Canadian Crossing

Ottawa RedBlacks reportedly the new CFL franchise name

Ottawa RedBlacks.

That is the (still) unofficial nickname for the new Ottawa CFL franchise that will (finally) play in 2014. The RedBlacks name has been floating out there for some time, but the new logo and nickname were reportedly leaked in advance of the official June 8 announcement.

If you are among those CFL fans that forgot Ottawa had a team, you can be forgiven. Ottawa has suffered from long droughts of no football: 1997-2001 and 2006-present. The Renegades were very forgettable in its brief 4-season run. And the Rough Riders had a lost generation of a lack of success on the field.

Ottawa was actually awarded the CFL franchise in 2010 but construction delays in refurbishing Frank Clair Stadium has brought on delays.

Previous coverage:

Ottawa CFL team needs a new name, you can help decide

The RedBlacks (Rouge et Noir en Francaise) fits with the R alliteration of the first two nicknames. When the contest opened to rename the team, we suggested the Rideaus to celebrate Rideau Canal and the Rideau River. Rideau is curtain in French, and the curtain allegory for defense fit really well.

RedBlacks feels more like a soccer team nickname than a football nickname, but RedBlacks is better than Renegades or the Washington Wizards.

While Ottawa has suffered long droughts of no football, the bigger story is the drought the city suffered even with a football team.

How bad was the football in Ottawa?

The last playoff game was in 1994 when the 4-14 Rough Riders lost to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 26-16. The last playoff win goes back to 1982, a 30-20 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, in a season where Ottawa finished 5-11.

Ottawa posted a .500 record in 1992 (9-9) and 1983 (8-8), but last posted a winning record in 1979 with a 8-6-2 record. Joe Clark was prime minister the last time Ottawa finished above .500.

In the four seasons as the Renegades, Ottawa finished 7-11 in 2005 and 2003 with 3rd place finishes, 5-13 in 2004, and 4-14 with 2 overtime losses in 2002.

Getting football back to Ottawa is the first step. Getting them a winner will take much longer.

The best analogy in North America was the drought, on and off the field, for baseball in Washington. The Nationals snapped a 79-year playoff-less streak in 2012 and the city went from 1972-2004 without baseball. Ironically, the Nationals used to be the Montréal Expos.

Photo credit: sportslogos.net

Canadian TV assignments for 2013 Stanley Cup semifinals

The CBC, getting first pick in covering the 2013 conference finals, will stay out East. Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla, and the Canadians on the Boston squad made staying with the East too tempting. Plus, assuming overtime isn't part of the equation, "The National" can start not too far from normal — around 11 Eastern.

TSN won't be in such bad shape with the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings taking on an Original 6 Midwestern team, the Chicago NHL franchise. Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro will have all the action. TSN will carry Games 1-3 of the Western Conference final.

CBC will carry Games 4-7 of the series starting in Los Angeles on June 6.

Bob Cole, Kelly Hrudey, Garry Galley, and Cassie Campbell-Pascall will handle those duties. Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, Glenn Healy, and Scott Oake will be out east.

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For the U.S. audience, NBC Sports Network will dominate the coverage. NBC will carry Game 1 of the East and Game 5 (if needed) of the West in prime time on Saturday nights. Doc Emrick, Ed Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire will be in the East and Dave Strader, Darren Pang, and Brian Engblom will be out West.

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The last 5 teams left in the Stanley Cup fight won the last 5 Stanley Cup championships: Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. Gary Bettman isn't upset by this one bit.

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Patrick Roy would have looked good behind the bench as the new coach of the Quebec Nordiques. Of course, the Coyotes are still trapped in Phoenix (thanks, Gary Bettman) so Roy was smart to take up the opportunity from his former teammate Joe Sakic in Denver.

Still, when Quebec finally returns to the league and the Avalanche come to town, Roy ought to get a warm reception, even in the middle of a cold Quebec winter.

