Australia Has Lost a Cricket Legend – Shane Warne

Lindsey Lubkey

Published

3 years ago

6 minute read

Shane Warne – King Of Leg-Spin Dies Suddenly

Australia, and the cricketing world, is in shock after the Australian media broke that legendary bowler – Shane Warne had died of a heart attack while on holiday in Koh Samui, Thailand. The 52-year-old spin bowling maestro was found unconscious and not breathing at the Samujana Villa resort on the island of Koh Samui by a friend. They were meant to meet up for dinner, but as time went by, Warne’s friend came round to his bungalow to see what the hold up was.

Australias’ Best Ever Cricketer

Warne has always been known as a larger-than-life cricketer. A boisterous larrikin with a passion for the game that was matched by his behavior off the field. He dazzled and mesmerized cricket fans—and opposing batsmen. The blue-eyed, blonde-haired Australian cricket legend had his share of controversy with drugs, sex scandals, and gambling that made headlines throughout his career.

He was a well known playboy away from the cricket pitch and was renowned for his love of fast food, beer, and cigarettes. Shane Keith Warne was born on September 13th, 1969, in the suburb of Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia. Realizing that he was no scholar early in life, Warne found passion in playing sport. His first true sporting love was Australian Football Rules (or VFL in those days), and he was talented enough to be awarded a junior scholarship with the famous St. Kilda Football Club.

Early Life and Sport

However, after three years at St. Kilda, he was cut from the squad and the club, with guidance that he was not up to the standard required for success with the senior team. After his foray into Aussie rules, Warne turned his attention to cricket. He was good enough to be selected to train at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide, South Australia, before signing up with the Accrington Cricket Academy in 1991. His leg-spin bowling craft was slowly developing into the cricketing weapon it would eventually become.

After returning to Australia in late 1991, Warne made his first-class cricket debut for Victoria. His bowling talent was recognized by the national selectors, who promptly chose him for the Australian A team. Shortly afterward, he graduated to the senior Test team and played against India in his debut test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1992. Shane Warne quickly developed into the Australian cricketer who was one of the most influential leg-spin bowlers in cricket history. Easily recognized as the most difficult form of bowling to master, Warne’s accuracy and control made him an exceptional Test match wicket-taker. His game seemed flawless regardless of the cricketing surface. Alongside his accurate leg breaks, Warne had great disguise and effectiveness with his top-spinner and great control with his ‘googly’ (a ball bowled with reverse-spin that breaks unexpectedly in the opposite direction anticipated). Adding to all of this, his ‘flipper’ (a ball that is bowled quicker, flatter, and directed at the stumps), Warne had all of the tools of the trade for a leg-spinner.

Post Cricket Career

His success prodigiously promoted the almost-forgotten art of leg-spin bowling and brought variety to a sport dominated by quick bowlers. Towards the end of his career (2006), he became the first bowler ever to capture 700 Test wickets. While playing the game of cricket, he appeared unconquerable, tantalizing crowds from all cricketing nations, while deceiving opposition batsmen with his diverse deliveries.

Warne always had a love-hate relationship with the media, and his personal weight gain problems (which were common throughout his career) became the press gallery’s main topic at one point. Warne retired from test cricket in 2007 after Australia won back the Ashes against England in a whitewash series in Australia. However, he did play a few matches in the shorter forms of the game and retired from playing altogether in 2011. His diverse interests away from the cricket pitch involved playing poker in the world championship poker tournament, designing and creating his men’s underwear and cologne lines, and supporting underprivileged kids’ charities.

Conclusion

However, Warne’s greatest love was cricket, and his comprehensive knowledge of the sport saw him commentating in various roles locally and abroad. With his unique insight into leg-spin bowling, and alongside his astuteness with cricketing tactics, few commentators understood the game better than him. His sudden death at the Thai island villa sent shockwaves across the cricketing world. Warne was an Australian sporting icon and legend who we will all sorely miss. Yet his cricketing legacy will live on.

