Craig Simpson is living proof that NHL players don't have to drink from a giant cup to taste victory.
The former Edmonton Oiler proudly soaked in his win -- and paraded around his and partner Jamie Sale's delicate crystal trophy -- after becoming CBC figure-skateoff The Battle of the Blades' first champ on Monday night.
Two-time Stanley Cup winner Simpson and Olympic gold medalist Sale earned enough viewer votes to beat out finalists Claude Lemieux and Shae-Lynn Bourne and Stephane Richer and Marie-France Dubreuil -- and earn a $100,000 cheque for the Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Centre (Northern Alberta) Society.
Beaming from ear to ear, Simpson accepted the trophy from hosts Kurt Browning and Ron McLean, and judges Sandra Bezic and Dick Button before thanking Canada (and his obviously patient wife) and embarking on a Zamboni-speed victory lap around Maple Leaf Gardens.
During the seven-week reality TV competition that paired retired hockey players with pro figure skaters, Simpson went from giant klutz to gentle giant, navigating the ice with toe-picks and without padding. Simpson and Sale set the competition bar sky-high two weeks ago with an Austin Powers-inspired routine (complete with a blue crushed velvet suit) that no other pair was able to top. And let's not forget their signature move, the Simpson-Sale Jugular, which saw Sale swinging around Craig with her skates wrapped around his neck.
Along with Richer and Lemieux, he earned a perfect score of 6.0 on Sunday's finale performance episode.
That said, performing on Sunday was only half the Battle for the final three pairs. The other half? Waiting for the results to be unveiled on Monday's show.
The grand finale kicked off with all eight pairs (yes, we hadn't seen the end of Tie Domi, Glenn Anderson, Bob Probert, Ken Daneyko and Ron Duguay) returning to the ice to perform to the familiar sound of Bryan Adams' There Will Never Be Another Tonight (aka the theme song). After a touching look back at the season, Kurt Browning lightened the mood with a flawless disco-inspired number (and a shirt with very puffy sleeves).
Olympic champion Sale and her real-life husband and skate partner David Pelletier followed with a routine chock full of don't-try-this-at-home lifts and dangerous interlocking pretzel moves (for lack of proper terminology). Dubreuil and hubby/partner Patrice Lauzon were up next with a romantic piece, and judges Dick Button and Sandra Bezic took the time to rave about the show's success before the first couple -- Dubreuil and Richer -- was benched. So long, 90-second lovers!
Studly puckster Ron Duguay's pro partner Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini capped off the night's performances with an endearing number set to a live tune sung by Underhill's daughter -- a sweet distraction from the verdict that lingered only one commercial break away.
While there could only be one winning pair, it was an uphill Battle for almost all involved. Dubreuil suffered an early-competition fall and a back injury last week, Richer has a bad shoulder, Simpson endured back pain and, at some point, each hockey player was afflicted with whatever post-performance discomfort comes with wearing such tight pants.
But it was all worth it -- not only for the skaters and the charities they earned more than $250,000 for, but for CBC. The network generated big buzz for the unique reality series, and managed to maintain upwards of 1.5 million viewers for the first four weeks (later numbers are still to come). And I'm going to guess ratings for the two-part finale were far from shabby.
Meanwhile, rumours of a Season 2 (which McLean may have confirmed by saying, "See you next year"), and of the format taking off in other countries (BotB: Russia, perhaps?) are already flying. Whatever proves to be true, it's safe to say Canadians finally have an original -- albeit quirky -- reality show they can be proud of.
