Canadian Crossing

NHL 2013-2014 Canadian teams TV schedule

Montréal leads the way with 15 appearances, 12 of them on the NHL Network. The Habs will have 7 home games and 8 road games on TV, mostly CBC simulcasts. Toronto is right behind with 14 telecasts, all but one on the NHL Network. Toronto has 8 home contests and 6 road games, including the Winter Classic on NBC.

Vancouver and Ottawa each have 8, including the Heritage Classic on NBCSN. Of the 7 games, Vancouver has 2 home games while Ottawa has 5 home games.

The Winnipeg matinee is the Jets only U.S. national appearance, but at least they are at home. Once again, no U.S. national outlet will show a game in the province of Alberta. The Flames and Oilers each have 1 road game, both Saturday matinees in Philadelphia, so you know the NHL Network will pick up the CSN-Philadelphia feed.

-- NBCSN, as NBC Sports Network is now called, will carry 3 Canadiens games, plus the Heritage Classic on March 2 from B.C. Place. Montréal will travel to Madison Square Garden on October 28. The Habs and Bruins will tangle on the U.S. cable channel twice in March: 12 at Bell Centre and 24 in Boston. And of course, NBC will carry its first Toronto Maple Leafs game since, er, we really don't know. The Winter Classic from Ann Arbor will be on January 1 at 1 pm Eastern time.

-- If you aren't distracted by your family, you can watch 5 NHL games in the Thanksgiving break, starting with an all-Canadian matchup on Thanksgiving Day with Vancouver @ Ottawa. You might remember that the NHL had set this matchup in the original schedule for last year before the lockout. In what might be the only time in NHL history, both Canucks-Senators will be on U.S. TV. The Habs will travel to Washington on a Friday for a special 5 pm start. The NHL Network will also carry the return of John Tortorella to Madison Square Garden (and Alain Vigneault's first game against his old team) on Saturday afternoon, followed by the Leafs and Habs from the Bell Centre for Hockey Night in Canada. The festivities conclude Sunday night with a Red Wings trip into Canada's capital.

-- Hockey Day in Canada will be partially acknowledged by the NHL Network, carrying 2 of the 4 Hockey Day in Canada telecasts on January 18 from Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan. The channel will have the lone American team (New York Rangers) in Ottawa and the Montréal/Toronto rivalry from the Air Canada Centre.

-- The NHL Network will only carry one live late HNIC game, and ironically for me, the game involves the Chicago team in Vancouver on November 23. We count 16 prime time CBC simulcasts, all on Saturday nights. The two Saturday CBC matinees are one of the HDIC games and a November 2 contest with Chicago at Winnipeg (again, bad fortune).

-- The only way you can hear a TSN simulcast is to rely on the rebroadcasts or purchase Center Ice or GameCenter Live.

Canadian teams on U.S. television
Date	Game	Time	Networks
October 8	New Jersey @ Vancouver	10p	NHLN
October 19	Vancouver @ Pittsburgh	1p	NHLN
October 19	Toronto @ Chicago	7p	CBC/NHLN
October 25	Anaheim @ Ottawa	7:30p	NHLN
October 28	Montréal @ NY Rangers	7:30p	NBCSN
November 2	Chicago @ Winnipeg	3p	CBC/NHLN
November 9	Edmonton @ Philadelphia	1p	NHLN
November 9	Toronto @ Boston	7p	CBC/NHLN
November 16	NY Rangers @ Montréal	7p	CBC/NHLN
November 23	Washington @ Toronto	7p	CBC/NHLN
November 23	Chicago @ Vancouver	10p	CBC/NHLN
November 28	Vancouver @ Ottawa	7:30p	NHLN
November 29	Montréal @ Washington	5p	NHLN
November 30	Vancouver @ NY Rangers	2p	NHLN
November 30	Toronto @ Montréal	7p	CBC/NHLN
December 1	Detroit @ Ottawa	5:30p	NHLN
December 12	Montréal @ Philadelphia	7p	NHLN
December 14	Los Angeles @ Ottawa	2p	NHLN
December 16	Toronto @ Pittsburgh	7p	NHLN
December 20	Vancouver @ Chicago	8p	NHLN
December 21	Detroit @ Toronto	7p	CBC/NHLN
January 1	Toronto @ Detroit	1p	CBC & NBC
January 4	NY Rangers @ Toronto	7p	CBC/NHLN
January 11	Chicago @ Montréal	7p	CBC/NHLN
January 18	NY Rangers @ Ottawa	2p	CBC/NHLN
January 18	Montréal @ Toronto	7p	CBC/NHLN
January 24	Montréal @ Detroit	7:30p	NHLN
January 30	Montréal @ Boston	7p	NHLN
February 1	Ottawa @ Toronto	7p	CBC/NHLN
February 8	Calgary @ Philadelphia	1p	NHLN
February 8	Vancouver @ Toronto	6p	CBC/NHLN
March 2	Ottawa @ Vancouver	4p	CBC & NBCSN
March 12	Boston @ Montréal	7:30p	NBCSN
March 15	Ottawa @ Montréal	7p	CBC/NHLN
March 22	Montréal @ Toronto	7p	CBC/NHLN
March 24	Montréal @ Boston	7:30p	NBCSN
March 29	Detroit @ Toronto	7p	CBC/NHLN
April 5	Detroit @ Montréal	7p	CBC/NHLN
April 12	NY Rangers @ Montréal	7p	CBC/NHLN
Live telecasts only. All times Eastern.

