Canadian Crossing

Colbert Report shows love for Kevin Vickers

We were a bit surprised that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report hadn't touched on the Ottawa shooting. Both programs spend quite a bit on Canada, mocking but in a teasing brother kind of fashion.

The Colbert Report broke its silence on Wednesday as Stephen Colbert paid tribute to Kevin Vickers, the House of Commons sergeant-at-arms, for his heroism last week.

Vickers' heroism shows that Canada can "take out the trash … and the recycling."

The show played a blow-by-blow description video from Evan Solomon of CBC News. We also got a montage of the day after with Vickers being championed in Parliament.

We even got Colbert to start to sing O Canada but he didn't make it through even close to the end.

Colbert was so moved by what Vickers did that he apologized to Canada, the "most Canadian thing I can imagine." After he said "I'm sorry," Colbert said it with a Canadian accent. "I'm sooorry."

Colbert did put Canada on notice back in November 2009 — referring to them as Canadian ice-holes — when the Vancouver Olympics folks were accused of preventing the U.S. team from practicing in Olympic facilities.

Colbert later took Canada off-notice after he spent a week in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics.

As we wrote at the time:

"Colbert had a 'Cheer Up Canada' video after deriding them for not owning the podium. After ending the video with the U.S. beating Canada, Colbert apologized again and took 'Canadian Iceholes' off the On Notice board."

On behalf of Canada, Mr. Colbert, we accept your apology.

Canada women's hockey wins 3rd straight gold, blanks U.S. 2-0

'Colbert Report' puts Canada on notice

Colbert Report coverage on CanadianCrossing.com

Daily Show coverage on CanadianCrossing.com

The Colbert Report now airs on the Comedy Channel at 12:37 am Eastern late Monday-Thursday night. Colbert's show is going away soon but still deserves to air live in Canada.

photo credit: Colbert Report/Comedy Central

NHL the week in preview October 31, 2014

Chicago means more blackouts for your humble narrator. CBC and the NHL Network will carry Chicago at the Air Canada Centre in yet another Original 6 matchup.

A light week for the NHL Network, this is the only live telecast involving a Canadian team.

The CBC late game features the Vancouver Canucks going to Rexall Place.

City TV offers up Ottawa at Boston as the Saturday night game and a rematch of the 1986 and 1989 Stanley Cup finals as the Flames travel to the Bell Centre.

The Jets will be at Madison Square Garden as the Sportsnet regional channels return to Saturday night hockey. The reunion of former Habs players in Buffalo as the Canadiens come to town.

Rogers Sportsnet 360 has a Thursday night doubleheader with Edmonton in the East at Boston followed by the Canucks in San Jose.

The NHL Network Web site says the Chicago audience will get Buffalo at Pittsburgh Saturday night. The tradition has been to substitute another HNIC game (e.g., Ottawa at Boston) so viewers can get Coach's Corner, etc. Not this week. Not a good move.

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NHL Network

Saturday
Chicago @ Toronto, 7p

Tape delayed
Friday Montréal @ Vancouver, 2p (1-hour)
Saturday Nashville @ Calgary, 4p (1-hour)
Sunday Chicago @ Toronto, 2p (90 minutes)
Wednesday Chicago @ Montréal, 2p (1-hour)

CBC

Saturday
Chicago @ Toronto, 7p
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p

City

Saturday
Ottawa @ Boston, 7p
Sunday
Calgary @ Montréal, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Saturday
Winnipeg @ NY Rangers, 7p
Wednesday
Montréal @ Buffalo, 7:30p

Rogers Sportsnet 360

Thursday
Edmonton @ Boston, 7p
Vancouver @ San Jose, 10:30p

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The NHL Center Ice free preview via Comcast hasn't given us any Canadian feed on Saturday nights except for the CBC late game. Getting 2 feeds is difficult on a Saturday night, but a perfect record has been perfectly horrible. BTW, this doesn't encourage people to buy your product.

So Saturday's game in Calgary was the first chance to hear Bob Cole this year. Cole, Greg Millen, and Cassie Campbell-Pascall felt like a CBC reunion, though hearing Cole well after dark was a bit unusual.

One new twist: Bob Cole isn't reading the CBC promos, leaving that to Campbell-Pascall. Cole didn't mention CBC at all. His only connection was late in the game after Campbell-Pascall read a Republic of Doyle promo when Cole talked about how the show was in its last season.

Cole and Republic of Doyle are both from Newfoundland.

This seems small and subtle, but they feel like notes from Rogers to make the experience less human. Cole's remark was a slip in Rogers world but a normal reaction in the CBC world.

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Kelly Hrudey and Billy Jaffe made a very positive difference in the studio show on Saturday night. Hrudey's Calgary Flames were at home on Saturday night, so Rogers flew Hrudey to Toronto.

Jaffe is better known to the U.S. audience for his work with NESN and the NHL Network.

George Stroumboulopoulos looked more relaxed, especially during the panel sessions, than he has on any previous Saturday. His Sunday persona is very cool; that dude needs to visit on Saturday.

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One subtle change for the better: seeing Hockey Night in Canada logos on the microphones Saturday night. Perhaps more of a PR move, yet a nice touch. The Hometown Hockey game was blacked out where I live, but a Hometown Hockey logo would be cool on Sunday nights.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs aren't the most exciting team to watch, even when they do well. When the Leafs are bad, as in Saturday night, fans who paid a lot of money are often not happy. At the end of the game, the CBC cameras (also caught on the NHL Network) showed a guy giving both middle fingers just after the Leafs lost to Boston Saturday night. Difficult to bleep that out live, or perhaps they didn't notice in the moment. I did notice.