New U.S. label wars impacting Canadian meat and ranchers

Does it really matter whether the beef you eat is Canadian or "American"? If you live in the United States, you now have a better idea of the source of your meat, and Canadian ranchers are furious.

The new rules kicked in last week, but Canadian ranchers have been hurt from the initial set of labeling rules for some time. The price for that Canadian cattle has been falling, which is why Canadian ranchers are concerned that the numbers will drop even further.

The labeling laws require Canadian cattle to be segregated in an industry where time means money, and when Canadian cattle go on the market, ranchers get less money for the cattle.

The old labeling system noted all countries involved in the process, but now lists something along the lines of "Born in Canada, raised and slaughtered in the United States."

The United States made this move to appease World Trade Organization standards. Canada and Mexico are threatening retaliation.

This isn't like meat from large distances around the world; cattle go back and forth between the two countries.

The new rules apply to steaks and roasts, not to ground meat.

If U.S. plants are reluctant to deal with Canadian cattle because of labeling rules, then you can see where Canada is upset.

Yes, it is good to know where your food is coming from. But the new laws don't really change that, and is harming Canadian beef in the process.

Harper government needs to help get people to visit Canada

One of the themes of CanadianCrossing.com since Day 1 is that Canada is a cool travel destination. Unfortunately, some are not as excited as I am about Canada.

In a recent story on CBC radio, I heard that Canada had dropped from 7th to 18th in international tourism receipts over the past decade. And this is on the heels of booming global tourism.

So what has the Harper government done to help this downward trend? Cut the marketing budget for Canadian tourism.

Keeping taxes and fees high at Canadian airports so tourists are more reluctant to fly into Canada. Eliminate the GST rebate program for tourists in 2007. And make the dollar stronger so tourists are less likely to come.

While the Harper government might take credit for the last part, there are advantages to the country to have a stronger dollar. But the strong dollar does hurt tourism.

If the federal government isn't going to help, and you can't imagine that Stephen Harper stays up late worrying about tourist numbers, then others will have to step in.

For the provinces and territories, getting people to Canada is nice, but they really want you to visit their province or territory. If you go to Ottawa, your trip can easily involve Ontario and Quebec. And of course, getting from one Maritime province to another isn't as difficult. Otherwise, your destination is more of a province than a country.

The Canadian Tourism Commission recently held a luncheon for travel writers in Chicago where provincial representatives answered questions. I've been to 5 of the 10 provinces, so I had stories for the places I've been, and curiosity for the places to come.

Last year, I made my first trip to Alberta and went back to Montréal. These trips don't include the annual trip to Windsor for its international film festival.

This year's docket includes Vancouver (haven't been since 2008) and a possible trip to New Brunswick (and maybe Prince Edward Island) plus the Windsor trip.

Booking vacations to Canada require more work and patience than booking a trip within the United States. Do I want to go to Vegas or Orlando? New Orleans or San Francisco? Seattle or Boston? Web sites will line up to offer me crazy airfare/hotel/car deals.

I delayed a trip to Alberta in part because finding a direct flight to the province at a reasonable cost was difficult. The Maritimes will definitely require a car rental, which is fine, but lining that up is a lot harder from Moncton than Las Vegas.

Porter Airlines offers sales more frequently than I can count. WestJet has a nice deal to Calgary, which helped. And the people running the tourism and travel for the provinces are very helpful in guiding you to a great vacation. In fact, Quebec has launched a Web site geared at Americans to entice them to come visit.

The best way to learn about Canada — besides CanadianCrossing.com — is to see it for yourself. A couple of years ago, I came up with a bucket list of things to do in Canada. I might need to update this for myself, but this can give you a few ideas.

While many private and public companies have stepped up to make things easier for people to see the wonder of Canada, these organizations can use a lot of help. That help should come from Ottawa. Tourism is an easy way to increase the perception of your country, while also creating jobs. Prime Minister Harper, this is the time to step up and help out the cause.

Stanley Cup notebook: Ottawa Senators season is done

The primary advantage with having the Montréal Canadiens come out of the first round instead of the Ottawa Senators is not having to worry about the Pittsburgh Penguins until the Eastern Conference final.

