Pleasant Good Evening: My 30 Wild and Turbulent Years of Sportstalk

by Dan Russell

Dan Russell's Sportstalk was appointment-listening for tens of thousands of B.C. sports fans over its three-decade run. What began in 1984 as a simple 50-minute filler would grow into the longest-running and most-listened to show of its kind in Canada.

Russell created and solo-hosted the weekday-evening shows as Sportstalk became the gathering spot for Vancouver Canucks fans, highlighted by memorable marathon coverage of the 1994 and 2011 Stanley Cup finals.

Bobby Orr, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, George Foreman, Vin Scully and Pelé were among Russell's 25,000 interview subjects. But it was Brian Burke's weekly segment that created many of Sportstalk's greatest moments; that is, until their relationship went drastically sour. Russell also fielded more than 200,000 calls, including many from the renowned Paul Lafleur, a.k.a. "The Pauser," the most famous caller in Vancouver radio history.

Russell's story also documents his relentless attempt to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a full-time NHL play-by-play broadcaster.

A trailblazer, Russell started long before the arrival of 24/7 sports stations, inventing a format that's now commonly duplicated — all while stickhandling through the neverending politics of the radio business.

342 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2022

About the author

Dan Russell, the author of Pleasant Good Evening: A Memoir, was the creator and solo host of Sportstalk, which had a 30-year run as Canada’s longest-running and most-listened-to radio show of its kind.

Debuting in 1984 on CJOR Vancouver, Russell essentially invented a genre — sports talk radio in Canada. He also broke ground in 1989 when Sportstalk became the first weekday talk show to air on FM radio in Canada.

His career included being the play-by-play broadcaster for the WHL on SHAW, the CHL on Sportsnet, Vancouver Canucks pay-per-view, Seattle Thunderbirds radio and the BC High School basketball championships. Russell also hosted Vancouver Canucks broadcasts on CKNW, and he is a former Vancouver Sun sports columnist.

Russell also served as a sports anchor at BCTV and he has appeared as a ‘sports expert’ on CBC National, Global TV and Sportsnet.

All of which happened after Russell, who was born and raised in Richmond, BC, became CISL’s first disc jockey, at age 19, when that station signed on in 1980.

Russell, married with three children, now spends his time in Canada and Asia.

Reviews

[Steve Tripp · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the early days of Sportstalk, I was a regular listener, but after the All-sports radio format appeared in Vancouver and (even before then) when CKNW lost the Canuck broadcast rights in 2006, I rarely tuned in. When I did listen, I would give props to Russell as an interviewer and for his honesty and creativity but sometimes the show itself felt a bit wooden and forced. All said, there were certainly some good memories stirred up in this memoir. But there was also a bunch of personal punches pulled and bad-mouthing that I could have done without (John Shorthouse, Bill Good, every station manager at CKNW) .. at times it came across as somewhat petulant which I'm quite sure was not the intent. Overall, it's a good historical account of an era .. so if you are a Canucks fan ----or a Vancouver sports fan from the 80's and 90's in particular -- it's certainly worth reading.

[Gord · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough read if only being that I’m local and of an age to be familiar with many of the personalities discussed. Some good behind the scenes insight into the sports media world in BC.
Despite my being right in the wheelhouse for the timing of his show and his listeners i honestly have not much of an association or much of a recollection of his show??
I can’t say the book endeared me to the author very much ( seemed very keen on telling the reader every chapter at least once or twice or…? how great he was!) but the stories are made more enjoyable when you are familiar with the cast of characters.
I never considered not finishing it and would recommend it to another local sports fan of the right vintage!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book and for anyone who has followed the Canucks since their inception or is a hockey fan in general, this is a "must read". Dan lays it all out including the highs and lows of his years as a pioneer in sports radio, and pulls no punches when it comes to talking about the back-door politics of the Vancouver radio market. I was and am both a fan and a friend of the author, and Sportstalk accompanied me on many a late night drive home from work. This book made me feel like I was doing those drives all over again, and listening to his interviews with many of my hockey heroes .

[Dom Hung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good solid read on Dan Russell and the origins of Sportstalk which is helped to inspire many sports themed shows in Vancouver

Sports isn’t only about the center of the universe, Toronto and a local touch always needed. A good read, though some of the personal vendettas and shots were a little too “personal” but definitely appreciate the honesty

[Richard Janzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always loved listening to Sportstalk while driving. The book reminded me of so many events in Vancouver sports history. Incredible insight into the backroom politics of radio, and the relationships the author had with so many sports and media figures. Reading the book helped me see how the author became successful with his show, and also why some relationships became broken or bumpy.

[Richard Regamble · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any listener of Dan’s show

Loved this book! As a regular listener, almost from the beginning, I was blown away by the “ behind the scenes “ stories in this book. Old rumours finally addressed, inside stories re his contract talks and of course the wonderful side notes re his guests..most great ,some not so much. Finally …reading about the worst two weeks of his life brought me to tears.
I laughed , I cried ….it became part of me!

[Nik von Schulmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable behind the scenes look at a career and show that was so important to so many people in a time before there were so many sources of information. The book is written with similar honesty and arrogance that the Sportalk show had.