Jay Semko of the Northern Pikes and Colli K Christante form Production Company in Saskatchewan

Inner Expression Productions and Development Group Inc., is proud to announce Mr. Jay Semko Jay Semko as co-owner and Vice President of Inner Expression Productions and Development Group Inc. 

We at Inner Expression Productions and Development Group Inc., are looking forward to working with Mr. Jay Semko on many great projects. 

For more information on projects that Inner Expression Productions and Development Group Inc., are currently involved in please contact Colli Christante at 306-716-9218 or Jay Semko at 306-251-2030.

Toller Cranston, figure skating innovator, dead at 65

Toller Cranston, figure skating innovator, dead at 65 Pj Kwong

It is somehow fitting that of all days, Toller Cranston would die on the same day that a new Canadian men’s champion is going to be crowned.

Cranston, who won bronze medals at the 1974 world championships in Munich and the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics, died at his home in Mexico from an apparent heart attack, a Skate Canada spokesperson said Saturday.

Cranston was a champion and more importantly a legend. International Skating Union vice president David Dore considered Cranston a "living legend."

"I was shocked by [Cranston's death] based on the fact that he was one of the few living legends in any sport. He was the perfect living legend," said Dore. "His legacy will be that he gave the sport a stamp that exists to this day. Even though he was always going uphill, he never lost his focus. The sport won. We all won."

"He was one of a kind," said Brian Orser, a former Canadian and world champion, Olympic silver medallist and now in-demand coach. "Nobody will ever be like him. And such a great contribution to figure skating but me, personally, (it was) just his sense of humour and his outlook on life and (his) free spirit ... (he was) somewhat of a rebel. Always spoke his mind, wasn't always so accurate but he spoke his mind."

In the media room we all looked at each other in shock when we first heard the news via Jeanne Beker’s Twitter account.

His artistry was considered to be one of the driving forces behind the move from strictly stiff athleticism to more expressive men’s skating. I believe that without Toller Cranston, there would not have been the generations that followed which included Patrick Chan.

Toller admired Chan’s skating and that he was glad not to have had to compete against him.

"I'm on another planet watching Patrick Chan with binoculars and applauding along with the rest of the world," Cranston said from his Mexican hideaway in 2012.

Cranston, who was born in Hamilton and grew up in Kirkland Lake, Ont., and Montreal, never won an Olympic or world title but his dramatic showmanship had a profound impact on figure skating.

The legend won national titles from 1971 to '76 and placed second at the 1971 North American championships in Peterborough, Ont. He won Skate Canada International events in 1973 and '75. He finished fourth at the 1975 world championships in Colorado Springs, and was fourth again a year later in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Cranston was 26 when he reached the Olympic podium at the 1976 Winter Games. He was later inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1977.

Toller remembered

I knew Toller. I remember him well from when I was a skater. He was older than I and maybe the most uninhibited person I have ever met. With all that freedom though, this was still a person whose vulnerabilities and sensitivity could make him challenging.

1964 Olympic bronze medallist and 1965 World champion Petra Burka was in the coaches’ room at the Cricket Club when she heard the news by email. It was her mother, Ellen Burka, who coached both of them.

1964 Olympic silver pair medallist Debbi Wilkes remembered Toller this way: “I think in many ways, Toller represented everything we admired in an artistic sport. He was brave, uncompromising and determined to take the sport where it had never been before. He had no patience or tolerance for people who couldn’t see the sport’s potential.”

1962 World champion Donald Jackson was in the stands watching skating at the national championships when I caught up to him: “He changed skating because he was willing to push the boundaries out and he didn’t give up; and that’s what changed skating all over the world. It’s a big loss,” said Jackson.

Truth be told, we all have our memories of Toller – mine was trying to chase him down for an interview for my book. He blew me off the first time and then I phoned him to see if I could catch him. We had the most magical conversation that went on for a couple of hours as I frantically took down notes. We connected.

The next time we spoke was in a podcast at Worlds in 2013. 

Artist. Skater. Visionary. Genius. There is only ever one ‘Toller’ in a generation.

With files from The Canadian Press

Connecting with great people

Inner Expression Productions and Development Group Inc., agree … The best thing is connecting with great people along the way. This is going to be so much fun!!!

http://www.synchmediafilms.com/#!portfolio/c1p39

For Immediate Release

For Immediate Release:

Inner  - Expression is excited to announce that Inner Expression Productions Development Group Inc., is now an International Film, Television, Music Production Company, Encompassing International Management, Training, Consultancy in Entertainment & Peak Performance Company

President: Colli K Christante www.inner-expression.com 
Vice President: Jay Semko www.jaysemko.com 

What Champions know!!!

Reality Check on difference between world class performers and average /mediocre performers - Good Read !!! The World Class Operates From Objective Reality "I’ve discovered most amateurs suffer from mild to severe delusion in relation to their efforts and competencies. In other words, most people delude themselves into thinking they are working harder then they are, and that they are more competent than they actually are. 

The middle class that is most in-congruent with reality. They are operating at a high enough level to understand that higher levels exist. Although they don’t expect to get there, the thought crosses their minds from time to time. Because of their low expectations, their actions are incongruent with their desires. In other words, they want to live the life of the world class, but are unwilling to pay the price. Since this reality is too harsh to bear, they delude themselves into thinking they are doing everything in their power to get ahead. Of course, they’re not. They’ll tell you they’re putting in far more time than they are. They’ll swear they are thinking about their vision all the time, but they’re not. The world class is brutally honest with themselves, and they tend to look reality in the face. They err on the side of over-practicing and over-preparing.

Champions know that, to ascend to the top, you must first be operating from a mindset of objective reality. Self-deception and delusion have no place in the professional performer’s consciousness. " - Steve Siebold

Top Ten Most Influential Women in Sport

What qualifies a woman as influential in the sports world? Is it her athletic ability, verbal skills, looks or her ability to lead into new frontiers? Does influence require years of training, bold new ideas or both? Below you will find our opinion of the top ten most influential women in sports.

Women in Sports Media

Christine Brennan

Brennan is a best-selling author, renowned columnist and commentator. She was the first female sports reporter for the Miami Herald before another first as the first woman to cover the Washington Redskins. Her figure skating book, Inside Edge, was named one of the top 100 sports books of all-time by Sports Illustrated. Brennan also broke the story of the pairs figure skating scandal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Linda Cohn

Almost 20 years into a TV sports reporting career, Cohn excels at versatility. Whether it’s baseball, basketball, hockey, racing or golf, Cohn covers the sport with ease. In 1987, Cohn became the first full-time female sports anchor on a national radio network (ABC.) She is the author of Cohn-Head: A No-Holds-Barred Account of Breaking Into the Boys’ Club. Cohn’s Twitter profile exhorts her followers to “Go after dreams.” It’s not uncommon for Cohn to make a fan’s dream with a retweet or mention.

Laura Gentile

Gentile is vice president of espnW. As a collegian, Gentile led Duke to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary field hockey team.

Jemele Hill

Hill is an ESPN columnist and TV analyst with previous stints at the Detroit Free Press and the Orlando Sentinel. Her Twitter profile reads: “I average 36 tweets a day. This makes me awesome.” Well, then.

Georgie Thompson

Thompson is Sky Sports presenter and A League of Their Own panelist. She has better than 378K Twitter followers and is on the first page of leading Twitter directory, Twellow.

Influential Sports Executives

Jeanie Buss

Buss is the Executive Vice President of one of the world’s most popular franchises, the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2010, she authored “Laker Girl.”

Wendy Lewis

Women in Sports & Events awarded Lewis with one of its three Woman of the Year Awards in 2011. Lewis is Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of diversity and strategic alliances. She explained some of her job responsibilities to espnW: “It’s more than just having more representation of a particular race or women, but making sure that we are working more toward achieving sort of the ultimate balance. We are doing that by taking a real, very strategic and very micro look at each one of those establishments and the pipeline of folks that they actually have coming in…”

Circe Wallace

Wallace followed a pro snowboarding career by representing similar stars at the Wasserman athletic management group, where she is a senior vice president. Wallace was also the force behind action sports shows on MTV and BET.

Pioneers for Women in Sports

Billie Jean King

King received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2009. She captured a record 20 titles at Wimbledon. Her Battle of the Sexes in 1973 against Bobby Riggs was a catalyst for the women’s movement. King is the Founder and Honorary Chair of the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Pat Summitt

Summitt’s career has spanned almost four decades. Summitt’s Tennessee Lady Vols have made 30 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She was named Naismith Coach of the Century. Her teams have a 100 percent graduation rate for all Lady Vols who have completed their eligibility at Tennessee. She earned a spot among “America’s Best Leaders for 2007″ published by U.S. News & World Report.
Don’t miss following women these, either! Lisa Andersen, Aimee Mullins, Amanda Rykoff, Annika Sorenstam, Sarah Spain, Dara Torres, Venus Williams
Whether the ladies are seasoned professionals or relative newcomers in the sports business, the industry’s future looks bright, thanks to them and other leading ladies.

Post-Career Athletes and Money: How Athletes Can Protect Themselves from Financial Ruin

We’ve all heard the grim statistics about broke post-career athletes – 78% of retired NFL players are broke or experiencing severe financial stress after just two years. The NBA isn’t much better with an estimated 60% broke within five years.

Most athletes, when they’re just starting their sports career, say that fame and fortune will not affect them – they swear they will remain the same humble, lovable darlings as they were during childhood when they played on obscure mud fields.

What happens on the journey from obscure to stardom? One must take into account inflated incomes and egos, and the fact that athletes trust unscrupulous, suited up, slick-talkers without doing due diligence. Blind investing and irresponsible squandering of financial resources lead to post-career athletes’ demise very rapidly.

Although pro athletes make a good haul in multi-million dollar incomes, they are all just one play away from a career-ending injury. Just ask Joe Theisman. One snap…one tackle…one wrong fall…career over. Some blame the hectic demands of the season schedule and naivete about financial planning while others point to players believing there will be just one more contract extension to fund their exorbitant lifestyles.

Post-Career Athletes can Find Solutions

I asked one of my NFL Player Development contacts where he thought the disconnect lies. Here’s what he had to say,

“I really feel like some of the players think, “That won’t happen to me.” Some have relied on what they do on the field to define them so that when it comes to something off the field they may feel like, “That’s not me” or “I’ll be that guy when I’m done playing.” Reality as we know it is that one day ALL players will be done playing.

One of two paths then has to be chosen… the athlete has to ask, “Do I rely on who I was on the field to define me or do I create a new me from here on out?” Both can be successful but I have found that the player who continues to redefine himself does much better. Go forward and create the new you and along with the old you, you will be successful.

So utilization of Player Development resources tends to come too late. We are not the enemy but can be seen as a nagging voice who constantly is reminding them of the inevitable. I have not yet met a Player Development Director who doesn’t want the best for his/her players, during and after football.

So, what’s the answer? One viable way is to hire a reputable financial auditor to make regularly scheduled checks of financial accounts and investments to make sure money is allocated where it’s supposed to go. And, it’s not supposed to go in Uncle Elmo’s pocket or Mr. Slick Word’s vacation resort in theBahamas.

One of my clients, MH Silverman, is one such auditor. Marc Silverman is a former Big 4 Audit Partner and specializes in protecting athletes from being financially exploited. His firm provides the checks and balances needed so current and post career athletes are not defrauded of their fortunes. Some of the services he offers athletes are:

-          Pre-investment due diligence

-          Portfolio audits including investment verification and valuation

-          Cash receipts and cash disbursements audits

-          Royalty audits

-          Contract compliance examinations

Marc states, “Waiting until there is a suspected problem is waiting too long.  The money is already gone.  It’s essential that athletes take a proactive approach with the checks and balances to ensure everything stays where it should – in the athlete’s hands.”

If you’re an athlete or you know an athlete, you can contact Marc Silverman at 908-794-5881 or silverman@mhsilverman.com to discuss how they can put auditing practices in place to make sure post-career athletes don’t say, “I never thought it would happen to me.”

Michelle Hill