Canadian Crossing

2016 Windsor International Film Festival preview

The bounty of riches that is Canadian film will be on display at the 2016 Windsor International Film Festival.

In years past, I've been able to see the Canadian films of note in the festival. In a good way, there are now conflicts so that "most" will apply to this festival as opposed to "all."

The 2016 WIFF also has several Canadian films that I have seen. Saw Closet Monster in Toronto in August and Into the Forest and The Other Half at a film festival. Those reviews are listed below.

I don't plan to sit through those films again, but I could make an exception for giving The Other Half another chance.

Films in the festival with with 2016 TIFF buzz that have peaked my interest include Tatiana Maslany's other new film Two Lovers and a Bear. Mean Dreams, Hello Destroyer, It's Only the End of the World, and Window Horses.

Films under the radar include Celtic Soul, a documentary following Jay Baruchel's roots through the world of European football. 9 Le Film is a collection of 9 short films with the common theme of le vide — of emptiness. Natasha is notable because of the use of the Russian language in a Canadian film. There may even be a surprise or two.

2016 WIFF has a lot of documentaries in the Canadian film list. I'll get to as many as I can.

• 9 Le Film
• Angry Inuk
• Bad Seeds (Les Mauvaises Herbes)
• Black Code
• Celtic Soul
• Chasse Galerie (Wild Run)
• Closet Monster
• Driving with Selvi
• Hello Destroyer
• How to Prepare for Prison
• Ice Guardians
• Into the Forest
• It's Only the End of the World
• Julieta
• Koneline: Our Land Beautiful
• Live Doc 130 Year Road Trip
• Maudie
• Mean Dreams
• Migrant Dreams
• Natasha
• A New Economy
• The Other Half
• Roger d'Astous
• Spirit Unforgettable
• The Apology
• Things to Do
• Two Lovers and a Bear
• Unless
• We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice
• Where the Universe Sings
• Window Horses

These films are more likely to cross over into the United States.

• Julieta is intriguing because Spanish director Pedro Almadovar adapted 3 short stories from Alice Munro.
• Maudie is a Canada/Ireland production with Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke, who starred in the Canadian film Born to Be Blue.
• Unless is a Canada/Ireland production starring Catherine Keener based on the final novel by the late Canadian novelist Carol Shields and was shot in Toronto.

If you see a film on this list that peaks your interest, feel free to share that in the comments section.

Film review: Closet Monster

Film review: Into the Forest

Film review: The Other Half

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The 2016 Windsor International Film Festival runs from November 1-6 at the Capitol Theatre as well as the Chrysler Theatre in downtown Windsor. Information about the festival can be found here.

logo credit: Windsor International Film Festival

2016 MLS playoffs: Toronto, Montreal get home dates on Sunday

2016 MLS Canadian teams playoff schedule
Date	Home	Road	Time	U.S. TV
October 26	Toronto FC	Philadelphia	3-1	ESPN 2, UniMas
October 27	D.C. United	Montréal	4-2	UniMas
October 30	Montréal	New York Red Bulls	3p	ESPN
October 30	Toronto FC	NYCFC	7p	Fox Sports 1
November 6	NYCFC	Toronto FC	4p	ESPN
November 6	New York Red Bulls	Montréal	6:30p	Fox Sports 1

 

Toronto FC and the Montréal Impact got off to successful starts in the knockout round and Canada will have a pair of teams in the 2016 Major League Soccer Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Reds took care of the Philadelphia Union 3-1 at BMO Field on Wednesday. The Impact scored the first 4 goals and held on for a 4-2 win at RFK Stadium on Thursday.

Leg 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs will be on Canadian soil tomorrow. Leg 2 will be in the New York City metropolitan area on November 6.

Sebastian Giovinco scored a goal and set up the other 2 goals for the Reds. Jonathan Osorio and Jozy Altidore also supplied goals for Toronto FC.

While Toronto FC has a pair of MLS playoff games, NYCFC has never played a MLS playoff game since coming into the league in 2015. Both of the Reds playoff games have happened since NYCFC entered the league. The Reds finished a point behind NYCFC in the regular season.

The teams played to a 2-2 tie March 13 at Yankee Stadium in a game that aired on ESPN2. There was also a 1-1 tie May 18 at BMO Field.

Winning a knockout game on the road is a very big deal. The Montréal Impact victory in Washington was only the 3rd road victory since the MLS went to the knockout round in 2011. In the initial year, the New York Red Bulls edged out FC Dallas. In 2012, Houston upset the Chicago Fire.

The Impact easily took momentum from the sparse RFK Stadium crowd with a Lauren Ciman goal in the 4th minute. Matteo Mancosu scored the next 2 goals. Mancosu set up the final goal scored by Ignacio Piatti.

The 2 goals that got by the Impact were on or after the 90th minute.

