John Furlong has used all of his athletic and business experience to guide the Vancouver Games within sight of the finish line. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) We put together a blue-ribbon panel of CBC Sports executives, producers, broadcasters and writers and asked them to name their 15 most influential figures on the Canadian sports scene in 2009. Their nominees had to be a Canadian citizen or a resident of Canada. In other words, Gary Bettman was ineligible.
Our panel came up with a list of more than 70 names that we have narrowed to the top 25.
The results provide a fascinating glimpse of who holds the power in Canadian sport. It's not surprising that people involved in winter sports, and in particular, hockey, dominate.
You may disagree with a name or two, or you may have other names you wish to add, but here is our list of the top 25 people who were voted to have the most pull in Canadian sport.
1. John Furlong, CEO of Vancouver (Olympic) Organizing Committee 157 points
In a 1996 letter to the Irish Times, a fan of Gaelic football suggested to the editor "that in future the GAA allocate a five-minute free-for-all before the television coverage of its games to dissipate the aggression, tension, etc."
There's nothing tougher than Gaelic football — a sport John Furlong captained in his homeland before coming to Canada 30 years ago.
It may have been exactly the training needed for what would eventually lie ahead — six years of shepherding the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games past protests, financial challenges, a recession, dealing with the International Olympic Committee, city halls in numerous towns, athletes, sponsors, hangers-on and just plain professional party-poopers.
Among a million other things.
Surviving the "Olympic Curse" — one that has brought down so many other heads of past organizing committees — has been quite a trick for this self-effacing former athlete who headed up the Games bid before 2003's official awarding of the event to Vancouver.
Furlong has travelled more than six million kilometres around the globe trying to get the Games together, looking after 1,300 employees and keeping the ship on course by putting in regular 80-hour weeks.
Through it all, he has kept to his mantra: "This isn't just Vancouver's Games, it's Canada's Games," no matter what the tide has thrown at him. You could also add a Trumanesque "The Buck Stops Here" and it would fit.
But Furlong has never been completely comfortable in the limelight, telling the Vancouver Sun this fall, "I'd rather do this with a paper bag over my head rather than the way we're doing it. I often get credit for work I don't do."
Furlong earned nine of 15 first-place votes.
2. Sidney Crosby, captain of Pittsburgh Penguins 120 points
Hockey is still No. 1 in Canada, and no Canadian player is as prominent at this time as the 22-year-old captain of the Stanley Cup champions.
Disagree? What other player could have created the kind of media ruckus that broke out on Aug. 7 when Crosby brought the Stanley Cup home to Cole Harbour, part of the Halifax region in Nova Scotia?
His face and figure are everywhere in Canadian advertising.
And no other Canadian player, save perhaps whoever plays goal, will carry as much pressure on their shoulders at the Winter Olympics as will Crosby.
3. Steve Yzerman, executive director of Canadian men's Olympic hockey team 112 points
And speaking of pressure, all this Hall of Famer has to do is ensure the NHLers chosen on Dec. 30 to represent Canada on home ice at the Vancouver Olympics win the gold medal, or his name may be mud.
The country doesn't forgive easily, and because 2006 turned out to be a disaster (seventh-place finish and a loss to Switzerland) the expectations on Yzerman are even greater.
The hype over team selection began back in the summer with the mini-camp in Calgary and has built exponentially since then to the point that all major TV networks are planning wall-to-wall coverage of just the selections.
This is what life must be like for Marcello Lippi, manager of Italy's national soccer team.
4. Mark Cohon, Canadian Football League commissioner 78 points
When Mark Cohon became the 12th commissioner of the CFL two years ago, he must have known he was taking on a job that is equal parts lion tamer, kindergarten teacher and referee for the eight owners or ownership groups who keep Canada's unique pro sport alive.
He has increased sponsorships, seen good recovery in attendance and been a key leader in the ongoing phenomenon that is Grey Cup Sunday.
But Cohon is holding that lion by the tail right now, faced with a mess in Toronto and a rumoured move by some owners to cut the number of non-imports (Canadians) who must start, from seven to four.
