John Chidley Hill.com A blog about reading, writing, pop culture and sports.

3Feb/110

A funny thing happened on the way to the video feature…

EDIT: The Globe and Mail has now uploaded my video on lacrosse goaltender pads. You can view it here.

A few weeks ago Neil Davidson, my editor at the Canadian Press, suggested I do a video feature story on the padding an indoor lacrosse goaltender wears. We agreed that having a professional lax goalie put on all his gear and demonstrate how it protects him would be perfect for a short, two-minute piece.

As a result, I spent last Saturday morning in the bowels of the Air Canada Centre interviewing Pat Campbell, the back-up goaltender of the National Lacrosse League's Toronto Rock. Pat was incredibly nice and a great interview. We shot some really good footage of him putting on his gear and explaining each piece - including some funny asides about his personal superstitions - as well as a general dicussion in the stands about being a goaltender.

Neil then suggested I turn my extra quotes from Pat into a written feature story. After all, most of the Canadian Press' clients are smaller dailies across Canada that don't carry video on their websites.

Both the video and the article were released late yesterday, with the story popping up in several places online, including TSN.ca and the Winnipeg Free Press. I'm still searching for the video online, but I'm sure it'll pop up at some point.

"There’s a simple reason why an indoor lacrosse goalie looks like, in the words of the Toronto Rock’s Pat Campbell, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

A lacrosse shot can go faster than the average hockey slapshot — and usually is fired from closer range.

“You just can’t be afraid of the ball,” says Campbell, an 11-year veteran of the National Lacrosse League. “I often have to convince myself that it’s a rubber ball, not a bullet." - Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Feb. 2nd 2011.

15Dec/100

Review: Ubisoft’s Battle Tag

Another one of my video game reviews went on the Canadian Press wire today.

This time was slightly different though. Although the game was produced by Ubisoft, a well-know video game developer, "Battle Tag" is a toy, albeit one that plugs in to your home computer.

I had a blast lot of fun writing this piece. How could I not? After all, I got to play laser tag with my fiancee and got paid for it. Anyway, follow the link below to read the whole thing for yourself.

"Motion capture technology in video games has been a theme this holiday season.

Platforms like the XBox and PlayStation 3 have put out new peripherals with motion sensitive controllers or cameras, forcing gamers to get up off the couch and get physically active.

Ubisoft's "Battle Tag" takes this trend a step further, using a home computer as an automated umpire that organizes and scores laser tag games for kids." - from the Winnipeg Free Press

24Sep/100

The Return of the Link Dump

Autumn has arrived once again and with the changing of the leaves comes the busiest time of the year in the world of sports.

That applies to the journalists who cover sports as well, so this blog has fallen into disuse for the past week as I’ve been cranking out articles for other outlets. Here’s a quick rundown:

On Tuesday the Globe and Mail (and other websites) ran an article I wrote about the Ontario Hockey League indefinitely postponing their All-Star Game.

Wednesday the Winnipeg Free Press picked up a bit of an OHL season preview I did.

I’ve been busy over at HockeyPrimeTime.com as well, writing pre-season looks at the Northeast Division starting with the Boston Bruins and then moving on to the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators before finishing with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Hockey’s not the only sport I’m following this fall either, as field lacrosse has started up. I’ve got a vested interest as I’m continuing my involvement in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association as its Communications Director.

I’ve already written a review of the first week of play for the league’s website and I'll be penning a second one today.

That’s a quick update for you, but you should expect more content from me in the next week, starting with the return of My Weekend in Junior Hockey on Monday.

2Mar/100

Richard Martel of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens now QMJHL’s winningest head coach

In addition to writing junior hockey round-ups and watching the Olympics, I spent much of my weekend putting together a feature story for the Canadian Press on Richard Martel's record-setting 570th Quebec Major Junior Hockey League win.

No one is more surprised to be the Quebec Major Hockey League’s winningest head coach than Richard Martel.

Martel achieved the milestone Sunday night when his Chicoutimi Sagueneens beat the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 3-1 for his 570th career victory. With that, he surpassed QMJHL Hall of Famer Guy Chouinard for the all-time record.

“When I started in the QMJHL I just wanted to be involved in the hockey community,” said Martel. “I thought I’d have a job for a long time, but not for 20 years.

“I’m very proud to be a coach in the QMJHL . . . I feel privileged — very privileged.”

Since it was written for syndication, it's been picked up by several newspapers and websites including the Globe and Mail, the Winnipeg Free Press, the Guelph Mercury, the Halifax Metro and SportsEast.ca.

I was really pleased with this article and I hope you enjoy it too.