Sports in Canadian culture - Page 378

elly63 · #**7541** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 3:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

Good job by Carleton though, that is some kind of dominance by the Ravens. 15 out of the last 18 championships... wow.

It all comes down to what the Director of Operations Dave Smart built. Smart has had offers from NCAA schools but hasn't found the right fit. This is a guy who doesn't set himself up to fail. He did an interview with PTS' Bob McCown literally schooling him (and the listeners) on Canadian and US basketball. There's a reason his Ravens are competitive with big US programs and it all comes down to his knowledge and vision. And it's stuff like that, that makes me so angry that TSN/Sportsnet don't cover (which at the same time) would build these properties and profit from them because they would be much closer competitively with US colleges.

TSN is building the US college properties just by airing them, seriously does anyone really care about Bemidji State vs Quinnipiac hockey, and those are pretty good teams. And what's worse is we have supposed Canadians who denigrate their own sports (like Canadian TV) without having two clues about it. Speaking of which, it's time to resurrect the Canadian TV thread.

esquire · #**7542** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 3:44 PM**

^ I've kind of gotten into the new local WHL team this season... the hockey is so good, and it just floors me that there are no WHL games on TV here. There is just the league's own streaming service which charges porno channel-like subscription fees... $40 a month. And from what I see on the highlights, the quality is pretty lame.

I don't get how doing a once or twice a month broadcast from one of the bigger WHL markets like Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg wouldn't generate the viewership to justify the costs.

J.OT13 · #**7543** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 4:29 PM**

Ottawa is getting a pro rugby team: the Ottawa Aces of the Rugby Football League (RFL). The only other Canadian team is the Toronto Wolfpack (same league, different division?). All other teams are based in the UK.

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-s-n...aces-1.4844619

esquire · #**7544** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 4:29 PM**

^ Interesting. So is this laying the groundwork for a Canadian division, or are two teams all that there will be for now?

Acajack · #**7545** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 4:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Interesting. So is this laying the groundwork for a Canadian division, or are two teams all that there will be for now?

I have to say I was surprised at this.

Ottawa is solidifying its place as Toronto's little brother at the other end of Ontario.

Acajack · #**7546** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 4:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I've kind of gotten into the new local WHL team this season... the hockey is so good, and it just floors me that there are no WHL games on TV here. There is just the league's own streaming service which charges porno channel-like subscription fees... $40 a month. And from what I see on the highlights, the quality is pretty lame.

I don't get how doing a once or twice a month broadcast from one of the bigger WHL markets like Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg wouldn't generate the viewership to justify the costs.

As I've mentioned before we get good Q coverage on TV here in Quebec. I've noticed this year that TVA Sports seems to have stolen away Q (and Memorial Cup) broadcast rights from RDS. Though RDS has kept on its resident Q/
CHL analyst (Stéphane Leroux) who still appears on their equivalent of SportsCentre and also on their daily magazine shows. RDS also still shows highlights from the Q right after the NHL.

But the Quebec networks don't pay any attention to the OHL or WHL or their teams until the Memorial Cup comes around.

Not sure how the contracts are set up but RDS and TVA Sports seem to ping-pong sports properties between each other. The Montreal Impact seem to be on RDS this spring, after several years on TVA Sports. International soccer seems to have moved to TVA Sports from RDS though, as they've been heavily promoting this summer's Euro 2020 since the start of the winter.

elly63 · #**7547** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 4:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I've kind of gotten into the new local WHL team this season... the hockey is so good, and it just floors me that there are no WHL games on TV here.

I get this channel free on Kodi. It has all the hockey and soccer leagues you could want. And as I'm not a lemming that subscribes to the "not the best" malarkey, I find all of this stuff competitive and entertaining. I find myself drawn to the British Hockey League for some reason even though the channel shows NHL/KHL and Swedish hockey.

I was watching truck racing (at Daytona?) the other night and it was as if I was seeing motorsports for the first time (and I'm not a fan of motor racing). The trucks were spitting sparks and flames the half the time they weren't on fire, it was insane. What did the TV commercials used to say about roller derby (a hundred years ago) "mad mayhem on wheels"

elly63 · #**7548** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 4:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Not sure how the contracts are set up but RDS and TVA Sports seem to ping-pong sports properties between each other.

That's like the CBC streams. They just seem to pick up whatever they want. That's the reason I posted the USports Final 8. I thought USports were a Sportsnet property that they promptly f'ed up as they do with any Canadian property they manage to win a bid for and let die.

esquire · #**7549** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elly63

I get this channel free on Kodi. It has all the hockey and soccer leagues you could want. And as I'm not a lemming that subscribes to the "not the best" malarkey, I find all of this stuff competitive and entertaining. I find myself drawn to the British Hockey League for some reason even though the channel shows NHL/KHL and Swedish hockey.

Thanks for the heads-up. I don't do a lot of streaming right now, but I suspect that once I get a smart TV and the process becomes more seamless than it is with my current Chromecast setup I suspect I will do it more often.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

As I've mentioned before we get good Q coverage on TV here in Quebec. I've noticed this year that TVA Sports seems to have stolen away Q (and Memorial Cup) broadcast rights from RDS. Though RDS has kept on its resident Q/
CHL analyst (Stéphane Leroux) who still appears on their equivalent of SportsCentre and also on their daily magazine shows. RDS also still shows highlights from the Q right after the NHL.

