Favourite Canadian Columnist?

Note the "u" ;D.
A riff on the favourite columnist thread. Favourite Columnist, Canadian Division. As mentioned on the other thread, I like Stephen Brunt, Globe and Mail. Any others, high or low profile?

 

I like Steve Simmons from the Sun, also Blatchford when she is on top of her game.

 

Brunt would be the man for me and when Blatchford does sports she's very good too. I like Rich Griffin of The Star and while I don't always agree with what they write, I'm a fairly regular reader of Steve Simmons and Damien Cox.

For my money the best columnist in any Canadian paper is James Lawton of UK's The Independent who the Toronto Sun runs on Sundays.

Al Starchan is the worst.

 

who was that great Globe and Mail (?) columnist from the 1970s and 1980s, Alan....??

 

Shocking ..... All the names mentioned are from Toronto. ;D

 

Alan Abel

 

Abel was consistently the best I ever read. Had one column speculating on the formation of the WHA which he boiled down to: if Tony Esposito stops a long shot from Jacques Lemaire in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final, nothing happens.
Hawks win, Hull stays, the WHA never gets off the ground, etc. etc. It was brilliant.

 

I was a big Roy MacGregor fan when he was doing sports... actually, I still enjoy his work in the Globe and Mail. Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun can be a good read as well.

 

Cox

 

As well as being a great writer, Brunt is a great guy. When we were in "competition," when I was writing fights for the Post, he was still supercool. Couldn't have been nicer and more supportive, really. First time I met him, I called him up in his room when we were at Foxwoods for Grant v. R. Jones, and asked if he wanted to grab a bite to eat. Much to my surprise, he said sure, and we gabbed it up. I really enjoyed going on the road with him.

I think Dave Feschuk is still on his way up. Good chance he ends up at ESPN the mag or somewhere like that, I'd bet.

 

So many communists to choose from, where to start?

Oh wait, you said columnists.

 

Sirs, Madames,

Dick Beddoes.

I had reason to look at some old microfilm lately. He was calling out those who deserved to be called out with nuts that you don't find today. And he was funnier than hell.

I talked to him when I was a mere kid (at Harry Stinson's Vegetarian Restaurant on Bay Street) and he was cool and friendly; later in life when I met him professionally he was a dick.

Near the end of his antic life I helped him collect cash from a magazine that owed him money (his story was bad, probably didn't deserve to be paid for it, just one bit of sexual innuendo after another). He was grateful. I tried to remember the great stuff he wrote and how nice he was over tofu than what a dick he was when I was carrying a notepad.

Living: I like Jack Todd.

YHS, etc