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My NHL Center Ice free preview experience went into overtime through Tuesday night. Lesson to learn: When the free preview expires, check to be sure. I missed Sunday but caught up with Monday and Tuesday.

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I commented on the tri-simulcast of the Ottawa anthem in Montréal and Toronto earlier in the week. To read this and the rest of my thoughts on the reaction to the Ottawa shooting, click here.

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NHL Network picked up the Sportsnet Vancouver feed for the Canucks-Blues game for the Friday afternoon rebroadcast. The Altitude feed was used for the Saturday rebroadcast for Canucks-Avalanche.

We assume the channel will use the City TV rebroadcast the Sens-Hawks on Monday afternoon. the channel used the Sportsnet Pacific feed for the Capitals-Canucks on Monday afternoon. The regional Sportsnet feeds were used for the Habs-Oilers battle on Tuesday afternoon.

The Wednesday Night Hockey Sportsnet 360 feed was used for the Thursday afternoon rebroadcast.

2014 CFL Week 19 preview

East Division
Team	W	L	Remaining Games
Montréal	8	8	TOR, @HAM
Toronto	7	9	@MTL, OTT
Hamilton	7	9	@OTT, MTL
z-Ottawa	2	14	HAM, @TOR

 

West Division
Team	W	L	Remaining Games
y-Calgary	14	2	WPG, @BC
x-Edmonton	11	5	BC, @SSK
x-BC	9	7	@EDM, CAL
x-Saskatchewan	9	8	Bye, EDM
z-Winnipeg	6	11	@CAL, Bye

y-division winner; x-playoff spot; z-eliminated from playoff contention

The CFL doesn't play too often on Sunday afternoons in the late fall … except for Montréal home games. The most important game of the year since last week will be on Sunday afternoon as the Alouettes host Toronto.

The Alouettes can't play home games on Friday night or Saturday in Molson Stadium. Too bad Olympic Stadium isn't an option since this game could sell a lot of tickets.

Hamilton starts out the weekend with Friday Night Football in the nation's capital. Ottawa came close at home last week in an emotionally charged contest. The Tiger-Cats need to keep pace in the East Division race.

Saturday's doubleheader starts out with Winnipeg at Calgary where no playoff position will be affected by the outcome. With the bye next week, this is the last Blue Bombers game of the season. The BC Lions, hoping for a slim shot at hosting the West semifinal, will play at Edmonton, the team that need to go through to reach that goal.

Saskatchewan gets a badly needed break after suffering through a Calgary comeback. The Roughriders have a playoff spot clinched, but might finish the season at .500.

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TSN

Friday
Hamilton @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Saturday
Winnipeg @ Calgary, 4p
BC @ Edmonton, 7p
Sunday
Toronto @ Montréal, 12p

Bye week

Saskatchewan

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Only one team — Montréal — in the East Division can finish above. 500. Hamilton and Toronto can't finish any higher than .500.

The Alouettes haven't lost since September 12 in Edmonton; the last home loss was also against Edmonton on August 8.

If the Alouettes beat Toronto on Sunday, Montréal will clinch at least a playoff spot since the Als will be 2 games up on Toronto with a game to play. Throw in a Hamilton loss and the Als clinch a week off.

If the Argos pull off the win, Toronto would have the tiebreaker with Montréal and be tied in the standings. Assuming Hamilton beats Ottawa, Toronto already has the tiebreaker with the Tiger-Cats and be tied in the standings in a 3-way tie at 8-9.

Toronto hosts Ottawa in the final week, setting up a Hamilton-Montréal winner take all, assuming an Argos win.

If Montréal is a game ahead of Hamilton going into the final season with a playoff spot on the line, the Tiger-Cats need to win by more than 7 points. The teams only play 2 games and the Alouettes won the first game by 7 points.

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We wrote a bit about the CFL pregame in Ottawa earlier this week. To read that, click here. To see the video, click here.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was there for the game and ceremony. Makes a symbolic difference having a CFL team in the nation's capital.

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Former CFL commissioner John Tory is now the mayor-elect of Toronto. CFL fans, not just in Toronto, wonder what impact Tory will have on the Toronto Argonauts stadium dilemma.

Rob Ford is a huge football fan, yet as mayor, Ford didn't do anything to help the Argos with the stadium situation and the Bills Toronto series is now in serious doubt.

Yes, BMO Field needs provincial and federal help for the renovations. Toronto needs a mayor who can work with other governmental bodies. Tory should have a huge advantage over Ford in that department.

Tory will be the mayor of Toronto starting December 1 until late 2018. By then, the Argos will be gone from Rogers Centre. Let's see what Tory will do to help out the Argos.

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The Argos came really close to drawing 20,000 for last Saturday's game against Hamilton, 19,258 was the announced attendance and a lot of the fans were dressed in yellow and black instead of the double blue.

Hamilton has drawn at or near the maximum for its home games. Ottawa has drawn close to the max at home. Montréal's numbers aren't at the max, but usually well above 20,000. Toronto is the only CFL team to not draw at least 20,000 to a game this season.

