Anglais

Toronto’s ‘Sheriff of Squash’ rose to dominate his sport. First he had to defeat his father

Published

5 années ago

décembre 29, 2018

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He’s 73 years old now and slowed by a recent stroke. But the man who lives in a humble basement in-law suite near St. Clair Ave. and Dufferin St. was once the undisputed ruler of a booming sport.

They called Sharif Khan the “Sheriff of Squash”— hardball squash, to be exact, the North American varietal of the walled-in racquet game that enjoyed a rise in popularity during the fitness-club boom of the 1970s and 1980s. From 1969 and 1980, Khan won the North American Open, the top tournament on the continent, a dozen times. He was the subject of hundreds of newspaper stories and profiled in Esquire magazine. He rubbed shoulders with tennis stars John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, once beating both in a made-for-TV competition to determine the greatest all-round master of racquet sports of the day.

A great of his sport, Sharif Khan, now 73 and slowed down a bit by a stroke, has told his story in a new memoir, “The Sheriff of Squash.” (Rene Johnston / Toronto Star)

But his rise was hardly easy. Born in colonial India, in a small village near the Khyber Pass that would later become part of Pakistan, by age 11 Khan was shipped off to a boarding school in England to fulfil a destiny chosen for him. He’d never eaten with a knife and a fork and he didn’t speak English. But as the eldest son of a great squash champion – Hasim Khan, the patriarch of the so-called Khan dynasty that ruled the game for decades — he was expected to become one. Forced to cope with the realities of being a poor, brown boy at a rich, white school — saddled with a young life, not of his choosing, including an arranged marriage he would later call a “sham” — Sharif Khan ultimately thrived.

And now he’s told his story, with the help of squash writer Rob Dinerman and his third wife, Karen Khan, in a new memoir, The Sheriff of Squash.

“It’s a fascinating journey, and I’m amazed that I’ve done it,” Sharif Khan was saying in an interview one wintry recent morning.

But as much as Sharif Khan always told reporters his competitive drive came from his deep need to uphold his family’s great sporting tradition, there were moments he felt oppressed by it, too. The Sheriff of Squash details an exchange between father and son in the late 1960s, wherein Hashim Khan — a remarkable titan of the sport who won his first of seven British Open championships in his late 30s before carving out a life as a pro at a Detroit racquet club — reacts to Sharif’s announcement of his intention to move to Toronto, where, on account of the sport’s modest prize money he would teach lessons at various clubs.

“You’ll never be half of what I am,” Hashim says to Sharif, according to Sharif’s memoir. “Half, you’ll never be a quarter of what I am.”

Writes Sharif, explaining his side of the discord: “Is it too much to ask that a father should have some pride in his son? All along the way I have been set up by his plans, his rules, his customs, and yet he has never given me any support, let alone love.”

Imagine the tension, then, in the lead-up to Sharif’s quarter-final match at the 1970 North American Open. Sharif was the reigning title-holder after a breakthrough win the year before over his cousin, Mo Khan. But to earn the right to move into the semifinals, Sharif needed to beat a towering figure — his father, who was still defeating younger pros late into his late 50s.

Sitting in an easy chair in his living room, Sharif Khan remembered the psychological strain of the moment, the only time he and his father met in tournament competition.

Khan at home, in front of a photograph of himself in competition. (Rene Johnston/Toronto Star)

“I said, ‘What the heck do I do now? Where’s the psychiatrist? I need a shrink. I need someone to help me,’” Sharif said. “Because I was going against a giant, a legend. Plus, I was going against my father.”

As Dinerman writes in one of the dispatches that dot The Sheriff of Squash: “It was almost as though this endlessly wise patriarch of the Khan clan had decided his eldest son could not be entrusted with being handed the family torch without first being required to wrest it from his predecessor, who had carried this emblem so proudly for so long.”

The match lasted more than an hour, to Sharif’s recollection.

“It seemed like it lasted hours and hours,” Sharif said.

When it ended with the son the victor, three games to one, Sharif said he felt more unease than elation, even though he was on his way to another in a line of championships.

“I didn’t know how my dad would react to it all. Because it was a brutal, brutal match. I pushed out all the stops and hammered him,” Sharif said. “And he hugged me. Big smile.”

It was the first time his father had hugged him since he was a child. When Hashim Khan died in 2014, he was thought to be 100 and possibly as old as 104; he had no birth certificate to go by. Before the patriarch passed, Sharif Khan had the chance to speak with him in their native tongue of Pashto.

“I thanked him,” Sharif said. “I told him that without him incentivizing me, I could not have achieved what I achieved.”

Sharif Khan’s journey still comes with obstacles. He’s been enduring regular bouts of physical therapy to counteract the effect of the stroke he suffered. For a man once known for his superior athleticism, moving around isn’t as easy as it once was.

“My dream, and literally I dream this, is that I will be back on court one day and feel the weight of the ball against my racquet,” he writes in his autobiography.

The weight of the ball against a racquet, the weight of a familial legacy well upheld. In the beginning, Sharif Khan didn’t choose the game, it chose him. And all these years later, he’d give a lot to play another.

Dave Feschuk is a Toronto-based sports columnist. Follow him on Twitter: @dfeschuk

Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

Published

3 années ago

août 10, 2021

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline.

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors.

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity.

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement.

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level.

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet.

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.