It’s what commanded the attention of anyone who ever met Ken King.
It dwarfed the hand of most, and was almost always accompanied by a devious smile and tug towards his formidable frame.
It demanded your respect and was held just long enough to let you know he was in control.
That’s just the way the pride of Hanley, Sask., always liked it – with him setting the terms of any encounter from the start.
His were the hands that guided the Calgary Flames for two decades, until he passed away following a lengthy cancer battle Wednesday at 68.
Through endless crises and celebrations on and off the ice, he was a man of tremendous passion and dedication, who was never shy to raise his fists in celebration or fury.
They were also the hands that authored the demise of anyone who ever teed it up with him on the golf course.
“Anyone who golfed with Ken knows, he had the scorecard, and it took scientists to figure out all the dollars that changed hands at the end of the day,” said Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation President and CEO John Bean, before adding a rare claim
“I took money from him, absolutely. And I was proud to do it. And he knows it.”
He might have been the only one.
Every game started with a carefully crafted dissertation from King on how many strokes every player would get or give him, with a blatant disregard for the handicaps offered up.
A wordsmith whose speeches around town were as eloquent as any in the province, the former newspaper publisher would punctuate the receipt of post-game payment with little more than that grin.
For many years he wore that smile ever-so-proudly into the Flames dressing room after games, slapping the backs of journalists as he walked in, exchanging small talk with everyone.
He had a line for everything.
“I remember my first interview I went to shake his hand and he drilled me in the side of my arm and almost knocked my arm off – that was Ken,” said Flames GM Brad Treliving.
“One of the things I always admired about him was he was a wonderful public speaker. I’d call him on it sometimes and say, ‘that’s not even a word.’ He’d show me that it was.’”
King long showed the way for a Flames ownership group that wanted nothing to do with the spotlight. King was their frontman – their eyes, ears and their mouthpiece, prompting him to take endless bullets from frustrated fans over various team shortcomings.
As the publisher of both major dailies in Calgary over the course of almost three decades, and as the Flames boss, he had a reputation for being hard to work for.
“You talk about an explosive personality – he was a sight to behold,” said Treliving, who saw every side of King.
“But he’s a foxhole guy. When bleep was rolling downhill, he was a guy you wanted to be in a foxhole with.”
I met King in 1994 when, as the publisher of the Calgary Sun, he invited me out from Ontario for a job interview.
Greeted by the handshake and the western charm, he took a chance on me as a sports scribe.
The ultimate jock, he loved talking and playing sports, and knew their importance in Alberta.
After working tirelessly behind the scenes to support a Save the Flames campaign, he was hired in 2001 by the Flames owners to run the team.
It was the perfect gig for a man who could both charm the masses, while also clamping down on the type of hard, internal decisions that needed to be made. His business acumen was as legendary as his dedication to the city.
The owners loved him for all he did on their behalf, including his tireless work as the driving force behind the new arena that took him 14 years to nail down.
The last handful of those frustrating years came while he was quietly battling cancer that ultimately spread to his brain and his spine, forcing him to a wheelchair his last few months.
He survived many years longer than doctors expected, thanks in the end to experimental drugs he knew bought him more time to complete his legacy project – the event centre.
“It’s an amazing thing, the human body and brain, and he was totally focused on a new event centre to the city,” said Bean.
“He was integral right up until December, whenever we signed all those documents, and provided unbelievable advice and guidance to all of us to get it done. It was one of those projects for him he was so passionate about. He had an unbelievable drive on every aspect he undertook. He was a large man of stature – almost larger than life – and commanded the room whenever he walked in. With that energy, he tackled so many things.”
The man who worked a room better than anyone I ever saw was forced the last three or four years to abandon the handshake he was so proudly known for.
It was replaced by fist bumps, as he worried his increasingly rare public appearances would expose his immune-deficient body to dangerous viruses.
The day Jarome Iginla had his number retired King shared with me his rare nerves, as his leg wasn’t cooperating fully, making the very public step up to the luncheon podium for his speech a scary one. He endured. He always did.
While many in and around the organization know of his valiant battle, he wanted it kept quiet, telling me one day, “I’m not letting this define me in any way.”
Over an emotional lunch between the two of us almost a year ago he told me of his newfound love of dropping into local casinos to play poker.
His rule, there was no hockey talk – just cards, and all the wonderful games within the game it involved.
At lunch he pulled out a fat billfold, proudly declaring the windfalls he so often enjoyed on the golf course were still possible.
Despite his severe weight loss and radiation treatments, he swore he played some of the best golf of his life last summer. I shuddered at how much that would cost me.
When he missed the Flames recent poker tournament I knew he had to be in bad shape, as he loved gatherings like that more than anyone.
Last week, King rolled into the Scotiabank Saddledome to make his final visit, taking the time to chat with the coaches and several players.
“He always loved coming down and seeing the guys,” said Treliving.
“I know that meant a lot to the guys. He knew a little tidbit on each guy. He liked that – he was a guy’s guy.”
His love for wife Marilyn and daughters Amanda and Jocelin were rivalled only by his four grandchildren, who he strived to spend as much time as possible with after receiving his diagnosis.
Commissioner Gary Bettman saluted King as a champion of all Calgary sports.
