Celebrating athletes?

Great job by the Lethbridge Hurricanes and the City of Lethbridge on presenting former Canes captain Tyler Wong with a key to the city.

I’ve detailed my respect for Wong many times in this column and given the fervour of council’s admiration for him, I can’t wait to see what they do to honour Ashley Steacy, who won a bronze medal in women’s rugby at the Olympic Games in Rio. I bet it’ll be a heck of a show, well worth the long, long wait.

••• Speaking of Tyler Wong always reminds me of the greatest captain in Canes’ history, Ben Wright.

Wright ran herd on a team that had its share of distracting personalities but he wowed during the team’s memorable run to the WHL final in 2008. He was the team’s unquestioned and beloved leader, with several of those players still expressing their admiration for Wright even now.

During much of his career, Wright’s body was held together with spit and barbed wire. He was the toughest Hurricane I’ve ever seen play, and always conducted himself with dignity and, like Wong, did things his own way.

••• The Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame banquet was Saturday night at the Canadian Western Bank Lounge. The staff there were great, and the food was amazing. Several patrons -myself included had the meat sweats 15 minutes into Knud Petersen’s 24-minute induction speech.

Aside from tireless volunteer Petersen, the Hall inducted Morgan Munroe, a coach and basketball official. While Munroe was a good coach, he was a great ref. In the dozens of games I saw him officiate, he never lost a handle on what a foul was. He might miss a call, but he never lost his centre of gravity. Even then, there were university games where I’d have to check my notes to even realize he was officiating. The man knew the game and managed them better than any I’ve seen.

A long-overdue induction was the 1985 Senior Little League baseball team. They went to a World Series in Gary, Indiana and even won a game. It was an oversight long overdue to be corrected.

Hockey player Stacy Roest — who scored five goals in one game against me during Coulee Kickers soccer at about age 10 — got into the LSHOF, too. Roest had a great career in junior hockey, the NHL and overseas.

It was also nice to see his sister, Shantel, read a message from him. Shantel was a U of L Pronghorn women’s player while earning her Nursing degree.

••• The biggest surprise of the night was the Kinsmen male athlete of the year award, which went to Olympic swimmer Zack McAllister. We all knew Zack was getting the award, but his speech was very moving, especially if you know that he’s no fan of public speaking.

As a young swimmer, Zack said he couldn't understand why he was losing to other kids, even younger ones. Once he realized the pool was tilted against him, he started his Paralympic career and since then, he has been a champion. On a level playing field, I won't ever bet against Zack.

The aforementioned Ashley Steacy thanked the community that helped raise her and that has always supported her (although someone should tell city council about her) and knowing her well, she probably found the most joy in watching Petersen get his induction. Knud was a women’s rugby supporter in the days when few others not on staff backed the fledgling team.

I can’t let comments on the Sports Hall go without quoting Knud one time. “That’s disgusting” he said after rattling off the percentage of women honoured by the organization.

“Be bold and accept that women will only add to the credibility of the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame” was his message, and it’s worth hearing.