Inside the Press Box: Shawn Lavigne

Storming the Crease is conducting a series of interviews with people who cover (or work for) the Caps and the NHL. You can find the complete log on the right sidebar. Today's twenty-second installment: XM's Hockey This Morning co-host Shawn Lavigne.

1. How did you first become host of Hockey this Morning?

It is funny in this business when being in the right place at the right time really does apply. Cam Stewart (no, not the hockey player) and Scott Laughlin co-hosted the first season of HTM beginning in November 2005. They had a great chemistry and I was the show producer. I had always been more of a behind the scenes person since I broke into the industry in the early 1990s. Cam decided to leave the show near the end of 2006 thus we needed a co-host.

Our program director, Joe Thistel, approached me about the idea of going on-air. My first reaction was a hard laugh thinking he's joking, but he was quite serious. Joe knew that Scott and I worked together for many years and we had a good brotherly chemistry, which might actually work on-air. So in January 2007, I launched my on-air career and I have questioned Joe's sanity every since!

2. How did you get the nickname "Big Country?"

I think "Big Country" is a true reflection of who I am really. I grew up on a small farm in Eastern Ontario and, despite dropping some weight recently, I'm still a husky guy; so put two and two together and you get "Big Country." Since we have started Hockey This Morning, I have had a few aliases some I have liked (Ric Flair, the Big One) others not so much (The Big Stench) -- but I believe Big Country is here to stay for a long time! Well until the new season begins for sure.

3. How involved are you with the insertion of many cultural references in the show? (For example, Weird Al has his "two minutes for being a Canadian Idiot" clip and it's a well-known fact you're a wrestling fan.)

The part of the show that I am most proud of is the fact we all think outside the box from most hockey/sports radio shows. We are not afraid to take chances incorporating some pop culture into the show. We fight like school kids about which bumper music we should play, but fans get a kick out of it because we all have different tastes. If there is a song that applies to the subject matter then we'll throw it in. If there is a movie quote that applies we'll throw it in. Chewbacca became an HTM icon every time we played his sound effect. There are no limits and if we feel something didn't work then we'll move on but at least we tried it.

After four seasons doing the show, we all watch the highlights differently. We don't watch them to see what happened that night, we watch them for a guy if he scores a goal or a goaltender gets a win so we can associate them with a sound effect or song the next morning. One of our favorites this year down the stretch was playing "Big Jack" by AC/DC every time Jack Johnson of the Kings did something important in a game. Again, it is different that you would not normally hear on other shows and quite frankly it makes HTM sound fresh which is very important as well.

Since day one we have always let our audience know what happens in our everyday lives. We don't want to come off as pompous egomaniacs, but we want to show that we are just like you and me. Fans forget that the NHL players are humans too and they have other interests just like the three of us and I believe you can link pop culture, current events, and hockey together successfully.

4. What are some of your favorite hockey-related memories?

Well I will tell you my three favorite memories since I have worked at NHL Home Ice. Covering the Stanley Cup final in Ottawa in 2007 was a dream come true. Growing up an hour from the city and to see your hometown team in the final was something I will never forget. I had goose bumps in the press box before Game 3 when Scotiabank Place was rocking to a series of rock anthems because the video presentation broke down. No one cared as everyone was belting out song after song for 10 minutes before the Ducks and Senators hit the ice. I will never forget the atmosphere in that building that night.

I was in Buffalo for the Winter Classic between the Penguins and the Sabres. That was my favorite sporting event so far in my life. The atmosphere in and outside of Ralph Wilson Stadium was electric. It was such a good time and, to top it off with a snow storm at the opening face-off, it was like Hollywood could not have written a better script. I believe that game may have changed the future of the game for the better.

The final memory was recently at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa this past holiday season. It was the first time covering the event and I was incredibly impressed with the passion, the desire, and the maturity of all the kids in the event. The great story from the championships was during the semifinal game between Russia and Canada.

I went down to the dressing room area with about seven minutes left in the third period so to prepare for the postgame interviews. So with Canada down by a goal, I was watching on a television monitor outside of the dressing rooms. Canada was pressing for the tying goal when suddenly this enormous eruption of sound literally blew my ears off two seconds later watching the television, we saw Canada score on delay. There were about 20 of us laughing at each other because we were all fooled.

5. What occupies your time when you're not working?

Well, I am a music junkie and listen to everything from country to blues to classic rock. Between my XM radio and my iPod, I'm pretty wired for sound. I've been really getting into "New Wave" recently, but I guess that is now old considering bands like REM, Depeche Mode, and Split Enz have been around 25-30 years!

I love following other sports as well. I love the New York Giants in the NFL, have to cheer for the hometown Blue Jays in baseball and grew up a huge Larry Bird fan (I could relate to Larry because we both couldn't jump).

Finally, I work in Toronto during the week but I travel back on weekends to my hobby farm that my wife runs. We have three horses (including a mini named Heatley), four dogs, five cats, three guinea pigs, but there are no partridges in a pear tree. I tell everyone I have the best of both worlds working in the city but living in the country.