Lindsey Lubkey

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Australia Has Lost a Cricket Legend – Shane Warne

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Bruce Dowbiggin

From Heel To Hero: George Foreman’s Uniquely American Story

Published on March 24, 2025

Bruce Dowbiggin

“The more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know.”— George Foreman

For those who thought Donald Trump’s role progression (in WWE terms) from face to heel to face again was remarkable, George Foreman had already written the media book on going from the Baddest Man in the World to Gentle Giant.

It’s hard for those who saw him as the genial Grill Master or the smiling man with seven sons all named George (he also had seven daughters, each named differently) to conjure up the Foreman of the 1970s. He emerged as a star at the 1968 Olympics, winning the gold medal in heavyweight boxing. His destruction of a veteran Soviet fighter made him a political hero. In an age that already boasted a remarkable heavyweights Foreman was something unique.

Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Ron Lyle and Jimmy Ellis were still bankable household names for boxing fans— but on the downside of famous careers. They each had their niche. Foreman was something altogether different. Violent and pitiless in the ring. Unsmiling as he dismantled the boxers he met on his way to the top. He was the ultimate black hat.

With the inimitable Howard Cosell as his background track , he entered the ring in 1973 against the favoured ex-champ Frazier, coming off his three epic fights with Ali. While everyone gave Foreman a chance it was thought that the indomitable Frazier, possessor of a lethal left hook, would tame the young bull.

Instead, in under two rounds of savagery , Foreman sent Frazier to the canvas six times. Cosell yelled himself horse crying, “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!” This was a whole new level of brutality as the poker-faced Foreman returned to his corner as the most feared boxer on the planet. For good measure Foreman destroyed Norton in 1974.

Fans of Ali quaked when they heard that he would face Foreman’s awesome power in Africa in the summer of 1974. They knew how much the trio of Frazier brawls had taken from him. The prospect of seeing the beloved heavyweight champ lifted off his feet by Foreman’s power left them sick to their stomach. Foreman played up his bad-boy image, wearing black leather, snarling at the press and leading a German shepherd on a leash.

Everyone knows what happened next. We were travelling the time in the era before internet/ cell phones. Anticipating the worst we blinked hard at the headline showing the next day that it was a thoroughly exhausted Foreman who crumbled in the seventh round. The brilliant documentary When We Were Kings is the historical record of that night/ morning in Kinshasa. The cultural clash of Ali, the world’s most famous man, and the brute against the background of music and third-world politics made it an Oscar winner.

But it’s largely about Ali. It doesn’t do justice to the enormity of Foreman’s collapse. Of course the humiliation of that night sent Foreman on a spiritual quest to find himself, a quest that took the prime of his career from him. It wasn’t till 1987 that he re-emerged as a Baptist minister/ boxer. With peace in his soul he climbed the ranks again, defiantly trading blows in the centre of the ring with opponents who finally succumbed to his “old-man” power.

Instead of the dour character who was felled by Ali, this Foreman was transformed in the public’s eye when he captured the heavyweight title in 1994, beating Michael Moore, a man 20 years his junior. He smiled. He teased Cosell and other media types. He fought till he was 48, although he tried to comeback when he was 55 (his wife intervened)

And, yes, for anyone who stayed up late watching TV there was the George Foreman Grill, a pitchman’s delight that earned him more money than his boxing career. HBO boxing commentator Larry Merchant commented that “There was a transformation from a young, hard character who felt a heavyweight champion should carry himself with menace to a very affectionate personality.”

There was a short-lived TV show called George. There was The Masked Singer as “Venus Fly Trap”. And there were the cameos on Home Improvement, King Of The Hill and Fast ’N Loud, delighting audiences who’d once reviled him. He cracked up Johnny Carson.

Foreman’s rebound story was uniquely American. Where Canadians are enthusiastically damning Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky for political reasons, Foreman never became a captive of angry radicals or corporate America. He went his own way, thumping the bible and the grill. Rest easy, big man.

Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada’s top television sports broadcaster, his new book Deal With It: The Trades That Stunned The NHL And Changed hockey is now available on Amazon. Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years In NHL History, his previous book with his son Evan, was voted the seventh-best professional hockey book of all time by bookauthority.org . His 2004 book Money Players was voted sixth best on the same list, and is available via brucedowbigginbooks.ca.

Sports

WHL Expands To Penticton, Launches Franchise Application Process For Chilliwack

Published on March 24, 2025

Todayville

News release from the Western Hockey League

The Western Hockey League announced today the awarding of an expansion franchise to the Penticton Vees for the 2025-26 WHL season along with the initiation of a franchise application process for the City of Chilliwack, to begin play in the 2026-27 WHL season.

“This is an exciting day, as the Western Hockey League takes its next step as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players,” commented WHL Commissioner Dan Near. “Communities within B.C. produce talented young players from thriving grassroots hockey programs and we’re pleased to deliver WHL franchises to two important centres in the province – Penticton and Chilliwack. In each market the WHL operates in, we aim to serve as role models within the local hockey community, business community, and beyond. We look forward to the opportunity to continue these efforts in Penticton and Chilliwack.”

Penticton possesses an incredibly rich hockey history, a strong commitment from its municipal government, outstanding facilities, community support, and is also home to high-performance competition, including the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) Championships.

“We’re thrilled with the announcement that the Western Hockey League is bringing the top tier of junior hockey to Penticton,” said Julius Bloomfield, Mayor of the City of Penticton. “Our community has a long, proud hockey tradition and this represents the next chapter in our story. The WHL will bring excitement, excellence and economic activity to our town and we can’t wait for the first training camp to open.”

Chilliwack is a longstanding outpost for junior hockey in the Lower Mainland. As a growing and thriving community with dedicated municipal government, Chilliwack will quickly establish itself as a pillar of strength in the WHL.

“Having the WHL select Chilliwack for expansion is exciting for our community,” said Jason Lum, Acting Mayor of the City of Chilliwack. “The league has a strong track record of supporting youth programs and local charities while boosting the economy in its home cities. Along with the high calibre of play, the WHL also plays a crucial role in developing future NHL stars.”

Hockey Canada has granted approval for the Penticton Vees to join the WHL and return to sanctioned hockey activities.

“Today’s announcement is an exciting moment for hockey in British Columbia and Western Canada, and we are thrilled that fans in Penticton and Chilliwack will get to experience elite-level junior hockey in their communities,” said Katherine Henderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hockey Canada. “Providing Canadian athletes with premier development opportunities in our country is of the utmost importance to Hockey Canada and our Members, and we anticipate the WHL’s expansion will have a positive impact on our efforts with BC Hockey to grow the game in a hockey system that prioritizes the safety and wellness of participants. We congratulate the WHL and the cities of Penticton and Chilliwack for their roles in ensuring the sport of hockey continues to thrive and unite communities across our country.”

The expansion of the WHL to Penticton and Chilliwack will increase the WHL footprint to 24 member Clubs by 2026-27, including 18 throughout Western Canada and six in the Pacific Northwest United States.

“As we evaluate the everchanging landscape of hockey, this marks a critical opportunity for the WHL to invest in enhancing the WHL Player Experience across all 24 WHL markets,” Near said. “The WHL remains committed to offering a world-class player experience for hockey’s elite junior-aged players, and with that, we will continually raise our standards across the board to adapt to the changing landscape.”

Strategically, these two key markets fit perfectly within the WHL’s existing footprint in the Western Conference, particularly as it pertains to B.C.’s Lower Mainland, Okanagan, and South Thompson Valley regions. Penticton will join the WHL’s B.C. Division and Western Conference for 2025-26.

Penticton, British Columbia (2025-26)

The WHL Penticton franchise will be owned and operated by Graham Fraser, who has been the majority owner of the BCHL’s Penticton Vees since June 2008. Fraser will migrate the Vees franchise to the WHL.

Joining Fraser as partners are Winnipeg Jets forward and Ontario Hockey League alumnus Mark Scheifele, former New York Rangers goaltender Mike Richter, and prominent Penticton businessmen Joe Walters and Gord Kovacik.

