Is Montreal on the radar?

It is interesting to think that there might yet be a day that there will be a Major League Baseball team in Montreal again. There is little chance that an expansion team would be granted to the city but re-location is a real possibility. There have been whispers that Tampa could be a prime candidate to be such a team. That would be the perfect deal for the fans in the city and still work for MLB. Montreal, is an eastern city. Tampa, an American League East team. Toronto a natural geographic and cultural rival and would fit nice and snug with other teams that are already in the area (NY, BOS, BAL, TOR).

Why did the team leave in the first place? Bad ownership, a lack of interest or inability to help from the corporate community given the economic reality at the time. There was and is also the issue that there needs to be a new stadium built, preferably downtown. Sure, there is always some talk about the 'what if' but the reality was the temperature from the Bud Seilig regime was never positive. Maybe some new blood and new set of eyes may help. As far as ownership goes, up until now there have been no real potential owners with the wherewithal to own a team. Recently, however the name Bronfman, the son of the Expos former owner has been linked with interest as well as The head of Dollaramma and Media Giant Bell.

The name Bell is an interesting one and the reason there seems to be a little more traction when you figure them as possibly in on the fold. It is well know and reported that they took a HUGE hit when they were froze out of the National NHL Broadcasting rights that Rogers bought for 12yrs and $5.2 Billion. They also look across the dial and see a chief rival with the Toronto Blue Jays. Now, add to that the fact that Bell owned TSN launched 3 additional stations and have a total of 5 channels that require programming content. Sports is the one, for lack of a better term 'PVR' Proof. People want to watch events live. With up to the second updates to tablets and phones , long are the days of  being able to go any amount of time to avoid seeing or hearing a score update of a live sporting event.
Owning a team ensures 162 games a year that you control, and any alternate programming that can be associated with it. Pre and post game. Team specials. There are all sorts of options. Then on a more basic primal level there is the satisfaction of taking away some of  the market share that your rival currently holds. The Blue Jays are regarded as Canada's team, maybe if Montreal can get in they can take advantage of some fans that just don't like Toronto because it is Toronto are just hungry for a team they can root for and support as their own.

The passion for baseball at the Major league level by fans would likely still be there. It was not a lack of fan support that drove the team out of town it was a combination of bad ownership, lack of local corporate sponsorship/ownership and most importantly the lack of a new downtown stadium. It is common knowledge that Olympic Stadium was in great need of being replaced but for whatever combination of reasons that the team, and governments could not come to terms to get something done. Maybe the ownership at the time really never had any interest or motivation in keeping the team in Montreal anyway so the effort may not have been there. MLB did nothing to help  keep the team in Montreal either. Sure, they 'owned' the team the last few years before they moved to Washington and tried having some games played in Mexico but by that time the writing was on the wall. How serious could they be about baseball in Montreal as owners when just prior taking ownership of the team from then owner Jeffrey Loria had  them up for possible contraction with the Minnesota Twins. Interestingly enough, the Twins are still in Minnesota and have a beautiful new stadium, Target Field.

Sure it is probably a long ways away from happening if it can happen at all. but maybe, just maybe we are a little closer for this impossibility to become possible.

Closing Time

So the Olympics are now over and the Flame has been extinguished. It was a great 17 days of athletics and a great show of national pride by all of Canada from Coast to Coast. You would usually see an outpouring of support by the US given similar circumstances but it was nice to see the passion that all the people in the streets wearing red and white HBC fashions. They might actually be the big winners of the games. The Olympic apparel was stunning (I know how that sounds, and no I am not trying to play Mr. Blackwell), but it was very well designed and made all of our athletes not only look like a winning team but made us look professional. When the average person is clamoring for the same stuff and not being able to get it because it is in such high demand and sold out says a lot.

Back to sports...The, I don’t want to say fringe sports, lets call them niche sports, managed to showcase themselves and their sports in front of the world. It is too bad that it will more then likely be 4 more years before we get excited for the luge or 4 man bobsleigh again. Similar to the Summer Olympics where people who have no knowledge or interest in gymnastics become super fans of the sport and 16 year old’s become bigger then professional baseball players. It is almost funny how we get so excited for people we have never heard of in sports that we never follow just because they are wearing the Maple Leaf. I guess the old adage is true... You play for the crest on the front not the name on the back.

