Regina broadcasting legend Mal Isaac dead at 84
CBC
Mal Isaac, a venerable mainstay in Regina sports broadcasting, died Saturday. He was 84.
He leaves behind his wife, Vivian, three children and eight grandchildren, whom he absolutely adored according to his son, Scott.
Isaac began broadcasting when he was 21 and worked at several outlets before landing at CBC Saskatchewan, where he worked from the 1970s to the mid-'90s.
Scott said he was aware of his father's career, but to them he was always just "Dad," and a great one at that.
He recalls his father taking him along to Riders and Pats games where he had the best seat in the house — next to his dad in the press box.
"You couldn't have asked for a better dad," Scott said in an interview with CBC on Tuesday. "[He was] just a genuinely nice guy that really looked after his family, and that was his main priority."
Scott said his father was very involved in his life, serving as his hockey or baseball coach for many years, and would even get in on the pickup basketball games that took place on the driveway.
His father faced considerable health problems throughout his life, but continued to thrive, Scott said.
Mal had his first heart attack when he was three and his sister was five. More heart attacks came after that, in addition to two quadruple-bypass surgeries and a heart transplant.
"Our family would like to extend a very special thank you to the numerous doctors, nurses, and medical staff that have been instrumental to keeping him with us all these years," his obituary in the Regina Leader-Post reads in part.
The outpouring of love and support in the wake of Mal's passing has been amazing, Scott said, and he wishes he could thank everyone that has sent a kind word to his family.
"It's a huge loss for us and for our kids and my sisters' kids as well. It's just lots to process," he said.
"I was introduced to Mal long before he was introduced to me," Rob Vanstone, longtime sports editor at the Regina Leader-Post, said in an interview.
"As much as I grew up watching Ron Lancaster, George Reed, Dennis Sobchuk ... I grew up following Mal Isaac and his brother Dale. They are just a royal family of broadcasting in Saskatchewan."
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.