staffieri tour

AnEveningWithTheLegends

Make New Memories!

About The Event

About the legends.

All of these celebrity impersonators are top notch talent! 

Event History

Joe Staffieri is at the helm of these popular events, with over 50 years in the entertainment industry, Joe has a keen sense of bringing together what it takes for a highly entertaining show.  Bringing great memories back while making new great memories!

Event VENUE

The Drexelbrook Event Center & Holiday Inn

4700 Drexelbrook Drive, Drexel Hill, PA 19026

Schedule of Events

An evening with the legends.

The Drexelbrook Event Center & Holiday Inn 4700 Drexelbrook Drive, Drexel Hill, PA 19026

Doors open: 3:15 pm / Dinner: 4:00 pm / Show: 5:00 pm

Tickets $65.00 Call Joe for tickets (610) 745-2672

Venmo @Joseph-Staffieri-2

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Do you have questions or comments about the event? Do you need special accommodations? Send me a message, and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

[email protected]

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An Evening With the Legends event uses all the top notch, live singing tribute artists in the business. 

See celebrity impersonators of Elvis, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Patsy Cline, Michael Buble, Linda Ronstadt, Roy Orbison, Neil Diamond, Dean Martin, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Nicks, Bobby Rydell, Amy Winehouse, Olivia Newton John, Meatloaf, Barbara Streisand, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Tina Turner, Cher, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons and more...  

Joe as Johnny

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to submit an obituary

Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:00pm, Call 610-915-2226

(Proofs will be provided for accuracy only, they will not be styled/formatted like the finished product)

Obituaries submitted on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays are accepted from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. by email only [email protected]

(No proofs will be furnished. Pricing will not be available until the next business day after 10:00am by calling Dianne at 610-915-2226)

Obituaries received after Deadline will not be published in the following edition of the paper.

Sending Procedure:

Email is the preferable method for receiving Obituaries (and the only method on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays), they can be sent to [email protected] (Feel free to call and confirm that we’ve received the email)

Formatting:

Obituaries will continue to visually look the same as they currently do, but you will no longer be restricted in what you can say (ex. As much Family can be listed as you’d like; Wording like “Went to rest with the Lord” is now permissible)

There is a cost for each obituary. Pricing and payments are only available Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. All weekend and holiday submissions will be provided a cost the next business day.

Exceptions:

All New accounts, Out of State Funeral Homes and Private Parties will require prepayment upon approval of the obituary. Weekend and Holiday staff are not authorized to set up a new account or process payments

Deadline for the above is before 4:00 PM Mon – Fri. only (Holiday schedules may vary).

Prepayment required submissions will be handled on the very first business day following the weekend and/or holiday schedule. A complete name, address and best contact phone number are required upon submittal of your obituary request to set up your account. A proof will then be emailed for review but placed on hold until payment is received.

Entertainer Joe Staffieri brings music and…

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Entertainer joe staffieri brings music and memories to delco for over 50 years.

The next “An Evening with the Legends” will happen at the Oaks Ballroom in Glenolden, 5 p.m. Sunday, March 13. The night of entertainment includes a deluxe buffet dinner catered by Anthony’s Ristorante. The event will feature Rob Cabella as Dean Martin, Jeff Krick, Jr. as “Elvis,” Connie McGuirk as “Patsy Cline,” Scott McConnell as “The Voice,” crooning Tom Jones and Irish songs, and Greg Martiello as the “Man of Many Voices,” singing everything from Lou Rawls and Barry White to impersonating Louis Armstrong and Rodney Dangerfield. Staffieri will emcee the event, as well as perform as Johnny Cash, a role he knows well.

“I am pleased to offer people in this area top-notch entertainment with a delicious dinner at a reasonable price,” Staffieri shared. “I want people to have a really good time at my shows. We’re hoping to rekindle great memories for the audience, while bringing them together to make new ones!”

Entertainer Joe Staffieri was only 9 years old when he first approached his father, asking him for an accordion. Young Joe, who then lived in North Philadelphia, had been at a party and was fascinated by the squeezebox instrument and the music it created. His father tried to persuade his son to learn guitar instead, since the Beatles were topping the charts at the time, but there was no changing the child’s mind. Young Joe had a natural rhythm, and often played pretend drums with hairbrushes he found around his house, while listening to WFIL radio. His father knew talent when he saw it.

Mr. Staffieri saved his money, bought his son an accordion, paid for lessons, and the rest is now a part of the tri-state area’s musical history.

Staffieri mastered the accordion under the instruction of world renowned accordionist Daniel Desiderio who required his young student to practice 4-5 hours each day. By the time his family moved to West Philadelphia in 1970, the teenager began playing gigs professionally at age 15. Johnny Pignotti, head of the Johnny Pal Quartet, would pick Staffieri up one night a week to play out at a venue.

He auditioned to play with the “Patty and Angelo Duo” who were playing at the Log Cabin in Middletown. He was still in high school and only 17. Patty said he was too young for the role, but changed her mind immediately after hearing him perform. He not only landed the gig at the Log Cabin, but he also performed at Top of the Mark in Cape May. That same year, he also won first place in the American Accordion Association’s Virtuoso category.

As a member of the St. Thomas More Class of 1975, Staffieri also honed his musician skills in the school’s band and its jazz rock ensemble led by Mike DiBenedetto. “It was a cool ensemble — we played songs by Chicago and other popular bands of the day,” Staffieri remembers. “My whole life, I’ve had music in my head!” After high school, Staffieri’s accordion playing morphed into quickly mastering the keys of a keyboard and piano. He joined Sal Massey and the Untouchables, playing all over the shore points.

