Hockey show to warm the heart
Ice hockey fans are the poor relations of North American sports enthusiasts when it comes to available coverage in Hong Kong.
The three other major team sports - NBA, NFL and baseball - receive extensive exposure on ESPN in the territory with at least one, usually two live games a week. STAR chips in with live NFL and NBA action, too.
In contrast, the NHL, gets one game a week on same-day delay.
Into the void this season, however, has come the magazine programme Be A Player: The Hockey Show on ESPN.
Former NHL-er Brett Lindros, brother of the famous Eric, co-presents with Sandra Neil from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Among the regular weekly items are the Be A Player Profile, which is an interview at a star's home accompanied by a potted biography of film clips.
A fascinating recent one profiled San Jose's Tony Granato.
We saw film of the gutsy forward making his name in the 1980s with the New York Rangers, then continuing to find success alongside Wayne Gretzky at the Los Angeles Kings before near-disaster struck.
A routine check for the Kings against the Whalers in January 1996 sent Granato sliding head first into the boards.
At first he thought little of it and even played another game, scoring a hat-trick despite feeling groggy.
But niggling headaches, memory loss and lapses in concentration took him to the doctor where a blood clot on the brain was diagnosed. Doctors told him he couldn't play again.
But Granato made an amazing recovery and even though the Kings wouldn't re-sign him the Sharks took a chance. The report ended on a high note with Granato playing in this year's All Star Game.
Another excellent feature of the show is John Davidson's Hockey Heroes section which focuses on legendary players and is a great excuse to trot out old footage of days when players didn't wear helmets.
Among those seen in recent weeks have been Bobby Hull of Chicago, plus Montreal Canadiens Jean Beliveau and Yvan Cournoyer.
