The world is Beijing Bound! Ron Maclean explores the 2008 Olympic host city’s traditions, landmarks, history and people in Beijing Bound—a special series for CBC Sports.
Friday, December 14, 2007 | 10:49 PM ET | Link to this post
Greetings from the road to Beijing. First a quick 'best of the season' to you and yours. In a moment I'll give you what I've learned about dining in China.
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending two warm-up events to the 2008 Olympics. In Ottawa, the Canadian Olympic Committee hosted a media summit. I was invited to speak to the athletes about media relations, interview considerations and share a few experiences. Many of Canada's high profile athletes attended.
Perdita Felicien handled my introduction and touched on our time in Helsinki, Finland, at the 2005 IAAF world track and field championships. Without getting into too much detail, Felicien came to those championships still harbouring memories of a bad stumble at the Athens Olympics.
Continue reading "Canada's best athletes preparing in and out of competition" »
Ron MacLean, host of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada for more than 18 years, began his broadcasting career in 1978 when he took a part-time position at CKRD Radio in Red Deer, Alta.
In 1984, a producer saw MacLean doing an ad-lib weather forecast and hired him to host the Calgary Flames telecasts on CFAC, an independent TV station in Calgary. MacLean then became the sports anchor on the local evening news before joining CBC in 1986.
After joining CBC in 1986, MacLean hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs’ telecasts on Hockey Night in Canada, before becoming the full-time national host in 1987.
Throughout his 20-year career with CBC, MacLean’s role has expanded to include hosting CBC’s coverage of the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, World Cup Hockey and the Calgary Stampede. MacLean has also traveled the globe on several occasions to host CBC Sports’ coverage of the IAAF World Championships.
MacLean has been recognized with eight Gemini Awards for his work with CBC, including Best Host in a Sports Program for Hockey Night in Canada in 2004 and 2006.
MacLean is a former Level 5 referee for the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association but has given that up to play hockey twice a week. He and his wife, Cari, live in Oakville, Ont.
