Latest news with #Cannons
Canberra Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Canberra Times
NBL back to Canberra? ACT govt in talks to host major event this year
So it seems fitting teams could contest the Loggins-Bruton Cup in Canberra - named after NBL Hall of Fame members Leroy Loggins and Cal Bruton - given the latter's connection to the Cannons. Bruton was the team's head coach - once even luring Magic Johnson to play for the Cannons - and remains an advocate for Canberra's return to the NBL.
Irish Daily Mirror
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Three generations of Irish country and western family takes Nashville by storm
Last summer, TG4 filmed three generations of the Cannon family's visit to the annual CMA Festival in it is doubtful the home of country music and The Grand Ole' Opry will ever be the same following their eventful collision with country music Donegal resulting documentary called 'Nashville - Seo muid ag teacht' will be a classic of the country genreThe traveling Cannons, who hail from Gortahork, consisted of dad John who used to be the leader of The Clubmen, his daughter Diane who is a noted trad and bluegrass artist and her daughter Kelly, a respected sean-nos three are devotees of different types of country music, John into old style such as George Jones, Diane more bluegrass and swing via Ricky Skaggs and The Time Jumpers while Kelly's liking is for modern acts such as there, they even get to record a song with legendary country producer John Mock (Randy Travis, James Taylor, Dixie Chicks, Ricky Skaggs) and legendary guitarist Tim O' the result, a reworking of a vintage RTE Radio na Gaeltachta competition winning song, is superbSays Diane of the trip: "The concept that TG4 had at the beginning was to take us as a family, three generations of country and western type singers from the Donegal Gaeltacht to the real home of country music Nashville."I would say they were pitching for a different programme about and around country music and with my involvement in trad and folk and even bluegrass and Scottish music and everything else, it's just a journey."So we had all our interests in country music but I also wanted to show how Nashville is not just (itals) country music, it is a great place for all kinds of music, delve into the different types of music there, try and understand music there as a business and why people go there, as they say, to make it."We spoke to promoters, managers, record companies, went to the studios to see their different way of recording there, what they call the 'Nashville Sound', as opposed to recording here in Ireland or the UK. "So it's kind of like a behind the scenes, more in-depth and away from that mainstream and what people kind of generally think country music is, your downtown broadway, stetsons, cowboys boots and all that."The Cannons spent 12 days all told in Nashville."There was going to a lot of gigs, we visited some of the iconic places and we got to meet people such as Steve Earle, Allie Colleen (Garth Brooks' daughter), Kelsey Hart, Tayler Holder and lots more."To get to talk to people such as John Mock and Tim O'Brien in such depth, things that you wouldn't get to do normally was fascinating. "We also met Eamonn McLaughlin who is the fiddle player in the houseband in the Grand Ole Opry. It was a real, real honour to get backstage at the Opry, to see behind the scenes."Mock and O'Brien went as far as inviting the Cannons to record a song with as it turned out, they set up a version of honky-tonk standard Don't Let Me Cross Over first recorded by Carl Butler and Pearl in 1962, a tune Jerry Lee Lewis and Jim Reeves also associated with it."We went into John's studio with Tim who played guitar and the three of us sang the song which they knew as Don't Let Me Cross Over."But our song has lyrics as (itals) gaeilge (itals) and they are not a direct translation. The words are about where we live, around different locations here in Donegal and it was written to the melody from that song."This version has a fascinating history, it came from a competition that RTE Radio na Gaeltachta had years ago with Ronan Mac Aodh Bhui and it was won by a man called Danny Cannon who isn't a relation of ours."I have also since recorded the song with The Time Jumpers who we met in the programme and I released that single earlier this week."Some of it was recorded remotely with The Time Jumpers recording in Nashville. I did the vocals here in Brian Kerrigan's studio in Letterkenny and then the whole thing was mixed and mastered."