But the Quebec networks don't pay any attention to the OHL or WHL or their teams until the Memorial Cup comes around.

That's sort of what I expected with the WHL and I was disappointed to see how little coverage there is of it. There is literally nothing on TV, no discussion (except when looking at draft rankings), nothing.

It's as though the WHL was some kind of obscure Turkish wrestling league that only a few hundred people care about and not a significant hockey league that routinely packs thousands of fans into arenas across Western Canada (including some NHL sized ones).

Acajack · #**7550** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

Thanks for the heads-up. I don't do a lot of streaming right now, but I suspect that once I get a smart TV and the process becomes more seamless than it is with my current Chromecast setup I suspect I will do it more often.

That's sort of what I expected with the WHL and I was disappointed to see how little coverage there is of it. There is literally nothing on TV, no discussion (except when looking at draft rankings), nothing.

It's as though the WHL was some kind of obscure Turkish wrestling league that only a few hundred people care about and not a significant hockey league that routinely packs thousands of fans into arenas across Western Canada (including some NHL sized ones).

It's actually the most attended sports league in Canada in terms of total bums in seats. By a longshot.

Is there another country in the world where the most attended sport has so little TV coverage? (Basically none in 3/4 of the country, where most of its teams are.)

Acajack · #**7551** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elly63

That's like the CBC streams. They just seem to pick up whatever they want. That's the reason I posted the USports Final 8. I thought USports were a Sportsnet property that they promptly f'ed up as they do with any Canadian property they manage to win a bid for and let die.

This kind of shows a faint glimmer on the horizon that technology might lead us to a brave new world of Canadian sports broadcasting. Though I am not getting my hopes up. Given the history.

elly63 · #**7552** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

Thanks for the heads-up. I don't do a lot of streaming right now, but I suspect that once I get a smart TV and the process becomes more seamless than it is with my current Chromecast setup I suspect I will do it more often

Perfectly free and legal.

elly63 · #**7553** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Is there another country in the world where the most attended sport has so little TV coverage? (Basically none in 3/4 of the country, where most of its teams are.)

It's because the biggest market in the country has it's head up USA ass, it's f'ed.

HomeInMyShoes · #**7554** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:17 PM**

That is one way of putting it.

elly63 · #**7555** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

This kind of shows a faint glimmer on the horizon that technology might lead us to a brave new world of Canadian sports broadcasting.

The opportunity is there and with a global audience to draw potential viewers from. For the same reason that I watch the Sheffield Steelers of the Elite Ice Hockey League (British Hockey League) there's a good chance there's a guy in England who has found the Brandon Wheat Kings of interest and compelling.

The Internet has exploded the concept of the "global village". I can't remember exactly when (80's/90s?, long before the Internet) two guys in PEI started a satellite sports talk show which I believe they syndicated across the country. They were exceptionally smart and had for their first guest a sports agent. I always remembered that. That agent was able to put them in touch with his clients and as the old commercial used to say (and so on, and so on, and so on)

The Internet would make that process so much easier to find your audience or them to find you.

elly63 · #**7556** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:22 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

That is one way of putting it.

I think fairly accurate, save the vulgarity

esquire · #**7557** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elly63

The opportunity is there and with a global audience to draw potential viewers from. For the same reason that I watch the Sheffield Steelers of the Elite Ice Hockey League (British Hockey League) there's a good chance there's a guy in England who has found the Brandon Wheat Kings of interest and compelling.

The Internet has exploded the concept of the "global village". I can't remember exactly when (80's/90s?, long before the Internet) two guys in PEI started a satellite sports talk show which I believe they syndicated across the country. They were exceptionally smart and had for their first guest a sports agent. I always remembered that. That agent was able to put them in touch with his clients and as the old commercial used to say (and so on, and so on, and so on)

The Internet would make that process so much easier to find your audience or them to find you.

Funny you mention that. There is a man in the UK who became a big Blue Bomber fan and built a bit of an online presence. He even came to Winnipeg last summer to watch the Banjo Bowl. He basically got the royal welcome to town, players welcomed him, even the Canadian Mafia got in on it. It was fun to see. "The UK Bomber" they call him.

I guess stuff like that is possible now.

Edit: there was a news article about his visit here https://1043freshradio.ca/news/58675...or-banjo-bowl/

elly63 · #**7558** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

I guess stuff like that is possible now.

It surely is. When I was a kid I used to watch British soccer on CBC. I always wanted Candy to beat Vodaphone

esquire · #**7559** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elly63

It surely is. When I was a kid I used to watch British soccer on CBC. I always wanted Candy to beat Vodaphone

Ha, that part threw me for a loop when I was a kid.

elly63 · #**7560** Posted **Mar 9, 2020, 5:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

There is a man in the UK who became a big Blue Bomber fan and built a bit of an online presence. He even came to Winnipeg last summer to watch the Banjo Bowl. He basically got the royal welcome to town, players welcomed him, even the Canadian Mafia got in on it. It was fun to see. "The UK Bomber" they call him. Edit: there was a news article about his visit here

He said it, as many do, once you get past the puppies and the glitter and ginourmous contracts, it is a better game.