lawson macdonald

[SportsCenter @SportsCenter]

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!

📸: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

[Spittin' Chiclets @spittinchiclets]

WHAT A GOAL BY TIMMY STU 😱

[Barstool Sports @barstoolsports]

Brad Marchand is taking a leave from the Panthers to spend time in Halifax helping out a friend whose 10 year old daughter died of cancer

He’s coaching a U18 team tonight in his friend’s place

All-Time Human Being

[Jeff Passan @JeffPassan]

Addison Barger just hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history.

[Barstool Sports @barstoolsports]

Toronto is up for grabs

[SportsCenter @SportsCenter]

THE WORLD SERIES IS HEADED NORTH OF THE BORDER!

For the first time in 32 years, the Toronto Blue Jays are off to the Fall Classic! 🙌

[Sarah Langs @SlangsOnSports]

“I’m glad I got to meet the whole organization”

-Trey Yesavage

[Spittin' Chiclets @spittinchiclets]

“I’m going to get on both my knees and kiss his feet, and say you’re on my Mount Rushmore of golf.”

Biz just named himself president of the Rory McIlroy fan club ⛳️

[Jeff Passan @JeffPassan]

This is one of the most spectacular grand slams you’ll ever see. The swing, the reaction, everything.

Vlad Jr. in the ALDS: 6 for 7.

The entire Yankees team in the ALDS: 6 for 44.

[Bob McKenzie @TSNBobMcKenzie]

The trade is one for none.

Which is to say I’m exchanging my semi-retired TSN life of the last five years — doing the World Junior Championships, NHL Draft Rankings, a handful of Toronto Maple Leaf broadcasts, TradeCentre and Free Agent Frenzy — for a fully-retired life of doing absolutely nothing.

Well, nothing work related anyway.

Today’s Free Agent Frenzy is the last working day in a 48-year professional career that included stops at The Sault Star, The Globe and Mail, The Hockey News (twice), The Toronto Star, TSN, ESPN and NBC, amongst others.

It’s been quite a ride.

I’ll be 69 years old in August. I decided a few months ago it’s as nice a time as any to call it a career with the expiry of my current contract. If I had been so inclined to continue doing the World Juniors and draft rankings etc. at TSN, the opportunity was certainly there for me to do so. And I’m so grateful to TSN for that.

Honestly, though, I am looking forward to waking up on Christmas morning this year and NOT flying to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the World Juniors.

I’m also looking forward to doing more travelling with my wife Cindy; having more time to give my sons Mike and Shawn unwanted (and unneeded) advice; playing even more golf than I am now; and having my two wonderful grandchildren Blake and Gunnar running my show on a full-time basis.

After almost 50 years in the business, there are far too many people to thank individually, so I won’t even try to name any lest I leave some out.

Just know that I’ve been blessed to work for, work with and work against so many great people who gave me boundless opportunity, incredible support and intense motivation. The nearly five decades have gone by in the blink of an eye.

I certainly never set out to be the TSN Hockey Insider. It never occurred to me that I would work in television. All I wanted to be when I grew up was a hockey writer, to have a “job” to watch, write and talk about the game. You know, tell a few stories and try to capture the spirit of the thing.

Mission accomplished, I guess.

I couldn’t say goodbye now without a special thanks to everyone at TSN, past and present.

I first started showing up on the network in or around 1986-87. In the 1990s, I was working full-time hours at TSN but still had a full time newspaper job, too. Since 2000, 25 years ago, TSN has been my primary professional home.

It’s been a very special place on so many levels. The best part of TSN has always been the people. The best people doing the best work. What an honour to be one small part of the unsurpassed excellence that is TSN. Every time I’ve walked out of Studio Six at the end of Free Agent Frenzy on July 1, I’ve said to myself: “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

And it doesn’t. That’s especially true on this Canada Day because I’m so very proud to be a Canadian. 🇨🇦

I’m a very lucky guy. I owe the game of hockey, and all the people within it — the players, coaches, managers, executives, scouts, agents et al — so much; I owe my family and friends even more. 

Finally, thank you to anyone who has ever read, watched or listened to any of my work in any form at any outlet over the last 48 years. It’s been a privilege to share some information with you all, and try to have a few laughs along the way on social media or whatever they’re calling it these days.

I’ve cherished it all.

Fully Completely.