When he returned to the county, he landed a gig seven nights a week at the former Alpine Inn in Springfield. He formed a band, “Crystal Clear,” playing keyboard and singing, with Joe Petrella on drums and vocals and Phil Chick on guitar. From there, the gigs never stopped. The talented musical artist made an impression with his keyboard and vocals everywhere he went, leading to more and more gigs.

Staffieri played the former Media Inn seven nights a week in its heyday. From there, he played the Buckeye Club and Torino’s in South Philadelphia. By 1987, he entertained at Devine’s, which was located at the former site of The Shack in Upper Darby, seven nights a week for five years. By then, Staffieri left the city and made his home in Broomall. He’s the father of two sons, Joey and Vincent.

In 1993, Staffieri landed a permanent job playing at Sam’s Saloon in Glenolden, where he stayed for 20 years. It was there that he met Debby Feeser, a hostess at Sam’s, who has been his partner and soulmate for 25 years. The couple lives in the Briarcliffe section of Darby Township. While at Sam’s, Staffieri would pair up with different entertainers to switch up his act. One of them, Scott McConnell, still plays often with Staffieri and will appear in his upcoming Legends show.

Early on in his career, Staffieri realized he had a genuine talent for impersonating Johnny Cash. Since the age of 20, when he was training his voice to sing, Staffieri discovered his voice had an uncanny resemblance to Cash’s. Beginning in 2004, the singer began training himself, not only to recreate Cash’s signature vocals, but also his mannerisms and performance style. The musician/vocalist fully nailed the impersonation and formed a show, “Revisiting the Legend of Johnny Cash.” By now, Staffieri had also mastered the guitar which helped in making the transition to Johnny Cash even easier. For over 20 years, Staffieri has been mesmerizing  audiences with his spot-on Cash impersonation, often accompanied by Debbie Feeser, his partner Debby’s talented sister-in-law, who performs as June Carter Cash.

With his Johnny Cash repertoire now a part of his musical entertainment portfolio, Staffieri zoomed into the big leagues, with shows at Delaware Park and in Atlantic City Legends shows at Tropicana, Resorts, Trump Plaza, The Hilton and Caesar’s Casinos. He also made himself available to play private parties, senior living facilities and local nightlife venues. Staffieri has also written several original songs.

“I’ve had a great, musical career,” Staffieri said. “From 1973 until now, I’ve been able to make a living with my music and I’ve always loved it. It’s the easiest job in the world because I enjoy it so much. I’ve been so blessed and I hope that I can continue doing what I’m doing forever!”

Staffieri’s new “An Evening With the Legends” show features new talent each time. Former shows featured impersonators imitating Roy Orbison, Neil Diamond, Michael Buble, Cher, Frankie Valli and others. The upcoming March date is his third show. He’s already working on a fourth for June 26 that will feature Lori St. Martin as Olivia Newton John and Debbie Feeser as Barbra Streisand.

“I’m very passionate about these shows, because I know there’s a need for quality entertainment, especially now coming off the heels of the past two years,” Staffieri stated. “My shows are about reminiscing, going back and creating good feelings from old songs that bring back happy memories.”

TO GO: Tickets are available for “An Evening with the Legends” at Oaks Ballroom, 511 W. Oak Lane, Sunday, March 13. Doors open at 3:30 p.m., with dinner by Anthony’s Caterers at 4 p.m. and the show at 5 p.m. Cost is $55 which includes the buffet dinner and cash bar. For tickets or to book Staffieri for a private or public event, call him at 610-745-2672. For more information on “An Evening With The Legends,” visit http://www.aneveningwiththelegends.com .

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Penn icon Coach Lake dies of cancer at 85

Former football coach and legendary quakers cheerleader dies at from cancer.

When longtime football assistant Dan “Coach Lake” Staffieri — known for the blue helmet he rode around campus, his red plaid attire and the cheers he led at Franklin Field — became ill last year, the Quakers dedicated their season to him.

“It would mean the world,” senior receiver Kyle Derham said at the time, “to be able to go to his house and bring him another ring.”

The team came through on that goal, and on Wednesday, head coach Al Bagnoli delivered the 2009 championship jewelry.

But on Thursday morning, Staffieri lost his battle with bladder cancer. He was 85.

“I’m glad that one of the last things he can probably remember was that we brought the Ivy League championship back to Penn,” Derham said.

“Coach Lake: the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, the most passionate, most enthusiastic guy you’ll ever meet and one of the best human beings. … I always wanted people to get to know him because he’s that special. I’ve never met anyone like him.”

Staffieri was hired in 1977 to help coach the freshman football team. That program was disbanded by the Ivy League in the early 1980s, which, not coincidentally, is when Staffieri took to the helmet-golf cart to stir up fan support.

Until his death, he was officially the Quakers’ Game Day Coordinator. But unofficially, he was their No. 1 cheerleader. Staffieri was with the Red and Blue for 13 of their 14 Ivy League titles.

“It is hard to believe that the face of Penn football will no longer be on the sidelines imploring kids to ‘do better than your best,’” Bagnoli said in a statement. “He will forever be remembered as an iconic figure in Penn football and a great friend and mentor to all.”

Staffieri has been around football since he began playing Pop Warner. In 1941, he won the Germantown High School championship. He spent five years in the Marines during World War II before winning the Sugar Bowl — and the national championship — as a guard and linebacker for the University of Maryland.