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Everything has to go right for the BC Lions to host the West semifinal. Even if Edmonton loses to the Lions Saturday, the Esks would still host the West semifinal if they don't lose to the Lions by more than 6 points.

The two teams only meet twice, and Edmonton won the first game 27-20 in Vancouver on June 28.

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I watched the East Division games. No slight against the West, but playoff implications are more severe east of Winnipeg. A few observations:

• Henry Burris threw his first TD pass in the city of Ottawa. Burris is now third all-time in CFL TD passes, having passed Ron Lancaster. Only Anthony Calvillo and Damon Allen have thrown more TD passes in the CFL.
• In the Montréal-Ottawa game, a Montréal receiver wanted pass interference called. The ref gave him an objectionable conduct penalty for wanting a PI call. The play was challenged and the call was overturned, yet the receiver was still penalized. That technically fits the new rules, but looks bad.
• Also in that game, the refs had a borderline fumble call with about 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Rod Black and Duane Forde gave the impression that the refs had to call a fumble to provoke an automatic challenge. Forde was spot-on in identifying that the Als receiver's leg was down. While the referees made the correct call, this also looked bad on TV. (The CFL reportedly later admitted that the call should not have been overturned, adding another bizarre layer.)
• Ottawa challenged an automatic review of that play about 8+ minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. Challenging a challenge seems illogical only in that the referees just looked at the evidence. So looking at the evidence again so soon isn't going to result in a different call. The challenge to the challenge cost the RedBlacks a timeout. Just some of the issues the CFL can take a look at in the off-season.
• Hamilton pulled off an amazing feat with a 109-yard TD drive. The returner looked like he had been tackled for a safety, but the ball was placed at the Tiger-Cats 1-yard line. You can brag about that to your friends who are NFL fans.

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The last two ESPN TV telecasts set new season highs and lows. The October 17 Friday night game at Tim Hortons Field with Ottawa as the opponent drew 313,000 on ESPN2. That is more than 10% of the previous high mark. Perhaps Tim Hortons Field drew more U.S. viewers than anticipated.

The Sunday afternoon contest on October 19 with Edmonton at Saskatchewan drew 64,000 viewers. The previous low had been 76,000 viewers on ESPNews on August 1.

The Sunday telecasts have their issues going up against the NFL. But those numbers are so extreme: one really good, one really horrible.

We will be very curious about the potential ratings for the CFL playoffs on ESPN television.

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Rod Black and Duane Forde were in Ottawa and Toronto to cover the East Division playoff race. Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor stayed out west in Calgary and Winnipeg.

2014 Vancouver Whitecaps MLS playoff preview

MLS Canadian teams playoff results
Year	Date	Team	Opponent	Score
2013	October 31	Montréal	@ Houston	0-3
2012	November 1	Vancouver	@ LA Galaxy	1-2

UPDATE: Vancouver Whitecaps FC lost 2-1 to FC Dallas in the knockout round. FC Dallas won on a late penalty call. The Whitecaps lost by the same score in the 2012 MLS playoffs, that time to the LA Galaxy.

The 2014 Vancouver Whitecaps had to win its final game to advance to the playoffs, and the Whitecaps scored in the 70th minute to pull out the 1-0 squeaker over Colorado Rapids Saturday night.

Fellow Cascadia Cup rival Portland Timbers had shut out FC Dallas 2-0 earlier in the evening to temporarily take the 5th spot in the Western Conference standings.

The Whitecaps travel to FC Dallas Wednesday for the Knockout Round. Should Vancouver win to advance, the Whitecaps will play the other Cascadia Cup rival — Seattle Sounders — in the conference semis in a 2-game battle.

Wednesday's game starts at 9 pm Eastern at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX. TV coverage will be supplied by TSN1 in Canada and Time Warner Cable SportsNet Texas in the Dallas area.

Unlike the first 2 times a Canadian team was in the MLS playoffs, there is no English-language national TV in the U.S. for the Whitecaps playoff game. The Whitecaps aren't alone in being shut out; 3 of the first 6 postseason games aren't on national TV.

In 2014, not being able to offer national TV for playoff games is beyond comprehension. If you want to adapt this to the CFL, in Canada, you can see every playoff game with TSN. For MLS, the U.S. is the home country. 

This is Vancouver's second MLS playoff game, losing 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2012.

• 2014 MLS Canadian teams preview

• Montreal Impact lone Canadian team in 2013 MLS playoffs

• Vancouver Whitecaps first MLS Canadian team to make playoffs

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Vancouver finished 5th in the Western Conference with 50 points with a 12-8-14 record. Toronto FC was supposed to join the Whitecaps in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The team acquired several key players and was off to a fine start. However, Toronto FC stumbled down the stretch and finished 7th with 41 points and 11-15-8 record.

The Montréal Impact — the only Canadian team to make the 2013 MLS playoffs — finished with the worst record in the MLS with 28 points and a 6-18-10 record.

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Toronto has hosted the MLS All-Star Game (2008) and MLS Cup (2010), but Toronto FC has never played a MLS playoff game. The team is the oldest of the MLS franchises, having been around since 2006.

The team was supposed to change that pattern with the acquisitions of Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley.

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No Canadian team has finished above 5th in a conference. No Canadian team has ever hosted a playoff game or won a playoff game. This may change Wednesday night in the suburbs of Dallas. Having a Canadian team break through in the MLS playoffs would help the legitimacy of every Canadian MLS club.

