- published: 20 Jan 2008
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Donald Rae Wittman (October 9, 1936 – January 19, 2008) was a Canadian sportscaster.
Born in Herbert, Saskatchewan, Wittman attended the University of Saskatchewan and got his start in the field of broadcasting as a news reporter with CFQC radio in Saskatoon in 1955.
As a sportscaster, Wittman covered many sports including athletics, baseball, basketball, golf, and was most known as a commentator and announcer for the CBC's CFL coverage, on Hockey Night in Canada, and for major Canadian and international curling tournaments.
He joined CBWT's supper-hour news program 24Hours in 1970 as sports anchor alternating with Bob Picken. He also worked on Winnipeg Jets television and radio broadcasts.
During the late 1970s–early 1980s, Wittman hosted Western Express, a half-hour weekly program broadcast in Western Canada which consisted of lottery ticket drawings for the lottery of the same name. The format of the series included Wittman co-hosting with media and community personalities from towns and cities across the region and conducting interviews in-between ticket drawings. (Western Express later changed its name to The Western and converted to a scratch-card lottery format).
Kirk Alan McLean (born June 26, 1966) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers. He played in the style of a stand-up goaltender.
McLean played major junior hockey with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and was drafted in the sixth round, 107th overall by the Devils in 1984. He played with the Devils' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Maine Mariners, before being traded to the Canucks in 1987. He is best known for his 10 and a half seasons with the Canucks, during which time he was a finalist for two Vezina Trophies in 1989 and 1992, named to two NHL All-Star Games and received Second All-Star Team honours. In 1994, he backstopped the Canucks to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Rangers. In 1998, he was traded away and spent the final three seasons of his career with the Hurricanes, Panthers and Rangers, before retiring in 2001.