It is almost funny that a bunch of media outlets report that we are expected to medal in whatever sport or discipline and if the athlete doesn’t perform we are disappointed. If someone we haven’t heard of comes out of nowhere and are successful they become the pride of a nation and morph instantly into rock stars.

We were also treated to great coverage by the "Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium" who offered some 4800 total hours of programming on CTV, TSN, RDS and RIS, APTN and Rogers Media’s Omni Television, Rogers Sportsnet, OLN and on radio on the Fan 590. The commentators were all pretty good and even Jamie Campbell did a good job in becoming the voice of the ski hill at Cypress Mountain. Canada was treated with live events when they happened. NBC in the USA have taken a lot of heat for their plan of holding events on tape delay for prime time and other events on MSNBC and CNBC (which are not available to a lot of viewers). In an age where now is almost too late, tape delayed sports is not a good model to continue with. Imagine the 3pm Gold Medal Hockey game between Canada and the USA being held until 8pm est.

See you in London in 2012 and Sochi, Russia in 2014

IIHF World Junior Tournament - The Tradition Continues

First lets just throw some names out and lay all the cards on the table: John Tavares, Matt Duschane, Evander Kane, Cody Hodgeson, Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Myers Those are the names of some of the players that were elegable for Canada to come back and play for Canada this year...Zach Begosian was basicly the only USA player available to return. Put those guys on the team and it is probably another gold rush for Canada. I am not say’n i’m just say’n. Moving on.

Another World Junior Hockey tournament has come and gone. Much to chagrin of the proud Canadian hockey fans. Granted a loss in overtime to one of our newest building rivals, the USA, is a tough pill to swallow it can only fuel the fire for next years tournament in Buffalo.

Year in and year out this tournament continues to grow... at least in Canada. Maybe not as much to the average fan anywhere else but to Canadians it is must see TV and or event to take in live should the opportunity present itself. The gold medal game was an epic one with an audience to match. Tuesday night’s thrilling IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal game made television history for TSN. Some 5.3 million viewers tuned in to see some or all of the game. That is the highest rated event TSN has ever had. Some 1 in 3 Canadians watch some or all. It bettered this years Grey Cup and beat any other World Juniors telecast. I am not sure if that takes into account the live web streaming or not and probably doesn’t reflect the radio broadcast. I would like to know those totals as well. Either way it was huge and well represented.

For those 2 weeks or so between boxing day and the first week of the new year it is the showcase for not only the sport of hockey but a showcase for some of the great young players that people can look forward to seeing in the NHL soon. That is what is fun and educational about it. Now when your team drafts a player there is a good chance that you will know who it is. Not unlike the NCAAs March Madness tournament, people don’t pay much attention to the regular season of either college basketball or CHL hockey but when the respective tournaments are on the spotlight is there to shine on potential breakthrough players and that is fun to see.

The level of play is what you want to see in every hockey game, high skill, high speed and a passion for the game that only youthful exuberance can bring. The genuine love of the game, the thirst to be the best while continuing to get better and playing for the pride of a nation is a refreshing change from the professional sports that we are accustomed to watching. It almost makes it tolerable to earn a silver when you lose in a good hard fought game to a team that was surprisingly humble in victory and what seemed to be genuinely humble in victory (perhaps what you may not expect from a USA Team). Credit to the USA and their hockey program. They beat good teams and showed that speed and skill are hard to contain.

Canada entered the tournament winning 5 straight gold medals. It is not like they were handed any of them they have all been earned. The streak could and maybe even should have been stopped in any of the last 3 tournament but some kind of unbelievable event or puck luck fell in Canada’s favour and they had, until this year managed to claw their way to victory. Matt Halischuk’s OT goal saved Canada once and the new version of "Captain Clutch" Jordan Eberle went above and beyond the last 2 years with unbelievably timely goals and solid all around play to keep the team alive and take a country from devastation to jubilation in a heartbeat.

