Conversations’ guest, Mark Hebscher, discusses his new book, “Madness,” as well as his life as a sports fan on this episode.
Part of the enjoyment I derive from the 240 or so of these Conversations I’ve had to date is getting to know many different sports fans from all of the world.
Last week, for example, I spoke with Nikhil Kulkarni – an India native living in Australia – about cricket and a pair of west Michigan small college athletic directors about their big rivalary basketball game (Dr. Jim Timmer Jr. and Tim Schoonveld).
This week, I’m heading north of the border to Canada where I’ll introduce you to Mark Hebscher, Torontonian who spent nearly half a century working the sports media business. He called upon his many and various experiences to author the book, Madness: The Rise and Ruin of Sports Media.
When I asked a Canadian acquaintance of mine if he was familiar with Mark, his response was immediate: “You mean, Hebsy!?! All Canadians know Hebsy!”
For the majority of my adult life I’ve resided across the border from Canada and I hadn’t heard of Hebsy.
That said, I’m delighted to share this episode with you. Mark was the co-anchor of Canada’s Global Television Network‘s late-night sports show, Sportsline. Mark’s a character in the best-possible way: funny, unfiltered, opinionated. We only get a sampling of this – of course – on Conversations, but it’s easy to project what a wildly entertaining his on-air personality was.
I’m delighted to offer a signed copy of “Madness” via a random drawing from among the entrants who email me (hilldouglast@gmail.com) their name by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 8.
In the meantime, if you’d like to enjoy some more Hebsy, he writes (when he feels like it;-) on Substack as “Hebsy on Sports” which you’re able to subscribe to free of charge at this link.