Canadian Crossing

Canada sports notebook: Bad timing for Tim Tebow to the CFL

Tim Tebow is now looking for work, but his timing is bad if he wants a career in the CFL.

The Montréal Alouettes have their QBs ready for camp that is not far away. Quentin Porter looks to be the backup for Anthony Calvillo.

The Alouettes own Tebow's rights. Montréal GM Jim Popp says Tebow could be a backup QB for his team.

Previous coverage:

If Tim Tebow wants to play QB, he should try the CFL

Tim Tebow made the right choice choosing the NFL over the CFL

Tebow might not have to adapt for long if he did make the move north. When Tebow came out of Florida, we pointed out that the CFL would be a great destination for his talents. When it seemed like Tebow would have success in the NFL, we admitted that as well.

Going for the money made sense, but if this is Tim Tebow being a long-term quarterback, the CFL is his best option. Think about Doug Flutie, who went to the NFL before he became a CFL legend.

If Tebow makes the trip up north and goes to the Alouettes camp, he could get enough exposure to get his rights traded to another CFL team. That won't happen until CFL executives see Tebow playing Canadian football.

Tebow has a better sense of the world more than other pro athletes in his position, so adapting to Canada wouldn't be that significant.

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NBC Sports Network did go to Montréal on Saturday, but not with hockey in mind.

The Montréal Impact had a home date with the Chicago Fire at Stade Saputo on Saturday on the NBC Sports Network.

Play-by-play announcer Arlo White had many nice things to say about the stadium and the city. White, being English, pronounced it "Stad" instead of the French "Sta-de." Stade is French from stadium.

While I have seen a few Impact games, this was my first look at Stade Saputo. You can see Olympic Stadium nearby in the background. From another angle, you can see downtown Montréal in the distance.

Stade Saputo is right near Olympic Stadium; I must have literally just missed it on my trip to Montréal last spring.

The Impact, off to a good start in its second MLS season, posted a 2-0 shutout. The second goal came after Chicago got a questionable red card, think permanent power play.

Blackberry Super Bowl ad needed to tell us why we should buy the smartphone

The Blackberry Z10 makes its debut in Canada today. Good thing Blackberry ran a Super Bowl ad in Canada and the United States to promote the new phone that the industry has been waiting a long time to get.

What's that? You can't get the phone in the United States until March? Oh well, come to Canada for the Twinkies and pick up a phone to boot.

The Super Bowl ad did come with the disclaimer "Coming soon to select US carriers" so Americans interested in the phone knew they would have to wait.

The ad showed a guy on fire, then he developed elephant legs, and the final included rubber duckies. These were things that Blackberry Z10 couldn't do. Apparently "in 30 seconds it's quicker to show you what it can't do."

Except the Samsung Galaxy SIII can transmit playlists between phones. That was explained in 30 seconds. I still remember that. Effective commercial.

What did I learn about the Blackberry 10 from the Super Bowl ad? A phone that has taken forever to come out won't be out yet and I don't know what it does and why I should buy it.

Standing out in Super Bowl ad land is difficult under normal circumstances. Normally, having a goat in your commercial is a big deal. On Super Bowl Sunday, the Doritos ad with the goat was funny, but other ads gravitated toward the top of the crop.

Blackberry would argue that getting the name out is necessary to a new audience to help save the company. And that the ad, which will likely play over the next few months, will be memorable enough to generate buzz. Good luck if that's true. At some point, the consumers will need to know what the phone can do — and be able to buy the phone.

Blackberry also suffered from bad timing. The ad ran in the 3rd quarter during the time of the blackout. If people gave up on the game for awhile, or tuned to the Puppy Bowl or Downton Abbey, then Blackberry lost potential viewers. (Full disclosure: my day job ran a Super Bowl ad.)