“His staunch advocacy for the arena project that will guarantee the Flames’ long-term viability in Calgary will serve as a legacy of his devotion to the city – Ken was a friend and I will miss him greatly,” said Bettman.
“He was a trusted confidant to all of the Flames owners, both past and present, and we all learned so much from him,” added Flames co-owner Murray Edwards.
“My partners and I will miss our frequent conversations with our dear friend.”
As will I. I’ll miss his advice, his wit, his handshake, but most of all his friendship – he was always happy to take my money any time we teed it up.
“He could be intimidating, but at the end of the day he was just a big teddy bear,” said longtime Calgary publisher Guy Huntingford.
“For me, he was so thoughtful, which you might not expect from somebody who ran his organizations as a tough customer. But my god, if he was in your camp he’d go to the end of the world for you.”
Montreal police say they’ve arrested a man in connection with the theft of tens of thousands of dollars in golf merchandise tied to the Presidents Cup PGA Tour being held this week in the city.
Police say that on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 a person entered a downtown Montreal hotel and stole numerous official items and clothing “from a major golf tournament.”
The tournament is taking place at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in the city’s L’Île-Bizard–Ste-Geneviève’s borough through Sunday.
Police say a 46-year-old man was arrested in downtown Montreal on Thursday and was arraigned Friday on a number of charges including theft.
The accused remains detained until his next court appearance.
Police say the investigation is ongoing to locate the stolen golf items and apparel, adding that anyone with information is invited to come forward.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors are expected to confirm today that Vince Carter’s No. 15 will be the first number to be retired by the NBA franchise.
Carter will attend an MLSE Foundation event this afternoon at the renovated Vince Carter Court at a park in the city’s northwest end.
Raptors president and vice-chairman Masai Ujiri will also be on hand along with some current players and city officials.
Reports this week said that Canada’s lone NBA team would honour Carter on Nov. 2 when Toronto plays the Sacramento Kings at Scotiabank Arena.
Carter, an eight-time all-star, played parts of seven seasons with the Raptors. He was named NBA rookie of the year in 1999 and won the Slam Dunk Contest in 2000.
He was the Raptors’ first superstar and is credited for raising the profile of the team and igniting enthusiasm for basketball across Canada.
Carter guided the Raptors to the Eastern Conference semifinal in 2001. Toronto had a chance to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 but Carter’s shot at the buzzer hit the rim and bounced out.
He asked for a trade in 2004 and was dealt to New Jersey in a mid-season deal that saw the Raptors receive little in return. The Nets, who are now based in Brooklyn, plan to retire Carter’s number in January.
Carter played 22 seasons in the NBA before retiring after the 2019-20 season. He’ll be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame next month.
The Raptors are celebrating their 30th anniversary this season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 58th home run, going deep for the fifth straight game to help the New York Yankees wrap up their second AL East title in three years with a 10-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.
Giancarlo Stanton had four RBIs that included his 27th homer, Alex Verdugo also homered and Gerrit Cole outpitched Corbin Burnes in a possible postseason preview. Judge and Stanton homered in the same game for the 14th time this year, tying Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in 1961 for the most in Yankees history.
New York assured itself a first-round bye and home-field advantage in a best-of-five AL Division Series starting Oct. 5.
Baltimore, which clinched a postseason berth by winning Tuesday night’s opener of the three-game series, will be in a best-of-three Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.
Stanton homered in the second to put the Yankees ahead and hit a three-run double in a six-run sixth.
Judge hit a two-run homer in the seventh against Bryan Baker and has 144 RBIs, the most in the major leagues since Ryan Howard’s 146 in 2008. Judge matched his career best by homering in five consecutive games.
Making his last start before the playoffs, Cole (8-5) allowed two hits in 6 2/3 innings, struck out five and walked one, lowering his ERA to 3.41. He struck out Anthony Santander with a 98.1 mph fastball that ended the eighth after plate umpire David Rackley called a ball on the previous pitch, a knuckle-curve that appeared to be just above the strike zone. Cole glared as the umpire as the pitcher walked back to the dugout.
Cole was given a standing ovation when he walked to the dugout with two outs in the seventh and tipped his cap to the crowd of 42,022.
Burnes (15-9) allowed two hits in five innings, one walk and nine strikeouts — including eight on cutters. Burnes came out after 69 pitches and is likely to start the Orioles’ postseason opener on Tuesday. He had a 1.20 ERA in five September starts.
Stanton lofted a slider at the bottom of the strike zone into the left-field seats after missing badly at a slider on the prior pitch.
Austin Wells, in a 4-for-42 slide, forced in a run when he walked with the bases loaded against Cionel Pérez. Stanton drove the next pitch on one hop to the wall in right-center for a 5-1 lead. Stanton has 72 RBIs after hitting 6 for 18 with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in his last five games.
Anthony Rizzo added a two-run single against Baker.
Emmanuel Rivera hit a ninth-inning sacrifice fly for the Orioles.
UP NEXT
Orioles: LHP Cade Povich (2-9, 5.59) starts a series opener at Minnesota on Friday, when LHP Pablo López (15-9, 4.11) will be on the mound for the Twins.
Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (16-9, 3.98), 7-2 with a 2.87 ERA since the All-Star break. starts Friday’s series opener against Pirates RHP Jared Jones (6-8, 4.14).
