Overview

Rod Black shares all the stories, all the fun, and all the inside scoops in this revelatory book about his forty years in Canadian sports broadcasting. Foreword by Joe Carter For more than four decades, Rod Black has been one of Canada’s most versatile sportscasters. He has either hosted or called play-by-play for practically every sport there is. Rod broadcasted some pivotal Blue Jays games in 1992 and 1993, when the team won the World Series. He was on the ice with Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. He lived with a Toronto Maple Leaf and partied with the teammates until legendary Leafs coach Pat Burns told him to cut it out. He was around for Ben Johnson’s fabled win and disastrous fall from grace. He was live on air during 9/11. He captures all of these stories and a lot more in the pages of this book, showing how the business of broadcasting could truly be a blast and also cutthroat. After years at CTV, Rod Black moved to TSN, where he evolved into broadcasting game-a-day Black. It wasn’t unusual for Black to call five different sporting events in a single week, sometimes more than one a day. Rod Black has two families: his own, and his work family. Black’s work family is a result of his years on the road calling every sport imaginable. He was even a DJ at a roller-skating rink in Winnipeg, a rather inauspicious start to a stellar broadcasting career. Cut to Black is funny, engaging, warm, and revelatory—the perfect gift for anyone who wonders how sports broadcasts are made (sometimes by the seat of the broadcaster’s pants).

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9781668034552

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Reviews

“Rod Black is one of the best teammates ever. Just pick the team! He's covered them all.” — WENDEL CLARK “You can’t just show up at a sporting event and talk about the game. You have to do a lot of due diligence and homework. I didn’t know how good Rod was and talented he was until later. Rod is a special talent.” — CHARLES BARKLEY   “This is a compelling book about showing up. About curiosity, generosity, and the choices that quietly shape a life in broadcasting and beyond. Rod Black’s story is guided by a simple instinct: say yes to opportunity, to service, and to responsibility, especially when the stakes are high. Cut to Black is a warm, thoughtful reminder that the true measure of a career is not just what you cover, but how you show up when it matters most.”  — LISA LAFLAMME “I have never been around anyone as professional, prepared, versatile, wired in, humble, fun, and enthusiastic about every and any event he covered. I can’t tell you the number of times the lights came on and I looked at Rod in absolute amazement, wondering where the hell did those words and thoughts he just voiced come from.” — LEO RAUTINS, former NBA player and announcer for the Toronto Raptors

Author Information

Rod Black reported sports stories for CTV and TSN for four decades. A devoted family man, Rod has spent countless hours giving back to numerous charities around the world, including the Special Olympics, the Giants of Africa, Canadian Men’s Health Foundation, Children’s Aid Foundation, SickKids, and Plan International Canada. Rod Black is a sportscaster, host, emcee, and a philanthropist. Black was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his volunteer work. He lives outside Toronto with his wife, Nancy. Follow him on Instagram @RodBlackTV. Jim Lang is a sportscaster, journalist, and the coauthor of hockey memoirs by Tie Domi, Max Domi, Wendel Clark, and Bryan Berard, as well as Everyday Hockey Heroes Volumes I and II with Bob McKenzie, Everyday Hockey Heroes III and My Day with the Cup. He lives outside Toronto with his wife and kids. Follow him on Instagram @LangersWorld.

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