The good news for Blackberry is that the ad wasn't bad for its vagueness, and wasn't even the worst smartphone ad. Samsung used Seth Rogen (Canadian), Paul Rudd, and Bob Odenkirk in one of the most rambling ads seen in years. The Samsung ad didn't tell us anything but at least the Blackberry ad was entertaining.

Blackberry had a difficult task in a Super Bowl ad. Companies that advertise a lot and year round do better with Super Bowl ads than newcomers and those companies trying to reestablish themselves. And Blackberry's problems are worse than having a OK Super Bowl ad.

Super Bowl ads greatly benefit from subsequent airings, so we should see the ad played numerous times in the next few weeks, especially until the phone is available in the United States.

However, at some point, Blackberry had to tell consumers why they should buy the Blackberry Z10 or the Q10. That will require a new ad. The company could have used that 30 second buy for that purpose. Maybe the new ad will run closer to the U.S. launch.

By then, the Super Bowl ad will be a distant memory, a bad sign for a company trying to become relevant in the marketplace.

NFL Super Bowl notebook: Buffalo Bills back in Toronto for 5 more years

Buffalo Bills players: start renewing your passports.

The Bills will continue their road trip for a home game, renewing the Bills-Toronto series for another 5 years.

The Rogers Centre will only host 1 exhibition game (2015) in the new series, compared to the 3 scheduled pre-season games in the previous deal (only 2 got played).

The ticket prices are expected to remain at the reduced level of the 2012 game, so that should help attendance.

We are thrilled about the renewal, even if the relationship isn't perfect. Toronto fans want to see better teams. Buffalo fans want to tailgate. Maybe we can see some of those changes in the next 5 years.

Down the road, the Blue Jays want to put grass in Rogers Centre. This would make football of any kind difficult since the football seats would kill some of the grass. Then again, with the way the Bills and Argos draw, the baseball seats might be enough.

Until then, the Blue Jays, Argonauts, and Bills will share time in the Toronto domed stadium.

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Even if Canadians have a difficult time seeing the Super Bowl ads, at least one Super Bowl ad will have a Canadian presence.

Research in Motion (RIM), now to be known as BlackBerry, will run a Super Bowl ad Sunday to promote the Blackberry 10, which makes its debut yesterday. The ad will also run on CTV in Canada during the game.

The company had a big media splash on its opening day yesterday. A Super Bowl ad is a risky strategy, made even riskier since the product won't be available for awhile.

BlackBerry announced the new phones — Z10 (touchscreen) and Q10 (Qwerty keyboard) yesterday; while the Canada date for the Z10 is February 5, the U.S. release is sometime in March. Unless the company is prepared to run a long campaign and hope people will wait just a bit longer, the latter not being likely, the Super Bowl ad only works if people can buy your product.

Heck, the Q10 won't hit Canada until April, and this is earlier than anywhere else. This is not a good sign.

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Canada will have its own Super Bowl ads that will air on CTV. Lay's is featuring Martin Short in a new ad that will run exclusively in Canada.

Hyundai Canada has already leaked its 2013 Super Bowl ad called "Gaspocalypse." (Full disclosure: my day job covers the car industry.)

Budweiser is still running its Super Bowl ad from last year on NHL telecasts (we know this thanks to the NHL Center Ice free preview). Quite frankly, the ad is still better than any U.S. Budweiser ad in recent memory.

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Super Bowl XLVII will be on CBS this year, so keep that in mind if you are on the Canadian side and want to use your antenna to pick up the game. Those in Windsor can tune in WWJ-TV 62; in Toronto, the game is on WIVB/4. In Montréal, you might have a faint chance at WCAX-TV, Channel 3 in Burlington, Vermont.

Those in Vancouver and Victoria likely can't pick up KIRO/7 out of Seattle. If you're in Canada and live near a viable CBS affiliate via OTA antenna, let us know in the comments section.

