TORONTO -- CTV Montreal's late friend and colleague, sportscaster Randy Tieman, was honoured in Toronto on Thursday.

Randy's son Jesse accepted the Sports Media Canada Honour Roll award on Randy's behalf. The award was presented by hockey broadcaster Jon Bartlett.

Randy died suddenly on Nov. 16, 2018 after a 34-year career in sports broadcasting. He was 64 years old.

"It's understandably a very bittersweet day today, because I would very much love to be sitting over there and watching my dad up here accept this award," said Jesse. "But I can't help but think if he was here, that he would get a chuckle about a plaque with his name and face on it where the Toronto Maple Leafs play. He would get a lot of joy out of that."

'T,' as he was known, loved covering local professional sports teams, including the Montreal Canadiens, Expos and Alouettes, but was a staunch supporter of amateur athletes, or the "little guys," as he would say.

"A colleague and a friend to so many and a father figure who set the bar for what a family man is for all of us," Randy was "our gentle giant, our teddy bear, our honorary uncle, the Sports Stache himself," said Bartlett.

In his speech, Bartlett quoted several of Randy's friends and colleagues, many of whom spoke of his down-to-earth personality and cheery smile.

"Randy was larger than life in many ways, but he was never bigger than the story," said NHL.com sports writer Dave Stubbs.

"Randy was a daily dose of sunshine," said TSN's Michael Farber, adding that he "never thought a story or a person was too small for him."

Bartlett also quoted CTV Montreal chief anchor Mutsumi Takahashi, who said that after a year "not a day goes by in the newsroom where I don't pass his desk and think of him. I still expect to see him there, bent over his keyboard, writing away. He was the kind of sportscaster who never took himself – or sports – too seriously. He never got angry, never got too worked up. 'Hey,' he'd say, 'It's just a game, it's supposed to be fun,'" she said. "Miss him a lot."

Watch the video above to see Jon Bartlett pesent the award, and Jesse Tieman accept it.