Ottawa had a good season and a really good 1st round win over the Canadiens. However, the Sens ran into a buzzsaw in the Penguins, and now are done for the year.

The last two games were a bit ugly at times. Ottawa can use those moments to grow as a team.

Montréal would have had an intriguing series with Boston in the 2nd round, but couldn't get past a team that was better in the 1st round, i.e., the Senators.

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As long as we are playing "what if," the Toronto Maple Leafs would have had a much better time with the New York Rangers in the 2nd round. The Leafs and Sens were good enough to make the playoffs in 2013. But making the playoffs should be only the start for these teams. Pittsburgh and Boston are the elite teams in this conference.

Under the new playoff format, the Eastern Canadian teams won't have to worry about Pittsburgh — except for the crossover — until the Eastern Conference final. Boston is another story. And let's not forget that the Eastern teams will also have to deal with the hottest team currently in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: Detroit Red Wings.

The Canadiens, Maple Leafs, and Senators should have enough to be in the mix for next year's playoffs. If Boston and Detroit make the playoffs, only 2 of the 3 will be in the playoffs — except for the crossover.

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20 years. Next year it will be 21 years. A whole generation of Canada, Canadians, and those who like Canada hasn't seen a Stanley Cup north of the border. Odds are this won't happen any time soon.

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While we would have loved to hear Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson call the Sens 2nd round series, Kenny Albert and Pierre McGuire were about as good as we could get from the NBC people. Albert did another nice job, and McGuire was an unexpected treat. The schedule released by NBC mentioned Brian Engblom in the colour role.

But NBC had some juggling to do as Doc Emrick was out Thursday in Detroit. Let's hope NBC keeps Albert around for more 2nd round games, and some 1st round games, too.

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No anthems in the NBC feed once again. Won't blame Albert for that (ha ha).

In the second intermission, Liam McHugh made a crack about "CSI: Ottawa" over Senators' owner Eugene Melnyk's investigation over Matt Cooke's "accidental" skate that tore Erik Karlsson's Achilles tendon.

This isn't to pick on McHugh, who made a lame transition into talking about Cooke. But if this had happened to a prominent defenseman on a team that NBC cared about (Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago), the guys on set wouldn't be joking so much.

One of the standard lines was that "these things happen." Well, no one else in the NHL had their Achilles tendon severed, accident or otherwise.

If Cooke hadn't "accidentally" severed Karlsson's tendon, Ottawa would have had a better record and a better seed, and might have lasted longer in the playoffs. The fact that Ottawa went as far as the team did with Karlsson's injury and Jason Spezza;s back problems is rather impressive.

But when Cooke tries this crap on one of NBC''s teams, they better not cry to us. We won't be that sympathetic.

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Where should the loyalties lie for CanadianCrossing.com in the Stanley Cup playoffs? Jarome Iginla offers some loyalty. Iginla is one of our favorite NHL players, thought rooting for him in this past series wasn't viable. Rooting for Iginla in the Eastern final, especially against Boston, will be extremely easy.

In the West, Detroit Red Wings is a logical pick since you can see Canada from the Joe Louis Arena. Honestly, a Detroit-Los Angeles Western final would be truly amazing. Chicago has Toews, Keith, and Seabrook, but the Red Wings have been smarter and craftier in the 2nd round.

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Not to neglect Winnipeg, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton in terms of the new playoff system. Winnipeg has a decent shot at making the Central Division playoffs, though that could mean a meeting with Chicago. Still the playoffs would be a step up for the Jets. In the Thrashers/Jets franchise, the number of playoff wins still rests at 0.

Vancouver will have to battle to get home ice advantage. Their travel should be reduced, so that will help. But the Canucks need to decide what kind of team they will bring in October and who will be the #1 goalie.

As for the Flames and Oilers, they will play in the 2013-2014 NHL season and their seasons are likely to end in early April.

