Birthplace: Mississauga, Ontario
Birthdate: December, 28, 1976
First media job: 1997 - Co-hosting sports show on CKCU-FM on Carleton University's campus
Career highlight: Doing colour commentary for Ottawa Lynx baseball telecasts for two seasons.
Special interests/hobbies: Spending time with my wife Sonia (although I'm not sure that qualifies as a hobby); Talking baseball and doing non-stop baseball trivia; Watching Simpsons and Seinfeld episodes that I have already seen 10 times before; Reading books - especially ones about baseball.
In December 2001, I had a very difficult choice to make: Keep my job in the Ottawa Senators PR department or jump 'to the dark side' and take a TV reporting job with Sportsnet.
But getting into sports journalism is what I always wanted to do. I went to high school in Richmond, B.C. and that's when the reporting bug really bit me. It's also when I realized I didn't have a future in Major League Baseball, so I had to figure out a way to keep sports in my life on a daily basis!
I decided to come out to Ottawa in 1994 and take the journalism program at Carleton University. The journalism program was fine, but they seemed to want to turn all of us into hard news reporters on Parliament Hill. So, I started co-hosting a sports show on the campus radio station at Carleton. I'm not sure anybody was ever listening to us, but it was my ticket to start covering Ottawa Senators and Ottawa Lynx games.
After graduating, I landed a job in the PR department of the Ottawa Lynx baseball club. Working for a minor league team was great, but it also meant I had to pull the tarp when it rained and be the mascot in an emergency (I was Lenny The Lynx on two forgettable occasions). I ended up moving on to the Senators PR department, which was fabulous. I had the opportunity to write press releases, work closely with the players, take road trips with the team and even work cool concerts at the Corel Centre.
During my time with the Senators, I was able to serve as a colour commentator for Rogers telecasts of Ottawa Lynx games in the summer. It kept my 'journalistic blood' flowing, so when the opportunity at Sportsnet came along, I jumped at it. It's probably the best career move I've ever made and working for an organization like Sportsnet on a daily basis is so much fun, it really doesn't seem like work most of the time.
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September 23, 2008
Against all odds
Montreal fans may be happy to hear this but one fan believes they may not drink from the Cup at season's end.
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August 11, 2008
Mendes: Come a long way
When I was approached about leaving my home base to do some anchor work in Toronto during the Beijing Olympics, I was genuinely excited.
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June 19, 2008
The Mendes Diaries
On the surface, a day-trip to Manhattan to rub elbows with the most powerful men in hockey sounds like a glamorous job.
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June 12, 2008
DeBoer Supremacy
Two reasons why Peter DeBoer would be a success in Ottawa.
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June 9, 2008
Growing Pains
Now that the HNIC theme song has switched networks, expect a flurry of activity once the media free agency period begins.
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May 20, 2008
My Five Cup final
Great teams, crappy cities and hidden shame highlight some of the top stories heading into the Stanley Cup finals for Ian Mendes.
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April 30, 2008
The Swiffer
I know you're never supposed to lobby for your own nickname. It's one of those unwritten rules of sports.
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April 18, 2008
Major League drama
In the last few days, people have asked me if the Ottawa Senators 2007-08 roller-coaster season should be made into a movie.
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April 15, 2008
History repeating
I can still remember sitting in the press conference room at Scotiabank Place 11 months ago when Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff tried to play the history card with his team trailing the Eastern Conference final series 3-0 against Ottawa.
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April 2, 2008
Letter to the Senators
Dear Ottawa Senators,
I haven't asked much from you lately, but I need a personal favour.