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'It's like attending a funeral': Calgary Cannons owner, former GM, among those mourning Foothills Stadium
They say there's no crying in baseball, but the demolition of a decades-old Calgary ballpark just might make fans shed a tear. The city is in the process of tearing down Foothills Stadium as part of its plan to revitalize Foothills Athletic Park. The stadium was once home to the AAA baseball team the Calgary Cannons, who played in the city from 1985-2002. Team owner Russ Parker said that although he knew the stadium was coming down to make way for a new development, now that the demolition has officially begun, it's affected him emotionally. "It's been a tough few days. It has," he said. "It's like attending a funeral. You don't want to be there, but [you have to] pay it respect," he said. Parker, affectionately called "Mr. Baseball" in Calgary according to his profile in the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, reminisced about the Cannons' heyday in the 80s and 90s. He and his wife, Diane, were a major part of the franchise. He remembers the time it snowed so much in Calgary that the Cannons couldn't play games for days. He remembers when so many fans showed up to Foothills Stadium that they had to stand at the edges of the outfield behind a rope because there weren't enough seats. Russ Parker, owner of the Calgary Cannons, watches as crews demolish Foothills Stadium. (Terri Trembath/CBC News) He remembers his team doing a marvellous job of creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere at the stadium for all Calgarians to enjoy a baseball game. "You know, you'd see people leaving the stadium, and they were happy. They enjoyed it, even even if it wasn't a win," the hall-of-famer said. Joe McFarland, co-founder and host of baseball podcast Alberta Dugout Stories, said it's not surprising that Foothills Stadium is being torn down because the ballpark has been in a state of disrepair for years. "It's sad, but at the same time, you kind of expected it, right?" he said. "It's been left to ruin for quite a while." The Cannons moved to New Mexico following the 2002 season to become the Albuquerque Isotopes. John Traub, the former general manager of the Cannons, worked with the team for more than a decade. He said he's devastated that the Foothills Stadium is being torn down. "It's sad. It kind of felt like a part of my soul was taken from me when I got the news the other day," Traub said. He moved with the team to Albuquerque more than 20 years ago and is currently the general manager of the Isotopes. John Traub, sporting Calgary Cannons gear, reminisces about working with the AAA baseball franchise for more than a decade. (Terri Trembath/CBC News) "[There are] so many memories from being in that ballpark and living in Calgary and having baseball be such a huge part of our life... knowing how important baseball was to such a big part of the community up there," he said. "Obviously the Parkers were there from the beginning, and if it wasn't for them, professional baseball never would have happened in Calgary." Parker, who had a hand in building Foothills Stadium, said the memory that will always stick with him is the final game the Cannons played in Calgary. "You know, that was a very emotional night for sure. We did everything we could over 19 years to keep the franchise was a tough night," he said. "We were on the world baseball map. So I'm very proud of that." McFarland says the impact that the Foothills Stadium and the Calgary Cannons had on southern Alberta baseball fans is undeniable. "When I first saw that this place was actually going down, my heart and my thoughts went immediately to Russ, because he poured his heart and soul into this place," he said. "This was the grand place to be for baseball in Calgary... there's a lot of memories attached to it." LISTEN | A farewell to Foothills Stadium: Traub agrees the legacy of the Cannons and Foothills Stadium in Calgary is powerful. "It might not have been the flashiest stadium. It might not have been the Taj Mahal of minor league ballparks... That didn't matter," he said. "People came to those games because they enjoyed when the weather was good, they enjoyed the entertainment that was put on. They enjoyed the interaction with the players. They enjoyed being able to come to baseball clinics and just being part of something that was really important to the community. "Even though the ballpark's going away, the memories never will."
CBC
02-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
'It's like attending a funeral': Calgary Cannons owner, former GM, among those mourning Foothills Stadium
They say there's no crying in baseball, but the demolition of a decades-old Calgary ballpark just might make fans shed a tear. The city is in the process of tearing down Foothills Stadium as part of its plan to revitalize Foothills Athletic Park. The stadium was once home to the AAA baseball team the Calgary Cannons, who played in the city from 1985-2002. Team owner Russ Parker said that although he knew the stadium was coming down to make way for a new development, now that the demolition has officially begun, it's affected him emotionally. "It's been a tough few days. It has," he said. "It's like attending a funeral. You don't want to be there, but [you have to] pay it respect," he said. Parker, affectionately called "Mr. Baseball" in Calgary according to his profile in the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, reminisced about the Cannons' heyday in the 80s and 90s. He and his wife, Diane, were a major part of the franchise. He remembers the time it snowed so much in Calgary that the Cannons couldn't play games for days. He remembers when so many fans showed up to Foothills Stadium that they had to stand at the edges of the outfield behind a rope because there weren't enough seats. He remembers his team doing a marvellous job of creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere at the stadium for all Calgarians to enjoy a baseball game. "You know, you'd see people leaving the stadium, and they were happy. They enjoyed it, even even if it wasn't a win," the hall-of-famer said. Joe McFarland, co-founder and host of baseball podcast Alberta Dugout Stories, said it's not surprising that Foothills Stadium is being torn down because the ballpark has been in a state of disrepair for years. "It's sad, but at the same time, you kind of expected it, right?" he said. "It's been left to ruin for quite a while." The Cannons moved to New Mexico following the 2002 season to become the Albuquerque Isotopes. John Traub, the former general manager of the Cannons, worked with the team for more than a decade. He said he's devastated that the Foothills Stadium is being torn down. "It's sad. It kind of felt like a part of my soul was taken from me when I got the news the other day," Traub said. He moved with the team to Albuquerque more than 20 years ago and is currently the general manager of the Isotopes. "[There are] so many memories from being in that ballpark and living in Calgary and having baseball be such a huge part of our life... knowing how important baseball was to such a big part of the community up there," he said. "Obviously the Parkers were there from the beginning, and if it wasn't for them, professional baseball never would have happened in Calgary." Parker, who had a hand in building Foothills Stadium, said the memory that will always stick with him is the final game the Cannons played in Calgary. "You know, that was a very emotional night for sure. We did everything we could over 19 years to keep the franchise was a tough night," he said. "We were on the world baseball map. So I'm very proud of that." McFarland says the impact that the Foothills Stadium and the Calgary Cannons had on southern Alberta baseball fans is undeniable. "When I first saw that this place was actually going down, my heart and my thoughts went immediately to Russ, because he poured his heart and soul into this place," he said. "This was the grand place to be for baseball in Calgary... there's a lot of memories attached to it." Traub agrees the legacy of the Cannons and Foothills Stadium in Calgary is powerful. "It might not have been the flashiest stadium. It might not have been the Taj Mahal of minor league ballparks... That didn't matter," he said. "People came to those games because they enjoyed when the weather was good, they enjoyed the entertainment that was put on. They enjoyed the interaction with the players. They enjoyed being able to come to baseball clinics and just being part of something that was really important to the community.