2013-2014 NHL season preview

The excitement of the upcoming NHL season may depend on whether you root for an Eastern Canada team or a Western Canada team. As for the Winnipeg Jets, the team is sort of west, but more central, finally playing teams in its own time zone.

If you root for a Western Canada team, you like aren't overjoyed with the arrival of the season. The Vancouver Canucks did make the playoffs, but won as many playoff games as the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers combined.

The Canucks have a new coach, a new/old "permanent" goalie, and no longer have a safe haven in finishing first in the division. This might be the first year in awhile where the Canucks could open the playoffs on the road.

As for the Flames and Oilers, officials will be carding the players since they are so young. And the teams might be eliminated from playoff competition by Canadian Thanksgiving.

The joy of having 3 Eastern Canadian teams in the playoffs will be short-lived since the new format will mean that Montréal, Ottawa, and Toronto will battle each other to knock one of the teams out of the playoffs. With Boston and Detroit virtually penciled in for the playoffs, there are only 2 more spots. The third team could crossover to the other Eastern division, but let's worry about that come spring.

Winnipeg would also have a long shot at getting into the playoffs with Chicago and St. Louis likely cemented in the first two spots. Battling Minnesota, Nashville, and a highly improved Dallas team may be more than the Jets can handle. At least most of the travel excuses are gone.

---

In case summertime made you forget the new divisions and their strange non-human names, here is a gentle reminder:

Pacific: Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver
Central: Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, Winnipeg
Atlantic: Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montréal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto
Metropolitan: Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington

We may refer to them as Smythe, Norris, Adams, and Patrick during the season. But at least you know what the Bettman names are for the divisions.

---

TV coverage of Canadian teams is at an all-new low, and complaining about this sounds like fun. The call for NHL GameCenter Live is a lot louder this year, especially after purchasing a Roku box. The approx. $150 cost probably isn't that bad, especially if my cable company wanted to be generous and give me a discount on what I don't watch on my cable package.

I especially like the idea of watching CBC games involving the Chicago NHL franchise at a later date. Otherwise, on those weeks, I miss Hockey Night in Canada.

The schedule does not include NHL Network rebroadcasts. With only one live late Hockey Night in Canada game on the schedule, we'll have to wait and see if we can get back the late game rebroadcasts and "After Hours," but that might be dreaming.

Let us know how you will (or won't) be enjoying the new NHL season in the comments section below.

2013 CFL Week 14 preview

NBCSN is back on the air with the CFL with its first tape-delayed broadcast of the season. Canadians can watch the B.C. Lions in Winnipeg at 8 pm Eastern, but the U.S. audience will have to wait 2½ hours for the delayed telecast.

Allow enough time on the DVR in case we get a halftime show and all of the game action. And we saw from last Friday, if OT is needed.

Even though the game is tape-delayed, Americans can't watch the game live on ESPN3.

B.C. (on its way up) and Saskatchewan (on its way down) try to break their second-place tie against struggling East opponents. Calgary tries to get back to its winning ways against a hot Tiger-Cats squad. And the Argos will try to fatten up against Edmonton.

---

NBC Sports Network

Friday
BC @ Winnipeg, 10:30p (TSN tape delay)

TSN

Friday
BC @ Winnipeg, 8p
Saturday
Calgary @ Hamilton, 6p
Toronto @ Edmonton, 9p
Sunday
Saskatchewan @ Montréal, 1p

Montréal games also air on RDS. ESPN3 carries all non-TV games in U.S.

---

We, along with others, have joked about Rod Black's man crush on Cris Carter, as emphasized every time Black mentions Duron Carter's legacy when talking about the Montréal wide receiver.

Imagine my chagrin when I saw Rod Black on the field in Moncton talking to … Cris Carter.

To be fair, meeting Carter is pretty cool, regardless of anything else. And Duron Carter had a great game in a losing cause in front of his parents.

My pictures of the two of them are from very far away, but I did see it with my own eyes. As Carter was walking into the tunnel, I joked that the Alouettes could use him. He said to ask Coach Popp.

A side note: as an undergrad at Northwestern, I got a chance to work the sideline for TBS. I had the Ohio State side and one of the players I got to cue to go onto the field was Cris Carter.

---

I'll have much more on Touchdown Atlantic when I'm back. But I can say the crowd really loved it. Every CFL team was represented with a jersey, including Ottawa. And Moncton Stadium needs a bit more work to be CFL ready.

Troy Smith might be the Alouettes last hope. Josh Neiswander can throw the ball, but isn't a runner. With Tanner Marsh out and Anthony Calvillo out until further notice, the offense needs help.

Hamilton is playing its best football.and deserves all that it has right now. Henry Burris and Dan LeFevour are Tiger-Cats assets the Alouettes would love to have.

---

We always note to add extra time to taping the CFL games just in case for OT. Well, Edmonton and Winnipeg needed a little extra time to finish their game.

---

Having Chris Cuthbert handle preseason NHL games and a trip to Moncton might have been too much. Cuthbert and Glen Suitor stayed in the Prairies for the weekend. Black and Duane Forde had the honors in Moncton, as we noted. Gord Miller and Matt Dunigan handled duties in Calgary.

The CFL had 5 pm/5:30 pm starting times in Moncton and Calgary, meaning both games ended in nightfall. Getting to be that time of year.

Granville Island is a great way to start a day in Vancouver

Is Granville Island a tourist trap, as noted in the graffiti above, or an opportunity to save money versus sit down dinners in Vancouver?

The difference lies in how you take in this treasure from a food and Canadian standpoint.

Tourist traps usually involve huge sums of money for not a great experience. You can walk or bike around the island seeing beautiful views for no money. You can get a coffee or treat and eat al fresco with a great view of Vancouver; compare that to the view from your nearby Starbucks.

Like most major markets, there are bargains and overpriced food. The smarter shoppers know how to navigate through the extensive number of food options.

Case in point, a very fine bagel place offers a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese for a price that is higher than you might want to pay. More than I wanted to pay. However, if you buy the bagel alone with some butter, and then buy smoked salmon from another vendor in the market, you can get exactly what you wanted for a lot less money.

I bought 100 grams of smoked salmon for $4.40 and with the bagel, the meal cost me less than $6 (and I saved the rest of the salmon for later). The bagel place wanted close to $9 for the bagel, less smoked salmon, and cream cheese.

During my last trip, I bought a $5 tart that fell short of what it should have been, especially at that price. But I really wanted a tart, and I paid the price.

I also bought cherries for a reasonable price and paid much less for beautiful radishes. I got a nice demi baguette with more smoked salmon and made a picnic later at the beach.

These impromptu meals were a lot cheaper than the food trucks or sustainable fish or sit-down meals or even the poutine I ate in Vancouver. Creating an impromptu meal helps you avoid tips and the extra money that would go to overhead.

On Thursday mornings during the summer, Granville Island hosts a farmers market outside the year-round market. Depending on your needs and desires, you might find that a better deal than what is happening on the inside.

Living in a city that doesn't have a year-round indoor market like Granville Island, the desire to shop at a place where you can be tempted by bargains and ripoffs is overwhelming. Granville Island is also a social gathering spot, and a great way to finish off a run, walk, or bike ride.

Tourists from the United States might find food prices in Vancouver to be expensive. Compared to the States, most people in those countries do spend more for food. And for some items, you might find an extra "tourist tax."

Chances are you don't have a place as nice and wondrous as Granville Island just sitting there. And the island does have some bargains, even if they are harder to find.

When I travel to Vancouver, I like starting my day down by the water. I catch up with my writing and people watch. I eat breakfast and enjoy relaxing in a beautiful spot.

If I ever got the chance to live in Vancouver, you would see me there a lot more often.

 

2013 CFL Week 13 preview

My TV listings have ESPN2 carrying an extra CFL game this week with the rematch of the two worst CFL teams battling at Investors Group Field. Let's hope this isn't a mirage.

Then again, you'll need to tell me since I'll be in Moncton for the Touchdown Atlantic game on Saturday. The 5 pm start in Moncton should proved intriguing since the game will end after the sun goes down. The officials shrank the available seats, so we'll see how close they will be to a sellout. Then again, Moncton has already sold more seats than Guelph holds.

Besides the pageantry of the CFL in the Maritimes, second place in the East is on the line. The Saturday night doubleheader concludes with a battle of first-place teams in Calgary with a 5:30 pm local start.

The Lions attempt to gain some ground in the West on Sunday, though Saskatchewan is great at home and coming off a loss and B.C. isn't good on the road. B.C. will be without Travis Lulay for at least 2 weeks with his shoulder injury. The Roughriders will be without Kory Sheets.

---

ESPN2

Friday
Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 8p (TSN simulcast)

TSN

Friday
Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 8p
Saturday
Montréal @ Hamilton, 4p (Touchdown Atlantic — Moncton)
Toronto @ Calgary, 7:30p
Sunday
BC @ Saskatchewan, 4:30p

Montréal games also air on RDS. ESPN3 carries all non-TV games in U.S.

---

Saskatchewan was the only West team to lose to an East team in last week's parallel universe contests. Calgary and B.C. continued their home dominance. And Edmonton became the last CFL team to win a home game.

The Roughriders fell into second place for the first time this season. The Argonauts solidifed its first-place status, 2 games ahead of Hamilton and 3 games on top of Montréal.

Toronto is the best road team in league and pulled off an impressive comeback win in a tough stadium, giving Saskatchewan its first home loss of the season.

---

CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon and Prime Minister Stephen Harper were in Vancouver for the Montréal-B.C. game. Cohon was there on his tour of CFL stadiums. As for the prime minister, well, since he prorogued Parliament, he has some extra time on his hands.

---

Henry Burris might best represent the opportunity for quarterbacks who don't quite make it in the NFL to find a new lease on life in the CFL.

Some Chicago Bears fans remember Burris from his NFL stint in 2002. They might be shocked to realize that Burris has now thrown for over 50,000 yards in the CFL.

Burris went over the 50,000 mark Friday night against his old team, Calgary. Burris leads the CFL in passing this year with 3,589 yards so far for Hamilton.

Anthony Calvillo, Damon Allen, Ron Lancaster, and Danny McManus are the only CFL quarterbacks that rank ahead of Burris.

---

You wouldn't have made much money since the odds weren't good, but you could have beat the farm, house, and car on the Lions beating the Alouettes in Vancouver on Sunday.

True, Montréal was without Anthony Calvillo and Brandon Whitaker, but the Alouettes haven't done well in Vancouver. Montréal did win in Empire Field when the Lions were in their temporary home, otherwise, the visitors haven't won in B.C. Place in the last 13 games in the stadium. The Lions are perfect at home, and had revenge on their minds from the last-second loss at Molson Stadium.

---

We saw 5 quarterbacks in the game in Vancouver, but Buck Pierce wasn't one of them. The Alouettes played Tanner Marsh, but also ran Troy Smith and Josh Neiswander out there. Travis Lulay hurt his throwing shoulder on a late run, and Thomas DeMarco came in to relieve.

Paul McCallum, giving hope to 40-year-olds everywhere played in his 300th CFL game on Sunday. One of the truly good guys in the league.

---

With the home stadiums being out west this past week, Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor took one of the Alberta games (Calgary) and Vancouver. Rod Black and Duane Forde were in Edmonton while Gord Miller and Matt Dunigan had the best teams and the best game of the week in Regina.

Applause goes to those who went Friday night in Calgary and Saturday afternoon in Edmonton. Having done the same, but in reverse, seeing two CFL games in two days in two different cities was a magical moment of my Alberta trip.

Whichever broadcast team will be in Moncton (likely Cuthbert and Suitor), that crew will only do one game since the other games are so far away — the closest game is in Winnipeg.

2013 CFL Week 12 preview

This week's CFL schedule theme is parallel universes. The top teams will play each other in the Saturday nightcap in Regina (Saskatchewan holds the current tiebreaker), while the second-place teams battle in Calgary on Friday Night Football.

The Lions, undefeated at home, bring in Montréal in the game with the third-place teams on Sunday afternoon. And the two cellar dwellers play the early evening game in Edmonton on Saturday.

The slightly later kickoff time on Sunday reflects a cushion since TSN will carry an early NFL game. U.S. fans will have to hit the computer for a while to keep up with the CFL.

---

TSN

Friday
Hamilton @ Calgary, 9p
Saturday
Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 6:30p
Toronto @ Saskatchewan, 9:30p
Sunday
Montréal @ BC, 4:30p

Montréal games also air on RDS. ESPN3 carries all non-TV games in U.S.

---

The B.C. Lions will be in Winnipeg on September 27, and that will be the last time the team has to travel east of Regina this season. The Lions have suffered defeats in Montréal, Toronto, and Guelph.

If B.C. had won 2 out of these 3 games, the Lions would be tied for first with Saskatchewan and Calgary.

Then again, B.C. is 1-4 on the road (5-0 at home) with the Lions' only road win coming in Edmonton.

---

Only Calgary won both games in the Labour Day weekend/revenge game set. This was bad news for Edmonton, still winless at home and now with the worst record in the CFL.

The top 3 teams in the East Division maintained status quo through the Labour Day weekend and revenge games. The good news for Toronto is that the teams are 2 games closer to the finish line and 2 games closer to getting back Ricky Ray, Chad Kackert, and Chad Owens.

Montréal has Anthony Calvillo and Brandon Whitaker on the 9-game injured list. But the team can only bring back two players early from that list, and the Alouettes are banged up well beyond those two stars. And we don't know when/if Calvillo and Whitaker are coming back. Tanner Marsh helped solidify Montréal as a playoff team. But the team still has a way to go to truly challenge Toronto.

As for Hamilton, the Tiger-Cats barely lost in Vancouver and barely hung on in Guelph. Henry Burris was named the CFL offensive player of the week for the TiCats fast start on Saturday. This team is finding its groove and that spells danger for the rest of the East … well, not Toronto but definitely Montréal.

---

J.C. Sherritt is a fine Edmonton representative for the CFL bumper; NBCSN aired the Sherritt bumper Friday night, which means that the only one that hasn't aired in the States is the Hamilton version. Like the other secondary bumpers, the phrase "The CFL on TSN" airs on Sherritt's bumper.

