and special guests got to sample the cuisine. I give a big thumbs up to the smoked meat sandwich and curly fries (with cole slaw) that I had served. One of my colleagues from The Suburban, Melanie Pepin, had troubled finishing her smoked meat sandwich while Associate Publisher Sari Medicoff  was in much the same position with her delicious burger.

You can go to www.ettingers.ca and access the complete menu.

I had a chance to sit  down with Saul,  Warren and Charles to get their take on the new restaurant and what the future holds. Could this be a new chain in the making? Take a look: