Canadian Crossing

NHL the week in preview February 15, 2019

NBCSN features the Toronto Maple Leafs again this week with a Tuesday night game in St. Louis.

The NHL Network remembers to carry a Canadian team with the Montréal Canadiens in western Florida on Hockey Night in Canada. This is the network's second and final telecast of the month for Canadian teams.

CBC goes to the desert as the Toronto Maple Leafs travel to Auston Matthews' birth state. The network will have the Vancouver Canucks in San Jose in the nightcap.

Citytv has the Habs in a sunny climate as we mentioned earlier.

Rogers Sportsnet splits the Saturday feed with West and Pacific carrying Edmonton in Brooklyn. Hometown Hockey from CFB Esquimalt, BC has the Canadiens in very southern Florida. Wednesday Night Hockey showcases the Winnipeg Jets in Denver.

Rogers Sportsnet One has the all-Canadian battle of the Ottawa Senators in Winnipeg. The channel jumps in late on Wednesday as the Calgary Flames host Brooklyn's best.

NBCSN

Tuesday
Toronto @ St. Louis, 8p

NHL Network

Saturday
Montréal @ Tampa Bay, 7p

Tape delayed
Wednesday Toronto @ St. Louis, 1:30p (90-min)

ESPN+

Saturday
Calgary @ Pittsburgh, 1p
Monday
Arizona @ Calgary, 4p
Wednesday
Winnipeg @ Colorado, 8:30p
Thursday
Washington @ Toronto, 7p

CBC

Saturday
Toronto @ Arizona, 7p
Vancouver @ San Jose, 10p

City

Saturday
Montréal @ Tampa Bay, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Saturday
Edmonton @ NY Islanders, 7p (SNW, SNP)
Sunday
Montréal @ Florida, 7p
Wednesday
Winnipeg @ Colorado, 8:30p

Rogers Sportsnet One

Saturday
Ottawa @ Winnipeg, 7p
Wednesday
NY Islanders @ Calgary, 9:30p

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Found out Saturday morning that NHL Center Ice did have coverage of Hockey Day in Canada. They carried the events before the matinee game and covered the second part before 6 pm Eastern. Incomplete, last-minute, and expensive to access: that sounds the NHL in motion.

The first part was reduced from 2 hours to an hour.

The NHL Network carried a vague NHL Tonight that ran from 1 pm Eastern so this wasn't like the network had programming to run instead.

To be clear, the games would have been nice but our concern was the actual programming: 1 hour before the matinee and 1 hour after the matinee. Shuffling off the coverage to Center Ice at the very last minute is poor form.

The NHL Network hasn't carried a whole lot of anything Canadian in the 2019 calendar year. While this always happens in the second half of the season, not carrying Hockey Day in Canada is an extra slap to the face.

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The highlight from the Rogers pregame was the Stephen Brunt essay about Saskatchewan and hockey as read by Dick Irvin, Jr.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

NBCSN had an "interview" with Auston Matthews and Jeremy Roenick but gave no coverage to the Maple Leafs in the intermission breaks Sunday night.

John Forslund worked with the top NBCSN crew of Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire for the Oilers game. Made me miss Ken Daniels and Ray Ferraro in the game in Edmonton.

Kathryn Tappen worked at ice level. We did get an interview with Leon Draisaitl. We also had analysis on the Canadian team after the 1st period, a rarity from NBCSN.

Gord Miller worked in Philadelphia Monday night. Chris Cuthbert will work one of the Hockey Day in America games on Sunday from Detroit on NBCSN.

2019 Valentine's Day: Our love for Sandra Oh

We have taken the idea of Valentine's Day over the years to celebrate Canadian women in various tributes, some more enlightened than others.

I want to take 2019 to focus on one particular Canadian woman whose story of perseverance and determination has finally won her rewards that she deserved many years ago.

Sandra Oh has done exceptionally well with her current TV show Killing Eve on BBC America and Bravo in Canada. Oh got an Emmy nomination but did win top honours from the Critics' Choice Television Awards, Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild.