“We are excited to welcome Graham Fraser and the entire Penticton Vees ownership group, along with Fred Harbinson, to the WHL,” commented WHL Commissioner Dan Near. “Following productive conversations with BC Hockey and Hockey Canada, we collectively agree that the repatriation of the Penticton Vees is good for the game of hockey in Canada.”

Harbinson will serve as the President, General Manager, and Head Coach of the WHL’s Penticton Vees.

The WHL’s Penticton Vees franchise will join the B.C. Division in the Western Conference for the 2025-26 regular season.

“It’s a very exciting time for our community and the Penticton Vees,” Fraser said. “We feel the city and hockey team are ready to take the next step and join the WHL. With Fred Harbinson, Dean Clarke, and our staffs, we will be in a great place to have continued success. I would like to thank our ownership group of Mark Scheifele, Mike Richter, Joe Walters, and Gord Kovacik for their support in making this a reality.”

The Penticton Vees will be bound by Hockey Canada’s existing player transfer regulations as well as WHL regulations. The Vees will participate in the 2025 WHL Expansion Draft, which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 7. They will also participate in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft, and 2025 CHL Import Draft. The Vees have begun recruiting a 15-player list, which will expand to the WHL standard 50-player list May 7.

“This is a monumental moment in our franchise’s history, starting as an iconic senior team in the 1950s, to being a premier Junior ‘A’ team for the past 65 years,” Harbinson said. “The move to the WHL is the next chapter in the legacy of hockey in Penticton. I look forward to this new challenge, while competing against the best players and coaches in junior hockey.”

Penticton’s South Okanagan Events Centre – a WHL-ready, multi-purpose facility that seats 5,000 – has been home to the Penticton Vees since 2008.

“Penticton’s South Okanagan Events Centre is WHL ready and is one of the best amateur sports facilities in all of Western Canada,” Near said. “It is only natural that this gem houses a franchise in the WHL. We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to bring WHL hockey to Penticton for the 2025-26 WHL season.”

Opened in 2008, the South Okanagan Events Centre is owned by the City of Penticton and managed by Oak View Group. The Okanagan’s premier sports and entertainment venue, the South Okanagan Events Centre has played host to world-class concerts and events and houses the Okanagan Hockey School along with the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame.

The 95,000-square-foot facility includes three ice rinks, modern dressing rooms, food and beverage service, team merchandise store, and 27 luxury suites. The South Okanagan Events Centre is also connected to the 60,000-square-foot Penticton Trade and Convention Centre – one of the largest trade show and convention facilities in B.C.

The greater Penticton region is home to nearly 45,000 people. Penticton represents a natural, geographical rival for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers.

Chilliwack, British Columbia (2026-27)

The City of Chilliwack is home to the Chilliwack Coliseum – a WHL-ready, multi-purpose facility that seats 5,000. Opened in 2004, the Chilliwack Coliseum is owned and operated by the City of Chilliwack. The Chilliwack Coliseum has played host to world-class concerts and events, including trade shows and conventions.

The City of Chilliwack is set to invest $3.7 million in upgrades to the Chilliwack Coliseum prior to the arrival of a WHL franchise in 2026-27, including enhancements to the scoreboard, lighting system, NHL-standard boards, and more.

The 144,000-square-foot facility includes two NHL-sized ice rinks, modern dressing rooms, food and beverage service, team merchandise store, and 13 luxury suites.

Chilliwack has an estimated population over 107,000, with expectations for it to see the largest population growth in the Fraser Valley in the next five years. Chilliwack also represents a natural, geographical rival for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants.

The WHL will immediately launch a franchise application process where interested parties will be invited to present a plan including a vision for hockey operations, community integration, and business operations, which will be evaluated by the WHL Commissioner and Executive Committee.

The WHL anticipates announcing the outcome of the franchise application process prior to the start of the 2025-26 WHL season, subject to the approval of the WHL Board of Governors.