Mark Spector celebrates a quarter century on the Edmonton sports scene this season. So that means two things:

Spec is getting old (soon to be 46), and with that much experience under his belt, it is time for a daily radio show.

Yes, 25 short years in the media business leads to the The Mark Spector Show, going from 12-2 p.m. on the Team 1260. Spec brings all of his experience as a media man to the airwaves, but before also a lifetime spent in the stands of Commonwealth Stadium and the Northlands Coliseum, as an Edmonton-born sports nut who lived through the best years in this city’s sporting history.

After watching the Eskimos Grey Cup dynasty from section Q at Commonwealth from 1978-82, and celebrating the first two Oilers Stanley Cup victories on Jasper Ave., Spector started at the Edmonton Journal in the spring of 1987. He arrived just in time to watch the Oilers go to a Game 7 against Ron Hextall and the Philadelphia Flyers, and by 1990, Spector was covering the Oilers beat full-time.

There haven’t been as many Cups in Edmonton since ’90, but we’ve learned along the way that the stories are always juicier when the team isn’t winning everything in sight. So Spector battled with Glen Sather and Peter Pocklington through The Gory Years of the Edmonton Oilers, and took on the Kay Stephensons, Don Matthews’ and Hugh Campbells as the Eskimos faltered.

That led to the job as columnist at the Journal, but after 15 years there Spector moved to the National Post, where he was both Western Correspondent and National Columnist for seven years. This fall marks a fourth year of his gig as the senior columnist at Sportsnet.ca.

Along the way there have been four Olympic Games, three World Series’, a couple of Super Bowls, nine Grey Cups, 11 Stanley Cup Finals, and a myriad of Briers’, boxing and UFC cards, Winter Classics, GMs and Board of Governors meetings.

You name it, Spec’s covered it.

He’s been in the Yankees clubhouse after a Series win, and followed Marian Jones through her five-medal performance at the Sydney Olympics, to her downfall seven years later in the BALCO scandal. He’s interviewed Barry Bonds and his godfather Willie Mays, and watched Robbie Alomar as a minor league second baseman with Las Vegas, when Alomar wasn’t even the best second baseman on his Triple A team.

Spector has had a hand in at the Team 1260 almost since we opened our doors back in 2002, guesting, co-hosting Total Sports, and now with his daily “Spec Report” on the Jason Gregor Show.

In his personal life, Mark is set to marry Shelka in late August. He has two children, Rudy and Haley, and now two stepsons as well: Landon and Jayce. And a dog named Nike.

Life is good. And it’s about to get even better.

The Mark Spector Show goes every day, from 12-2 p.m.

Experience the voice of experience.

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