I finally located the press release, so we know the Hamilton bumper belongs to wide receiver Andy Fantuz. Turns out that the bumpers aren't limited to one player per team. The other bumpers, according to the press release, are Anthony Calvillo (Montréal), Weston Dressler (Saskatchewan), Ricky Ray (Toronto), and Drew Tate (Calgary).

Winnipeg might want a recount since Buck Pierce, its representative, has been injured, replaced, and finally traded back to the Lions this season.

"You Need To See These Guys Play" is a great marketing campaign, and the CFL, TSN, along with NBCSN and ESPN2 should be even more aggressive, especially in the States, to show fans more reasons to watch this league.

---

We are in a dark period of CFL football on U.S. television. The next TV game on NBCSN isn't until September 27 and will be same-day tape-delayed. Though my TV guide now lists Edmonton at Winnipeg on September 20 on ESPN2 (thanks to Tim for spotting that listing). There are numerous ways to access live games besides ESPN3, and we wish you good luck.

If you are willing to wait until after the game is over to watch, you can access TSN video on-demand, even in the United States. You can find the archive here.

The TSN games don't include commercials, but sometimes are edited for time. None of these solutions are great. Was hoping that my new Roku box could access ESPN3, but it can't. There are likely some outlets that can pick up ESPN3 to stream into a TV, but I don't own one.

---

"No Argos at BMO" was the sign hanging in front of one of the goals Wednesday night at BMO Field. The Argos need a place to play no later than 2018. Rogers Centre wants to convert to grass for the Blue Jays. And the CFL will interfere in those plans.

The Argos can play an occasional game at Rogers Centre (i.e., playoff games, Grey Cup), but need a full-time stadium. BMO Field, in its current configuration, is too small. And Varsity Stadium is way too small and won't get big enough to host the Argos.

The other card in play is that the MLSE might want to buy the Argos from David Braley (who also owns the B.C. Lions), and then put them in the refurbished BMO Field. Toronto FC fans, who suffer on many levels, aren't excited about sharing BMO Field with the Argos.

---

Touchdown Atlantic is coming up on September 21 with seats still available, even though the capacity has been reduced to about 16,000. Some end zone seats weren't selling well, and there is where the capacity will be reduced. About 10% of the seats are currently available.

We will be live in Moncton for the game and will report back on what we see, on and off the field.

---

In the "duh" category, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will play in the West Division in 2014 as the Ottawa RedBlacks will be in the East Division. Winnipeg feels more west than east, and the CFL history reflects this sentiment. Besides, the 10th team, if there is one, would come from east of Winnipeg instead of west.

---

Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor stayed west this past weekend, handling duties in Edmonton and Winnipeg. Rod Black and Duane Forde were out east in Guelph and Montréal. The announcing teams are likely to keep this split down the stretch. This might depend on where Cuthbert is calling the NHL come October, but that should be the only concern.

2013-14 NHL preseason schedule: games will actually get played

We actually get to post a NHL preseason schedule that is not filled with irony. This is what you get when you play a full season of NHL hockey preseason games that get played.

The preseason starts with the Kraft Hockeyville competition winner: Stirling-Rawdon, Ontario. The celebration game will be played in Belleville as the Winnipeg Jets take on the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

The Calgary Flames did an incredible clean-up job on the Scotiabank Saddledome. The original feeling was that Calgary might have to move preseason and/or regular season games to Saskatoon, Sask. Yet, Calgary will host its provincial rivals on the first day of the preseason.

Speaking of Saskatoon, the city will host two games: Calgary with Ottawa on September 16 and Boston vs. Winnipeg on September 27. The Flames will also be in Regina, Saskatchewan to host the New York Islanders.

Other non-NHL Canadian cities hosting games include London, Ontario [September 15: Philadelphia vs. Toronto]; Quebec City [September 20: Carolina vs. Montreal]; Barrie, Ontario [September 29: NY Islanders (ss) vs. Ottawa (ss)]. Of course, there was hope for a time that the Quebec Nordiques would be back in business and hosting its own preseason games. The Colisee Pepsi gets 1 game this year, and that is from the provincial rival, Les Habs.

Edmonton hosts Dallas at the Oilers' top farm team city in Oklahoma City on September 27.

The NHL Network in the United States will carry a number of games involving Canadian teams. Assume if the NHLN marker is next to a national Canadian broadcast that the NHLN will take that Canadian feed. Vancouver leads all NHL teams with 6 preseason appearances on the NHL Network. Love this enthusiasm for Canadian teams, but wish this spirit extended more into the regular season.