Marc Trestman leaves Montreal Alouettes for the NFL Chicago Bears

A reasonably successful football coach, some college jobs and other assistant NFL coaching positions. But he wants to be a NFL head coach. He gets a chance to go up to the CFL in Montréal. The coach has great success in Montréal, leading the team to three Grey Cup appearances and two Grey Cup championships in a 5-year period. With CFL success, this coach sparks interest in the NFL and lands a head coach position.

Marc Trestman? Yes, and Marv Levy. The parallels are striking. That would be good news for Trestman, the newest Chicago Bears head coach. Levy was hired as the Kansas City Chiefs head coach after leading the Alouettes to two Grey Cup titles in 5 years.

Trestman's news conference will be later this morning in Chicago. The Bears have a defense-minded team, mentality, and fan base. But under Lovie Smith, the offense struggled immensely. So an offensive-minded, successful head coach was an ideal fit, and now Trestman is packing his bags to go down south to Chicago.

Trestman was in demand by the NFL. He interviewed last year for the Indianapolis Colts head coach position, and the Cleveland Browns interviewed Trestman this off-season. Trestman has a 64-34 record in five years as the Alouettes' head coach.

Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson, who employed Trestman as an assistant when Johnson was coach at University of Miami, tweeted back on January 11 that it “looks like” Trestman would get the Chicago job.

Even though the Alouettes didn't make the Grey Cup in the last two seasons, Trestman will be missed in Montréal. Toronto has proven potential staying power with its Grey Cup win in 2012. Okay, so Hamilton is a road team for 2013 and Winnipeg, well, is in the East Division. Still, the Alouettes need to fill a few holes, and one of them is the head coach.

Too bad the Alouettes can't turn to their own well-established offensive coordinator to replace Trestman. Of course, Montreal's offensive coordinator in 2011 left to be the now Grey Cup winning coach of the Toronto Argonauts — Scott Milanovich.

Trestman can also look to Bud Grant for inspiration. Grant is another famous NFL head coach who start his start in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before he led the Minnesota Vikings. And Levy coached 5 years with Kansas City and 12 more years with Buffalo. Levy is also from Chicago.

Some NFL fans aren't going to care what Trestman did in the CFL. After all, the rules are different and the CFL is much more offense-minded. And if they haven't heard of the CFL or the Grey Cup, they may not appreciate what Trestman brings. Trestman does have enough assistant NFL experience. Then again, winning is what matters.

CFL coaches and CFL fans want Trestman to succeed in Chicago because this will prove to NFL fans that CFL success can mean NFL success. But the Bears have quite a few problems, and Trestman will need some time to work his magic south of the border.

Best of luck to Trestman in Chicago. He'll need it, not because of his talents but Chicago NFL fans are pretty fickle about their coaches, even when they take the team to the Super Bowl.

Photo credit: Todd Korol, Reuters

Buffalo trounced 50-17 in final Bills Toronto series game

If Sunday's game is the final Bills Toronto game, the Buffalo Bills went out on a new low with a 50-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Seattle scored more times than Fox showed shots of Toronto in the telecast. It sure seemed that way. Seattle did score 9 times.

Several shots of the Toronto skyline taken from the islands. A nice closeup of the Canadian flag. A couple of look-ins at the skaters at Nathan Phillips Square. A quick shot of City Hall (the building that looks like the UN building). A nice shot looking up at the CN Tower after the game complete with a look down the street by the tower. The cameras showed off the Toronto Blue Jays banners inside Rogers Centre.

Perhaps the fact that Fox didn't make a huge deal can be a good thing, that Canada and the NFL are here to stay, and being in Toronto is nice, but no longer a surprise.

Unfortunately, I did not have access to the audio from Dick Stockton, John Lynch, and Jennifer Hale. If I find that they added some Canadian colour, I'll pass that along. If you heard them say something cool or wack, please feel free to leave your reaction in the comments section.

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How good was Russell Wilson's day in Toronto? The rookie Seattle quarterback set a franchise record with 3 rushing TDs … all in the first half. Wilson also set a team record by rushing for 92 yards on the day. He also had a 14-23 passing day for 205 yards. And he set a NFL record for having 3 rushing TDs and a passing TD in a half. Russell Wilson will have lasting memories of being in Canada.