If Vancouver beats FC Dallas, the first leg of the Western Conference semifinal will be November 2 at BC Place in Vancouver (BC Lions are in Edmonton) at 9 pm Eastern on ESPN2. Leg two will be November 10 in Seattle at 10:30 pm on NBCSN.

Having Seattle and Vancouver in a playoff series will be amazing for fans of the Cascadia Cup and the MLS.

2014 Toronto Raptors NBA preview

Toronto Raptors U.S. TV schedule
Date	Team	Time	U.S. Network
November 13	Chicago	8p	TNT
December 8	Denver	7:30p	NBA TV
December 17	Brooklyn	8p	ESPN
February 8	San Antonio	7p	NBA TV
February 23	@ New Orleans	8p	NBA TV
March 30	Houston	7:30p	NBA TV
April 8	@ Charlotte	7p	ESPN
April 11	@ Miami	7:30p	NBA TV
April 15	Charlotte	8p	ESPN

We the North, 2.0.

Coming off a heartbreaking opening playoff round against Brooklyn, but with a strong preseason, the Toronto Raptors open their 20th season at home against Atlanta tonight.

The Raptors will have a chance to reward the home fans as 9 of the first 12 games are at Air Canada Centre.

The team had its best regular season in franchise history last season, including an Atlantic Division title. While the team didn't make big off-season splashes, the team is rather balanced but will definitely hope that the pattern continues for Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.

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TSN will carry 47 Toronto Raptors games this season. Click here for the TSN schedule. The season opener tonight will be on TSN2, TSN3, TSN4, and TSN5. TSN1 will carry the Vancouver Whitecaps FC MLS playoff game.

Sportsnet channels will handle the other 35 Raptors games. Click here for the Sportsnet schedule.

The chart (above) lists all 9 Raptors U.S. national telecasts. While 9 isn't a huge number, at least 6 of them are in Toronto. The NBA television outlets are less afraid of Canada than the U.S. NHL outlets.

Here are a few looks at the 2014-2015 Toronto Raptors:

TSN    Sportsnet    CBC

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• 2014 Toronto Raptors: successful season comes to an end

• 2014 NBA playoffs notebook: Maple Leaf Square shows Raptors fans passion

• Toronto Raptors 2014 NBA playoffs preview

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To follow Canadian players in the NBA, you can rely mostly on the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Cleveland still has a few players, and traded Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett to Minnesota.

Seven Canadian players have been drafted into the NBA in the past three years, with eight currently featured on NBA rosters.

Steve Nash is already out for the upcoming NBA season. A back injury will sideline the Los Angeles Lakers guard. Nash only played 15 games last year with a nerve root irritation.

Nash only played in 3 preseason games this year.

Yes, Nash wants that NBA championship ring. At 40 years old, that dream will have to be delayed, if not denied.

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Toronto Raptors Playoff Record

Year	Opponent	Result
2013-2014	Brooklyn	3-4
2007-2008	Orlando	1-4
2006-2007	New Jersey	2-4
2001-2002	Detroit	2-3
2000-2001	Philadelphia	3-4
2000-2001	New York	3-2
1999-2000	New York	0-3

Ford Nation to take at least a 4-year break as mayor of Toronto

Rob Ford has been mayor of Toronto in title alone for some time thanks to his own antics. Doug Ford took the baton in running to get those powers back.

Despite getting over 330,000 votes for a solid second place finish, the Ford Nation dominance will be limited to Ward 2 … at least for the next 4 years.

John Tory, who has worn more professional hats than Rob Ford has smoked vials of crack, is the new mayor-elect of Toronto.

2014 Toronto mayoral race results
Candidate	Vote total	Percentage
John Tory	394,775	40.27%
Doug Ford	330,610	33.72%
Olivia Chow	226,879	23.14%
Other	27,913	2.52%

unofficial numbers

Former MP Olivia Chow finished a distant third.

"Together, like never before, we now begin building Toronto the great," Tory said, adding he will lead the city "not left, not right, but forward."

• Candidates Election Night speeches (courtesy of CBC News)

Doug Ford did well in the suburbs, though not as well as Rob Ford in 2010. Tory did well up the middle of the area map, including in the city. Chow did best in the west side of the city, in her old federal riding.

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Rob Ford will be back in the city council, winning Ward 2 Etobicoke North with 58.9 percent of the vote. Rob Ford will replace Doug Ford, the current councillor from Ward 2.

In his victory speech, Rob Ford gave the impression that Ford Nation would be ready in 4 years to run for mayor … again.

"I guarantee: In four more years, you're going to see another example of the Ford family never ever giving up,'' Ford said. "We're just warming up.''

We saw Rob Ford on Election Night with a clean head, recovering from chemotherapy as treatment for cancer.

Ford's status on the council will depend on his health. The new council and mayor officially take over on December 1.

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• 2014 Toronto mayoral race preview: Who will succeed Rob Ford?

• Rob Ford drops out of Toronto mayor race; Doug Ford will run

• Rob Ford in graffiti, T-shirts, and art

• Jon Stewart visits Toronto for his TIFF debut

• Rob Ford retrospective

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If you weren't interested in this mayoral race … Toronto turned out 64.3 percent voter turnout, surpassing the previous mark of 50.6 percent in 2010. The city had almost a million votes in the 2014 election.

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In the next few days, pundits and late-night comedians will have a chance to mourn the loss of Rob Ford as mayor. But Toronto has had enough of a joke as its leader, however ceremonial that became in the last year or so.