That latter trial balloon brought out the heavy artillery from both the media and fans, leaving Cohon to take the heat. This coming year he'll lead the battle with the players' union over a new contract.
5. Don Cherry, Hockey Night in Canada commentator 73 points
Whenever anybody wants to take a shot at hockey and its culture, the first name that comes up is Don Cherry. Dr. Charles Tator, a Toronto neurosurgeon, was just the latest, when he lambasted CBC's Hockey Night in Canada star in December.
Love him or loathe him, agree or disagree, when Cherry speaks, people listen. They may throw a shoe at the television right after that, but they do listen.
6. Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research in Motion Ltd. 65 points
A Phoenix radio sports interviewer asked us last summer whether any Canadian media would bother coming down to cover Jim Balsillie's attempt to take over the NHL Coyotes and move them to Hamilton.
Duck, we said. More trees (real and electronic) died as a result of Balsillie's effort to force himself on NHL commissioner Gary Bettman than for any other story on the Canadian landscape this year.
If Balsillie had won his bid in bankruptcy court, he would easily have been No. 1 on this list.
7. (tie) Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns guard 52 points
The first of the contentious picks. More voters (eight) chose not to put Canada's best-ever basketball player anywhere on their list than picked him at all (seven).
But those who did pick Nash, chose him high, as much for his continued presence as one of the top-three point guards in the National Basketball Association as for a specific individual instance of greatness.
A two-time MVP in a sport whose world influence continues to grow. He still hasn't won a championship, however.
7. (tie) Brian Burke, Toronto Maple Leafs president and GM 52 points
They're going to hate this one out west, but the man far too many journalists who should know better call "Burkie" dropped himself right into a boiling pot by taking over the terrible Leafs 13 months ago with the goal of turning them into a Stanley Cup winner.
It's far too early to tell if this is going to work (hasn't for 42 years), but he's already the most quoted and closely watched hockey executive in Canada.
Burke is also general manager of the U.S. entry in the 2010 Olympics.
7. (tie) Larry Tanenbaum, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chairman 52 points
There are endless arguments among Toronto sports fans about whether it's Tanenbaum or the Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan calling the day-to-day shots at MLSE, but the chairmanship belongs to the guy with the 20.5 per cent share.
MLSE has its hands on the Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA's Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC of Major League Soccer, plus the Air Canada Centre, office towers, condos and more.
Tanenbaum is the face of the club, in that he's the one everyone recognizes in the platinum seats on Saturday nights.
10. Bob Nicholson, Hockey Canada president 50 points
Nicholson has run amateur and Olympic hockey in this country since 1998, and that means he has been the face of the sport around the world, dealing with disputes over everything from whether NHL players would be in the Winter Games to what sweaters Canada would wear once it got there.
What most people don't see is that Nicholson manages a staff of more than 80 people spread over five offices across the country, looking after the game to its roots. That includes training and development, licensing, advertising, travel, etc.
Nothing moves on the ice in Canada without Nicholson knowing about it.
11. Chris Rudge, CEO of Canadian Olympic Committee 47 points
The leader behind Own the Podium — Canada's quest to finish on top of the medal standings at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver after a strong third-place showing in Torino four years ago — is leaving his job after this last big event.
Since taking over at the COC in 2003, Rudge has made it clear that the idea is to shoot for medals, not simply qualify for an event, and that's an important change in philosophy.
He and the COC have made sure $110 million in funding was available to athletes to help them do just that.
12. David Braley, businessman, philanthropist, owner of B.C. Lions 44 points
In addition to keeping the CFL's Lions a going concern this season, word leaked out that Braley has helped prop up the Toronto Argonauts in the past.
Absolutely allergic to media coverage, Braley and his wife have quietly donated millions to McMaster University in their hometown of Hamilton, including much to the medical centre and $5 million for a new athletic centre.
13. Wayne Gretzky, underemployed 43 points
Purely a reputation pick. If he had taken a side in the Jim Balsillie vs. the NHL fight down in Phoenix, Gretzky might have had some influence, especially as a Coyotes co-owner at the time.
Instead, on what was likely good advice, he chose to stay out of it. He then stepped down as the Coyotes' coach.