Fans of this blog know that Oh distinguished herself early in her career with her performances in Double Happiness and Last Night. Oh won a Genie for her role in Double Happiness and a Gemini for The Diary of Evelyn Lau.

Oh has also been in other great Canadian films such as Wilby Wonderful, Hard Candy, The Red Violin, Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity, Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming, and Meditation Park.

Sandra Oh host and winner at the 76th Golden Globes

IFC mistakes Canadian Sandra Oh as an American

She has been featured in popular U.S. films such as The Princess Diaries, Under The Tuscan Sun, Sideways, and Guinevere.

Oh also managed to have a successful TV career for 10 years as Dr. Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy with 5 straight Emmy nominations and also starred on Arliss.

Celebrating Canadian women accomplishments on Valentine's Day 2018

Video review: Better Than Chocolate

My Canadian Valentines 2016

My Canadian Valentines 2015

Ellen Page: still a cool Canadian role model

Seeing the multiple layers of beauty of famous Canadian women

I wish they all could be … Canadian girls

Yet until Killing Eve, Sandra Oh had been lost in the background. She played the lead in those Canadian classics Double Happiness and Last Night as well as the animated film Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming but rarely had the lead. Her first 5 Emmy nominations were for a supporting role. She played the best friend in Under The Tuscan Sun, Sideways.

I wondered for years why Hollywood didn't see what I saw. Then again, I've seen these Canadian films so I knew what Oh was capable of doing.

There were a few in Hollywood who wondered about Oh in leaving Grey's Anatomy. "Wasn't this the best Oh was going to find?" some may have wondered. If you hadn't seen Window Horses or Meditation Park, you might really have wondered where Oh went.

Oh is finally getting some very deserved recognition after 8 episodes of Killing Eve. The United States is finally getting to see what Canada has seen for some time: Oh can and should be the lead in projects. She has earned this and more.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Season 2 of Killing Eve premieres April 7 at 8 pm Eastern on BBC America.

photos credit: Golden Globes/NBC

New Canada Food Guide sidesteps food lobbyists for better nutrition perspective

The revision of the Canada Food Guide took 12 years but brought some significant changes. The new guide focusing on protein options and de-emphasizes meat and dairy. The guide encourages water as a beverage of choice. More importantly, the approach also doesn't suck up to food interests, either from growers or food companies.

Cooking at home is also encouraged.

The Trudeau Government has promised that revisions won't wait another 12 years.

The meat and dairy people aren't thrilled with the new guide. You can consume meat and dairy and lentils and tofu. You can even get protein from vegetables and plant-based foods.

The fruit juice people aren't thrilled with the new guide. Doesn't mean you can't get an occasional glass; just be more conscious about your fruit juice consumption. One of my favorite tricks is to mix 50-50 of water and juice. A great way to get flavor with your water and less juice consumption.

BalanceofFood.com Canada food coverage

For more on this topic, check out the story from our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com.

photos credit: Health Canada; CTV/Health Canada

NHL the week in preview February 8, 2019

NBCSN shows the same Hometown Hockey game with the Toronto Maple Leafs in an Original 6 game at Madison Square Garden Sunday night. The channel also has Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in Pittsburgh with the same Wednesday Night Hockey game.

The Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada festivities will be in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Other celebrations will be in Montréal, Halifax, and Whistler. The NHL Network is blowing off everything from the 2019 version. ESPN+ isn't carrying any of the games. You can find out more details about the 2019 version of Hockey Day in Canada.

CBC runs a tripleheader with the Winnipeg Jets in Ottawa as the matinee; the classic Toronto-Montréal battle from La Belle Province (simulcast on Citytv); and the Calgary Flames out west in Vancouver.

Rogers Sportsnet helps out with Edmonton hosting the lone U.S. team of the day: San Jose. Hometown Hockey from Whistler, BC has the Maple Leafs game mentioned at the top. Wednesday Night Hockey has the previously mentioned Edmonton Oilers game.

Rogers Sportsnet One shows the late Wednesday night game with Vancouver in Orange County.

