Do you have any idea how many Canadians watch SportsCentre every morning?
I don't either, but it's a big number.
All those people will be watching Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole pump Estevan's tires if the city gets enough votes to win a spot on the Kraft Celebration Tour.
That's on top of the $25,000 prize money the Energy City would get to help local football programs repair flooding damage.
Sure, a lot more money will be needed to get things back to normal at Woodlawn, not to mention the existing projects for minor football and the Elecs, but it's a start.
It's a unique opportunity that likely won't come again, so let's get behind our football volunteers and do what we can on July 19 to bring TSN to Estevan.
So many people have worked hard over the last few years to make football relevant in this city again.
It will take time to get Dana Quewezance Memorial Field up and running, but the sooner it becomes operational, the better chance we have of keeping the momentum going.
Speaking of the Celebration Tour, I had a blast interviewing O'Toole on Friday.
He was as funny on the phone as he is on the show - it truly isn't an act - and I had to stop myself from breaking down laughing a few times during the 20-minute chat.
I could barely cram half of his funny anecdotes into this week's story, but you will be able to hear the whole thing on the Mercury's website.
There was the line about the Ha Ha Hut, or the stories about them eating fish soup or a chicken sandwich and barely being able to finish the show.
Sometimes when you interview a guy like that, it's awkward because they act like the celebrity that they are.
Dan was down to earth, talked about anything and everything and made the whole thing easy.
We also talked for a few minutes after the interview, which prompted me to ask him if he'd follow me on Twitter. Within a couple of hours I discovered that he had backed up his promise.
It was among the most enjoyable interviews I've ever done - maybe even at the top of that list. Thanks Dan!
Thanks also to TSN communications staffer Renee Rouse, who has gotten me both O'Toole and Darren Dutchyshen on short notice in the last month.
Josh Lewis can be reached by phone at 634-2654, by e-mail at [email protected], on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshlewis306 or on his Bruins blog at http://bruinbanter.blogspot.com. And yes, he's already protected that Dan O'Toole interview on his recorder.