Watching a quarterback rush for TDs is more familiar territory in the CFL. Then again, CFL quarterbacks don't usually rush from 14, 25, and 13 yards from the end zone.

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No, that was not your imagination. South Korean rapper Psy performed at halftime at Rogers Centre, performing his megagalaxy hit “Gangnam Style." Nice of Fox to show some of the highlights from that performance.

So within the last month, Rogers Centre has hosted Psy, Justin Bieber, and Carly Rae Jepsen. For teenage girls, that can't get much better, unless you invited One Direction. Maybe we'll see more pop artists as a way to draw more people to the NFL games in Toronto.

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Seattle punter Jon Ryan, who has roots in Canada, University of Regina, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, got a chance to relax on his trip back to Canada. Ryan didn't get into the game until 41 seconds remaining in the first half. Ryan had a 44-yard punt with no return from the Seattle 22.

Ryan's second and last punt was 35 yards with 1:59 remaining in the game. He was on the field a third time, but the Seahawks called for a controversial fake punt on 4th and 4 from the Buffalo 43 with 12:49 left in the game. Michael Robinson ran for 29 yards to give Seattle a first down.

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The Bills scored 70 points in all 5 games in the series. Seattle scored 50 points in one game. The Bills opponents scored 107 points. Seattle's 2-game 108 points outburst marked the third team in NFL history a team has scored 50 points in back-to-back games — the two other times were in 1950.

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Jacksonville was a last-minute market addition to the game, joining Houston, Miami, and Baltimore on top of the usual Buffalo and Seattle viewing areas.

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The announced attendance for the final Toronto game was 40,770. This wouldn't qualify as a sellout despite the stories that hinted the game was close to being sold out. One other reason why sales aren't as sharp is that Buffalo clinched a 13th straight season without a playoff berth, the longest current streak in the NFL.

Buffalo finished 1-4 in the Toronto series. Attendance wasn't dramatic, yet every indication is a new 5-year agreement will be signed. Rogers Communications, the Buffalo Bills, Toronto, and the NFL need to figure out ways to enhance the experience of the NFL fan in Canada's largest city. We'll explore those options when the new deal is signed.

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Buffalo Bills in Toronto (regular season)

Date	Winner	Loser	Score
December 7, 2008	Miami	Buffalo	16-3
December 3, 2009	New York Jets	Buffalo	19-13
November 7, 2010	Chicago	Buffalo	22-19
October 30, 2011	Buffalo	Washington	23-0
December 16, 2012	Seattle	Buffalo	50-17

photo credit: Steve Russell/Toronto Star

Buffalo welcomes Seattle as its 2012 Bills Toronto opponent

The Buffalo Bills get ready to play their fifth and final Toronto regular-season game in the series, and might do so in front of a capacity crowd at Rogers Centre.

The Bills welcome the playoff-contending Seattle Seahawks (8-5) to Toronto for a "home game" about a 2-hour ride north of Buffalo.

Buffalo comes into the game at 5-8, having suffered a tough loss at home to the St. Louis Rams 15-12. The Bills have played .500 at home (3-3), though you wonder how much "home" Toronto will be. Buffalo is 2-5 on the road.

If the season were to end today, Seattle would be one of the wild cards at 8-5. The Seahawks came off a 58-0 smashing of Arizona at home last Sunday. Seattle is perfect at home but also 2-5 on the road. Both teams are 1-2 in non-conference action.

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Seattle is the first border opponent to play the Bills in Canada. The Seahawks have a Canadian fan base as well, though not as intense in numbers as the Bills have from across the border.

We were hoping for some crazy "don't have a passport" stories, but you would hope that Seattle Seahawks players, being so close to Canada, would have passports.

Those Seahawks fans watching from the Vancouver area and on Vancouver Island should have an extra sense of pride viewing their team in their own country.