Before coming to Penn, he coached high school teams in the Philadelphia region for 25 years, which is when he acquired his nickname. It started from a simple mnemonic for forgetful players: “Staffieri, like Lake Erie.”

“Sometimes we overstate the impact that one has on people’s lives, but not with Coach Lake,” Athletic Director Steve Bilsky wrote in a statement. “He gave hope and confidence to generations of student-athletes who had the privilege to know him. We are all saddened by his passing.”

Over the years, Staffieri battled numerous health problems, which he proudly rattled off several years back: Five cornea transplants, two hip replacements, a breathing aide, not to mention two plugs in his heart, put in after he suffered a heart attack in 2002. The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania sent a helicopter to his Blue Bell, Pa., home, and, as legend has it, Staffieri regained consciousness before the landing. As the chopper passed over Franklin Field, he yelled down to the Quakers: “Get it up down there!”

“Every single Friday this season, there was always an empty feeling because he wasn’t there to do it for us,” Derham said. “For those couple hours on Friday practice, we still thought about him all the time.”

Senior cornerback and captain Chris Wynn remembers receiving packages of newspaper clippings that Staffieri would send to him and other players during the summer. After sifting through articles he would add his own notes at the end of each story.

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“It’s just a testament to his character and his devotion to the Penn community,” Wynn said. “I think every single person who’s played football here was affected by Lake one way or another.”

Staffieri had no children but is survived by his wife, Suzanne “Buttercup” Staffieri.

— Senior staff writer Neil Fanaroff contributed reporting to this article.

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At the southeast corner of Franklin Field, Dan Staffieri stands next to his car. Some people drive Porsches, some drive Volvos or Hondas, some drive SUVs. Staffieri, as always, is a little bit different. He doesn't take it out much, but he drives a giant Penn football helmet, and since it's the day before Penn's home opener versus Villanova, he's taking it out today.

While Staffieri looks on, his driver Brian backs the helmet out of the stadium gate and orients it toward Spruce Street. Staffieri, his eyes being what they are, stopped driving long ago. Besides, he'll need both hands to operate the bullhorn.

The gate now closed and the helmet ready to go, Staffieri climbs in. He wears a bright red sports coat, red plaid pants, a matching hat, blue bowtie, heavy-set glasses, two hearing aids and 11 championship rings on his fingers. On his forehead he has stuck a piece of athletic tape with "wack" written across. It's building on his theme for the week, "Wack the (Villanova) Wildcats." Brian turns the ignition and the engine rumbles before settling into a quiet electric whine. They roll slowly forward, as fast as the converted golf cart will take them, the contraption rocking back and forth as they hit the potholed Philadelphia street and then off-road up a curb and onto the sidewalk. Brian looks over at him. "Alright, Coach," he says. "You ready? Another year."

The helmet has been around since the 1980s, but Staffieri, or "Coach Lake," as he's most commonly known, has been around for even longer. Now officially listed as temporary volunteer, this year is Staffieri's 29th at Penn. And while originally hired to help coach the freshman football team, he hasn't been on the payroll for years. The nickname Lake arose when he first began coaching prep football 53 years ago, with Staffieri providing forgetful players a mnemonic rhyme: "Staffieri, like Lake Erie." Since then, the years have accumulated while the name has shrunk.

"Tomorrow night!" he bellows into the bullhorn, the helmet now buzzing up College Green toward Locust Walk, "Seven o'clock! University of Pennsylvania, I-V-Y Champs, will play Villanova! Come out to Franklin Field to welcome our guests from the Main Line!"

The sea of students parts as the helmet rolls on. Some laugh; some suppress a smile. Student activities representatives sit at their Locust Walk booths and look on with knitted eyebrows and mouths slightly open. They have been handing out fliers for weeks, futilely plugging their various organizations, and here they are now, being outdone by an 82-year-old man in a giant football helmet, yelling at them through a bullhorn.

"Here we go Quakers, here we go," Lake cries. He picks out a girl walking alone to class. "How you doing?" he cries to her emphatically. She doesn't respond. Lake keeps yelling. He doesn't care.

It wasn't always like this. Before he shifted primarily to the motivational circuit, Dan Staffieri was first and foremost a football coach. And while he'll tell you that he "helps out with the running backs" during practice, his current role is hardly the one that, way back in 1977, he was hired to fulfill.

That year, then-head coach Harry Gamble hired Staffieri to work with the freshman football program. When the program went belly-up in the early 1990s, Staffieri somehow missed the memo. No one was firing the guy anyhow. By that point, he was practically an institution.

"It started in 1977, my first year here, with the freshman team," he explains. "We're 0-9. No wins. And I'm assistant coach to the freshman coach John Lines. So we started out this way: 'Penn Pride. I-V-Y Champs. Do Better than your Best.' At the end of practice, we'd all say it. No one believed. No one believed in it. I had to get them to believe. To believe, that was the problem, because we're 0-9! We're not Ivy Champs. We've got no pride."

From there, Staffieri molded the identity of a football program. In the early 1980s, he began riding the helmet, conceived by then-coach Jerry Burns, around campus the Friday before home games, stumping for support from a, at best, tepid fan base. Judging from the performance he's putting on today, he hasn't missed a beat.

"Lake is a motivator for the players," says Rich Schepis, Director of Football Operations at Penn. "He's been doing this since the late '70s. A lot of the players on the first Ivy title teams in the early '80s credit Lake for turning around the attitude of the program, which had seen some dismal years prior to our recent success.

