Canadian Crossing

NHL All-Star Game: rooting a little for both sides

Confused on who to root for in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game? Imagine our dilemma here at CanadianCrossing.com.

Toronto's Phil Kessel, the last player picked, played for Team Lidstrom. Montréal's Carey Price played for Team Staal. Daniel Sedin played for Team Staal, while Henrik Sedin played for Team Lidstrom.

Then again, Patrick Sharp (Chicago, Team Staal, Thunder Bay, Ontario) was the game's MVP, even though Team Lidstrom won 11-10.

The winner was Raleigh and Carolina, that bastion of NHL history and tradition, with the NHL going out of its way to say how wonderful Carolina is from a NHL standpoint.

Now on to the second half of the NHL season: traditionally, NHL Center Ice runs a free preview after the All-Star Game. Now last year there was no All-Star Game due to the Olympics. But when there is an All-Star Game, the Center Ice free preview runs now.

If that holds true, and I haven't found a single source to say it is, the action would start Tuesday and run either through Sunday or Monday. If there is a free preview, keep it right here at CanadianCrossing.com for all the latest details.

Canada's 'Incendies' nominated for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar

Denis Villeneuve's "Incendies" — a film about a twins' trip to the Middle East based on a mother's last wishes to search for their roots is one of five nominees for Best Foreign Language film in Oscar nominations announced yesterday.

The other nominees are "Biutiful" (Mexico), "Dogtooth" (Greece), "In a Better World" (Denmark), and "Outside the Law" (Algeria).

As you might guess from the director's name, "Incendies" comes from the French-Canadian cinema. The only Canadian director to win Best Foreign Language film was Denys Arcand, who won the Oscar for "Barbarian Invasions" in 2004.

"Incendies" is the fifth Canadian nominee for the Oscar. The Decline of the American Empire (1986), Jesus of Montréal (1989), and Water (2006) also were nominated. The first two of these films were directed by Arcand. And "Water" is essentially an Indian film in Canada.

I do watch a lot of foreign films, and sometimes it's a crap shoot as to whether I have seen any of the nominees. "Biutiful" stars Javier Bardem, an Oscar winner. But the one movie on the list I did see was one of the amazing — and strange — films I have ever seen.

You can't watch "Dogtooth" and come away without an opinion. Again, I see a lot of foreign films and this one made an impression. If "Incendies" does not win, I am absolutely rooting for "Dogtooth" — I enjoyed it that much.

But since the movie is a little strange, mainstream voters might not pick this film. Then again, the movie has made the Top 5 in the world.

If I get a chance to see "Incendies" before the Oscars, I will have a review. The Oscars airs on February 27 on ABC in the United States and CTV in Canada.

NHL Network cutting corners on Hockey Night in Canada coverage

One of the benefits of watching Hockey Night in Canada either through NHL Center Ice and the NHL Network is not just the hockey itself or the expert commentary, but the segments in-between the periods.

On Center Ice, you get everything: in-between segments, commercials, and the games.

The NHL Network has been good about carrying the in-between segments on the CBC telecasts. The channel carries the full 30-minute Saturday pregame show and After Hours. We criticize the network for running the late game tape-delayed where most weeks the scores runs below the telecast.

Which makes what happened on Sunday all the more bizarre on the NHL Network.

The NHL Network had two major shows to air on Sunday: the tape-delayed broadcast of Calgary-Vancouver with the After Hours segment as well as a AHL game (also from CBC) featuring Abbotsford at Manitoba. The original schedule had the NHL game at 1 pm Eastern followed by After Hours at 3:30 pm and the AHL game at 4:30 pm. No other major programming issues for the day.

Well, the NHL Network decided to change the schedule, airing a rerun of a WHA documentary at 1 pm followed by Calgary-Vancouver at 2 pm. So the channel tried to squeeze a 3½ hour show into a 2½ hour time slot. Well, something had to go and commercials and promos wouldn't be an option.

Now, this was one of the few weeks that After Hours was not airing. CBC broadcast pairs figure skating, so the NHL Network couldn't air an episode of a show that didn't exist.

But the NHL Network did blow off Coast-to-Coast and Scoreboard Saturday in an effort to squeeze the programming into a 2½ hour timeslot.

Why? To run a repeat of a documentary?

You can access Coast-to-Coast online at cbcsports.ca. Couldn't find Scoreboard Saturday online. But given how expensive our cable bills are, we should get 100% of the programming on our screens.

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The NHL Network continues to have problems with the sim sub process. Admittedly, some of this might have been a CBC glitch. CBC stayed longer on the open in Montréal to honor the return of Saki Koivu back to Montréal. In the middle of the anthem, the NHL Network ran a promo and came back near the end of the anthem in Toronto. Bad form — when in doubt, keep the feed open. Whatever we missed, we should have seen.

