Questionnaire: TODD MACKLIN BASEBALL AND ICE HOCKEY PUNDIT

Has sport ever made you cry?

Just once - Game Six of the 1986 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets. Boston led the best-of-seven series 3-2 and were one strike away from winning their first World Series since 1918. In great Red Sox tradition, they blew it in dramatic fashion then lost Game Seven. The drought continues to this day.

Who is the best TV sports pundit and/or commentator (apart from yourself, of course)?

Desmond Lynam is as good as any presenter I've worked with or watched (I'm not in the top 20).

Which sporting figure, if any, would you like to be sat next to on a long journey?

None, unless you could bring Babe Ruth back to life. I'd like Dawn French, for humour, on one side and, for music, the Barenaked Ladies (a Canadian band) on the other.

What was your most embarrassing moment on television?

Having to go off air during Game Six of last year's ice hockey Stanley Cup finals. We missed one of the most controversial endings to a championship in the history of north American sports so Channel 5 could show a programme on whale mating or something like that.

What was the highest level you reached in sport?

I once played in a charity softball game at the Toronto Skydome where the Blue Jays play.

If she was good enough, would you object to a woman playing Major League baseball (or, indeed, ice hockey)?

No. If you have the ability, sport should not discriminate against sex, race, or religious beliefs.

What's the most you've paid for a bottle of wine?

I don't drink wine. I did once pay about pounds 5 for a bottle of beer.

Who is/was your sporting hero?

My dad. He was my first coach in whatever sport I wanted to try. More importantly, he made sure I understood that playing sport was about having fun.