Eberle may well be a great prospect for the Edmonton Oilers and could go on to become a good NHL player and have a long and successful career in hockey but even if he were to walk away and peak as a teenager he has cemented himself as one of the greatest international performers in Canadian hockey history. Sure that would be tough but he is now in Canadian Hockey History highlight reel forever.

It will be interesting next year with the tournament being held in Buffalo. Canada had a good run with most of the tournament being played in Canada with a Pro-Canada crowd. Now the defending gold medalists USA will be defending on their home soil with hopefully a very focused and bitter team from Canada looking to avenge this years loss. Being in Buffalo will allow a lot of Canadians to take the tour over the boarder to help even out crowd support.

Volleyball And My TV

Recently, as there usually is on TV , the provider gives you a free preview of new channels or featured channels that may be struggling or are perhaps unknown. In the grand scheme of things all it comes down to is a drug dealer "offering you a free ‘taste’." You accept an bang! Next thing you know you are on A&E on an episode of Intervention.

This is what Bell ExpressVu did with the Centre Ice Package. They give it to you for a month, get you hooked then when you get accustom to having every game at your fingertips they rip it from you like you were a breast feeding baby forced to go bottle. You still get some games via TSN and the like, but not everything. You don’t get all the goodness of total variety but you get a good mix. 1000+ games was tempting but I choose to pass, maybe game centre on NHL.com next year (especially after I adopted not 1 but 2 Western out of market teams to my favorites list).

Bell has decided to do this to me again with the introduction to the CBS College Sports station. Right now the main focus is College Football but they also have gotten my attention by throwing some NCAA Woman's Volleyball (the A-10 Conference Championship and the Conference USA Championship). Outside of an hour and a half of beach volleyball maybe 3 or 4 times a year on NBC when they show the AVP or if it is an Olympic year you might get a little more coverage...but just a little, there is not a lot of volleyball to be found.

The beauty of the game is that it is fast paced, strategic, athletic and entertaining. What is not to like about that? Also because there really isn’t a Pro League, at least not in North America you aren’t spoiled by having 1 big name or team. You can enjoy the game for the game and even if you don’t know the participants you can still be entertained by the game and not be blinded by the hype of a name.

It is because of this that I will have to put some serious thought into adding this channel to the package. It is sad that it has to get to this point just to see volleyball on TV but what can you do. Anything to get just a little exclusive American sports on my TV has to be taken VERY seriously.

The Coverage Of Sports

As many may be aware TSN, as part of their 25th anniversary has been on the road with their Sportscenter broadcasts hitting different city’s and towns across the country.
Kraft signed on as the title sponsor and is giving $25,000 to each stop on the trip to help in funding for various sports facilities. Great for TSN and great for the cities that were involved.

Today marked the day that TSN hit the "airwaves" for the first time in 1984 at 12 noon. This changed the way that people in this country could follow and watch sports. September 1 is a very significant day for all sports programming across the board. It is 30 years to the day for ESPN to hit the air as the first all sports programing network on September 1, 1979 as well as the 20th Anniversary for TSN’s french sister station RDS which came on September 1, 1989.

We may take it for granted now, having all this coverage of events and information at our fingertips but imagine a time when that wasn’t so. We can get a Jays game almost every night of the week and if there isn’t a game you can probably find a Red Sox or Yankees game picked up. Long are the days where you were lucky to get 1 game a week on a Saturday. Wide world of sports was where you would get to see a game and not always in its entirety. During the winter there is close to a game a week thanks to these channels. I don’t much care for the blackouts that they have for regional games. I think that If I am paying for 4 Sportsnet channels I should be privy to everything that they show just because I am in the Sens region doesn't mean that I don't appreciate watching a Calgary Flames game.. Just another of my major issues with some of the sports leagues and the CRTC. Having the option to see these events is still great to have even with the restrictions.

For the sports lovers out there, this is an anniversary that you should not miss and continue to honor each year!

Free Agent Frenzy

Tomorrow is a celebration! July 1st, Canada Day. The birthday of our country. I hope that everyone celebrates or at least acknowledge it for what it is and appreciate how great it is to live in this great country. Many people for a long time have not only worked to make this country great but also those who have fought to keep this country safe and free. Happy Canada Day to all.