As much as John Oliver wanted Toronto to (re-)elect Doug (Rob) Ford, he knows that Toronto deserves better. Jon Stewart wanted Olivia Chow to win, but she ran too nice a campaign.

John Tory has a number of issues to work on, and a right-wing background despite his "centrist" attitude. The buffoonery that was Rob Ford needed to go, but his policies as well.

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photo credit: Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press

Ottawa shooting notebook: O Canada indeed

"It's so incredibly sad, and should not happen in Canada. We're such a peaceful and loving country that for somebody to violate us like that, and try and take our innocence. The greatest thing we can do is stay Canadian and stay who we are. And just say to the people that want to harm us, don't mistake civility for weakness. You do so at your own peril. We're very tough people, we're very sane people, and very fair people. And I'm very, very proud of my country." — Mike Myers

Scott Oake interviewed the Canadian comedian before the 3rd period of the Maple Leafs game Saturday night. When Americans ask me what I like and appreciate about Canada, I give my best impressions. What I liked about Myers' answer is that it fits the emotion of what happened in the last week and why I like Canada.

I love the civility that Canada offers. Staying Canadian is the one thing that the terrorists don't want. Canada is tough, sane, and fair.

Myers is one of those Canadian entertainers that has crossed over into Hollywood. Yet he hasn't forgotten where he came from. Myers should be very proud of Canada's reaction to a heart wrenching tragedy.

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The singing of O Canada has been a source of nurturing as the country recovers from the two tragic shootings. The huge Canadian flag accompanied a robust anthem at the CFL game in Ottawa Friday night.

The Saturday night anthem at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata was simulcast to the crowd at the Bell Centre in Montréal and the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The video above showcased the three anthem locations. The anthem ran on CBC, City, Sportsnet One, and the NHL Network in the United States.

Coming on the heels of the anthem in Pittsburgh Wednesday night, O Canada had never sounded better. Maybe this will encourage more showing of the anthems on both sides of the border long after the attacks have slipped out of the spotlight.

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• Reflections on the Ottawa shooting

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The morning after the attack in Ottawa, U.S. cable news showed us coverage of the Canadian Parliament. We saw a speech from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair.

The coverage even stayed when the party leaders switched to French. Having the translator tell the audience what was being said definitely helped.

I watched the MSNBC coverage. They stayed with the prime minister and offered a little bit of Mulcair's speech. Trudeau had the disadvantage of being the leader of the current third party in the House of Commons.

Harper did huge the two other major party leaders in Mulcair and Trudeau. The prime minister also went over to Kevin Vickers, sergeant-at-arms for the House of Commons. Vickers was the one who shot the assailant who entered Parliament.

Would love to see C-SPAN carry Canadian Parliament. Nice to see coverage of Canada but still afraid the extra attention is more about hyping terrorism than appreciating Canada.

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The Ottawa shooter had several reasons why he couldn't get a gun legally. Yet the guy, who was sleeping in an Ottawa homeless shelter, got a long gun — a Winchester .30-30 caliber rifle.

Canada used to have a long-gun registry, a way to track long guns in the country in case they were used in a crime.

The Harper Government campaigned on getting rid of the long-gun registry and successfully eliminated the registry. Quebec, the province where the first soldier was killed and just across the river from Ottawa, fought hard in the courts to keep its long-gun registry but lost that fight.

Yes, it's entirely possible that the gun was stolen from a private citizen. But without the registry, we don't know the path of the gun. Since the Ottawa shooter is deceased, we can't ask him.

It is standard practice in Canada for courts to issue a lifetime gun ban to almost anyone convicted of a violent offence.

Even where such bans are not imposed, Zehaf-Bibeau would have found it virtually impossible to legally obtain a gun in Canada.

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The Highway of Heroes lived up to its name as the body of Nathan Cirillo was driven back to his home in Hamilton.

The pictures and video of the crowds of people were breathtaking.

I noted in my original thoughts that Remembrance Day will be a much bigger deal in Canada this year. This may be an understatement.

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Don Cherry devoted all of Coach's Corner to Nathan Cirillo and Patrice Vincent as well as soldiers who are suffering from injuries and need help they aren't getting.

Given Cherry's sensibilities, this wasn't a surprise. He struck the right tone on the subject. Cherry was on such a roll that Ron MacLean, who sat beside him during the entire segment, didn't say a word.

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video credit: YouTube/Chris S

CBC parts ways with Jian Ghomeshi

Jian Ghomeshi, host of "Q" on CBC Radio and Television, is no longer with the CBC.

On Friday, Ghomeshi announced he was taking time off from "Q" "to deal with some personal issues." Thursday was his last program. The CBC announced on Sunday that Ghomeshi was no longer with the network.

"Information came to our attention recently that in CBC's judgment precludes us from continuing our relationship with Jian," said CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson.

Jian Ghomeshi has posted his own version on Facebook (click here to read the whole text). Ghomeshi speaks of consensual sexual relations outside the mainstream and efforts by an ex-girlfriend to paint them as abusive.

• Jian Ghomeshi Twitter feed

Ghomeshi will reportedly file suit against the CBC in the amount of $50 million for reasons including breach of confidence and bad faith and launch a grievance for reinstatement.

