Bob Cole, pictured here in 2018, died last week in St. John’s. He was 90. (Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
Family, friends and fans from around the hockey world gathered in St. John’s on Friday afternoon for the funeral of broadcasting icon Bob Cole.
Cole, 90, died last week in St. John’s surrounded by his family.
“Everything he did, he did for us. We knew that, and we felt that,” daughter Megan Cole told attendees of St. Thomas Anglican Church in downtown St. John’s — Cole’s family church, where he sang as a choirboy about 80 years earlier.
“It has been a true privilege to share our amazing dad with this province he loved so much. With the country and with the world of hockey. We are heartbroken, and our days without our dad will not be the same.”
Cole was known as the soundtrack to some of hockey’s greatest moments over his 50-year career. His voice often followed the Hockey Night in Canada theme — which was played by the CLB Armory band following the funeral
He worked 34 of those years with broadcaster Ron MacLean, who was asked to deliver the eulogy.
Cole’s daughter, Megan, said the family is privileged to share their father with the world. (St. Thomas Anglican Church/Facebook)
“Bob’s a dear, dear friend who mentored me and was up to lots of mischief with me.… We all know that his voice is legendary and we can hear that, but I’ll always recall the gleam in his eye,” MacLean said Friday, adding he spoke to Cole four days before his death.
“Like the saying goes, the meaning of life is that it ends. The meaning of love is that it doesn’t.”
N.L. was always close to his heart
Former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams said Cole represented the province with pride and grace.
“Bob gave us a special, international reputation. I mean he was highly respected, his voice is iconic,” he said. “He’s our hometown boy, and we took great pride every time he called a game.”
Cole lived in St. John’s throughout his career, and would travel weekly to wherever he was required before returning to Newfoundland.
WATCH | Bob Cole always had a gleam in his eye, says Ron MacLean:
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Bob Cole’s funeral in St. John’s was filled with laughs and heartwarming stories about the late NHL announcer. One of the more colourful ones came from his friend and colleague Ron MacLean, who recalled a time when Cole told him a swim in the Atlantic Ocean is refreshing. A bit of hilarity and chaos ensued, which MacLean joked was Cole’s style.
Cole’s son, Robbie, told those in the church that the family lit up whenever he returned, which always came with Sunday dinner.
“We would say, ‘Dad, tell us a story.’ And it was then that he had his most captive audience,” Cole said.
Cole also represented the province in other ways, skipping Newfoundland and Labrador at two Brier curling championships. As a rower, he competed at the Royal St. John’s Regatta.
Hockey commentator and former player Greg Millen told reporters after the service that Cole’s children, and Newfoundland, were always on Cole’s mind.
“There wasn’t a day that went by when I travelled with him that he didn’t talk about his children. Pretty special,” he said. “He loved his home, and he talked about Newfoundland a lot. You know, I had to make sure I pronounced it correctly,” he added with a laugh.
St. John’s hockey fan Evan Purcell met Cole a few years ago when the Toronto Maple Leafs held training camp in Paradise. He came to the funeral wearing a powder-blue Hockey Night in Canada blazer, like the ones Cole would wear on television. (Malone Mullin/CBC)
Fan Evan Purcell came to the funeral wearing a powder-blue Hockey Night in Canada blazer — not unlike the one Cole would have worn for a broadcast.
“The best broadcaster ever. The Wayne Gretzky of commentary,” he said. “He was always so electric, and he always got you on the edge of your seat.”
This time of year is a busy time for Cole’s colleagues at Hockey Night in Canada, who were on TV in Toronto for the NHL playoffs the night before, but reporter and analyst Elliotte Friedman said it was important for the crew to be in St. John’s.
WATCH | They called games with him — and here’s what they will remember about Bob Cole:
Passionate. Family man. Proud Newfoundlander: Big-name broadcasters remember Bob Cole
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They sat next to him in the broadcast booth for some of the biggest NHL games, and they won’t forget those times with Bob Cole. Elliotte Friedman, Glenn Healy and Greg Millen say Cole loved Newfoundland, the fans and his family.
“Everybody who knew Bob and everybody who worked with Bob, you know, we all loved being around him,” said Friedman. “The thing about Bob is I don’t think you can’t be any good in this business if you don’t have passion. And when a game got big or when a moment got big, nobody had the passion of Bob. And we loved being around him.”
He told reporters he was overcome with emotion watching Cole’s children speak at the funeral, and that he admired how the service used the music of Frank Sinatra, one of Cole’s favourite performers.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