With that being said there is also another event that will be happening at the same time and that is in the form of Free Agency in the NHL. Usually there are a few big names that will go early...so early in fact that it would be impossible for it to be done legally. There is no way that deals can be struck within seconds at 12:00am but it is what it is, tampering doesn’t apply in this case I guess. (Suppose that the draft day deal between Calgary and New Jersey had nothing to do with Brent Sutter becoming free to coach the Calgary Flames). Once the big names start to fall it allows for some of the mid and lower level players to fit into place and teams can see where they stand leading into the summer and through training camp.

It is sure to happen that a couple players will get very overpaid by GMs who are feeling the heat from above and some teams who will make some shroud moves and go under the radar by just tweaking and those may become the most impactive deals that will be made.

I hope for the sake of my TV viewing and the 5 hours of programming that TSN has lined up from 12-5 tomorrow that it is some what eventful. Also linked to this will be my announcement of my Western Conference Favorite Team that I have still yet to divulge as I am really trying to do my due diligence between the final 2 teams on my list and the last chip to fall for that decision to be made.

More Then Just A Playoff Series

The Washington Capitals versus Pittsburgh Penguins second round playoff series has all the makings of being a classic. If not just for the two teams involved that are matched up fairly evenly but each possess some of the best raw offensive players in the game. This was more then proven yesterday when the Caps beat out the Pens is an epic battle where Alexander Ovetchkin managed to score a hat trick and Pens captain Sydney Crosby equalled that feat. Crosby was probably excited, Ovetchkin is always excited and you have to figure the Gary Bettman was more excited then the two combined.

In the US and A hockey is still trying to get any little bit of market share that it can and having the 2 most notable players facing off together and both bringing their “A” game can’t help but make a difference. Even the guys on PTI (an ESPN show shown in Canada on TSN) hit on it. Maybe this will help ESPN in taking another flier on the NHL and actually get it out to the public where people can actually see it.

The longer this series goes the better the league will be for it. This is the one series that doesn’t just have a regional appeal it is much bigger then that. There is more at stake then just 1 team advancing another round in the quest for a championship.

Top Canadian Female Sportscasters

Before the NCAA tournament begins and the networks will have plenty of coverage of the favorites, all the Mid-Majors and the Cinderella's. I figured that this would be a good time to give a look at some of the faces that you may see feeding you the scores, the highlights and the video and the audio. There was a time where you would almost never see a female on a sports show, maybe on the sideline but even that was a stretch. Now there are many female sportscasters not just sideline reporters but also in prominent and even head anchor spots. The best part of it is that yes they are attractive that is a huge bonus but they are also very talented and knowledgeable. I have chosen to give a quick look at what Canada is bringing to this party.

Because this is a Canadian list that is part of the reason why there are only small head shots. It seems that it is much easier to find good pictures of their American counterparts. In addition the limited number of national sports channels limits the scope of this list but to be able to make a list of 10 with so few options says something for the overall depth.

10. Jody Vance - Leafs TV
Jody was at Sportsnet for a while before moving to Leafs TV. That may play a role on why she has slipped to #10. Also without the national platform she isn’t in plain view anymore and that seems to have cost her a few positions.
9. Christie Chorley - The Score
Not sure if she is still there but seems to be deserving of a top finish. Lesser role and smaller network may hold her back.

8. Daru Dhilon - Roger's Sportsnet
Limited in her role on the network doesn’t work in her favor and doesn’t allow her sports knowledge to be shown.

7. Chantal Machabee - RDS
Basically the only female on the french sister network to TSN. Can’t understand french but I will presume that she is good and is a true professional.

6. Cassie Campbell - CBC Sports/ HNIC
Cassie is a former captain of the women’s national hockey team and not does games for Hockey Night in Canada. She doesn’t do much colour work in the booth but is actually very good when she has and does a great job whenever else she is on camera.

5. Jennifer Hedger - TSN
She should be higher on the list but seems to have slipped. She has done nothing to fall but credit the others on earning a promotion. Some ahead have matured in there roles and Jennifer seems to be a little over tanned.

4. Holly Horton - TSN
She is the dark horse in my list. Back in the day when she had just started, she very raw and her ability was questionable. Over time she have become a first rate anchor, her delivery and knowledge is top notch and she managed to get more attractive which is a nice bonus.