NBCSN

Sunday
Toronto @ NY Rangers, 7p
Wednesday
Edmonton @ Pittsburgh, 8p

NHL Network

Tape delayed
Friday Winnipeg @ Montréal, 1p
Monday Toronto @ NY Rangers, 1a (2-hour), 1p
Tuesday San Jose @ Vancouver, 1p
Wednesday Calgary @ Tampa Bay, 1p
Thursday Vancouver @ Anaheim, 1p
Edmonton @ Pittsburgh, 2p (2-hour)

ESPN+

Sunday
Winnipeg @ Buffalo, 3p
Monday
San Jose @ Vancouver, 10p
Tuesday
Calgary @ Tampa Bay, 7:30p
Wednesday
Vancouver @ Anaheim, 10:30p
Thursday
Toronto @ Las Vegas, 10p

CBC

Saturday
Winnipeg @ Ottawa, 2p
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p
Calgary @ Vancouver, 10p

City

Saturday
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Saturday
San Jose @ Edmonton, 7p
Sunday
Toronto @ NY Rangers, 7p
Wednesday
Edmonton @ Pittsburgh, 8p

Rogers Sportsnet One

Wednesday
Vancouver @ Anaheim, 10:30p

Oh baby!

For 50 years, Bob Cole’s calls have captivated the country.

Tonight he takes to the broadcast booth in Toronto for the final time. Congratulations and thank you, Bob! pic.twitter.com/Ox7FOHU0XN

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 7, 2019

Hope you caught the matinee rebroadcast of the Battle of Ontario on the NHL Network. This was Bob Cole's last game in Toronto and the Maple Leafs put together some of Cole's calls over the years.

There was about a month in between appearances for Cole and another month until his next appearance. The next Bob Cole appearance is March 9 with the Ottawa Senators in Boston.

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Catching up on telecasts from before and after the break, I enjoyed getting some Ray Ferraro into the telecasts. Ferraro was in Edmonton for NBCSN, Toronto for NBCSN, and Winnipeg against Columbus on TSN3.

His knowledge is vast, his analysis is crisp and insightful, his stories are fun, and even makes the most of the mini-interviews with the coaches on NBCSN.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

NBCSN will use Kenny Albert and Brian Boucher for the Maple Leafs game Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. Albert is the radio voice of the New York Rangers, though he does have a decent national sensibility. Would rather have Albert call the Rangers than John Forslund. Then again, I would rather have Joe Micheletti (Rangers TV analyst) do this game than Boucher.

The NHL Network carried the Philadelphia Flyers feed for the game with Edmonton.

Twitter capture: @MapleLeafs

Schitt's Creek, Anne with an E lead TV nominations for 2019 Canadian Screen Awards

Schitt's Creek and Anne with an E each have 15 nominations for the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards. Cardinal on CTV has 14 nominations.

Drama

The best lead actress opened up with Tatiana Maslany and Orphan Black in the mix. A bit surprised to not see Lauren Lee Smith in that category for Frankie Drake Mysteries. A bit surprised to see Kristin Kreuk for Burden of Proof in that category. I'm a big fan of Caroline Dhavernas in Mary Kills People.

Best Dramatic Series
Anne with an E
Bad Blood
Blood and Water
Frankie Drake Mysteries
Vikings

Best Lead Actor
Kim Coates Bad Blood
Jerry O'Connell Carter
Aaron Ashmore Killjoys
Yannick Bisson Murdoch Mysteries
Eric McCormack Travelers

Best Lead Actress
Amybeth McNulty Anne with an E
Caroline Dhavernas Mary Kills People
Wendy Crewson The Detail
Melanie Scrofano Wynonna Earp
Kristin Kreuk Burden of Proof

Best Supporting Actor
Salvatore Antonio Mary Kills People
Daniel Petronijevic Cardinal
Louis Ferreira Bad Blood
R.H. Thomson Anne with an E
Brent Carver Save Me

Best Supporting Actress
Sharron Matthews Frankie Drake Mysteries
Chanelle Peloso The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco
Mackenzie Porter Travelers
Geraldine James Anne with an E
Selena Lee Blood and Water

Comedy

Kim's Convenience is missing from the comedy awards, but for a very good reason. The show aired in the fall of 2017 and the winter of 2019, but not in 2018. Seeing Private Eyes in the comedy category might be a one-time thing since, well, the show isn't a comedy. Amanda Brugel, who also appears on Kim's Convenience, got a nod for her work on Workin' Moms.