✌️and 💕 

-30-

[Sid Seixeiro @Sid_Seixeiro]

This is the type of “Give a f***” a fanbase wants to see.

The Ottawa Senators are in good hands with Brady Tkachuk as their captain. Very good hands.

[Tiger Woods @TigerWoods]

Welcome to the club @McIlroyRory. Completing the grand slam at Augusta is something special. Your determination during this round, and this entire journey has shown through, and now you’re a part of history. Proud of you!

[Ottawa Senators @Senators]

Not done yet! Next up #StanleyCup Playoffs!

Nous n’avons pas terminé! On passe aux séries de la coupe Stanley!

[Rick Westhead @rwesthead]

Remarkably powerful comments today from men's national team head coach Jesse Marsch on U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated rhetoric suggesting Canada become a U.S. state.
Marsch: "Canada is a strong, independent nation that’s deep-rooted in decency... a place that values high ethics and respect, unlike the polarized, disrespectful and, often now, hate-fuelled climate that’s in the U.S."

[Paul Bissonnette @BizNasty2point0]

Who’s your daddy??? MCJESUS. MCJESUS. Our lord and saviour.

🇨🇦 #4Nations

[Bryan Hayes @HayesTSN]

THE BEST THERE IS, THE BEST THERE WAS AND THE BEST THERE EVER WILL BE!!! Canadian hockey can’t be touched. All the goofy smack talk from the Americans and they still can’t beat us!!! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

[Paul Bissonnette @BizNasty2point0]

I CANT WAIT FOR TOMORROWS @spittinchiclets PODCAST. You fucking bozo @ryanwhitney6. I told you you stupid idiot. Our game. Who’s your daddy??? 🇨🇦

[TSN @TSN_Sports]

CANADA HAVE WON THE 4 NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP 🇨🇦

[Spittin' Chiclets @spittinchiclets]

🗣️ GET GAVIN MCKENNA ON THE ICE

Canada, just play your best players. Don’t over think it.

https://t.co/H2asmmniJU

[Roger Federer @rogerfederer]

Vamos, @RafaelNadal!

As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I’ve got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional.

Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me—a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground. You made me reimagine my game—even going so far as to change the size of my racquet head, hoping for any edge.

I’m not a very superstitious person, but you took it to the next level. Your whole process. All those rituals. Assembling your water bottles like toy soldiers in formation, fixing your hair, adjusting your underwear... All of it with the highest intensity. Secretly, I kind of loved the whole thing. Because it was so unique—it was so you.

And you know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more. 

OK, maybe not at first. After the 2004 Australian Open, I achieved the #1 ranking for the first time. I thought I was on top of the world. And I was—until two months later, when you walked on the court in Miami in your red sleeveless shirt, showing off those biceps, and you beat me convincingly. All that buzz I’d been hearing about you—about this amazing young player from Mallorca, a generational talent, probably going to win a major someday—it wasn’t just hype.

We were both at the start of our journey and it’s one we ended up taking together. Twenty years later, Rafa, I have to say: What an incredible run you’ve had. Including 14 French Opens—historic! You made Spain proud... you made the whole tennis world proud.

I keep thinking about the memories we’ve shared. Promoting the sport together. Playing that match on half-grass, half-clay. Breaking the all-time attendance record by playing in front of more than 50,000 fans in Cape Town, South Africa. Always cracking each other up. Wearing each other out on the court and then, sometimes, almost literally having to hold each other up during trophy ceremonies.

I’m still grateful you invited me to Mallorca to help launch the Rafa Nadal Academy in 2016. Actually, I kind of invited myself. I knew you were too polite to insist on me being there, but I didn’t want to miss it. You have always been a role model for kids around the world, and Mirka and I are so glad that our children have all trained at your academies. They had a blast and learned so much—like thousands of other young players. Although I always worried my kids would come home playing tennis as lefties.

And then there was London—the Laver Cup in 2022. My final match. It meant everything to me that you were there by my side—not as my rival but as my doubles partner. Sharing the court with you that night, and sharing those tears, will forever be one of the most special moments of my career.

Rafa, I know you’re focused on the last stretch of your epic career. We will talk when it’s done. For now, I just want to congratulate your family and team, who all played a massive role in your success. And I want you to know that your old friend is always cheering for you, and will be cheering just as loud for everything you do next.

Rafa that!

Best always, your fan, 

Roger