2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs scoreboard

2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Eastern Conference

(1) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa Pittsburgh wins series 4-1
Date	Location	Time	U.S. TV
May 14	Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 1	7:30p	NBCSN
May 17	Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 3	7:30p	NBCSN
May 19	Ottawa 2, Pittsburgh 1 (2OT)	7:30p	NBCSN
May 22	Pittsburgh 7, Ottawa 3	7:30p	NBCSN
May 24	Pittsburgh 6, Ottawa 2	7:30p	NBCSN
All games on CBC and RDS in Canada.

 

(2) Montréal vs. (7) Ottawa Ottawa wins series 4-1
Date	Location	Time	U.S. TV
May 2	Ottawa 4, Montréal 2	7p	CNBC*
May 3	Montréal 3, Ottawa 1	7p	CNBC*
May 5	Ottawa 6, Montréal 1	7p	NBCSN*
May 7	Ottawa 3, Montréal 2 (OT)	7p	CNBC*
May 9	Ottawa 6, Montréal 1	7p	CNBC*
All games on CBC and RDS in Canada.

 

(4) Boston vs. (5) Toronto Boston wins series 4-3
Date	Location	Time	U.S. TV
May 1	Boston 4, Toronto 1	7p	CNBC
May 4	Toronto 4, Boston 2	7p	CNBC*
May 6	Boston 5, Toronto 2	7p	NHLN*
May 8	Boston 4, Toronto 3 (OT)	7p	CNBC*
May 10	Toronto 2, Boston 1	7p	NHLN*
May 12	Toronto 2, Boston 1	7:30p	NBCSN*
May 13	Boston 5, Toronto 4 (OT)	7p	CNBC
All games on CBC and RDS in Canada.

 

Western Conference

(3) Vancouver vs. (6) San Jose San Jose wins series 4-0
Date	Location	Time	U.S. TV
May 1	San Jose 3, Vancouver 1	10:30p	NBCSN
May 3	San Jose 3, Vancouver 2 (OT)	10p	CNBC
May 5	San Jose 5, Vancouver 2	10p	NBCSN
May 7	San Jose 4, Vancouver 3 (OT)	10p	CNBC
All games on TSN and RDS in Canada.

all times Eastern Daylight Time
* Canadian TV feed
+ if needed

Stanley Cup notebook: Ottawa Senators fell hard in Game 4

Ottawa Senators fans can now relate to where Toronto Maple Leafs were after Game 4 in the first round. And that isn't a good thought.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were down 3-1 in the first round and had to go back to the other city, not knowing whether they were return back home. Now the Ottawa Senators are in the same place, not knowing whether the series will go back to Ottawa. The Maple Leafs showed that a comeback is possible with 2-1 wins in Game 5 and Game 6. Craig Anderson will have to play that well for the Sens to stay alive.

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Ottawa had its first lead of the series when Colin Greening scored the OT winner in Game 3. Having 1-0 and 2-1 leads wasn't much of a blessing once Pittsburgh scored two quick goals at the beginning of the second period.

Jarome Iginla scored two goals for Pittsburgh, and he looks very happy to be where he is. Kenny Albert pointed out that the opening series win over the New York Islanders was the first time since Calgary's Stanley Cup run in 2004 that Iginla was involved in a playoff series win. Good for Iginla; bad for the Calgary Flames.

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This may be the only time in Ottawa's postseason, but U.S. announcers finally got the anthems. Lyndon Slewidge (above) had on the Sens jersey and red bow tie instead of his usual police uniform (Slewidge is a retired OPP officer). The big Canadian flag in the crowd was a glorious sight. Slewidge added a nice touch by having the crowd singing the last third of the anthem a cappella.

In the first 9 Senators playoff games, CBC viewers were likely treated to 9 anthems. U.S. viewers got 1 anthem. NBC gets points for carrying every game, but they still need lots of work on style.

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We could give Kenny Albert the credit for the anthem. After all, this was the first game he did and we got an anthem. Albert did a good job, mostly because he stayed away from the false NBC storytelling effect. Albert called the game that was in front of him and not one by some script. Quite frankly, Brian Engblom had a better game, too.