For U.S. viewers, the second half of the second season of Private Eyes finally starts on Ion Television starting this Sunday.

Best Comedy Series
Letterkenny
Mr. D
Schitt's Creek
Second Jen
Workin' Moms

Best Lead Actor
Jared Keeso Letterkenny
Jason Priestley Private Eyes
Gerry Dee Mr. D
Daniel Levy Schitt's Creek
Eugene Levy Schitt's Creek

Best Lead Actress
Cindy Sampson Private Eyes
Annie Murphy Schitt's Creek
Catherine O'Hara Schitt's Creek
Catherine Reitman Workin' Moms
Dani Kind Workin' Moms

Best Supporting Actor
Chris Elliott Schitt's Creek
Noah Reid Schitt's Creek
Peter Keleghan Workin' Moms
Ennis Esmer Private Eyes
Colin Mochrie Tiny Plastic Men

Best Supporting Actress
Mary Walsh Little Dog
Emily Hampshire Schitt's Creek
Jennifer Robertson Schitt's Creek
Jann Arden Workin' Moms
Amanda Brugel Workin' Moms

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Film

A pair of films received 8 nominations to lead the way: Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume and The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur) from Maxime Giroux, who directed Felix and Meira.

The best motion picture nominees are all French-language films, including the nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, Family First (Chien de garde). I haven't seen the other nominees but Chien de garde was horrible. Anthropocene: The Human Epoch leads the nominees for best feature-length documentary.

Chien de Garde fails to make Oscars shortlist

60% of the best director nominees are women.

Best motion picture

• A Colony | Une colonie
• Family First | Chien de garde
• Genesis | Genèse
• Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume
• The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur

Best director

• Sophie Dupuis Family First | Chien de garde
• Jasmin Mozaffari Firecrackers
• Geneviève Dulude-De Celles A Colony | Une colonie
• Maxime Giroux The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur
• Daniel Roby Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume

Best feature-length documentary

• Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
• Immaculate Memories: The Uncluttered Worlds of Christopher Pratt
• Letter from Masanjia
• The Devil's Share (La Part du diable)
• What Walaa Wants

I can't speak to the other nominees in the best actor category but Pellerin should win this without a fight. I may have hated the film but he acted his way into a win. The performances in The Grizzlies were wonderful, but those 3 are the only ones I've seen on these lists. I like Sarah Gadon but haven't seen this film.

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

• Michael Rowe Crown and Anchor
• Theodore Pellerin Family First | Chien de garde
• Martin Dubreuil The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur
• Paul Nutarariaq The Grizzlies
• Brandon Oakes Through Black Spruce

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

• Emilie Bierre, A Colony | Une colonie
• Carla Turcotte Sashinka
• Valeria Henríquez The Padre
• Rose-Marie Perreault Fake Tattoos | Les faux tatouages
• Brigitte Poupart Les Salopes or the Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin | Les salopes ou le sucre naturel de la peau

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

• Richard Clarkin The Drawer Boy
• Paul Doucet With Love | L'Amour
• Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie A Colony | Une colonie
• Paul Ahmarani Genesis | Genèse
• Michel Robin Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

• Kate Moyer Our House
• Romane Denis Slut in a Good Way | Charlotte a du fun
• Sarah Gadon The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur
• Anna Lambe The Grizzlies
• Irlande Côté A Colony | Une colonie

You can find all the nominations in film, television, digital media, and special awards. The 7th Canadian Screen Awards will be on March 31 and will air on CBC.

photos credit: Critic Choice Television Awards/CW network

Jason Bay, Ryan Dempster highlight 2019 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame class

Jason Bay, Ryan Dempster, Rob Thomson and Gord Ash to be inducted into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. The Induction Ceremony will take place on June 15 in St. Marys, Ontario. https://t.co/Dz7SVP7KGL pic.twitter.com/BvWRSIROju

— CDN Baseball HOF (@CDNBaseballHOF) February 5, 2019

Jason Bay made a name as a Rookie of the Year in 2004 as a left fielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bay went on to hit 222 home runs and was a 3-time All-Star.