Didier Drogba did not play but was at RFK Stadium. His back might be an issue in the next 2 games but the Impact has proven the team can win without him in the lineup.

Montréal won 3-0 at Stade Saputo on March 12 but lost 3-1 to the New York Red Bulls in New Jersey on August 13.

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The tiebreakers encourage even more than usual to not allow goals on home soil. If the teams are tied in goals after the 2 games, the number of road goals is the first tiebreaker. Better for Toronto FC and Montréal to win 2-0 than 4-2 on Sunday.

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The Toronto Argonauts won't interfere in the use of BMO Field for the MLS playoffs. The Argos have a bye this week and finish in Edmonton next week.

Montréal sports fans who were hoping to catch the Alouettes in the early afternoon and Impact in the late afternoon will have to make a choice. The Alouettes start at 1 pm while the Impact begin at 3 pm. The Als play north of downtown at McGill University while the Impact play at Stade Saputo on the east side of the city.

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The Impact game will be one of those rare moments where Americans will have an easier time watching a Canadian team. TSN is in overload, so the start of the game won't be on television in Canada. The game is available on TSN GO. TSN1/TSN4 will join the soccer match in progress after the Calgary-Montréal CFL game. TSN1 and TSN4 will also be the only options for the Toronto game, though they will carry that game from the start.

Canadians can tune into RDS for the Impact game and pick up a little French.

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The Impact game Thursday night wasn't available in English. I couldn't get the secondary audio feed to work on the UniMas feed, though it may not have been available. I don't have an issue with Spanish in the studio segments and commercials but English would have been a nice option. The RDS feed wouldn't have been that much easier for me to follow but would have been more interesting.

At least the game was on TV.

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The Leg 2 schedule has not been set. Check back on this story and we will update the times and U.S. networks on the MLS playoffs schedule.

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photos credit: MLS/ESPN2; MLS/UniMas

NHL the week in preview October 28, 2016

We have our first Toronto-Montréal matchup of the season, leading off the CBC doubleheader on Saturday. The game will also air on City TV. Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals make their way to Vancouver for the CBC nightcap.

Rogers Sportsnet One has the Hometown Hockey game from Grand Falls-Windsor, NL as the Toronto Maple Leafs are in Brooklyn.

Rogers Sportsnet has an all-Canadian game Wednesday as the Canucks are in Montréal.

Rogers Sportsnet 360 is really busy this week with the Edmonton Oilers in Vancouver Friday night. The channel carries a Thursday doubleheader with the Oilers at Madison Square Garden early and the Calgary Flames in San Jose late.

The NHL Center Ice free preview runs through Tuesday.

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NHL Network

Tape delayed
Saturday Edmonton @ Vancouver, Noon
Monday Toronto @ NY Islanders, 2p
Thursday Vancouver @ Montréal, 2p

CBC

Saturday
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p
Washington @ Vancouver, 10p

City

Saturday
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Wednesday
Vancouver @ Montréal, 7:30p

Rogers Sportsnet One

Sunday
Toronto @ NY Islanders, 6p

Rogers Sportsnet 360

Friday
Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p
Thursday
Edmonton @ NY Rangers, 7p
Calgary @ San Jose, 10:30p

NHL Center Ice

Friday Winnipeg @ Colorado, 9p
Ottawa @ Calgary, 9p
Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p
Saturday Toronto @ Montréal, 7p
Washington @ Vancouver, 10p
Sunday Buffalo @ Winnipeg, 3p
Toronto @ NY Islanders, 6p
Ottawa @ Edmonton, 9p
Washington @ Calgary, 9:30p
Tuesday Edmonton @ Toronto, 7:30p
Carolina @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Washington @ Winnipeg, 8p
Calgary @ Chicago, 8:30p

Winnipeg the true winner of the 2016 Heritage Classic

Given the Heritage Classic in Winnipeg, that coverage deserved its own story. If you missed that story, click here to read the details.

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Having 5 Saturday night games plus a Heritage Classic taxed the Rogers resources. The CBC would use people such as Bruce Rainnie and Cassie Campbell-Pascall to fill in the booth as needed. Rogers prefers to have local people fill the gaps.

Dean Brown called the Ottawa Saturday night games on CBC plus other games as needed. Rogers could use him at times but he's not a Rogers employee anymore. Mark Lee could fill in here and there; though he is employed part-time by Rogers, but Lee hasn't been considered as an option.

Jason York helped out in Ottawa. Rogers sent Louie DeBrusk to Calgary. The local Vancouver crew worked the CBC late game. We like the Vancouver crew, but the late CBC game should always have a national crew. The issue with Vancouver was also that the local crew worked the Hometown Hockey game.

An occasional appearance by some old friends would be a nice gesture, especially when those old friends have a lot of national experience.