2013-14 NHL preseason schedule

September 14
Washington vs. Winnipeg in Belleville, Ontario (CBC) (NHLN)
Edmonton (ss) at Calgary (ss)
Calgary (ss) at Edmonton (ss)

September 15
Philadelphia vs. Toronto in London, Ontario
Buffalo at Montreal (TSN2)
Ottawa at Winnipeg

September 16
Boston at Montreal (NHLN)
Philadelphia (ss) at Toronto
Calgary vs. Ottawa in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
San Jose at Vancouver (NHLN)

September 17
Edmonton at Winnipeg
NY Islanders (ss) at Calgary (ss)
NY Islanders (ss) vs. Calgary (ss) in Regina, Saskatchewan

September 18
Edmonton at Vancouver (NHLN)

September 19
Toronto at Ottawa (TSN) (NHLN)
Minnesota at Winnipeg

September 20
Carolina vs. Montreal in Quebec City

September 21
Toronto at Buffalo (CBC) (NHLN)
Carolina at Montreal
Winnipeg at Minnesota
Vancouver at Edmonton (CBC) (NHLN)

September 22
Buffalo at Toronto

September 23
New Jersey at Montreal
NY Rangers at Calgary
Winnipeg at Edmonton
Phoenix at Vancouver (NHLN)

September 24
Ottawa at Toronto
NY Rangers at Edmonton (TSN)
Vancouver at San Jose (NHLN)

September 25
Montreal at Ottawa
Phoenix at Calgary (TSN)

September 26
Ottawa at Montreal
Boston at Winnipeg (TSN) (NHLN)
NY Rangers at Vancouver (TSN) (NHLN)

September 27
Toronto at Detroit
Dallas vs. Edmonton in Oklahoma City
Boston vs. Winnipeg in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

September 28
Detroit at Toronto (CBC) (NHLN)

September 29
NY Islanders (ss) vs. Ottawa (ss) in Barrie, Ontario
NY Islanders (ss) at Ottawa (ss)

(ss) -- split squad

Day trip: Victoria, British Columbia

While in Quebec City in 2009, I toured the provincial parliament building because that seemed like a fun thing to do. Little did I realize, but that tour sparked a mini obsession of touring the Canadian provincial parliament buildings. I backtracked in my last trip to Toronto to tour Queen's Park, and completed my second backtrack by touring the British Columbia parliament building in Victoria.

When I was there in 2005, I took a seaplane to Victoria without a plan and so I missed that opportunity. If given a second chance, I would add Victoria to the list.

Getting there and back

Getting from Vancouver to Victoria is an adventure in itself. Ideally, you could board a boat in downtown Vancouver that would ferry you magically to the terminal in Tsawwassen, where you then sail through the Gulf Islands to Victoria.

Getting to Tsawwassen is a trip in itself. The closer you live to the new Canada Line, the easier it is to get to the Bridgeport stop; coming from UBC, that journey took awhile. The 36-40 minute bus ride from the Bridgeport stop to the ferry terminal in Tsawwassen should be the end of a long journey, but you've only completed Part I.

Tsawwassen is thisclose to the United States. And Victoria is well below the 49th parallel.

The ferry cruise is about 90 minutes. You can work, watch, take pictures, play with your cellphone, eat, shop in the gift shop: anything on this 90-minute journey. Do yourself a favor: watch the scenery.

You sail through the Gulf Islands; the same islands you see from the air if you take the seaplane. From any vantage point, they are beautiful.

After the 90-minute ferry ride, you might be excited to finally reach Swartz Bay in Victoria. Except you have another 60-minute bus ride ahead of you to get downtown.

The "express" bus takes you about 50-60 minutes to get downtown. Yes downtown is a long way, but since 95% of your initial passengers are headed downtown, the city might invest in a true express bus route. (There is a separate bus to Butchart Gardens, nowhere near Swartz Bay or downtown, and that takes about an hour, too.

Depending on where you start in the Greater Vancouver area, getting to downtown Victoria can take 5-6 hours. The ferry ride is $31 round trip, though seniors can travel on the ferry Monday-Thursday for free.

The 90-minute ferry ride was incredible; I deliberately took the 7 pm boat back to see the sun setting into the water on the way back. Even if you don't like Victoria (you will like it), that boat ride back was worth the time and effort.

The Victoria bus takes you into the heart of downtown, so once you're there, everything is within walking distance.

Parliamentary tour

If you are a MLA in British Columbia, you work in an incredible building right on Victoria Harbor (boats from Seattle and the seaplanes come into Victoria Harbor). The Empress hotel is nearby with its renown afternoon tea. You could do a lot worse, even if getting there is difficult.

The tours in these legislative buildings revolve around the history of the province. The difference in the British Columbia tour is you're invited to experience history on a more interactive level.

Your tour will get "interrupted" by an actor playing a figure from B.C.'s past. On our tour, we got Queen Victoria herself. She tactfully pointed out that while she is remembered for being really old, she was young at some point. The queen, for whom Victoria is named, spent most of her adult life as a widow.

British Columbia, unlike some of its fellow provinces, was always unicameral, while other legislatures have rooms for one-time Senates, B.C. never had one. You also learn that B.C. was welcomed into Canada in 1870, the 6th province (after Manitoba) to join the new country of Canada.

If you are around after dusk, you should check out how elaborately the building is lit at night.

The players tell you the story of how Victoria got to be the capital. At the time, Victoria was the business center of the province; there wasn't to speak of in Vancouver. Still, having a capital on an island is rather unusual.