Ryan Dempster is the second most-winningest Canadian pitcher in MLB history with 132 wins. (Ferguson Jenkins has 284 wins.) Dempster is a 2-time All-Star who finished 6th in Cy Young voting in 2008 with a 17-6 record.

Bay and Dempster are the big names in the 2019 class of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Rob Thomson did start out as a catcher and 3rd baseman in the Detroit organization. Thomson, now the Philadelphia bench coach, was a coach for the New York Yankees from 1990-2017.

Gord Ash is a Canadian who worked for the Toronto Blue Jays in the ticket office during the inaugural season in 1977. Ash worked his way up to assistant GM for those World Series champion teams in 1992-1993. He spent 7 years in the top gig of general manager. Ash is now the vice president of baseball projects for the Milwaukee Brewers.

CanadianCrossing.com MLB coverage

The 2019 induction ceremonies will be at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, ON on June 15.

Twitter capture: @CDNBaseballHOF

CTV aired American ads during Super Bowl LIII with no confirmed trade deal

The folks at Bell Media thought they caught a break since the CUSMA or USMCA stipulated that CTV had to simsub the Super Bowl. The idea that coverage of a football game got to the level of international trade is more about the pettiness of an angry toddler.

Since no country has passed this new trade deal, CTV had to follow the CRTC decision that doesn't allow CTV to simsub the Super Bowl.

Canadians were able to watch U.S. commercials on CBS but only during Super Bowl LIII from Atlanta.

Canadians had many options for the Canadian coverage on multiple Bell Media properties, including CTV and TSN. Bell Media even had a special SportsCentre with Jay and Dan that aired on CTV and TSN after Super Bowl LIII.

Super Bowl LII ads light on Canadian content

Bell Media Super Bowl LI ratings drop 39% from last year

Canada makes little presence in Super Bowl LI ads

Canadians can watch Super Bowl LI ads but not without U.S. pressure

Super Bowl XLIX preview: CRTC to allow Super Bowl ads in 2017

Canadians get a lot of U.S. TV, but normally get shut out of Super Bowl ads

CanadianCrossing.com NFL coverage

Our sibling site, BalanceofFood.com, analyzes Super Bowl ads each year. This year, we did have Michael Bublé do an ad for Bubly playing on the similarities in names.

Ranking food and drink Super Bowl LIII ads

Our recent Super Bowl ads coverage 2018  2017  2016

The spot shows Bublé having fun with the pronunciation of names. He had a bit of fun, outshining the product itself.

The BalanceofFood.com response to the ad was not as kind. "This felt like a spin-off on the Bai Super Bowl commercial with Justin Timberlake and Christopher Walken. The latter ad will be better remembered than the 2019 spin-off." We can agree that Bublé will get more out from the ad than Bubly.

We have seen in recent years that Super Bowl advertisers embrace using Canadian talent to sell their products. 2016 is the watermark moment in recent years.

photo credit: Bell Media/TSN

NHL the week in preview February 1, 2019

NHL Network shows us another Canadian team in Philadelphia, likely with the home feed as Edmonton makes that trip on Saturday afternoon.

The channel is forced to go dark on Saturday night because NBC is afraid to have another game during its national game Saturday night. [end of rant]

CBC gets its first shot at the NHL after the All-Star Game break with Sidney Crosby and his group in Toronto. The Vancouver Canucks get a mile high in Denver in the nightcap.

Citytv follows the Detroit Red Wings to Ottawa on Saturday night.

Rogers Sportsnet has a Saturday matinee with the Edmonton Oilers in Philadelphia. Hometown Hockey is the Super Bowl matinee with an all-Canadian game with the Oilers in Montréal and festivities from Leduc, AB.

Wednesday Night Hockey features Bob Cole and the Battle of Ontario from Toronto.