• Helping CBC Part III: Filling programming holes

• Billy Bob Thornton questions Canadian blandness in bizarre radio interview

The timing could not be worse for the CBC. After George Stroumboulopoulos left CBC for Rogers and Hockey Night in Canada, Jian Ghomeshi became more valuable to the corporation. As we noted in June:

"Jian Ghomeshi may be the next George Stroumboulopoulos. While Ghomeshi has had some exposure on the TV side, CBC could find more ways to get the host of "Q" on its TV airwaves.

"And then the CBC needs to find a few more people like Stroumboulopoulos and Ghomeshi."

The CBC still needs to find someone more people like Stroumboulopoulos and Ghomeshi.

"Q" has been around on CBC Radio since 2007 and Ghomeshi had been with CBC since 2002.

"Q" is rather well-known to U.S. public radio listeners. The program runs on over 180 NPR/PRI stations. On a personal note, I have had friends in the States phone to tell me to turn on "Q" because of something they heard on the show.A TV version is also syndicated in the United States.

Talking about the future of "Q" and Jian Ghomeshi is premature, given the potential lawsuit. The stations that run the syndicated shows are more interested in Ghomeshi than "Q" (even with the allegations). But someone will host "Q" on CBC Radio One this morning (Piya Chattopadhyay filled in on Friday).

"Q" airs at 10 am and 10 pm (10:30 in Newfoundland) on CBC Radio One.

screen capture: Facebook.com/jianghomeshi/

NHL the week in preview October 24, 2014

CBC and the NHL Network go Original 6 Saturday night for the Maple Leafs lovefest, er, game. Boston is the opponent for Toronto in the early HNIC slot.

The other live NHL Network game this week is the Hometown Hockey game when Ottawa travels to Chicago on City TV. The game will be blacked out for me, but hoping to still get all the Hometown Hockey pregame coverage. For our Canadian readers, the game is on WGN, though I would imagine that would be blacked out due to the City TV telecast.

The late CBC game Saturday night has Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals making its annual Calgary trip.

City TV's Saturday night game features its own Original 6 matchup with the New York Rangers in Montréal.

Rogers Sportsnet One will run national games on Friday as the Vancouver Canucks go to Colorado and the New Jersey Devils are in Ottawa on Saturday. This is Ottawa's first game since the tragedy on Wednesday. The regional Sportsnet channels will team up to carry the all-Canadian matchup Monday night as Les Habs travel to Edmonton, as the World Series takes a night off.

Rogers Sportsnet 360 goes national on Wednesday with the Oilers hosting Nashville (also on Rogers Sportsnet One) and the Canadiens in Vancouver on Thursday.

Be forewarned that the NHL Center Ice free preview expires on Saturday. Sunday games are not available on the free preview. As for whether your humble narrator will get Center Ice, I still need a better system to get the feeds I want and in HD.

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NHL Network

Saturday
Boston @ Toronto, 7p
Sunday
Ottawa @ Chicago, 7p

Tape delayed
Friday Vancouver @ St. Louis, 2p
Saturday Vancouver @ Colorado, 1p
Monday Ottawa @ Chicago, 2p (1-hour)
Washington @ Vancouver, 3p (1-hour)
Tuesday Montréal @ Edmonton, 2p
Thursday Nashville @ Edmonton, 4p (1-hour)

CBC

Saturday
Boston @ Toronto, 7p
Washington @ Calgary, 10p

City

Saturday
NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p
Sunday
Ottawa @ Chicago, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Monday
Montréal @ Edmonton, 9:30p

Rogers Sportsnet One

Friday
Vancouver @ Colorado, 9p
Saturday
New Jersey @ Ottawa, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet 360

Wednesday
Nashville @ Edmonton, 8p*
Thursday
Montréal @ Vancouver, 10p

NHL Center Ice

Friday
Tampa Bay @ Winnipeg, 8p
Vancouver @ Colorado, 9p
Carolina @ Edmonton, 9:30p
Saturday
Boston @ Toronto, 7p
NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p
New Jersey @ Ottawa, 7p
Washington @ Calgary, 10p

* simulcast on Rogers Sportsnet One

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We touched on the NHL angle to Wednesday's tragedy in Ottawa. If you missed my thoughts on the tragedy, please click here.

The Toronto-Ottawa game has been rescheduled for November 9 at 6 pm Eastern. The City TV game that night — Vancouver at Anaheim — is pushed back to 9 pm Eastern.

Sportsnet or City TV should pick up the telecast since the postponed game was a national one. The NHL Network could pick up the game, given the symbolism of the Toronto-Ottawa game with the recent tragic events.

On the U.S. side, November 9 has already shifted dramatically. The NHL Network dumped out of the Oilers-Rangers game and picked up the City TV Hometown Hockey game at Anaheim.

This leaves Edmonton without a live U.S. TV game. The NHL Network could easily remedy the situation by picking up a late Saturday night CBC game featuring the Oilers.

If Rogers Sportsnet or City TV picks up the Battle of Ontario, the Hometown Hockey pregame will run before that game.

As a public service, let's offer a few Edmonton games for the NHL Network to consider. The most obvious one would be on Hockey Day in Canada as the Oilers will be in Ottawa for a 2 pm matinee.

The Battle of Alberta would give Calgary an extra game. The channel can choose the late Saturday CBC game in Calgary (January 31) or Edmonton (April 4).

