The most Canuckian Canuck ever to speak in colourful words has died, suddenly.

He was the most beloved Nucks broadcaster - in this century. While the Canucks have been mediocre to terrible the past couple decades, we could take comfort that each miserable game would be covered by the best tandem in TV broadcasting, John Shorthouse and John Garrett.

Our NM contributors try to pay tribute to Cheech - we don't have enough ketchup.

jimmi:

Cheech brought so much fun to every Nucks game. Funny, thoughtful and above all, a kind and humble Canucks fan. It was a blow when he stopped regular season Canucks coverage. This is worse.

How can we pay tribute to the man who made watching the Canucks lose on TV, better than watching the Canucks live and losing in the rink? What a career - other than the goalie part. A wonderful person. A Canucks legend! Even the goalie part. Thanks, Cheech!

Thursday:

The radio is my favourite medium for Canucks games, and we've been blessed with some of the best to ever do it. John Shorthouse had a hard act to follow when Jim Robson retired from broadcasting the Canucks in 1999. Robson carried the position with dignity and warmth, and his voice was beloved through good times and bad. Shorty's articulate descriptions are different, but have carried the day well ever since.

Tom Larscheid, on the other hand, was a straight-up force of chaos. A colour man who was just as wildly hued as anyone on the ice - or field, when he broadcast the BC Lions. He was a great counter to Robson, but to my ears, despite their decade together, he never worked as well with Shorthouse as he did with Robson.

By the time John Garrett took the colour role, first with Jim Hughson, then Shorthouse, he was a veteran broadcaster. He had a dozen years pro experience on the ice with the WHA and NHL, but it felt like he had a century's worth of stories.

"Cheech" - yes, he got the nickname because someone thought he looked like one of the world's most famous stoners - would add the weirdest tales to any pauses in the game. At any moment, you could hear about the value of ketchup, eating hot dogs on the bench during a game, and dinners in every city across the league.

He was comfortable with fans, outraged with bad refereeing, and an unrepentant homer in the worst seasons. He was always one of us, and so clearly loved the team, loved his job, and loved needling Shorty with wild digressions between plays. He is missed.