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The NBCSN coverage of Boston-Toronto on the opening weekend drew 114,000. The number is significantly down from the relatively low ratings of the channel's regular coverage. The switch was last minute and even NHL fans in the States don't think to tune in NBCSN on a Saturday night. Also, the game wasn't shown in Boston so that number excludes the vast majority of Bruins fans.

NBCSN allows the NHL Network to show a game at the same time if the production is an outside feed. NBCSN could start offering a U.S. telecast of note on Saturday nights so the NHL Network could focus on Hockey Night in Canada. NBCSN could pick up a local feed, even if it's not a Comcast feed. This way, U.S. fans can have choices on Saturday night. If NBCSN carries a all-U.S. matchup and fans know that will happen, those numbers would be sharply higher, especially compared to NBCSN regular Saturday night programming.

I've argued that CNBC could get decent ratings by carrying both ends of the Hockey Night in Canada doubleheader, allowing the NHL Network to carry U.S. games.

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My sources tell me the NHL Network used the Chicago feed for the Calgary game on Monday. This job would be a lot more fun if I a) lived in Canada, or b) lived in a market w/o a NHL team or one less popular.

The blackout also prevented me from viewing the early CBC feed. While I haven't seen an early CBC feed yet but the CBC show promos in the late game feed have been limited to intermissions in the slots that used to be reserved for local spots when the CBC ran Hockey Night in Canada. Some of those CBC promos should run during the game action. Hockey viewers are more likely even in 2016 to avoid commercials during the intermissions.

I ran the tape over and over and only counted 5 CBC promos instead of 6 in the late game. The Secret Path is from Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, who told the story of Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Indigenous boy who died in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ontario. If I missed a promo, please let us know in the comments section.

Late game: Kim's Convenience; This Is High School (1st); The Secret Path (2nd); This Is High School; Shoot the Messenger (3rd).

2016 CFL Week 19 preview

Edmonton might be doing advance playoffs scouting in its trip Friday night at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.

Ottawa is in Winnipeg with both teams vying for playoff positioning to start the Saturday doubleheader. The B.C. Lions play in the last game ever at Taylor Field in Saskatchewan in the nightcap.

Montréal hosts Calgary on a Sunday afternoon as the Stampeders start thinking about the weeks ahead.

The Toronto Argonauts get a needed week off.

TSN

Friday
Edmonton @ Hamilton, 7p
Saturday
Ottawa @ Winnipeg, 4p
BC @ Saskatchewan, 7p
Sunday
Calgary @ Montréal, 1p

Bye week: Toronto

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Ottawa and Saskatchewan have the fate of the West semifinal in their hands. Ottawa-Winnipeg and B.C.-Saskatchewan play home-and-home to finish the season. The RedBlacks are working to win the East while the Roughriders want to finish strong.

The relevant tiebreakers are set in the CFL. Each of the 3 West teams has an advantage over the other teams.

• Winnipeg has the tiebreaker over the B.C. Lions
• Edmonton has the tiebreaker over Winnipeg
• B.C. has the tiebreaker over Edmonton

Edmonton went into last week's game with a 4-point advantage over the Lions. The B.C. 7-point win gave the Lions the edge over Edmonton. Since the league expanded to 9 teams, some matchups don't have that third deciding game.

Since Edmonton is 2 games behind Winnipeg and B.C., we know the B.C. Lions won't go east. The Blue Bombers have a magic number of 1 to not go east. These scenarios assume there won't be a 3-way tie.

Hamilton has the tiebreaker over Ottawa but that only comes into play if the teams have the same record. Unless the Tiger-Cats have a tie in the last 2 games, the tiebreaker won't be relevant. The point differential was the tiebreaker since the teams split the 2 games: the overall was Hamilton +2. The RedBlacks won the first game by a point; the Tiger-Cats won the second game in OT by 3 points.

The RedBlacks have a worthy opponent in Winnipeg trying for playoff seeding. The Blue Bombers haven't hosted a home playoff game since 2011. Hamilton has an easier path on paper with home games against Edmonton and Montréal to finish the year.

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The start time of the Calgary game was pushed back to 9 pm Eastern/7 pm Mountain. This deviated from the traditional CFL approach where games do not overlap. Could not find a reason for the time shift.

TSN1 started the Toronto-Calgary game at 9 pm Eastern, leaving TSN 3,4,5 to finish up the game in Ottawa. The eastern channels went out to Calgary at the conclusion of the Hamilton-Ottawa game.

If those games had been on U.S. television, ESPN would have likely kept the feed in Ottawa and joined the later game late. ESPN has done that with CFL overtime games. On ESPN3, hopefully they monitored the situation to show both games at the same time.

The Calgary audience got its game but Argos fans who only get TSN4 were out of luck. After all, Hamilton and Toronto share TSN4. Those Argos fans would have missed Toronto's first lead in a game in 5 weeks. 