3. Sara Orlesky - TSN
Sara is still finding her voice but does a good job in whatever assignment she does. On screen she is easy on the eyes and that has vaulted her into a top 3 finish.

2. Martine Gaillard - Roger’s Sportsnet
Martine was good on The Score but was notorious for her looks changing on a weekly basis, you never know what look she would throw at you from week to week. Now on Sportsnet she has been stable and always looking top notch. Her ability is top notch and I would give her the nod as the #1 female sportscaster in Canada. It is also an advantage that Sportsnet does a better job of getting their people out to be seen in other forums. Getting time on the FAN 590 (A Rogers station) helps.

1. Evanka Osmak - Roger’s Sportsnet
Evanka has also come a long way from her start and has become a solid sportscaster in her own right. Still a small step behind Martine in overall ability but continually getting better. This is clearly just a shallow, physical reason why she get top billing but still very deserving. Also working in her favor as with Martine is that she has more exposure and I know more about her background and more behind the person info then just in front of the camera.

At this point I will mention to all those who remember Hazel Mae and think that she would be at the top of this list had she not left for NESN (New England Sports Network), she would not! She actually would be lucky if she even makes my list. I didn’t like her doing the morning update show, didn’t like her style and didn’t care for the overall presentation. I just didn’t find her that attractive either. I was glad that she opted to move on.

Changing Channels Not An Option In Canada

After my last post it has lead me to make a comment on the state of TV in Canada and the US as it relates to sports. Now I have little problems with Canada’s existing sports specific channels, those being TSN (The Sports Network), Rogers Sportsnet and to a lesser extent The Score but I want more. Being a Bell Express Vu subscriber I have a respectable selection of live sporting events to choose from. Now that TSN has come out with TSN 2 allowing for both the ability to show 2 live sporting events at the same time (in the winter usually either 2 hockey games or a hockey game and an NBA game or perhaps tennis, maybe even curling) nationally as well the ability for time shifting showing programming on a 3 hour delay to allow you to watch the complete games of both matches if you so choose or if you missed the original broadcast...a nice option o have. Sportsnet does well with regional hockey but shows far less live games as it used to when it held the rights to broadcast NBA games but makes up for that with most Jays games during baseball season.

Now where I have an issue again is with the CRTC and the fact that there is no way that I can get everything that I want. Sure I could pay in excess of $100 for different packages covering sports like NHL Center Ice, NFL Sunday Ticket, NASCAR Hotpass, MLB Extra Innings or the NCAA package but that adds up pretty quick and there is a lot of overlap of crappy games that I wouldn’t want anyway. No, what I want is more choice, more options and most of all more variety. I guess in an effort to preserve Canadian content there is no way to legally get the programming that I want and what I want shouldn’t be that tough to get. Give me the option of having ESPN(s), some of the Fox SportsNet channels, NESN, Versus, YES Network TNT among others. As a fan of watching volleyball I would like to have the option of watching some matches. NBC will show 1 match a week of the AVP tour but the rest of the tournament is not shown, nor are any NCAA indoor games. I understand why Canadian programming doesn’t pick up these games as it is a very niche market but if the games are being televised I would like to have the option to watch them. I don’t need it on a Pay Per View basis just let me purchase the entire channel as I would if it were a specialty channel in Canada. If it comes to a case of matching the numbers in a total package of Canadian to US programming so be it, I may be willing to taking on some crappy Canadian channels in order to keep the ratio where it needs to be. All I am asking for is the ability to choose, ability to watch what I want , and ability to get some different perspectives. The only channels made available in Canada show nothing but crap. They try to fool people with ESPN Classic Canada, but not ESPN Classics so we get Classic CFL games (if there is more of an oxymoron title i’d like to hear it) Matches on Fox Sports World shows Footy (soccer), rugby, Aussie rules football and things of that nature....not entertaining and a weak effort to show “World Sports”.

I want Wednesday Night Baseball in the summer, weekly NBA games, Volleyball games. It is being broadcast, I don’t think it too much to ask that I have a chance to enjoy it, whether I live in Canada or the USA.