Rogers Sportsnet One helps out on Tuesday with Vancouver in the U.S. capital and a Calgary home game on Thursday against San Jose.

Rogers Sportsnet 360 gets a rare Saturday game with the Winnipeg Jets hosting Anaheim on Hockey Night in Canada. The channel has some Super Bowl Sunday fun with the Calgary Flames visiting the former home of their current coach.

The NHL Network rebroadcast of the Super Bowl matinee is late on Sunday night.

NHL Network

Saturday
Edmonton @ Philadelphia, 1p

Tape delayed
Friday Columbus @ Winnipeg, 1a (2-hour), 1p
Saturday Calgary @ Washington, 1a (2-hour)
Monday Edmonton @ Montréal, Midnight (2-hour), 1p
Wednesday San Jose @ Winnipeg, 1p
Vancouver @ Washington, 2p
Thursday Ottawa @ Toronto, 1p

ESPN+

Friday
Calgary @ Washington, 7p
Saturday
Pittsburgh @ Toronto, 7p
Sunday
Edmonton @ Montréal, 2p
Monday
Vancouver @ Philadelphia, 7p
Thursday
San Jose @ Calgary, 9p

CBC

Saturday
Pittsburgh @ Toronto, 7p
Vancouver @ Colorado, 10p

City

Saturday
Detroit @ Ottawa, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Saturday
Edmonton @ Philadelphia, 1p
Sunday
Edmonton @ Montréal, 2p
Wednesday
Ottawa @ Toronto, 7:30p

Rogers Sportsnet One

Tuesday
Vancouver @ Washington, 7p
Thursday
San Jose @ Calgary, 9p

Rogers Sportsnet 360

Saturday
Anaheim @ Winnipeg, 7p
Sunday
Calgary @ Carolina, 2p

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There were only 10 NHL teams in action since Monday. Winnipeg and Philadelphia each played 3 games. Boston, Buffalo, Columbus, New Jersey, NY Rangers, and Pittsburgh each played 2 games. Dallas and Tampa Bay each played Wednesday.

Each NHL team gets scheduled time off during the season but 21 NHL teams got some extra time. Playing these games so soon after the All-Star break could give those teams a disadvantage down the road.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Almost every Canadian team has a decent shot at the playoffs. Calgary, Winnipeg, and Toronto have the strongest positions. Montréal and Vancouver have been pleasant surprises. Edmonton is close to a playoff spot. Ottawa has virtually no shot and has to give up its #1 draft pick to Colorado in the Matt Duchene deal.

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Turns out NBCSN used national announcers for the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Kenny Albert and Brian Boucher had the call.

Gord Miller worked for NBCSN at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. Chris Cuthbert will work the NBC game in St. Paul on Saturday night.

Video review: Paris or Somewhere

Callum Keith Rennie and Molly Parker have a shared history in film and television. That magic and chemistry started in Paris or Somewhere, a TV-movie that dates back to 1994.

The film starts with Christy Mahon (Rennie) hitching a ride to cross over into Canada. Mahon arrives in town bragging about killing his father. Meanwhile, there is a serial killer on the loose who wears a red bandanna. Mahon is wearing a red bandanna.

Mahon ends up getting a job in the local general store run by Peg Kennedy (Parker). Kennedy is engaged but doesn't seem bothered by that fact.

Kennedy thinks the stranger wants to leave with her and go some place such as Vancouver. Turns out Mahon is exactly where he wants to be in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

One minor character spends the entire film wearing a CFL Saskatchewan Roughriders hat.

John Vernon, known in some circles as Dean Wormer from Animal House, appears in the film. You might think Vernon's presence is an American ringer, but Vernon in secretly Canadian.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The film is a bit slow moving. While a TV-movie, you can only tell that because of breaks that look built in for commercials. The quality of the film is a lot stronger than typical TV-movies.

Paris or Somewhere is based on the 1907 play Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge.

Rennie and Parker are the reasons to watch this film. They have a coolness alone and with each other. Hollywood films supposedly have chemistry but have less chemistry that these two have in an awkward TV-movie from a long time ago.

