"I liked being the centre of attention growing up. I was the guy in class who was repeatedly told to sit down, to not talk. Jon needs to focus more, hes not g

TORONTO -- Contestants on "The Amazing Race Canada" were unanimously excited when informed that the show would be hosted by Olympic gold medallist Jon Montgomery -- once they realized who he was, that is. "Were they like who? Who? The beer guy?" Montgomery asks. Well, actually, yes. But the flame-haired 34-year-old has no issue with the fact that hes still best-known to Canadians not for hurtling to a surprise gold medal in mens skeleton at the 2010 Vancouver Games, but for how he celebrated afterward: gleefully marching through a crowd of elated Canucks while chugging a pitcher of beer. "If I could pick between being known as an Olympic gold medallist or the beer guy, I would pick the beer guy," Montgomery said in a recent interview -- his words tumbling out at Olympic speed -- before again revisiting the circumstances of his golden day. "That lady that was kind enough to hand me a pitcher of beer, it was like she was angelic, there was this aura about her and ... I was so thirsty at that moment in time," he recalled. "As a good old Manitoba boy, you show your appreciation for someone buying you a drink by taking a good hearty swill of it. "I think Canadians cant necessarily see themselves flying down a frozen toilet chute on a cafeteria tray with rails head-first at 140 km/h, but Canadians can see themselves celebrating a goal accomplished ... in a uniquely Canadian style with a pitcher of suds. And I think that leant them some access to the moment." It was a marquee moment for Games broadcaster CTV too, so its not surprising that the network decided upon Montgomery as host of its new flagship, race-around-Canada reality show, which will launch with considerable fanfare on July 15. "How he behaved after he won his gold medal was just like a unifying moment where all Canadians said: that dude is Canadian and hes a Canadian hero," said executive producer John Brunton, chairman and CEO of Insight Productions. "The way he behaved, it was like he had a Canadian flag tattooed on his forehead. He was Mr. Canada -- he sort of represented a Molson beer commercial in many ways. "I dont think he was an obvious choice in any way," Brunton continued. "(But) how can you not love Jon Montgomery? Hes a seasoned traveller, hes got balls the size of grapefruits. One of the things thats going to make our show different than the American show is that I think you will find our host more ... physically active and relating to the challenges in a different way." Still, Montgomery is the first to admit he has scant experience in front of the camera, aside from the flurry of interviews and speaking engagements that followed his moment of Olympic glory. So he shies away from comparing himself favourably to Phil Keoghan -- the New Zealander who has hosted the American version of "The Amazing Race" for 22 seasons -- demurring when told of Bruntons praise: "I think it would be a big mistake for me to try and be Phil, because hes so good at what he does that I think I should maybe try to find my own voice. ... Hes the master, and maybe, one day, I can get close to being like Phil." In fact, Montgomery says hes not drawing upon his on-camera experiences post-Olympics, but the decade he spent prior to that as a motor-mouthed auto auctioneer. "(That) lent itself to being comfortable in front of an audience and being the guy with the microphone, the centre of attention -- and that was probably why I got into auctioneering," he added with a laugh. "I liked being the centre of attention growing up. I was the guy in class who was repeatedly told to sit down, to not talk. Jon needs to focus more, hes not getting his work done -- that kind of deal. "But it seems to have worked out OK." One of his other duties as "Amazing Race Canada" host will be to zero in upon the team conflicts that frequently erupt between pairs of stressed-out contestants desperately trying to quickly navigate the myriad obstacles strewn in their way. Sometimes he might simply poke at those fires, sometimes he might have to pour figurative gasoline on them -- anything in service of the viewer, he says. "I dont think that Im going to get in there and try and be a total disturber -- as maybe my role was on the ice when I played hockey growing up," he said. "But (will I be) a little bit of an agitator? Maybe. Just asking some appropriate questions to pull some responses out that you might be looking for -- that might make for good television viewing -- I think that thats definitely the role of the host and Ill have to walk that delicate line between being somebody who isnt perceived very well by the public and someone who is perceived as doing a good job in their role of facilitating reactions." Speaking of his on-ice role, Montgomery is still hoping to qualify and represent Canada