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Two Seattle players have a connection to Canada. Seahawks punter Jon Ryan is from Regina. Ryan has been in the NFL for 7 years, 2 with Green Bay and the last 5 with Seattle. He went to the University of Regina and played two years with the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Pro Bowl cornerback Brandon Browner is in his second season with Seattle, but spent 4 seasons with the Calgary Stampeders. Browner won't play on Sunday because he is serving a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

Browner was a 3-time CFL All-Star and won a Grey Cup with Calgary in 2008.

As a contrast, rookie quarterback Russell Wilson makes only his second trip to Canada — yes, he's been to Vancouver.

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Fox will carry the game for the third year in a row. The NFL has scheduled three straight NFC teams, and the road team network broadcasts non-conference games. Dick Stockton will handle play-by-play along with colo(u)r commentator John Lynch and sideline reporter Jennifer Hale.

City TV will carry Fox's feed across Canada. Rogers Sportsnet East will cover those areas not served by City TV. In Toronto, you can watch CITY-TV 57. For those that can get the Buffalo signal, you can watch on Fox 29 WUTV Buffalo. U.S. viewers in Western New York and the Pacific Northwest can watch on their Fox affiliate, including Seattle's Q13, KCPQ. Houston, Miami, Jacksonville, and Baltimore will also get this game, in great part because the Fox stations in those markets are forced to carry the late game. Check the link for any last-minute updates to the map.

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Mostly due to a cut in price, the game is (virtually) sold out. For TV purposes, the Bills games in Toronto are considered sold out so the game isn't blacked out locally.

The Bills have struggled with blackouts lately, narrowly missing one last week thanks to a Buffalo restauranteur buying up 10,o00 tickets for the St. Louis game.

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This game is on the verge of a sellout, mostly because the ticket prices were cut by as much as half. The other games drew on average about 50,000 people, so we'll wait to see how the attendance turns out.

The interest may be higher because a) Bills didn't play a pre-season game in Toronto because of a scheduling conflict; b) fans want to see if the Grey Cup/Argonauts championship can rub off on Buffalo; c) To send out the last game as a winner before a new potential 5-year deal is signed; and d) the Bills actually won the last game in the Toronto series for the first time; and e) Toronto winter sports fans are massively suffering with the inept Raptors and the invisible Maple Leafs.

The hope in a new 5-year deal is that after the $78 million Rogers Communications paid to the Bills for the first series, the company will be less greedy about the ticket prices and makes these NFL regular season games more accessible to the Western New York/Southern Ontario NFL fan.

Speculation is that the Buffalo Bills will sign another five-year deal with Toronto, but only when their own stadium lease back in Orchard Park is done.

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Buffalo Bills in Toronto (regular season)

Date	Winner	Loser	Score
December 7, 2008	Miami	Buffalo	16-3
December 3, 2009	New York Jets	Buffalo	19-13
November 7, 2010	Chicago	Buffalo	22-19
October 30, 2011	Buffalo	Washington	23-0

Buffalo Bills in Toronto (preseason)

Date	Winner	Loser	Score
August 14, 2008	Buffalo	Pittsburgh	24-21
August 19, 2010	Buffalo	Indianapolis	34-21

photo credit

Toronto highs and lows: Argos way up, Rob Ford down and out

The image of Toronto, Canada's largest city, has seen incredible highs and lows this week, and we're only at Wednesday.

On Sunday, Toronto hosted the 100th Grey Cup, celebrating the rich pageantry of the CFL and its history, and the history of the Grey Cup in Toronto. The hometown Argonauts pull off a 35-22 victory, winning for the first time on home soil in 60 years.

On Monday, Rob Ford loses his job as Toronto mayor, removed from office for violating a conflict of interest law. The judge issues a temporary hold, so Ford is still the mayor.

Tuesday marked the victory parade. No, not for Rob Ford haters, but for the winning Argos.