"He always has the players chanting 'Ivy Champs.' It makes them believe it," Schepis continues. "It's funny because a lot of people don't get Lake, and it is probably true of the freshmen as well, but I have watched three classes come into Penn and by the time they leave they all love him and what he means to the team."

Maybe the freshmen don't get him because he isn't what they expected. It's an easy trap to fall into with Staffieri. Faced with a lifetime of experience, one tends to expect fireworks. Here is a guru, a man who knows the game of football. Knowledge from the ancestors, the founders and pillars of the game, any game - it's what we all want. So when Staffieri goes heavy on the spirit and light on the game plan, cynicism can set in all too quickly.

The truth is, Staffieri is no genius. He never has been. And with the game growing increasingly complex, he's unlikely to become one anytime soon. He is a volunteer assistant coach at a Division I-AA school, far removed from the glories of Nebraska, Florida State and Michigan. He has devoted nearly his entire adult life to cheering on a mediocre football program. He speaks in truisms. He has no children.

But as silly as it sounds, Staffieri wins with heart. He does. Maybe he can't keep up with football's freshest incarnation, with its Fox NFL Sundays, scheme-crazed coaches and internet-savvy fans. He is not going to track down Michael Vick on a breakaway. But at a marginally significant university, where most of the team's name recognition comes when wrongly associated with Penn State, Dan Staffieri has defined the football program for a quarter century.

"When I think of Penn Football years from now, two things will come to mind," Schepis says, "The Ivy titles and Lake."

Around 36th Street, Staffieri's voice starts to go. Chanting and projecting for nearly half an hour, the excitement of the season opener seems to have gotten the best of him. Every time he lays into a cheer, his voice cracks, until there is little but a raspy wheeze coming out of his ancient throat. The plan is to stump for fans in 1920 Commons, but suddenly it's uncertain whether Stafierri will make it. It's a new year, but all that tradition might just be coming to an end.

The man, after all, is 82 years old. He has been around for nearly as long as the game itself. The first Super Bowl was still 14 years in the making when Staffieri took his first coaching job at St. Joe's Preparatory School in 1952. When he first began to work at Penn in 1977, the NFL was still running on a 12-game schedule.

"I'm transplanted," Stafierri explains. "I've got inserts in my eyes. Cornea transplants. Five times. First time . say '72. Two plugs in my heart, from the heart attack, three years ago. Double hip replacements, two years ago. I've got a breathing aide for sleeping. I passed out 18 times in one test. So it helps me sleep better. Let's see, what else . oh!" And here he leans forward mischievously, "Did I tell you about my ears?"

Yet while he maintains his sense of humor on the subject, longevity has become an increasingly pressing issue.

"He is healthy. He's managed to do pretty well," says James Jiudica, D.O., who played for Staffieri at St. Thomas Moore High School and has known him for over 50 years. "I've advised him on some things, and I think he's taken that advice and changed some things up, but the point is, he loves football.. The reason you still see him is that it's been a lifelong love affair. And that's why Dan is Dan."

Love affair or obsession, football has been the central cog in Staffieri's life since he started playing Pop Warner during the Great Depression. At Maryland, in the midst of Harry Truman's presidency, he won the 1951 Sugar Bowl and a national championship, and following graduation, he immediately began coaching.

Staffieri's one season at St. Thomas Moore coincided with Jiudica's sophomore year, and even when Staffieri left to coach at Hatboro-Horsham High School, he kept up contact. Years later, he helped get Jiudica into medical school - he knew Jiudica's interviewer. Now, Staffieri comes to visit every six weeks.

"He comes to my office. I take care of him," Jiudica explains. "He's literally a charmer. Everybody loves him. He comes walking in, and that's that."

Staffieri does seem to exhibit a remarkably perseverant will. In 2002, when he had a heart attack around midnight in his Blue Bell home, the cardiology department at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital picked him up in an emergency helicopter and flew him down to University City. As Stafierri regained consciousness and a bit of energy, the helicopter passed over Franklin Field. Before the doctors knew what was going on, he was sitting up and yelling down to the field, "Get it up down there!"

"I thought I was going to die. I wanted them to hear for the last time. The doctors were surprised," Staffieri explains. "They didn't know I worked here."

Boyer has his own Staffieri memory. "He had just had both of his hips replaced at the same time maybe a month or two before our annual football banquet. At every banquet he stands up at the end and does a new cheer that has a new theme for the next season.

"At this particular banquet it was assumed that he was not going to be there because of his surgeries, but to everyone's amazement he showed up with a walker to help him out. And like nothing happened he walked up to the front and did his cheer and got everyone pumped for the upcoming year.

"Afterwards I asked him how he was feeling and if he was supposed to even be walking, and he looked at me and just said, 'I love pain, it lets me know I am still alive, and besides you know I wouldn't miss the banquet for anything.'"

"They said, 'you gotta take it easy.' I said, 'I am.' I'll be here. It's called survival," Staffieri says. "People ask me when I'll be done - I can't worry about that. What's important is what I'm doing right now. Coaching these players. I'm not concerned with my career plans, with what I've done or am going to do. I have no handicaps. I've been transplanted. The handicaps are gone."

So go ahead, ask him if he's ever planning to walk away from the game. Staffieri leans back, purses his lips, and slowly shakes his head.