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We head into the break with one more Montréal Canadiens game on Versus before the All-Star break. The Canadiens will be in Philadelphia on Tuesday night in a rematch of the Eastern Conference final from last spring.

The All-Star Game will air on Sunday, January 30 on CBC and Versus. Following the break — starting on Tuesday, February 1, there will be a free preview of NHL Center Ice, assuming traditional form follows once again. For a week (not sure whether this ends the following Sunday or Monday), you can watch any game available on NHL Center Ice.

Before the break, the offer is 30% off the full Center Ice price. Hopefully, once the free preview kicks in, the savings will be around 50%.

Will U.S. TV turn to the CFL if the NFL goes away this fall?

Ought to be a fun game (for once) as the Green Bay Packers battles the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas.

But the whispered question of the moment is whether Super Bowl XLV will be the last NFL game for some time. Sports fans will tell you that the NFL contract is expiring in March, and there is a considerable possibility that NFL stadiums will go quiet in the fall.

Similar to the NFL strike of 1982, sports networks will be clamoring for programming. Hello, CFL football.

Unlike in 1982, the sports television reliance on NFL football is gigantic. CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, and of course, the NFL Network rely directly on the league for content during the fall.

Now, the NFL Network did carry a schedule of CFL games that was specifically designed to fit around the NFL schedule, so there were no August games nor postseason. That may change this fall.

ESPN and ESPN2 are the logical places for extra CFL games since they have a part-ownership in TSN, exclusive home in Canada of the CFL. But in 1982, we saw NBC send Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen to Edmonton to show a then relatively unknown quarterback named Warren Moon.

We aren't necessarily rooting for a NFL stoppage. Just that, if the NFL comes to a halt, the U.S. TV sports world should embrace the opportunity to rediscover the CFL. There were a few too many blowout games during the CFL experiment in 1982.

The NFL Network had some really exciting CFL games this past season. Hopefully, if the CFL gets some American exposure, the game will be as exciting as we know the CFL can be, and maybe, get some well-deserved attention south of the border.

Katie Couric's search for a Muslim Cosby Show should take her to Canada

Katie Couric wishes for a Muslim Cosby Show. Clarence Page thinks that is a good idea. Then again, Canada has had a comedy about Muslims since 2007. Maybe a cable network can pick up episodes of Little Mosque on the Prairie from the CBC.

Fox had agreed to do an American version as far back as 2008, but the Americanized version of the show hasn't hit the air, or even been cast.

Little Mosque on the Prairie takes place in Saskatchewan (the prairie) and has a mixed cast of Muslims and non-Muslims. Some of the Muslims are more conservative, others more liberal.

I got a chance to see an episode in November, as I was barely across the border. If you are on the Canadian side, you can access previous episodes through the CBC Web site.

The episode centered around a Muslim fast to raise money for the mosque, which actually is a room within a church. The church, at the same time, puts in a candy bar machine, so that the fast won't make enough money.

Canadian comedy isn't as fast-paced or joke-oriented as American comedies, but the interaction of Muslims and non-Muslims feels very real, and you do feel like you learn something about Muslims, even if the scenarios are fictitious.

Americans would benefit from a straight feed of CBC on U.S. cable systems. World-oriented newscasts, lots of great hockey coverage, and of course, sitcoms that embrace elements not normally seen in the States.

Since Fox isn't likely to put an American version on, and it might be even worse than the attempt to redo Coupling, the best solution would be a U.S. cable channel acquiring the rights to carry reruns of the show. There are four years worth of episodes, so the run would be significant.

Couric and Page are correct in that Muslims need to be shown in a better light, good and bad, like everyone else. Couric probably still doesn't realize there is a Canadian version; Page devoted one sentence to the Canadian show — 23 words in a 693-word column.

Couric and Page use the Cosby Show analogy. To be frank, Muslims need a Good Times more than a Cosby Show. By the time the Cosby Show aired on NBC, African-Americans had more than a few shows on the air, such as Good Times and What's Happening. That doesn't even count starring vehicles such as Benson.

Muslims haven't even had a Julia moment. Cosby Show is a long way to go, but the best way to start is to import Little Mosque on the Prairie from the CBC to American audiences. Then again, Muslims are as obscure to American audiences as Saskatchewan — maybe it will feel more like Vulcans and Klingons in Star Trek.

photo credit: Little Mosque on the Prairie show/CBC

Paul Giamatti sings praises of Montréal and Canada

"An incredible place in a great nation, Canada. And I salute the great nation of Canada."

While Paul Giamatti is not Canadian, he did win a Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy for "Barney's Version."

In the speech, Giamatti referred to the host filming city of Montréal as "an incredible beautiful city which I dream about."