Bringing this all together was the fact that Ford, because he is still Toronto's mayor, got to celebrate with the Argonauts and hoist the Grey Cup at Tuesday's parade.

As you may remember, Ford paced the sideline in Calgary when the Argos played there in August. The mayor also saw the rival Alouettes in Edmonton, all during my summer vacation.

Ford has left his mark in ways too numerous to mention. To be potentially removed from office for a conflict of interest law that Ford admits he didn't know or want to know is a small sample of the arrogance he has brought to the position.

Few outside Toronto and Ontario can name the previous mayor (David Miller), but even casual people in Canada, United States, and yes, even around the world know who Rob Ford is.

Assuming Ford loses his appeal and is forced from office, the City of Toronto lawyer interprets the judge's ruling to say Ford can't run in the by-election. Everyone appears to agree that Ford can run in 2014.

When people asked me to describe Rob Ford, the best example in appearance and voice was Matt Foley (Chris Farley) who lived in a van down by the river on "Saturday Night Live."

Toronto has had its share of problems in the 21st century. The city workers strike that backed up the garbage and shut down the ferries to the islands damaged tourism in 2009. The SARS outbreak in 2003 also was a giant setback for tourism (on top of being a tragedy in itself).

Ford's antics added to Toronto's negative woes. Whether you agreed or disagreed with his politics, Ford's style and arrogance reflected badly on an otherwise great city.

On top of all that has happened to T.O., Toronto has had a losing reputation in the world of sports. In hockey, the Maple Leafs are the only NHL team to miss the playoffs in every season since the last major lockout. The Leafs haven't lost a game this season only because the NHL hasn't played. The Leafs also have the longest streak without a Stanley Cup.

The baseball Blue Jays have made some popular moves in the off-season, but the team hasn't been in the playoffs since winning the World Series in 1992 and 1993. A second-place finish in 2006, 10 games out, is as close as the team has come since.

The basketball Raptors haven't made the playoffs since 2008 and has only one playoff series win (2001). The Raptors won only 45 games in the last 1½ seasons.

Toronto FC in soccer hasn't made the playoffs in the entire history of the MLS franchise, not that the team has even come close lately.

Even the NFL Buffalo Bills have gone 1-3 in their games at Rogers Centre.

The Argonauts quenched a 8-year drought as Grey Cup champions with the win. Even with the Grey Cup win, Toronto finished at .500 in 2010 and 2012. Those were high water marks compared to 2011 (6-12), 2009 (3-15), and 2008 (4-14). You have to go back to 2007 to find the last time Toronto finished above .500 (11-7).

So the idea of having a parade for a championship team in Toronto would seem more improbable than the idea of removing an elected mayor from office. Yet, Toronto has both this week. Maybe things are looking up after all.

Photo credits: Rene Johnston/Toronto Star; Nathan Denette/Canadian Press; NBC

CFL notebook: Too many running backs in Edmonton

So how is this 3-headed running back experiment working in Edmonton? Well, the Esks have a 3-game losing streak, and the way the B.C. Lions are playing, hosting the Lions at Commonwealth Stadium will likely not be enough.

Edmonton has fallen into a last-place tie with Saskatchewan. Edmonton started out with a 8-0 run in Hamilton last weekend. The Tiger-Cats rolled off 52 straight points. The key blow was a blocked FG that was run back for a TD at the end of the first half. This is why the CFL is more exciting: a key 10-point turnaround at the end of a half made an impact on the rest of the game.

Meanwhile the Esks and their 3-headed running backs quandary is living proof of too much of a good thing. The team had no idea that Jerome Messam would be available so soon after signing Cory Boyd. Then again, Hugh Charles was having a good season before the Boyd signing.

Then again, Montréal could use a running back as Brandon Whitaker is out for the year with a torn ACL.

Though the Esks played well against the Stampeders, the team is in a spiral. Though Kerry Joseph is the best quarterback the team has right now, he isn't enough to help the team win.