29 years in, Staffieri is sticking to his line for at least one more day. A quick break, a couple swigs of water, and a cough drop, and he is inside Commons, at it again. He blows a whistle and cries "Game time!" He gets a table of girls to cheer along with him. A few minutes later, he has the entire dining hall clapping their hands, albeit half-heartedly, along in rhythm. His voice is still thin and rasping, but at least he can be heard.

Brian drives him back down campus and he repeats the routine at Hill College House. As he walks in, a student motions to his friend, "Look. It's Ben Franklin." Standing on the balcony above the dining hall, Lake yells down, "Get excited! It's game time!" The freshmen don't know what hit them.

Afterward, he sits alone at a table eating a turkey sandwich, compliments of the house. Around him, cafeteria life returns to normal. Lake just sits and eats. Quiet, unassuming. It is as if nothing ever happened.

A guy a few tables over sizes him up. "Is that guy crazy or something?"

Maybe. Maybe not. If he is, he's managed to pull it off pretty well.

But who knows. He's really old. It's hard to say.

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Among the most positive and inspiring elements of sport in 2019, the launch of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) is a superlative example of teamwork and unison, generating an amazing sense of ownership in helping to positively shape the future of the game.

Unified in the cause of raising awareness about professional women’s ice hockey, simultaneously celebrating its sensational stars while emphasizing the need for a league that is both sustainable and gainful, this remarkable chapter in the fight for sporting equality consists of more than 200 players, hailing from different corners in the game.

Considering the high quality of the game at a professional and international level, all team rivalries between involved players have dissolved, replaced by friendship and collaboration. Having already experienced a remarkable show of support, from the NHLPA to a commendable group of sponsors , the impact made shall serve as the defining moment for many in the game.

Among the key elements in the PWHPA’s admirable efforts involves the Dream Gap Tour, ensuring that on-ice action is a key part in its nascent evolution. With a series of three showcases that took place during autumn 2019, involving locales such as Chicago, Toronto and Hudson, New Hampshire, the superior quality of talent gracing the ice at each event represented a comprehensive who’s who of women’s ice hockey.

Toronto’s Westwood Arena served as the backdrop for an empowering start to this competitive trilogy, with a weekend of events highlighting the Unifor Showcase . In the spirit of hockey humanitarianism, fans could purchase a virtual ticket in order to send a local youngster to a game. Additionally, skills clinics allowed the youthful participants access to their heroes, creating a lifetime of memories.

On the ice, action featured a tournament composed of four teams. Named in honor of Captains Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, goaltender Liz Knox and Marie-Philip Poulin, all share the common thread of being Clarkson Cup champions and Hockey Canada alumnae.

Named to the Team Poulin roster, coached by Valerie Bois, it marked a pleasant display of school pride for Emily Clark. Having played with Canada’s entry in women’s ice hockey at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, which featured Sarah Nurse and Ann-Renee Desbiens, all alumnae of the achieved University of Wisconsin Badgers, Clark actually ended her collegiate career in grand fashion, capturing the 2019 NCAA Frozen Four championship.

As the Badgers’ legacy is one consisting of tremendous star power, supplying a seemingly never ending supply of elite talent for the professional and international ranks, Clark gained the opportunity to call fellow Badger alum, and three-time Winter Games participant, a teammate for the first time. Having graduated from Wisconsin in 2012, ranking first all time in program history in eight different statistical metrics, highlighted by 143 goals and 262 points, the three-time All-America selection was slated to skate for Team Poulin in the first stop on the Dream Gap Tour.

While the association as Badgers is treasured in perpetuity by proud alumni, the chance for Clark to skate with Knight, one of the greatest ever, represented a rare and treasured first, as the two opposed each other in their respective countries colors internationally. Gaining the chance to be teammates at the PWHPA level simultaneously served as a proud extension of the Badgers hockey legacy.

“It was really cool to be able to play on a line with Hilary. With both of us going to Wisconsin and playing against her for the past five years on our national teams, I know what she was able to accomplish in university, how skilled she is, and how hard she is to play against. So, it was a nice change to be able to be in the same jersey as her. She’s extremely talented and fun to play with.”

Clark and Knight would enjoy a sensational run as members of Team Poulin, part of a perfect weekend. Defeating Team Knox in a pulse-pounding 2-1 win, followed by trouncing Team Jenner by a 5-1 mark, the results on the scoreboard were only part of a much bigger picture. Recognizing that players of such calibre definitely possess a dazzling drive once gracing the ice, Clark remains graceful,

“Even though the Dream Gap Tour is about so much more than hockey and wins/losses, it was fun to be able to win both games on the weekend. Everyone involved knows the purpose of the Tour but we are also extremely competitive and that competitiveness is what keeps pushing women’s hockey in the right direction.”

In addition to the tremendous presence of star alumnae from the Wisconsin Badgers, a superlative number who once donned the colors of the Cornell Big Red were also on-hand for the first leg of the Dream Gap Tour. From the outset, Brianne Jenner (Class of 2015) and Rebecca Johnston (Class of 2012) served as two of the team captains at the Toronto event.

While many of the Big Red graduates have enjoyed the luxury of calling each other teammates at the collegiate, professional and international levels (the most notable include Jenner, Johnston, along with Jessica Campbell and Jillian Saulnier), the Dream Gap Tour allowed a former Big Red backstop such a treasured opportunity.