Could get back onto the list next year by taking another coaching job or buying into a club.
14. Colin Campbell, NHL's senior vice-president, director of hockey operations 41 points
Every time somebody in the NHL leads with his shoulder into someone else's head, Colin (The Sheriff) Campbell is front and centre, handing out the discipline.
This was the year that concussions and longer-term effects from hits to the head came to the media fore in many sports, and hockey has hardly been exempt.
As the year ended, media pressure to end head shots, especially in the U.S., was growing, meaning Campbell could be even more influential in 2010.
15. Cathy Priestner-Allinger, executive VP, sport and games operations, VANOC 40 points
Dubbed by media "the athlete's angel," this former speedskating medallist was the first woman in charge of the sports side of any Olympic Games when she took that job in 2002 at Salt Lake City.
Own the Podium came directly out of a working group she put together on behalf of the COC and since 2004 Priestner-Allinger has been head of games operations for Vancouver, making sure venues were built, and built properly.
Her handiwork is all over the 2010 Games.
16. Dr. Johann Olav Koss, CEO of Right to Play 34 points
Koss has adopted Toronto as his home base and from there looks after the charitable work of Right to Play, an organization that brings sport and games to children in some of the most difficult places in the world.
When Olympic organizers decided Right to Play could not have a presence in the athlete's village because of sponsorship issues, the competitors themselves rallied around to make sure the iconic red ball symbol will be seen everywhere in Vancouver.
A man who walks the talk.
17. Dr. Roger Jackson, chief executive officer, Own the Podium 28 points
Jackson has been a major part of Olympic and amateur sports in this country since he won a gold medal at the 1964 Games in Tokyo.
After becoming Own the Podium's boss in 2005, he has been responsible for deciding where $110 million in resources have been allocated to make Canada No. 1 in medals won in Vancouver this February.
18. Keith Pelley, president, Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium 27 points
The former TSN president has put together the most ambitious, multi-media coverage plan in Olympics history, including television and radio and numerous online and viral outlets.
Left the Toronto Argonauts after three years as that club's president. They could use him back.
19. (tie) Richard Peddie, CEO and president, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment 26 points
Another contentious pick. Only three of the 15 voters had him on their lists, but all had him high.
With the hiring of Bryan Colangelo to run the Toronto Raptors, and Brian Burke to look after the Toronto Maple Leafs, Peddie's direct influence on those teams is supposed to be minimalized.
But he still runs the company that owns those teams and his ability to find and take advantage of new revenue streams for MLSE is considered irreplaceable.
19. (tie) Mark Messier, special assistant, New York Rangers 26 points
This is more for his involvement with endorsing the new Cascade M11 helmet, designed to cut down concussions and head injuries for players, than anything he's doing with the Rangers.
21. Georges St. Pierre, welterweight champion, UFC 22 points
Just two of 15 votes for this mixed martial artist, but one of them had him in second place.
Certainly without his popularity in the controversial sport, the UFC would not have made the inroads in Canada it has this past year, including a new deal for a fight night in Vancouver.
22. Ron McLean, host, Hockey Night in Canada 21 points
Having to run herd on Don Cherry every year will give you influence, certainly, but with Hockey Night's second-period intermission Hot Stove feature, his voice is being heard more often on controversial issues, especially the troubles with the NHL players' association.
23. Marcel Aubut, president, Canadian Olympic Committee 18 points
Former owner of the since-departed Quebec Nordiques, he's now an influential figure with the COC.
This is one who could rocket up to the top level of the list in 2010 if his preliminary work to bring the NHL back to Quebec City begins to pay dividends.
24. Christine Nesbitt, Canadian long track speed skater 16 points
Now becoming more of a household name in her own country, Nesbitt is a superstar in Holland where speed skating is a near-religion. She has won 46 World Cup medals and two overall championships.
Nesbitt is on track to become a multiple medallist in February at Vancouver and serves as an inspiration for young Canadian athletes.
25. Jean Dupré, director general, Speed Skating Canada 15 points
One of the most important influences on the growth and development of speed skating in Canada from its days as a small sport that made occasional headlines to one of the strongest organizations in the world.
Also a regular member of the COC.