These provincial parliament buildings are usually very ornate. Even if you aren't into politics but appreciate the attention to detail, you should take a tour. And they are all free.

The rest of downtown

Please don't judge downtown Victoria by the touristy elements. Some stretches reminded me unkindly of sections of Old Quebec City. But a trip down Fan Tan Alley would change your perspective.

Those who suffer from claustrophobia might not do well, but the rest can find some cool shops, including the record/CD store I remembered from 2005.

The lunchtime views of the harbor you get after you get your food from Red Fish Blue Fish will make you forget the tourists who aren't standing with you in line.

The start of a trip on Vancouver Island

Victoria can also be the start of your vacation on Vancouver Island. You can visit the Sunshine Coast or go to Nanaimo (home of the Nanaimo bars). Or you can make Victoria a day trip in case you want to spend more time in Vancouver (just as this trip turned out to be).

On a map and that initial trip to the ferry can seem a bit much, but Victoria is worth the wait. You might want to bring a book or a MP3 player for the journey outside the ferry. But the ferry and Victoria is a trip that you might not be able to do where you live, and is a nice diversion on your next trip to Vancouver.

2013 CFL Week 11 preview

NBCSN will carry its last live CFL game for over a month and the last game for three weeks as the channel carries the revenge game of the Battle of Alberta. Too bad most of the U.S. viewers won't know what happened in the first game (more on that later).

The matchups are the "revenge games" from the previous weekend, per CFL tradition. Whichever team you played last weekend, your team plays them again in the other team's stadium.

Toronto only has a game lead on Hamilton and Montréal in the East, while the distance between first-place Saskatchewan and third-place B.C. is only 2 games. And we are only at the halfway mark of the 2013 CFL regular season.

The CFL goes head-to-head against the start of the NFL season with a Sunday doubleheader in Montréal and Winnipeg. TSN normally carries a NFL game on Sundays.

---

NBC Sports Network

Friday
Calgary @ Edmonton, 9p (TSN simulcast)

TSN

Friday
Calgary @ Edmonton, 9p
Saturday
BC @ Hamilton, 4p
Sunday
Toronto @ Montréal, 1p
Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg, 4p

Montréal games also air on RDS. ESPN3 carries all non-TV games in U.S.

---

The Labour Day game was the first CFL game not available on the NBC Sports Network or an ESPN property in 2013. We forewarned that the TV listings didn't have the game. But the change came too late for ESPN3 to add the game to its roster.

I did tune into Justin.tv and found the game (thanks to a tip on Twitter). The feed wasn't too bad, but in the third quarter, the site keep wanting to run ads every couple of minutes.

Still, I watched the TSN feed, Canadian commercials included. Even saw the SportsCentre update, a feature blacked out on the NBCSN feed.

As for why NBCSN didn't carry the game, well, I put out the word to them and haven't heard back.

While we appreciate all those outlets that showed the TSN feed, and people on Twitter who got upset over NBCSN's actions, we truly wish NBCSN loved the CFL as much as the Premier League.

---

Darian Durant threw an interception against Winnipeg. The ball was tipped and a Winnipeg defender caught the ball. This wouldn't be a big deal, except that this was Durant's first interception of the season.

The chances of Durant going a complete season without an interception was quite unlikely, but lasting until Labour Day without one was an amazing feat. Let's see how long Durant can go without throwing an interception that didn't result from a tipped pass.

---

Hamilton and Winnipeg laid the groundwork to win the revenge game this weekend. Both played well on the road, hoping that home cooking will make getting a win that much easier.

The Tiger-Cats weren't that far away from winning in Vancouver, despite Travis Lulay's best game of the year. And the Blue Bombers were behind less than a touchdown with about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter.

I confess to tuning out of the Battle of Alberta after three quarters. The CFL is know for its comebacks, and Edmonton did as well as you can do without actually winning the game. The Esks have been good at coming close all season, but earned new style points, scoring the last 27 points of the game.

If momentum matters, the Tiger-Cats, Blue Bombers, and Esks are in good shape over the weekend. But B.C., Saskatchewan, and Calgary will be ready.

---

Anthony Calvillo has been placed on the 9-game injured list. This is more of a formality since Calvillo can be recalled from the list if his recovery goes well. Being put on the list raises doubt over Calvillo being available anytime soon.

Thanks to Tanner Marsh, the Alouettes are within striking distance, though Marsh is still having his struggles. Since Winnipeg and Edmonton are really struggling, Montréal can gamble with keeping Calvillo out for as long as he needs.

As much as I would love to see Calvillo in person in Moncton, the Alouettes will be smart to think November and playoffs in terms of when Calvillo will return to the field.

---

Chris Hadfield is still the coolest Canadian on the planet. The former astronaut made an appearance at the CFL game in Toronto Tuesday night. Hadfield admitted this was his first Argos game in person since seeing them at Exhibition Stadium. That isn't too much of a surprise considering that Hadfield had to live in the United States for his work and spent his time focusing on living and doing things in space.