Lots of American films are shot in Canada, primarily Toronto and Vancouver. Tax breaks and (at one time) a better exchange rate do help — but Canada shines on its own. Publicity, such as the one given to this film, does help Canada's image across the world, especially in the United States.

Audio of Giamatti's victory speech.

Roberto Alomar gets 90% of vote to go into Baseball Hall of Fame

In his second eligible year, Roberto Alomar got 90% of the vote to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

While Alomar played with San Diego, Baltimore, Cleveland, New York Mets, Arizona, and the Chicago White Sox, his finest, most productive, and winning years came as the second baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays. Alomar was traded along with Joe Carter by San Diego to Toronto for Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff on December 5, 1990.

Alomar won 10 Gold Gloves, 5 with Toronto. He hit .300 with 2,724 hits in his career, stole 474 bases, and made the All-Star Game 12 years in a row.

While Alomar only spent 5 years in Toronto, he had 832 hits and 206 stolen bases, all while leading the Blue Jays to back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993.

Roberto Alomar was the complete package on the diamond, offense, defense, and one of the smartest ball players of his or any other era. Congratulations!

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Alomar will go in the same Hall of Fame ceremony as the general manager that traded for him. Pat Gillick was picked earlier by the Veterans Committee. Gillick worked for the Blue Jays from their inception in 1976 until 1995, and served as the team's GM from 1984-1995.

As GM, the Blue Jays won five division titles and the two aforementioned World Series championships.

And the other Canadian tie-in to the class of 2011 is longtime Montréal Expos play-by-play announcer Dave Van Horne. So there should be a lot of Canadian flags in the crowd in Cooperstown, especially since Montréal isn't that far away.

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In what seems like a long time ago, I got to interview Alex Cora when he was a teenager in a baseball tournament in Battle Creek, MI.

At the time, Cora was overshadowed by his older brother, Joey Cora, who was a second baseman for the Chicago White Sox.

I asked Alex about who he would love to play alongside if Alex got to the major leagues. Alex Cora gave me two names: his brother Joey and Roberto Alomar. Some of that could have been Puerto Rican pride (all three are from Puerto Rico), but this was more of a recognition that Alomar was the best at his position in that era.

Alex Cora has been in the major leagues since 1998 at second base and shortstop. Alomar retired after the 2004 season. Cora and Alomar never did play together on the same team.

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While four Hall of Famers spent time with Toronto, no player is currently in the Hall as a Toronto Blue Jay. Alomar said Wednesday that he wants to go in as a Toronto Blue Jays and was in Toronto when the announcement was made.

Andre Dawson wanted to go in as a Chicago Cub, but the Hall went with his years in Montréal. Alomar will very likely get his wish to go in as a Blue Jay.

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Tim Raines got 37.5% of the Hall of Fame vote, enough to keep him in the spotlight. Raines is one of a few long-time Montréal Expos who should be in the Hall of Fame, and should go in as an Expo.

picture credit: AP

Canadian anchor John Roberts jumps from CNN to Fox

John Roberts, who first hit fame as a VJ for MuchMusic in Canada, will have a new address in TV news. Roberts, who has been at CNN since 2006, will jump to the Fox 'News' Channel.

Roberts will work as a national correspondent based in Atlanta, where CNN is based. His fiancee is CNN anchor Kyra Phillips.

Roberts went to CNN after not getting the anchor post at the CBS Evening News; Roberts spent 14 years of a 17-year period with CBS News.

Despite the VJ start, Roberts also anchored "Canada AM," CTV's national morning news show.

Roberts is one of a few Canadians who have made their way onto American TV news. Peter Jennings, Morley Safer, Kevin Newman, and Arthur Kent are perhaps the best known Canadians on U.S. TV news.

Dawna Friesen, who was a reporter for NBC News for 11 years, went back to Canada in 2010 to take over as the nightly anchor for Global News.

Roberts' move to Fox might be helpful for Canadians in one regard. Fox 'News' isn't always happy about Canada and things Canadians do, such as universal health care.

Roberts might run into Ann Coulter in the halls and finally convince her that Canada did not send troops to Vietnam. Though we think Roberts was better suited for CNN, let's hope that his presence at Fox will at least improve the channel's knowledge of the Great White North.

photo credit: CNN

'Village on a Diet' shows Canadian perspective on group weight loss

Weight-loss reality shows are growing rather common, especially in the United States. But the new "Village on a Diet" on CBC expands the concept to a small town, and takes place in Taylor, BC.

Our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com, plans to cover the saga of the 1,384 residents as they try to lose 2,000 collective pounds in 10 weeks.

BalanceofFood.com will feature weekly updates on the show, so stay tuned for insights on the Canadian program.

Here's a link to the preview coverage for "Village on a Diet" from BalanceofFood.com.