The NHL Network could pick Saturday late CBC games involving U.S. teams such as St. Louis (February 28) or Philadelphia (March 21). Both games are in Edmonton, which violates an unofficial rule that the channel won't show a live game in Alberta.

The channel would have to dump one of its many U.S. games to carry the Oilers in Toronto (February 7) for an early HNIC game or in Montréal (February 12).

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We aren't going to be too obsessive with the announcers, but we have to make an exception this week. Bob Cole, Greg Millen, and Cassie Campbell-Pascall will team up for the late game in Calgary. Campbell-Pascall has been on the CBC late game all season, but this will be Cole and Millen's return to CBC.

Also, Cole doing a late game for CBC is highly unusual. The last West Coast game I remember Cole doing was a Habs matinee from Los Angeles. Cole is from Newfoundland and the late game starts at 11:30 pm Newfoundland time and will end just past 2 am Newfoundland time.

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If you liked Rogers on the first Saturday night, you probably liked Rogers this past Saturday night. The kids team intro (no longer an intro) did mention all the games, early and late. We had reporters check in from the games, but not the colour analysts.

Those who find HNIC to be too Leafs-centric might appreciate that the pregame spent little time on the Leafs game and more time on Colorado at the Bell Centre.

Don Cherry had slightly more than 5 minutes (5:14 by my stopwatch) and touched on a variety of topics.

The George Stroumboulopoulos interview during the 2nd intermission of the 2nd game was Trevor Linden, president of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks.

This week's guest was Jean-Sebastian Giguere, former Colorado goalie. Unlike Mark Messier from the first week, Giguere's presence was more useful since he knew the Colorado team rather well, including his experiences hosting Nathan McKinnon.

5 is the number on the panels for both CBC and Rogers. CBC would use an active player in that middle slot in the playoffs, but otherwise, used Glenn Healy in that role. Rogers is going with former players so far but rotating someone new each week.

Strombo sits in the "Ron MacLean" chair. Nick Kypreos or P.J. Stock? Tough choice, but not in a good way. Rogers is using Stock well in the "Stock Exchange" getting his rants out in one fell swoop.

Glenn Healy is better than most former players Rogers will get and Healy really does well in the Sunday Hometown Hockey game in the studio.

Kevin Weekes vs. Damien Cox? While Weekes might be awkward at times, he always contributes something relevant, something Cox could learn. I like Cox in the upstairs "Weekend Update" type news show, but that is about it.

Elliotte Friedman is the only one in both panels. We have to give the advantage to Friedman on the Rogers set. Instead of having to play off snarkiness from Stock or Healy, Friedman is able to dominate more of the conversation, but that also says the Rogers panel is overall weaker.

Darren Pang and Kelly Hrudey have day jobs, but Rogers needs to get some of their in-studio talent in on Saturday nights.

Rogers didn't hire Kevin Weekes but you have to wonder if Weekes couldn't have contributed in a similar fashion to Stock. Stock got too hyper having to compete for time on the panel and Weekes got too mellow. In an individual setting, they could have shined a lot better.

The NHL Network is an ideal destination for Weekes and he doesn't have to deal with Rogers.

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The announcers work for Rogers but acknowledge what channel they are broadcasting on in that game. Usually the play-by-play announcers will say going into break whether they are on CBC, City, Sportsnet One.

I did notice that Dave Randorf didn't say "CBC" once going into a break. Randorf read the promos for CBC shows and said "CBC" in the promos. Maybe Randorf isn't saying "City" either but we are highly sensitive over saying or not saying "CBC."

Paul Romanuk is more comfortable with identifying where he is, whether that be CBC or City. So far, Jim Hughson — a veteran of CBC — has called all the early CBC games.

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Don't want to ignore the Hometown Hockey, especially this week with getting to watch the City ads. My Comcast DVR punked out so the 30-minute pregame didn't tape.

The City TV promos center around its American shows such as "Scorpion" and "Revenge."

While I caught some of the program live, you can catch some of the segments at HometownHockey.com. From there, you can click on the city you want to see and select a video.

Hometown Hockey has been a nice chapter in the Rogers era.

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The NHL Network is proving more Canadian-friendly to start the season. We got the Rogers Sportsnet Vancouver feed for the Canucks-Blues on Thursday.  

John Shorthouse gave a shout out to the NHL Network U.S. version during the game.

We got the Habs feed last week against Boston; John Bartlett also acknowledged the NHL Network in the U.S. during last week's Habs telecast.

Both games carried full Sportsnet intermissions and postgame. A nice improvement from previous years.

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2 of the 3 City Montréal games were available in the NHL Center Ice free preview. Magically, annoyingly, both feeds disappeared from NHL Center Ice. In the first game on October 13, we were told that the feed disappeared. On Tuesday night, NHL Center Ice moved the Detroit feed into the slot and had no other feed.

The folks at NHL Center Ice clearly don't know the games are on CJNT, City Montréal. And the fans suffer as a result. For this, they want over $150.

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The NHL Network took the Sportsnet 360 feed for the rebroadcast of the Bruins-Habs game Friday. NHL Network picked up the City TV feed with the Patrick Roy battle (Colorado at the Bell Centre) Sunday afternoon. This was particularly helpful since I couldn't get the City feed on Center Ice.

The Oilers feed was picked up for the Tuesday rebroadcast of the Lightning in Edmonton. The NHL Network picked up the Sportsnet feed of Washington at Edmonton to replace the postponed Battle of Ontario on Thursday afternoon.