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Travis Lulay has somewhat quietly moved up to second all-time in the CFL for most games in a row with a TD pass. Given the number of TDs, you would think this would be no big deal. A lot of those TDs are quick 1-yard runs, so the actual TD pass isn't as common as you would imagine.

For a franchise that had recently struggled with picking one quarterback, the B.C. Lions — along with the Montréal Alouettes — are as smooth at quarterback as the CFL gets right now.

Even with Calgary on a 4-game winning streak, the one team you don't want to face these days is the B.C. Lions, now with the CFL's best record at 8-3.

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Drew Willy got his first start for the Roughriders in Montréal, a difficult place to make your first start. Willy hung in there, though a couple of late interceptions didn't help.

Whether Darian Durant has anything to worry about, similar to Stephen Jyles in Edmonton, depends on how many games the team wins under the backup QB.

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Who knows when the Montréal Canadiens will battle the Toronto Maple Leafs. And while Toronto FC and the Montréal Impact play in the MLS, the true battle between the two biggest Canadian cities will be Sunday afternoon at Molson Stadium as the Argonauts travel to battle the Alouettes.

Montréal has a 1-game lead on Toronto in the East Division. The Argos won the last game between the two clubs 23-20 back on July 27.

While this game won't remind you of the classic Anthony Calvillo-Damon Allen battles of years past, these two teams are once again rivals for the right to host the East Division final. The question will be whether the game will be indoors in Montréal or indoors in Toronto.

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On paper, the Calgary Stampeders 4-game winning streak looks impressive. The Stamps did pull out two tough wins against archrival Edmonton and blew out Winnipeg last week. And the Roughriders, the team that helped Calgary start is streak, is back for more. Calgary isn't going to complain about beating these teams, and you have to beat bad teams to get ahead in this league. They may have to beat B.C. to get noticed though.

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Hamilton needs a boost this week at the Tiger-Cats travel to Winnipeg for Friday Night Football. The Lions will be in Edmonton Saturday night. Sunday offers a doubleheader in the tradition of the NFL with the Argos-Alouettes matchup early and the Stampeders-Roughriders late.

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Speaking of the NFL, As much as Canadians love the CFL, on Sundays, they are also into the NFL. While Canadians with cable can watch way more games than those in the United States, they are at the mercy of Canadian outlets for the coverage.

An error somewhere along the CTV feed forced a commercial instead of showing the crucial missed field goal at the end of the Arizona at New England game.

Even if the viewer was watching the game on Fox, the feed is supposed to be a sim sub (where the CTV feed would run on what would normally be the channel position for the Fox affiliate). The only way around that is to watch the Fox affiliate with an antenna, something most Canadians can't do.

Super Bowl ad notebook: Actual Canadian Super Bowl ads

Your TV choice this past weekend: 4 CBC games and no Super Bowl ads OR no CBC games and all the Super Bowl ads you can muster.

The best scenario is to live along the border on the U.S. side, get the CBC feed and still watch the Super Bowl ads. Canadians get the hockey, but they are primarily shut out of Super Bowl ads.

The CRTC makes Canadian cable systems cover U.S. ads and Canadian ads are run in their place. So if you are on cable or satellite in Canada, whether you tune in NBC or CTV, you get the Canadian feed. Yes, many Canadians and Americans can go on YouTube and elsewhere and see some of the Super Bowl ads. (Full disclosure: My day job is running an ad in the Super Bowl.)

The best way for Canadian viewers to see the Super Bowl ads is to access a NBC over-the-air (OTA) signal. The CRTC can't do anything about OTA signals, though the digital conversion reduces the range of OTA signals. While Canadians receive the U.S. networks via cable, very few of them can get that OTA signal. In the major cities, Toronto has a pretty good shot at WGRZ/Buffalo Channel 2 and Windsor, Ontario is ideal to get WDIV/Detroit Channel 4.

