TSN Airs ESPN’s THE SPORTS REPORTERS Tribute to John Saunders on Sunday, August 14 at 10:30 a.m. ET on TSN5

ESPN pays tribute to Canada’s John Saunders with a special edition of THE SPORTS REPORTERS, airing Sunday, August 14 at 10:30 a.m. ET on TSN5. Saunders, who hosted ESPN’s Sunday morning roundtable of sports journalists since December 2001, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 61. Before joining ESPN in 1986, Saunders began his broadcasting career in Canada. He called play-by-play for the Toronto Raptors (1995-2001), and was the main sports anchor for City in Toronto from 1980-82, as well as ATV News in New Brunswick (1979-80) and for CTV in Northern Ontario (1978-79). In 1978, he was the news director for CKNS Radio in Espanola, Ontario. An all-star defenseman in the Montréal junior leagues, Saunders received a scholarship and played hockey at Western Michigan from 1974-76. He then transferred to Ryerson University (then Ryerson Polytechnical) in Toronto, where he was an Ontario University Athletic Association All-Star. While attending Ryerson, Saunders provided news reports for CHOO-Radio in Ajax, Ont. and continued to play hockey.