I know Hadfield is recovering from the impact of being in space, but he still looks a little thin. We're all heavier on good ol' planet Earth than we are in space.

The Argos haven't played at Exhibition Stadium since the late 1980s, so it was good to see Hadfield on Canadian soil taking in the football game.

---

Hedley gets the nod as the halftime music performer at the 101st Grey Cup in Regina. When you think of Saskatchewan and music, you think of The Sheepdogs; the band will play in the opening ceremonies. The Sheepdogs are from nearby Saskatoon.

You might remember Hedley from when they performed "Cha-Ching" at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Serena Ryder will perform the national anthem.

Like football players who have to watch videotape of bad plays, Ryder should watch Burton Cummings in the 100th Grey Cup to make sure she sings the correct words.

While The Sheepdogs did make the cover of the Rolling Stone, none of these acts are well-known in the United States, unlike most of the artists from last year's Grey Cup in Toronto.

---

Tim Tebow got released by the New England Patriots. So the speculation reigned down about a potential CFL career. Of course, we speculated on that a long time ago.

Montréal controls his rights, but Alouettes GM Jim Popp says he won't initiate any conversation.

Bringing in any quarterback in the middle of the season is not easy, especially a big name such as Tebow. The Ottawa RedBlacks could be interested, but even with an expansion team, Tebow would be one of several quarterback prospects in camp.

Besides Ottawa and maybe Montréal in 2014, Winnipeg would take a good look at the former University of Florida quarterback.

---

Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor handled duties in Vancouver and Calgary, while Rod Black and Duane Forde called the game in Regina and Toronto. I missed the intro for the Labour Day game so I missed Cuthbert acknowledging the game was on NBCSN, except it wasn't. That isn't Cuthbert's mistake, but it does point out that NBCSN intended to carry the game.

For those who don't like Black, I was in your corner Tuesday night. Every player was magically injured, even if they were out for 3 plays (the minimum you have to sit out if you are tended to on the field). Black could have waited to see if players weren't going to come back before declaring them injured. This is why you have a sideline reporter.

Black is also enamored with Duron Carter, son of Cris Carter, the now Hall of Fame wide receiver. He noted that Cris was at the ball game, though we never saw that. If that was true, a cool vibe for the CFL. Alouettes and Argonauts fans remember Black's fawning at Jarrett Payton (Walter Payton's son) who played for the team for awhile.

It's been awhile since the NBCSN audience has seen Black do a game. Whatever I, or anyone else, might think of Black's play-by-play, we'd rather see the CFL game than not.

2013 TIFF starts tonight

Seth Rogen hosted the Comedy Central Roast of James Franco that aired in the United States and Canada on Labour Day. Rogen talked about working with Sarah Silverman in "Take This Waltz" and how she did full-frontal nudity.

"I always thought she was very liberal, but it turns out she's actually a giant bush supporter."

But this is a reminder that great Canadian films will come along and never quite break through the scene. Then again, "Starbuck" is being remade into an American film — "Delivery Man" — that is being released on November 22.

So what is coming up for the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival?

Often times, you have a better idea at the end of the festival as to what the Canadian film landscape will look like than in the beginning.

-- Amusingly, a Ken Scott remake is tops on my personal list. The difference is that an English Canadian is remaking a French Canadian film, not involving the United States in any form.

Don McKellar's remake of "The Grand Seduction" — the story of a small East Coast village to lure a doctor to convince him to stay — opens up a new Canadian audience that might have bypassed the Quebecois version over a different language, but at least had access to the original. And the film has the potential to cross over to the States. Most people in the States didn't have access to "Starbuck."

I've seen the original and I love Don McKellar's work. Not often fond of remakes, and most of the potential audience hasn't seen the film, but this has nice potential as a truly Canadian film.

Yes, Ken Scott is directing the American remake, but the fear is still that the film will lose its Canadian spirit. Not so with McKellar.

-- Bruce McDonald checks in with a psychological thriller entitled "The Husband" about a man's encounter with a 14-year-old boy, his wife's alleged boyfriend. And Xavier Dolan is back with his own psychological thriller — "Tom At The Farm" where advertising copywriter Tom travels back for a funeral, but discovers that no one knows who he is.

-- Atom Egoyan is back with "Devil’s Knot" about the West Memphis Three with non-Canadians Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon in the lead roles. Denis Villeneuve has his English-language debut in "Enemy" with Jake Gyllenhaal, Sarah Gadon, and Isabella Rossellini. Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.) is in TIFF with "The Dallas Buyers Club" with Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, and Jared Leto in the true story of AIDS activist Ron Woodroof. 

-- "Our Man In Tehran" is a documentary that looks at the real story of former Canadian ambassador to Iran Ken Taylor. Ben Affleck is definitely invited to find out what really happened, though the documentary likely won't have a fake Hollywood ending, so who knows if Affleck will enjoy the film after all.

You can follow along as the Toronto International Film Festival progresses (here is a link to the official Web site) now through September 15. And we should have access to those and other titles later this fall in Windsor.