at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. His hosting duties constitute a challenge for the training-focused Montgomery, who planned on a makeshift workout regimen while on the road -- "Find a parking lot, do some track spring warmups, find a gym where I can find a few free weights, throw them around, get my workout done, get going," he said. While he hopes "The Amazing Race Canada" leads to more opportunities in broadcasting, hes still maintaining focus on the skeleton track. And he knows he has plenty of work ahead if he plans to swig some celebratory suds next winter in Russia. "Ive got a huge road to hoe to be able to repeat," he said, pointing to 2010 runners-up Martins Dukurs of Latvia and Alexander Tretiakov of Russia as "the two guys everyones chasing, including myself." "Ive got a lot of work to do to narrow that margin between where I am right now and where theyre at," he added, noting that he was comfortable playing catch-up for now. "I dont want to go in being the front-runner. Thats not something Ive ever been before. So its always easier being the underdog. "So yeah, I would definitely welcome going into the 2014 Olympic Games being not the front-runner. And Im not, so Im cool with that." Reggie White Youth Jersey . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. Wilbert Montgomery Youth Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. http://www.theeaglesfootballauthentic.com/eagles-desean-jackson-black-jersey/ . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Nick Foles Womens Jersey . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Shareef Miller Youth Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Jake Peavy is well-versed in the challenges of winning at Fenway Park, something the San Francisco Giants have never done entering their two-game series with the Boston Red Sox.Peavy, who won a World Series title with Boston in 2013, has as many victories (three) as the Giants have games played at the 104-year-old relic known as Americas Most Beloved Ballpark.The majors-best Giants are entrusting their crafty 35-year-old veteran with the task of subduing the leagues most prolific offense in Tuesday nights series opener in Boston.San Francisco (57-36) has traveled to Fenway only once since interleague play began in 1997, enduring a three-game sweep June 15-17, 2007, during home run king Barry Bonds final season.Before moving to the Bay Area, the Giants played five games at Fenway while facing the Red Sox in the 1912 World Series, which Boston won in the ballparks inaugural season.Peavy has gone 3-3 with a 4.47 ERA in 14 starts at Fenway -- his seventh-most at a single ballpark. In two seasons with the Red Sox, Peavy owns a 5-10 record with a 4.48 ERA in 30 starts.This year, the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner and three-time All-Star is 5-7 with a 5.09 ERA in 18 starts. On the road, Peavy is 1-5 with a 6.64 ERA in eight starts.David Ortiz is 3-for-10 with an RBI and two strikeouts while Hanley Ramirez has gone 4-for-22 with a double and an RBI against Peavy. Dustin Pedroia is 1-for-7 with a pair of RBI.The Giants are coming off a surprising three-game sweep at San Diego, where Peavy spent the first eight seasons of his career while becoming the Padres all-time strikeouts leader.Peavy was nearly called on as an emergency starter Sunday, a 5-3 defeat, as Johnny Cueto, who started lastt Tuesdays All-Star Game at Petco Park, dealt with an illness.ddddddddddddIm always looking to play, Peavy told MLB.com, after joking that he initially reacted with straight, utter panic to manager Bruce Bochys request. I got ready.Peavy wasnt needed, but Cueto gave up four runs. San Francisco surrendered 16 runs -- more than it had in its previous seven games combined -- and hit .204 in the series.Weve got to reboot and reset, Bochy said. We had the right guys up there with a couple of guys on base. We just couldnt get it done.Boston (51-39) is 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East after winning two of three road games against the Yankees over the weekend. New York won the finale 3-1 Sunday.After we got through the month of June, weve been able to turn the page, Red Sox manager John Farrell said. Were going back home, where weve played particularly well of late. Were set up pretty good right now.Rick Porcello (11-2, 3.66 ERA) aims to put the Red Sox in line for their fifth straight home win. Boston is 7-2 in July -- all at Fenway -- after stumbling to a 10-16 mark in June.Porcello is a perfect 8-0 at home this season, but 1-1 with a 6.19 ERA in three career starts against the Giants.Conor Gillaspie is 10-for-24 (.417) with a homer and six RBI against Porcello. Denard Span is 12-for-32 (.375) with four RBI against him, and is 16-for-53 (.302) lifetime at Fenway.San Francisco and Boston split a two-game set June 7-8 at AT&T Park. The Red Sox took the opener 5-3 in 10 innings, but lost a 2-1 pitchers duel the following day. ' ' '