The impression I get is that Dave Strader will call Game 5 in Pittsburgh if Boston wins Game 4. Engblom will call that Game 4 in New York. If not, let's hope Kenny Albert is still available. As much as we want Ottawa to go to a Game 7, hopefully we're done with Rick Peckham for the postseason.

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Loved the opening shot of the Parliament building in Ottawa. I should also acknowledge a nighttime shot of the Parliament building in Game 3, and Peckham did mention the Victoria Day weekend. Want to give credit to those giving Ottawa some exposure.

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If you watched the CBC feed for Game 4 of the Ottawa series, you would have noticed a new face in the panel segments. Martin Brodeur, currently New Jersey's star goalie, joined the Hockey Night in Canada crew. Brodeur will also be there tonight and Friday night. He is the second Quebecois on the set alongside P.J. Stock.

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CBC has been rather lonely without its regular Saturday night hockey coverage. When the Sens wrapped up the 1st round series in 5 games, CBC lost out on its Saturday night hockey game.

CBC will get its Saturday night hockey game this weekend, albeit with a 1-hour delay from its regular 7 pm Eastern start. CBC will carry Game 5 of the Hawks-Wings series at 8 pm Eastern Saturday night, no big deal for the CBC. But Saturday night offers up an extremely rare treat on the U.S. side, a prime-time game on NBC outside a special event, Stanley Cup final or Winter Classic or All-Star Game. For the CBC, it's just another Saturday night.

This series has to be great for Red Wings fans without cable on either side of the border since they can choose the CBC for all the games and NBC for select games such as Game 5.

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Alain Vigneault was not the reason why the Vancouver Canucks didn't get out of the first round this year or didn't win the Cup in 2011. But Vigneault and two assistant coaches did pay the price by losing their jobs.

Vigneault's cool, calm demeanor suited the team and its city. But losing 10 of the last 11 playoff games won't cut it in a city with high expectations.

Whomever Mike Gillis and the Canucks bring in better be good, and have a solid plan over how to improve this team.

The Canucks divisional foes will be a lot tougher next season, especially with Los Angeles and San Jose playing for a shot at the Western Conference final.

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photo credit: Ottawa Senators

Daily Show pokes fun at Rob Ford's (alleged) crack

Part I

Part II

Just because Rob Ford (allegedly) smoked crack doesn't mean all Canadians smoke crack. Besides, you would think Canada was more of a crystal meth country.

Jon Stewart, on a Canadian roll this week, took a gander up north at Rob Ford's latest scandal.

Stewart ran clips of Toronto's mayor in bumbling situations, such as falling down on the football field and walking into a camera to showcase his odd behavior as if something was wrong. Like being on crack.

Stewart also showed a photo of Ford with his arm around a Neo-Nazi and a clip of Ford using racial slurs against Asians in a City Council meeting before becoming mayor. That could just be Ford being Ford.

Previous coverage:

Happy Victoria Day 2013

Canadian politics notebook: Rob Ford's alleged crack use

The crack analogy was handled by Senior Canadian Correspondents Samantha Bee and Jason Jones, who are Canadian in real life. In the segment, Jones was buying crack for his family, including his three children. They portrayed smoking crack and giving oral sex for crack as part of the Canadian heritage.

"Why do you think they only sell alcohol in government-run dispensaries. We can't be trusted with anything." said Bee, referring to LCBO and Beer Stores in Ontario.

Stewart was dismayed that Canadians seemed so polite yet under the surface were crack addicts.

When Jones asked Bee if she wanted some crack, she asked "Is Iqaluit the capital of Nunavut?" Stewart and Jones looked dumbfounded. "Yea, it is. Give me the f---ing crack," she replied, confirming that Iqaluit is the capital of Nunavut, Canada's newest territory.

What makes Ford's behavior even more odd is that he is so unlike most Canadians and Torontoians. Most Canadians and Torontoians are open, friendly, and tolerant. Ford is none of those things.

