AP News, April 12th, 2007
Stephen Colbert used a video montage to pay tribute to the Saginaw Spirit following a season in which the minor league hockey team and the fake news analyst became improbable, kindred spirits.
The Spirit, who play in the Ontario Hockey League, were bounced from the first round of the playoffs April 1 by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to finish 44-21-0-3.
Colbert, the host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," used a segment entitled the "Sport Report" (both with silent Ts) on Wednesday to salute the team that named its mascot Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle in his honor early in the season.
Colbert introduced the video montage, which featured snippets of segments the host aired over the season, by calling the team the "pride of Michigan, home of the brave."
"Whenever your favorite team loses there's plenty of blame to go around, folks," the host said Wednesday. "The refs blew a ton of calls in these games. Not once did they penalize the Greyhounds for scoring. That's gotta be five yards."
It's been a colorful relationship between the team and Colbert, who used a show to urge Spirit fans to toss General Motors earnings reports onto the ice during a game against the Oshawa Generals. Saginaw County commissioners voted last month to put Colbert on the county's Convention and Visitors Bureau's board, and the host was also granted a lifetime pass to the Saginaw Valley Rail Trail, a free county park.
"Congrats on a great season, Spirit," Colbert said. "I look forward to covering the Ontario League Hockey (sic) again next year, provided you are willing to change the name to Colbert League Hockey."
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On the Net:
The Colbert Report: http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/index.jhtml