2011 Winter Classic from the Canadian perspective

Even though the NHL Network went out of its way to note that the channel would show the rebroadcast of the Calgary-Edmonton game, the NHL Network blew off its coverage. So there was no Hockey Night in Canada action over the New Year's Day weekend on the NHL Network.

Technically, the cable channel did show the CBC coverage of the Winter Classic, something the channel hasn't done before. In fact, the channel showed the CBC version twice on Sunday, essentially substituting a second version of the CBC coverage instead of running the Calgary-Edmonton game.

The only pseudo-logical reasoning was that the NHL Network wanted to pretend no other NHL game existed at the same time as the Winter Classic.

Once again, the Winter Classic had a version of O Canada before the game. Former Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page did the honors, adding French for the first two lines of the third stanza, a combination not typically heard in any Canadian NHL city.

In NBC's coverage, Doc Emrick mentioned Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia quite a bit, since that is where Sidney Crosby grew up.

Those who rely on the CBC along the border must have had an intriguing night of hockey, depending on where they get the CBC. Those near CBC stations in Ontario got the Toronto at Ottawa game in its entirety followed by the conclusion of the Winter Classic and then the remainder of Calgary at Edmonton. In Alberta, they got the first period of Toronto at Ottawa, the second period of the Winter Classic, and all of Calgary at Edmonton. The rest of Canada got the first period of Toronto at Ottawa, all of the Winter Classic, and the conclusion of Calgary at Edmonton.

Given that through cable, Canadian viewers had an NBC feed of the Winter Classic, the patterns of TV watching on both sides of the border should prove intriguing.

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In watching some of the CBC coverage, you got more coverage of a hockey game vs. NBC's obsession over Crosby vs. Ovechkin. Back in the CBC studio, there was actually talk of how Crosby and Ovechkin didn't have good games. Nice to get that CBC perspective.

Let's hope if Versus doesn't give us the CBC feed of the Heritage Classic in February, then the NHL Network would show us how the CBC covers Canada's Heritage Classic.

And let's hope the NHL Network gives a bunch of hype for the Heritage Classic, though it likely won't be as intense as the Winter Classic coverage.

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For those of us who longed for the CBC's Canadian games, there is a mixed bag for U.S. viewers. You can watch some elements of Hockey Night in Canada online via CBCSports.ca. The in-between segments, especially Coach's Corner, and wrapups of games are readily available to those outside Canada. Full games, and for whatever reason, After Hours, are only available to Canadian ISPs.

Unofficially, you can check YouTube for a version of After Hours. Usually, they are just the main interview segments. I don't mean to not give credit to the person/people who does/do this, but I don't want to get them in trouble. I will admit to being a sincere fan of that person's efforts.

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The Hot Stove, which I watched online through the CBC, speculated on where next year's Winter Classic will take place. Pierre LeBrun, who primarily works for ESPN, talked about Lincoln Field in Philadelphia or possibly Denver for next year's site. Minnesota was mentioned, but the Wild aren't considered a "very sexy team."

LeBrun said the NHL prefers the football stadium model as opposed to the baseball stadium. If that is true, Philadelphia would be a better destination for the NHL. Denver's baseball stadium is a better, more exciting destination than its football stadium. And Minneapolis has a brand new nice baseball stadium, but its football situation is up in the air.

I personally thought the NHL would run toward the new Yankee Stadium and feature the New York Rangers, but the NHL isn't as New York-centric as other sports leagues. The stadium in the Bronx hosted a college football bowl game this year.

If the NHL feels that way about football stadiums, this would help Canada in its quest to continue the Heritage Classic. Canada has great football options coast-to-coast, and some good soccer choices. Baseball-wise, the only realistic options are Rogers Centre (retractable roof) and Olympic Stadium (permanent roof).

Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver have solid soccer options, if the NHL is willing to go with "only" a 25,000 capacity.

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The nighttime version of the Winter Classic reminded us of the first Heritage Classic, the previous only nighttime regular season NHL outdoors game. The conditions were too cold in Edmonton and still too warm in Pittsburgh.

But the powers that be will likely consider bringing the game back to nighttime, especially if that increases the number of cities where a Winter/Heritage Classic can take place. For those who may have thought Vancouver would never work out, that city's weather isn't any worse than Pittsburgh on Saturday night, though Vancouver's rain reputation would be an issue.

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This week, the NHL Network will show Pittsburgh at Montréal on Thursday, and Boston at Montréal on Saturday, along with the Detroit at Vancouver rebroadcast on Sunday. The weekend feeds will come from the CBC. Presumably, Thursday's game will come from the new TSN English coverage of Canadiens games that the network started this season.

However, since the game was on the NHL Network schedule BEFORE the TSN deal, the feed might come from Fox Sports Pittsburgh. The only other channel carrying the game is RDS — in Francais.