And most Canadians aren't crack addicts, though it was fun imagining that for a few minutes.

Canadian film notebook: Not always 100% Canadian content

Two recent Canadian films to come through my part of the United States illustrate the extremes in determining Canadian content in a film.

"Eddie the Sleepwalking Cannibal" is a Canada-Denmark production, but the film feels very Canadian. The only obvious Denmark element stems from the lead actor, who is an outsider in the plot of an artist who comes to a remote Canadian town to teach art.

The Danish artist is put in charge of Eddie, who is a bit slow. His "hobby" is that he goes out in his underwear in the middle of the night and eats people.

The pace and humour feels Canadian. The Danish element fits in well with the necessary outsider, aided by the fact that remote and cold play well in both countries.

"Slaughter Nick for President" is a documentary about a Canadian actor Rob Stewart but the film is mostly about his experience in Serbia. If you miss the first 10 minutes of the film, you'll miss Canada entirely. About half of the film's time in Canada is spent at Pearson International Airport in Toronto.

Stewart starred as Nick Slaughter in "Tropical Heat" (aka Sweating Bullets) from 1991-1993. The show was one of several Canadian productions that aired on CBS late night throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Ironically, the show was produced with the cooperation of Mexico and Israel, so in no way was the program 100% Canadian (especially with the tropics involved).

Stewart finds out accidentally that his character and the show were popular in Serbia in the 1990s. So Stewart gets a filmmaker friend, the friend's sister, and the three of them go to Serbia.

So the film is a Canadian film even if the focus and location is not about Canada.

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"Stories We Tell" is currently playing in a limited release in U.S. markets (yes, this includes Chicago). Sarah Polley's latest film is self-reflective, well, her family reflective of discovering that the man Polley thought was her father isn't her biological father.

As regular readers know, I saw "Stories We Tell" in November in Windsor and saw the film last night in Chicago.

The peeling of the onion that naturally falls from the initial questioning would be incredible if an outside filmmaker had made this film. The fact that Polley is the epicenter of this story and approaches it from within the onion is brave, bold, and imaginative.

My only criticism of the film, and I felt this in my original review, is that the film doesn't know how to end. Then again, the story from the film is still ongoing.

This film, while likely limited to major cities, got a better U.S. deal that what happened to "Take This Waltz." Hopefully, any good results from this film will guide more people to see what an amazing filmmaker Polley is.

Jon Stewart shares love of Canada with Ellen Page

"Have you ever visited somewhere where people were angry at Canadians?"

Knowing Ellen Page was going to be on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," we were hoping Canada would come up in the conversation. Thanks to some Canadians in the audience, we got a spirited conversation as Stewart played off them in talking to Page.

Page responded to that question by saying she wouldn't blame people or places that weren't happy with Canadians, noting that "we're not perfect."

"From a Canadian perspective, what would you take issue with because we look at it up there and say 'Where are your bank failures?'" Stewart asked.

Page did note that the tar sands are "decimating our environment." "But you have so much environment to decimate," Stewart replied.

Page mentioned the great health care and how there is misinformation on "Foxy News" about Canadian health care.

Stewart also noted that Canadians are "kind, down-to-earth, honest." Page helped up Stewart by summed up why Canadians are different.

"There's a little more camaraderie of spirit, a little less fear, and take care of each other a bit more."

Stewart also had nice things to say about Halifax, Page's hometown.

"This is not to offend people in Canada who live in other areas, maybe the most beautiful area of Canada. It's pretty gorgeous."

Stewart asked Page if she lives in Halifax. Page says she lives in Los Angeles. For what it's worth, Wikipedia says Page lives in Halifax, but this may be a way of trying to stay relevant in Hollywood but not admitting to living in Canada. Or Wikipedia's mistaken.

Stewart is correct: Halifax is beautiful. So are other parts of Canada. We'll have more next week on travel in Canada this summer. But for now, check out the video of the interview.