2014 CFL Week 18 preview

East Division
Team	W	L	Remaining Games
Montréal	7	8	@OTT, TOR, @HAM
Hamilton	7	8	@TOR, @OTT, MTL
Toronto	6	9	HAM, @MTL, OTT
z-Ottawa	2	13	MTL, HAM, @TOR

 

West Division
Team	W	L	Remaining Games
y-Calgary	13	2	SSK, WPG, @BC
x-Edmonton	11	5	Bye, BC, @SSK
x-Saskatchewan	9	7	@CAL, Bye, EDM
BC	8	7	@WPG, @EDM, CAL
z-Winnipeg	6	10	BC, @CAL, Bye

y-division winner; x-playoff spot; z-eliminated from playoff contention

Like a CFL game, the race in the East isn't close to done, even though the Toronto Argonauts are on the outside. Montréal has the edge this week, getting to travel to Ottawa. The Alouettes, winners of 4 straight, are tied with Hamilton, making another trip to Toronto.

The game in the nation's capital kicks off the Friday Night Football doubleheader. Calgary, having clinched the West Division crown last week, hosts Saskatchewan as the Roughriders are now battling BC to stay in the West playoff hunt.

Toronto gets another home Saturday 4 pm Eastern kickoff as the Argos welcome their QEW archrivals. BC gets back on the field at Winnipeg in the second half of the Saturday doubleheader. The Lions have their eyes on the Roughriders and possibly Edmonton.

As for Edmonton, the team gets the week off after a comeback win against Saskatchewan.

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TSN

Friday
Montréal @ Ottawa, 6:30p
Saskatchewan @ Calgary, 9:30p
Saturday
Hamilton @ Toronto, 4p
BC @ Winnipeg, 7p

Bye week

Edmonton

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"A minimum of 17 regular season games and the Eastern and Western Finals will be televised live on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNEWS."

We have had 14 regular season games on the ESPN networks. We were promised 17 regular season games. The ESPN site lists no more CFL regular season games.

If the schedule holds, we'll have no TV games down the stretch as the East tries to figure out which 2 teams will advance or untangling the West playoff possibilities.

We might take TV coverage of the first round of the playoffs as payment for missing the 3 regular season games. U.S. viewers will find a potential crossover game fascinating.

• 2014 CFL season: How and where to watch

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The majority of the ESPN2 halftime Friday night was devoted to anything but CFL football. Zubin Mehenti spent the time promoting the rest of the CFL games. While the screen showed that the Sunday game was on ESPN2, Mehenti should have mentioned that out loud as well. That matchup could easily be a playoff preview and could have been touted as such.

We got highlights from the other games during the halftime of the Edmonton-Saskatchewan game. Mehenti only made one mistake, identifying the CFL's best running back as "Joe" Cornish. Jon Cornish should meet this Joe guy.

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In the crossover standings, the BC Lions are a game ahead of Hamilton and Montréal and 2 games ahead of Toronto with 3 games to play. Given BC plays at Winnipeg this week, you can almost count on a win. The only scenario that guarantees the Lions at least a crossover after this week is if the Argos lose AND BC wins.

The crossover team needs a better record to play on the other side's playoffs.

BC has a chance to host the West semifinal, though Saskatchewan does not. The Lions' error margin to do so is zero.

Saskatchewan has a ½ game lead over the Lions to be the road team for the West semifinal. The Roughriders are on a 4-game losing streak and draw the best team in the league this week.

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The Alouettes' defense has been underrated all season. Watching Toronto be limited to 4 field goals brought Montréal's defense into the spotlight. In a season where points aren't in great supply, defense might be the path to a championship.

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In this week's "they can do that in the CFL?" segment, Fred Stamps of Edmonton fielded the punt and threw the ball across the field and was intercepted by Mark LeGree of Saskatchewan.

Besides being ill-timed, since the pass went forward, Stamps was called for a penalty (declined, obviously). Saskatchewan got a FG on the drive, but Edmonton won the game.

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Saskatchewan has struggled at QB since Darian Durant got injured. 41-year-old Kerry Joseph got the start against the Esks. Joseph did well in the first half, though the Roughriders left points out there. The team didn't score in the second half until the last minute. Even if Joseph struggled a bit in the second half, quarterback isn't the only problem area for the Roughriders.

Those of us of a certain age really loved seeing Kerry Joseph out on the CFL field. He was undervalued in Edmonton in the last couple of years. This will be a nicer way to go out for a solid CFL career.

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Speaking of former Saskatchewan quarterbacks, Winnipeg's Drew Willy missed his first start of the season, leaving only Henry Burris and Ricky Ray as the only QBs to start all their team games. Brian Brohm made his first career CFL start in place of the injured Willy.

The Blue Bombers also released their team-leading RB Nic Grigsby. The running back, who led the CFL with 9 touchdowns when he was released, signed with Hamilton.

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The East Division won 9 of the last 11 games against the West Division; the Saskatchewan OT win over Ottawa was one of 2 exceptions. The West finished 28-12 against the East for the season. So the West started out 26-3 before the East run at the end.

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Chris Cuthbert worked with Glen Suitor in Hamilton on Friday but Cuthbert teamed up with Matt Dunigan in Regina on Sunday. Dunigan worked with Gord Miller in Toronto for the Saturday afternoon game. Rod Black and Duane Forde drew the boring game in Winnipeg Saturday night.