At press time, Paris or Somewhere is available on Amazon Prime Video in the United States.

photo credit: Paris or Somewhere film

NHL the week in preview January 28, 2019

Welcome back from the NHL All-Star Game break. NBCSN starts out with the Winnipeg Jets in Philadelphia but don't expect a real national telecast. The post-ASG break pattern is a simulcast of the Philadelphia announcers on what might as well be a local telecast.

The NHL will slowly build back from the break. Winnipeg is the only Canadian team playing between now and Friday: 3 times vs. 0 for the rest of the Canadian teams.

ESPN+ will have the other Winnipeg Jets games this week.

NBCSN

Monday
Winnipeg @ Philadelphia, 7p

NHL Network

Tape delayed
Tuesday Winnipeg @ Philadelphia, 2:30p (90-min.)
Wednesday Winnipeg @ Boston, 2p

ESPN+

Tuesday
Winnipeg @ Boston, 7p
Thursday
Columbus @ Winnipeg, 8p

Take a peek at "The PK Project" an original series with @PKSubban1! pic.twitter.com/F1f9mRRj6v

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) January 1, 2019

We don't talk about PK Subban much anymore since he left the Montréal Canadiens for Nashville. NBC Sports interest in Subban grew significantly since he now plays for a U.S. team.

The forces have combined for an online series called The PK Project. Subban's personality comes across well in the preview. Imagine how much more fun the program would be by showing off one of the best cities in North America would be instead of showing off Nashville.

The opening episode debuted last Wednesday and subsequent episodes will drop digitally on Wednesdays. The premiere episode takes us to Subban's world in his hometown of Toronto.

NBCSN also ran a All-Star special last Friday called Pucks with PK following the skills competition where he interviewed NHL stars and entertainers.

Subban didn't get more animated after leaving Canada. Watching the U.S. media get excited about Subban and Erik Karlsson only after they left Canada is very discouraging. They loved the players but worked hard not to showcase them while they were wearing the sweater of a Canadian-based team.

The NHL has grown into different ways that separate the U.S. and Canadian teams. The separation makes this beat as much fun as hitting my head against the wall.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Edmonton Oilers fans got their long-time wish granted with the firing of GM Peter Chiarelli. Assistant GM Keith Gretzky, brother of Wayne, takes over as interim GM.

Chiarelli made some key horrible deals. Until the desperation gets reduced, things won't change much.

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NBC Sports normally give us the top crew on Wednesday nights. With the All-Star Game out west, NBC sent those announcers out west. We got Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro (and unfortunately Brian Boucher). 2 against 1 is rare and beautiful and welcome versus a lot of what we have had.

We have seen more than our share of American hometown announcers call Edmonton games on NBCSN this season. This one had a more pleasant twist. Ken Daniels calls Detroit Red Wings as his day job. NBCSN put Daniels on last Tuesday's game. But here is the difference. Ray Ferraro worked the game to give balance. And Daniels is really good at what he does.

We've offered up suggestions in the past where the announcers are split. There could be fun in that like when NBC used hometown announcers in the World Series in the 1970s.

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Those in the New York and Boston areas did get Hockey Night in Canada with the Winnipeg Jets in Dallas. With John Bartlett and Greg Millen covering Hometown Hockey, Rogers reached deep in the cabinet with R.J. Broadhead covering Ottawa and Kevin Quinn calling the Jets game. We get Broadhead since Rogers has little love for the Ottawa Senators. Quinn ranks a distant third behind Rick Ball and John Shorthouse to cover the gaps.

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ESPN+ had another Hockey Night in Canada game but without Hockey Night in Canada coverage. Watching another Philadelphia feed instead of Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson was like eating generic hamburger instead of a prime steak.

ESPN+ had the first 2 meetings of the Battle of Alberta, but NHL.TV had the latest battle on Saturday as a free game. The service offers intermission coverage, an advantage over ESPN+. NHL.TV was rather sloppy getting back to the coverage from commercial breaks at least in that game.

Twitter capture: @NHLonNBCSports