During a decade that saw so many players compete at both, the NCAA and U SPORTS levels, the first chapter of Amelia Boughn’s career took place in Ithaca, New York, home of the Big Red. Transferring to the University of British Columbia during the summer of 2016, after two seasons spent with Cornell, Boughn graduated in 2019, recording a fantastic 40 appearances for the Thunderbirds, while gaining a spot on the U SPORTS All-Star Team that participated at Hockey Canada’s U22/Developmental Camp. Coincidentally, Kelly Murray would also play for Cornell and UBC in her career, calling Boughn a teammate for one season at Cornell, and one at UBC.

One of eight members of the women’s ice hockey program recognized as a 2019 U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian , her final game in UBC colors was nothing short of pulse pounding. Hosting the University of Regina Rams on Senior Night, the February 9, 2019 tilt saw a third period goal by Ireland Perrott also stand as the game-winning tally.

Recording 22 saves in a pulse-pounding 1-0 blanking of the Rams, Senior Night ended on a victorious note for Boughn and her five fellow graduates, earning her 28th career win as a Thunderbird. As a side note, she also won her first-ever start with UBC, a 3-1 win against McGill on September 16, 2016, along with her first-ever start at Cornell, a 6-2 victory on December 2, 2014 versus Syracuse.

Relishing the chance to call Jenner a teammate once again, both were teammates in Boughn’s freshman campaign at Cornell (2014-15). Part of a talent-rich roster which also featured Hanna Bunton, Emily Fulton, Cassandra Poudrier, Morgan Richardson, Jillian Saulnier and Taylor Woods; it reflected one of Cornell’s most formidable teams. As a side note, the Unifor Showcase involved numerous other members from said roster, with Bunton and Woods skated for Team Johnston, while Saulnier, and Cornell alum Lauriane Rougeau, skated for Team Poulin.

“Jenner has been an incredible teammate and role model to me over these past six years. Bri was the captain of our team my freshman year at Cornell, and I remember being blown away first off by her skill and vision on the ice, but also with the work ethic and integrity she brought to the locker room, to practices, to the classroom, and to every other aspect of her life.

It is something I have tried to model as I have moved up from being a young player to a senior player on my team at UBC last year. All of these years later, it has been so much fun getting to play with her again. It was especially inspiring to see the incredible amount of behind the scenes work she and all of the other women leading this initiative have put into it, on top of their regular training and work schedules.

Faced with what seemed like insurmountable adversity in the spring, they have turned the folding of the CWHL into a movement, which I think we are all very proud to be a part of.”

Among the memorable mix of star players involved a number of recent college graduates, including megastar Loren Gabel , a two-time NCAA Frozen Four Champion with the Clarkson Golden Knights and All-America selection. Enjoying a bevy of remarkable highlights in a memorable 2019, the native of Kitchener, Ontario was not only a recipient of the Patty Kazmaier Award , the eighth Canadian to win it, she enjoyed the Kitchener-Waterloo Athlete of the Year honor.

Recognized as the Third Star of the Game following the clash between Team Johnston vs Team Knox, Gabel, who scored a goal in the game, enjoyed the privilege of skating alongside Clarkson alumnae Renata Fast and Josianne Pozzebon as members of Team Knox. Demonstrating the potential of maintaining her role as an impact player post-university, certainly, a player of Gabel’s world-class talents could have enjoyed another milestone in 2019 by turning professional.

Whether it would have been in the existing league in the United States or among a number of associations in Europe, Gabel’s ability to find the net and contribute in big games were highly coveted. Testament to such abilities was the fact that she skated for the Canadian contingent at the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championships in Finland, marking her debut in that event. Worth noting, she scored Canada’s first goal of the game in their first win of the tournament, while also assembling a brilliant three-point performance against Finland in the preliminary round.

Instead, the prodigious Gabel made a very stirring and inspiring statement by participating in the Dream Gap Tour. Finding a very strong purpose in the Association’s objectives, it shows a remarkable display of leadership, one that indicates her focus on ensuring the game’s future is one defined by both dignity and continued development towards sustainability.

“It is extremely important for me to be part of the PWHPA. It does not only allow us current athletes to strive for what is best for our sport, but it will also help the future generations that are following in our footsteps. I believe that what we are doing is the right choice and we as female hockey players deserve to be treated fair and equally.”

Several months after graduating from Clarkson, where Gabel amassed an astounding 213 points (116 goals, 97 assists), along with a bronze medal gained at the 2019 IIHF Worlds in Finland, the opportunity to return to the ice brought with it a sense of empowerment. With a high-energy sold-out crowd, filled with numerous youngsters eager to see this latest generation of hockey talent set the foundation for a bold new era, it allowed Gabel to rekindle fond memories of her competitive roots.

Having starred with three different clubs in three seasons during her PWHL career, Gabel moved from the Kitchener-Waterloo Lady Rangers to join the Toronto Jr. Aeros. Capturing a 2014 OWHA silver medal with the Jr. Aeros, she would also spend one season with the powerhouse Oakville Jr. Hornets. Coached by successful Bradi Cochrane, Gabel would finish her PWHL career with a bronze medal in league playoffs, while emerging with the gold medal in the OWHA Provincials.

“Being back on the ice after graduating from Clarkson and the IIHF Worlds was a great feeling. Not just having great teammates and staff, but also having the best fans and supporters out there, cheering us on in the stands was amazing. The turn out we had in Toronto was spectacular and hopefully this will help us with our next step for the future of women’s hockey.”

