VIDEO: Roger Doucet: Montreal Canadiens anthem singer

Here's a video of Roger Doucet, the legendary Montreal Canadiens anthem singer. He also sang for the Montreal Expos and Montreal Alouettes.



A bit more about Roger Doucet from the Canadian Encyclopedia:

Roger Doucet. Tenor, b Montreal 21 Apr 1919, d there 19 Jul 1981. As a boy, he sang at the Immaculée-Conception Church. The choir director, Émile Fontaine, gave him his first music lessons 1929-33 at the École St-François-Xavier. He studied voice 1938-40 with Céline Marier and Georges Toupin, 1940-1 with Sarah Fischer, and 1941-3 with Albertine Morin-Labrecque and participated during this time in amateur competitions. This led to engagements in several Montreal cabarets, including the Faisan bleu, the Casino Bellevue, and the Montmartre. Doucet later became a member of The Army Show, with which he toured Canada twice and visited several European countries. He left the army with the rank of sergeant and on his re-establishment allowance from the Department of Veterans' Affairs studied 1946-9 with Alfredo Martino at the New York College of Music.

Doucet continued his career in cabarets and on radio, taking part in the CBC opera broadcasts called 'Théâtre lyrique Molson'. On CBC TV's 'L'Heure du concert' he sang in excerpts from various operas, including The Barber of Seville (Count Almaviva), Les Pêcheurs de perles (Nadir), and Roméo et Juliette (Roméo). For the COC he was the Duke in Rigoletto (1950), the Prince in The Love of Three Oranges (1959), and Fenton in Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor (touring production, 1960). During a European sojourn 1955-7, he sang in Le Comte Ory at the Glyndebourne Festival and broadcast for the BBC in London and for the NDR in Hamburg. From 1971 until his death he sang 'O Canada' at televised hockey games in the Montreal Forum. He began doing the same for the Alouettes' football games in 1974 and the Expos' baseball games in 1977. In 1980 he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

And here's another video of Mr. Doucet from the National Film Board of Canada:

Curiously, he changes the final english lyric to:
"O Canada, glorious and free / We stand on guard, we stand on guard for thee"
Usually it's sung as: "God keep our land glorious and free / O Canada we stand on guard for thee"

We want tacos: LA Lakers / Jack in the Box free taco promo

Brian Gainor writes:

Free tacos have become a phenomenon in Los Angeles thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Los Angeles Lakers organization and Jack in the Box. Taco frenzy in LA began in 2006-07, when Jack in the Box partnered with the Lakers to distribute a coupon for two free tacos to all fans in attendance each time the team wins and holds its opponents under 100 points at home.

While promotions based on team performance (when the team scores XX points, fans win XXX) have become common in the sports marketplace, few have garnered the same level of media attention that the Lakers-Jack in the Box promotion has received. The promotion has been discussed by Ryan Seacrest on his weekly radio show, has become a hit with online bloggers, and has even made its way to the Lakers locker room. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson has used the taco promotion as a motivational tool for his players to play better defense and has made taco references during several post-game interviews.

Over the past few seasons, the promotion has absolutely taken off. Jack in the Box even took the promotion to the next level by teaming up with Fox Sports West and the Lakers to create "We Want Tacos" t-shirts as a giveaway to all fans in attendance at a select game.

Read more or watch a video.

VIDEO: Matt Bradley's ride

From the Washington Capitals, Matt Bradley stars in "Caps My Ride". "Get a up close and personal look at Caps forward Matt Bradley's ride."

Promotions round-up

Some fun, strange, and effective promotions we've read about over the past few months:

• Florida Panthers Kids Day. Sponsored by an orthodontist, and featuring kids taking over many of the adult jobs.
• Name the Promotion Contest. The Quad Cities River Bandits wants fans to come up with great promotions.
• 80's Night featuring Vanilla Ice. The Denver Nuggets take an 80's night promo to a whole new level, and invite Robert Van Winkle to perform his one-hit wonder.
• World's Biggest Pillow Fight. The Kane County Cougars set a Guiness World Record.
• Oakland A's Design Your Own T-shirt. A contest to create a t-shirt to be distributed to 10,000 fans at an upcoming game.
• Salute to Imperfection Night. Hosted by the Jamestown Jammers.
• A look back at 1979: Disco Demolition Night
• Interview with Teddy Roosevelt, one of the Washington Nationals mascots, still winless in the Presidents Race.
• Manchester Monarchs Fan Choice Promotion. "Fans chose the giveaway item for the night, the National Anthem singer, the first intermission contest, and the promotional events held during timeouts. Fans were able to vote on these promotion options throughout the month of November at the team’s web site."

The Hot Dog Launcher: A Documentary

Originally seen on Boing Boing: "The Hot Dog Launcher is a familiar sight at Philadelphia Phillies baseball games in Citizens Bank Park. The bazooka shoots frankfurters high into the stands in between innings. Ad agency Red Tettemer made a funny short documentary about the invention of the Hot Dog Launcher. It's a great bit of marketing for Hatfield Quality Meats, sponsors of the Launcher. Hatfield Hotdog Launcher Documentary"