A very public thank you to Global’s Ian Duffy.
For the record, I didn’t record a thing.
I sat in the car, outside the Brandt Centre, and nearly wept.
Minutes earlier, I had finished interviewing Ed Staniowski, Stu Grimson and Geoff Courtnall, all of whom were made available to the media to promote the Regina Pats’ Homecoming Weekend.
Staniowski, Grimson and Courtnall are among the former NHLers who are to appear in an oldtimers’ game on Feb. 17 at Mosaic Stadium — one day before the Regina Pats are to face the Moose Jaw Warriors in the Queen City’s first outdoor WHL contest.
The interviews were done as part of a modest media scrum that included Global TV’s Ian Duffy, whose presence is always welcomed.
Little did I suspect, however, how appreciative I would be that Ian was on the premises.
When I got back to the car, I skillfully activated my iPhone6 and clicked on the Voice Recorder app, just to make sure that everything was fine.
Sure enough, there were 31.7 megabytes of audio. But when I went to play back the recording, I was greeted with: “File record duration is too small to play.”
Then I looked at the time consumed: 00:00.
Huh? How could this be? Somewhere in my iPhone, there are 31.7 mb of audio that inexplicably devour 00:00. Another file, of an unrelated interview done a few days earlier, includes 64.4 mb and is 33:32 in duration.
I handled this situation with the utmost maturity — by spluttering unprintables and panicking.
Upon calming down, I began to ponder alternatives. Clark Munroe, the Pats’ director of game-day operations and social media, suggested that I contact Ian — whereupon I sent him a message and calmly begged for his assistance.
Before too long, Ian had emailed me the entire audio file, which I transcribed and turned into a story for the best-selling Dec. 4 edition of the Regina Leader-Post.
My gratitude was such that I went on Twitter and conveyed my appreciation with this message to my follower(s): “Thank you so much to @DuffyGlobal for performing a good deed and bailing out a fossil of a scribe who encountered technical difficulties this afternoon. Ian totally saved my story by being a great guy.”
Ian responded the following day, after my beloved Denver Broncos had erupted for nine points while holding the Miami Dolphins to 35. He wrote: “And I would do it again haha. Not a problem Rob. Glad it worked out. Hopefully it eased this brutal day of football for you.”
Thankfully, my message to Ian — unlike three passes thrown by Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian — was not intercepted.
Ian went well beyond the call of duty to assist a media outlet with which he does not have any affiliation.
It was my fault that technology let me down. Thirty years into a career, I should know that it is wise to always, always, always take notes, even if they are just a backup (see: Brock Osweiler, Denver Broncos).
I should have been more app-rehensive about relying on an app. I failed to exercise caution and paid the price, only to be bailed out by Ian.
In a different media market, without the presence of an all-star human being such as Ian, a muchneeded good deed may not have been performed. In bigger centres, the competition can be cutthroat.
Thankfully, I was reminded of the joys of living and working in Regina. With very few exceptions, reporters from various media outlets co-exist amicably. I have made great friends sitting in press boxes and telling some of my tacky jokes.
One fine day last spring, I sat in an auxiliary press box at the Brandt Centre and was introduced to Ian — who had just been hired by Global Regina — during a Pats playoff game.
Within seconds, I concluded that he was a young man of exceptional talent and character. We had an enjoyable chat during the game.
Since then, we have bumped into each other at various events, and have always exchanged cordial pleasantries. Sometimes, when we are both busy, the interaction consists of a simple wave.
In other words, we do not go back a long time. My career, which began in 1987, is considerably older than Ian.
Yet, he went out of his way to help me — enabling this oldtimer to report on the oldtimers.
The All-Star Celebrity Classic is two months away, but an assist is already on record.