A PWHL alum too, Boughn also enjoyed her own haul of medals during those formative years. Earning a silver medal in the 2014 PWHL playoffs, her Mississauga Jr. Chiefs would defeat Gabel’s Jr. Aeros in the gold medal game of the 2014 OWHA playoffs. Raised in Toronto, she also gained the chance to bring her career come full circle with the PWHPA.

In addition, the PWHPA connection would bring about a unique coincidence. Having starred at St. Clement’s High School, Boughn was on-hand for an important milestone. With De La Salle College hosting its first-ever Brother Arthur Memorial Girls Hockey Tournament on December 4, 2019, St. Clement’s was one of six teams that participated. Their first tournament game would see Boughn participate in the ceremonial face-off.

Worth noting, Kristen Richards , a 2018 Clarkson Cup champion and one of the participating players in the Dream Gap Tour, is employed by the College, and was proud to have Boughn, along with numerous other PWHPA players on-hand at the tournament, showing their support.

From the thrill of her hometown of Toronto serving as the backdrop for PWHPA play, to the feeling of achievement that came with her alma mater making new history, the result was a fall/winter to remember for the beaming Boughn.

“Playing my first post-university game against the best players in the world was unbelievable. The fact that it was in my hometown of Toronto made it even better. I fell in love with the game playing my first seven years of minor hockey in the Toronto-Leaside Wildcats organization. Growing up playing hockey in the city always felt like most of the women’s hockey action was located outside of Toronto, in places like Mississauga, Whitby, and Oakville.

So, it was amazing to have the opportunity to be a part of this huge Toronto-based event in an old city rink (complete with old-school bleachers and cramped hallways) packed to the lid with girls from Toronto-based organizations like Leaside and Scarborough along with players from organizations based all over Ontario.

At UBC, we did a lot of outreach with local organizations such as the Vancouver Angels and the Grindstone Award Foundation . Getting to know those young players and helping to spark their passions toward hockey was a highlight of my time at UBC, but bringing it back home, and on top of that playing in a pro-calibre hockey game for the first time, is something that I will never forget.”

“All quotes obtained first hand unless otherwise indicated”

The Dream Gap Tour is headed back to Toronto in January!

Get more details on this, plus other pwhpa events here ..

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A guide to the guest stars of 'The Bear' Season 3

The Bear 's second season introduced us to an onslaught of guest stars: Jamie Lee Curtis! Olivia Colman! Bob Odenkirk! Sarah Paulson! John Mulaney! Gillian Jacobs! Will Poulter!

Now, with Season 3 , The Bear does it again, bringing some new guest stars into the fray, as well as repeat appearances from many of the above. While this new crop of big-name cameos isn't as sizable as those from Season 2, these appearances still pack a punch.

Here's a guide to the new guest stars joining the cast of The Bear in Season 3.

Josh Hartnett

Between Oppenheimer , the upcoming Trap , and now The Bear , it's clear the Hartnett-aissance is upon us. Here, he plays Frank, the fiancé of Richie's (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) ex-wife Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs).

The first (and only) time we meet Frank is when Richie drops off his daughter Eva (Annabelle Toomey) at his house in episode 4, "Violet." When Frank opens the door, you can hear the sound of Taylor Swift's "Long Live" playing in the background, so he's clearly down with Eva being a Swiftie . What are the odds of a Richie/Frank "Love Story" duet in Season 4?

Professional wrestler turned scene-stealer John Cena joins the Fak clan in Season 3 of The Bear , appearing as Neil (Matty Matheson) and Ted Fak's (Ricky Staffieri) brother Sammy.

Cena bursts on the scene in episode 5, "Children," bringing with him a floor buffer, a penchant for smoking indoors, and a vendetta against Ted for stealing his SD cards. The beef with Ted prompts Sammy to "haunt" him; basically, Sammy inconveniences and spooks Ted until he relents and gives Sammy the password he so desperately craves.

So. Many. Chefs.

The Bear is no stranger to featuring stars from the culinary world. On Sydney's (Ayo Edebiri) Season 2 food tour of Chicago, she chatted with famed restaurateurs like Rob Levitt, Dylan Patel, Donnie Madia, and David Posey.

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Matty Matheson on ‘The Bear’ Season 3, That ‘Bigger Than Life’ Guest Star and His Hilarious First Encounter With Jamie Lee Curtis

By Ethan Shanfeld

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SPOILER WARNING: This interview contains spoilers for “ The Bear ,” including a surprise cameo.

Matty Matheson has spent his career running restaurants. Now, he’s focused on a fictional one.

With FX’s “The Bear,” the Toronto-based celebrity chef and restaurateur added actor to his resume, playing the loud, lovable and sometimes immature handyman Neil Fak in addition to his role as a culinary consultant and producer on the show.

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“We’d be riffing on stuff, and then a day or two later there would be a couple extra scenes with Fak and Ted,” Matheson says. “We kind of turned into this softness and relief from everything else that’s going on in the show.”

Before 10 new episodes of “The Bear” dropped on Hulu June 26, Matheson spoke with Variety to discuss Season 3, adding a certain pro wrestler turned actor to the Fak family and why restaurants (real or fake) are “miracles.”

This week must be crazy for you. How are you feeling?

I’m excited! I’m excited for everybody to see it. We just wrapped three weeks ago, so it’s very funny to have it come out so quickly. I’m still coming down from shooting it, and being in Chicago for four months. It’s pretty funny we get to see each other so soon again. Everyone was hanging out yesterday doing the press junket, and the premiere is tonight.