In past years, Canadians might get the ads depending on their location, cable or satellite outlet, and whether all the network feeds were covered. This is a hit-and-miss, and we hope you found success.

Now, many companies run their Super Bowl ads well after the game. Though if it's a sim sub, the U.S. commercials are blocked. And the really cool ads — think Seinfeld and the Soup Nazi one — don't run that much after the Big Game.

This year, Labatt's, which distributes Budweiser beer in Canada, created a Super Bowl ad that was only shown in Canada, not in the United States. As a public service, you can see it in the video above.

For last year's Super Bowl, Hyundai Elantra paid extra to air the U.S. ad in Canada. This year, Hyundai created a separate Canadian ad for the Super Bowl.

Samsung aired its U.S. Super Bowl commercial in the Canadian telecast, continuing its quest to mock Apple customers. (Full disclosure: I just bought a Samsung phone.)

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You can't mention Super Bowl ads without noting that Canadian acting legend William Shatner's Priceline character was killed off by Priceline. While Shatner may be replaced as the company's spokesperson, you have to imagine that at some point, perhaps a future Super Bowl ad, Shatner's character will reappear, just like characters do in many soap operas.

Shatner's character goes out in a blaze of glory as he saves a bus teetering on the edge of a bridge, and then falls off that bridge.

Canada's best-known NBA basketball player Steve Nash appeared in a Bridgestone Tires ad. And Montréal's Moment Factory and Cirque du Soleil worked on the multimedia production of Madonna's halftime show.

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Being Super Bowl week, the Globe and Mail had some nice Canadian tie-ins to the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is quite popular in Canada from a fan's perspective — third-highest TV audience in 2011 — even with very little actual connection.

New York Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes was in his 2nd Super Bowl, and had also played in the CFL with the Ottawa Renegades in 2002-2003.

The newspaper also had a bit of fun with what would have happened if New England Patriots QB Tom Brady went with baseball as he was drafted by the Montréal Expos.

The Expos drafted him in the 18th round in 1995, a pick so late because the assumption was that Brady would pick football and go to the University of Michigan.

The Expos were snake-bit in a lot of ways, so you would like to think that a few of these moments would have made a difference.

Tim Tebow made the right choice choosing the NFL over the CFL

When Tim Tebow graduated from Florida, NFL scouts were greatly concerned that Tebow might not work out as a NFL quarterback. Tebow ran through extra drills to showcase his talents before that draft. So we here at Canadian Crossing suggested Tebow go the CFL route. After all, quite a few NFL quarterbacks got experience in the CFL, such as Doug Flutie, Joe Theismann, Jeff Garcia, and Warren Moon.

Tebow did not take our advice, choosing the NFL and being drafted by the Denver Broncos. As good as Tebow would have looked in the CFL, looks like Tebow made the correct choice.

Thanks to Tebow's leadership and athleticism, the Broncos have won 6 of the last 7 games, leading into a huge matchup with the New England Patriots a week from Sunday. CBS and NBC fought a huge battle (won by CBS) to broadcast that game.

ESPN devoted an entire episode of "SportsCenter." And Denver should make it 7 of 8 on Sunday as the beat-up Chicago Bears travel to the Mile High City.

However, the point about Tebow, his throwing arm, is still an issue. CFL quarterbacks have to be able to pass and run to succeed, but they do run more than NFL quarterbacks. With a wider field and the defense lining up 1 yard behind the line of scrimmage, Tebow could use those advantages to post better passing numbers in the CFL.

Unlike most who come into the NFL, Tebow has experience living in other parts of the world, so Canada wouldn't seem so foreign.

As good and fun as the CFL is, the salaries and exposure are much smaller compared to the NFL. If you are good enough to be a successful NFL quarterback, you have to take this shot if you can.

If the NFL figures out Tebow and he starts to struggle, the CFL is always an option. After all, Anthony Calvillo isn't going to play forever, and Montréal holds his rights. Until then, looks like Tebow will play on Sundays … in the United States.

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