It was reported that you filmed Seasons 3 and 4 back to back. Does that make it hard when doing press, having to remember what you can and can’t talk about?

You’re no stranger to being on camera, but “The Bear” is your first substantial acting gig. Did you take any classes or just jump into it?

I still have never taken a class. It’s just being around amazing people. Ebon [Moss-Bachrach] and Jeremy [Allen White] and Ayo [Edebiri] and Lionel [Boyce] and Liza [Colón-Zayas] and Ricky [Staffieri] and Abby [Elliott] are so incredible to work with. They’re so giving and they make it easy, and they make me feel comfortable. We all live in this building together [when shooting], so we’re always like, “Hey, what are you doing? We’ve got a big scene tomorrow, come down and run some lines.”

You also have a really sweet moment with Jamie Lee Curtis this season. Did you ever think at the beginning of “The Bear” that you’d one day be sharing scenes with an Oscar winner?

It’s crazy. The first time I saw Jamie was at the Golden Globes or something, before she came on the second season. We were in the ballroom, and there weren’t a lot of people in there. I called Chris and was like, “Can I just go up and say hello to her?” And he was like, “For sure! Go say what’s up!”

As I was walking up to her, she pointed at me and was like, “I know who the fuck you are! Get over here!” We just hit it off. She’s so sweet. She’s our big mama. She hangs with us the whole time, even when she’s not on screen. Being around someone like that, a true icon, is amazing. “Trading Places” is my family’s movie. We loved that movie growing up. Never in a million years — and now we’re friends! We’re texting! She really is an incredible person.

You carry a lot of the comic relief this season. What goes into building that onscreen rapport with Ricky Staffieri? 

Me and Ricky spend about every single waking moment together, and we’ve become best friends. I talk to him every day, and we love each other. We’ve never had an argument. We’ve never wanted to be apart from each other. All we do is riff all day, we just make fun of everything. You meet a person like Ricky and you just fall in love. Us being brothers on the show is hilarious, and Chris loves it, obviously. We even shot a bunch of stuff that got cut — building these weird stories and dumb scenarios and pitching him, and him pitching us. It was very collaborative.

What do you make of the Emmys debate as to whether the show is a comedy or a drama?

We’re just a 30-minute show. There aren’t 30-minute dramas. It’s actually a technical thing, and a lot of people don’t understand that. It’s not like we’ve put ourselves in a category. Our show is our show. We’re making “The Bear.” Life is uncompromising, and life is funny. I wish everyone knew that it’s just a technical thing, where we’re not in control of that. We don’t think we’re making a comedy — we’re making a show about a family-owned restaurant and life on life’s terms.

No, and that’s the thing. You’ve never watched a drama that’s funny? It’s just being pigeonholed. People are so upset, like, “This is not a comedy!” And I’m like, “Yeah, of course. I agree with you. It’s a show .” Labels are pretty archaic to begin with. Our show is “The Bear.” We’re happy with what we make. People putting things into categories never really ends well to begin with.

[Editor’s note: The Emmys stopped categorizing comedy and drama based on runtime in 2021, but it is still rare for any 30-minute show to compete as a drama. “The Bear” could theoretically classify as a drama series if FX petitioned the TV Academy to switch, or if the Academy forced it to.]

What was it like acting alongside John Cena as another Fak brother?

He came in and was so professional, so dialed. It was a trip. My son, who is 8, is always doing that “You can’t see me” Cena thing. He’s bigger than life. He was reading in between takes, and we were all like, “What’s that book on his chair?” He was reading, like, literally a medical doctrine on neurology. It was crazy.

Have you told your son that you share scenes with him yet?

Yeah! There’s no embargo with my son, you know. John even made a cute little video for him. He’s such a sweetheart.

“The Bear” thrives on controlled chaos. What are the most challenging aspects of making the show that viewers might not pick up on?

It comes down to Chris’ pace. Chris is very adamant about starting on time, very much like [Carmy] on the show. We move fast. When we’re rehearsing a scene and we start reading, he’s just: “Faster, faster, faster, faster.” The guest stars are definitely not used to it. Chris will shoot three times — we do a very low amount of takes, and he typically wants to use the rehearsal. We always shoot the rehearsals. It’s an amazing experience. He keeps the pace of a kitchen, which I think is the opposite of making television and movies, as far as I’ve heard.

What is the feedback that you hear most often from chefs who watch the show?

It’s all mixed. Some people are triggered. Some people are like, “Man, that’s the best. It’s so real.” Some people are like, “Eh, it’s OK.” You can’t make everybody happy. We’re not trying to make everybody happy. We’re telling a story of one restaurant. We’ve created a little restaurant world, and we’re trying to stay true to what that world would look like. When I meet chefs and they’re very excited about it, it’s beautiful. And when chefs are indifferent, I’m OK with that too. 

The season ends with a “To Be Continued” card. Obviously a lot of things are unresolved, and you’ve already filmed Season 4. Was there a sense of finality when you wrapped?

All of these people are trying to do something, and they’ve created a space for them to get somewhere together. I think that the miracle could be that none of them are willing to give up on each other. You see them all being pulled in these different directions. You see them being taken away or wanting to leave. But you don’t want to give up, and you want to fight for this one thing together. They truly don’t want to quit themselves, you know?

The miracle is that chosen family. Life is not a straight line, and I think the miracle is that they’re all there. It’s easy to walk away sometimes. It’s hard to have hard conversations, and to have empathy for each other. The miracle is the hope.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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