I've seen CFL games rebroadcast later on TSN2: that would have been another way to catch up. Plus, Canadians could have streamed the other game online through TSN GO.

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Chris Cuthbert, Glen Suitor: Toronto @ Calgary; Edmonton @ BC
Rod Black, Duane Forde: Montréal @ Saskatchewan
Gord Miller, Matt Dunigan: Hamilton @ Ottawa

Winnipeg the true winner of the 2016 Heritage Classic

The 2016 Heritage Classic was delayed by about 90 minutes and the home team couldn't generate a goal. But Winnipeg was the real winner in the 2016 Heritage Classic.

The Edmonton Oilers posted the 3-0 shutout, scoring all 3 goals in the 2nd period. The road team is now 14-4-1 in NHL outdoor games. No goals from Connor McDavid and Patrik Laine. No incredible Winnipeg Jets 2016 comeback.

The effort to showcase Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Jets and the team history was a resounding success.

The intense rivalry between these franchises in the 1970s and 1980s was news to a lot of people who didn't know much about hockey in Winnipeg. The perception of a lack of playoff success was explained that the Jets ran into the buzzsaw that was the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s. The Jets of the 1970s did enjoy huge success in the WHA.

The Heritage Classic gave us a chance to learn more about the tradition of hockey in Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg Jets dominated the WHA: in the 7 seasons of the league, the Jets won 3 Avco Cups and lost 2 other final rounds. The Jets won the Avco Cup in 1976, 1978, and 1979. Winnipeg lost to the New England Whalers in 1973 and Quebec Nordiques in 1977.

The Jets teams of the 1980s were rather successful but lost out to the Edmonton Oilers in the Smythe Division playoffs. The team clashed in the playoffs 6 times between 1983-1990. Edmonton won all 6 series ad 5 of those times the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup. What is even more remarkable is that Winnipeg only won 4 playoff games in those 6 series. 3 of those wins came in 1990 when Winnipeg went up 3-1 on a winning goal in double OT in Game 4.

The Heritage Classic shines NHL spotlight on Winnipeg

CFL in the Prairies is where the league shines

Finding my own personal Winnipeg

The 90-minute delay didn't seem that bad. There were plenty of ways to fill the time. A rerun of After Hours with Wayne Gretzky and Dale Hawerchuk. The interview with Scott Oake wasn't truly live like the traditional After Hours but was a rich interview.

Strumbellas, Sum 41, Tom Cochrane. The music enriched the experience for the fans in person and on TV. Music and hockey go well together, especially in the Canadian versions of NHL outdoor games.

The alumni game was almost as big a draw as the regular game. The players took the event pretty seriously.

Teemu Selanne had a pair of goals, including the game winner on a penalty shot with 3.6 ticks left, to give the Jets alumni the 6-5 win. Though Selanne is associated with Anaheim in the states, the Finnish star got his start in Winnipeg, setting a record of 76 goals in his rookie season in Winnipeg.

A lot of the players involved for both teams were part of that intense rivalry. There were even some players who played for both teams. This was illustrated during the alumni game when Willy Lindstrom played the first 2 periods for Edmonton and then was "traded" to the Winnipeg squad for the 3rd period. Lindstrom was traded from Winnipeg to Edmonton in March 1983 for Laurie Boschman.

The game also featured the top colour analysts in Canada and the United States. Craig Simpson played for the Oilers while Ed Olczyk played for the Jets. Jim Hughson and Kelly Hrudey even got Olczyk to call a penalty shot on the Rogers Sportsnet telecast.

Scott Oake is from Winnipeg. For a lot of years at the CBC, Oake covered a lot of events outside his native city. The 15-year cavern between the Jets 1.0 and Jets 2.0 made a huge difference. True, there might have been some Winnipeg Blue Bombers games in the CFL on CBC, but the Blue Bombers haven't won a Grey Cup since 1990.

Oake was the on-ice host both days and even got to host an After Hours from Winnipeg. He even hosted the look back at great Winnipeg Jets moments in the second intermission of the Heritage Classic.

Oake got to do all of this and didn't even have to sleep in a hotel room.

NBC has a habit of making things a bit hokie in its coverage, but some of that hokie approach would have been helpful. We got very few shots of the crowd, no vantage point of where the sightlines from the seats, no shots of tailgating fans.

The Rogers Sportsnet telecast was thorough on elements on and around the ice and virtually silent about the crowd.

Winnipeg and weather delays hasn't been just alliteration in 2016. The Heritage Classic delay was due to sunshine but Investors Group Field has seen some weather troubles this year. The Blue Bombers season opener against the Montréal Alouettes on June 24 was delayed by an hour due to lightning. The most extreme case was August 3 against Hamilton where the start time of the game was pushed to past 10 pm Central time. The threat of lightning, even as the rain hadn't fallen yet, made for intriguing TV.

The Blue Bombers also suffered through a weather delay of 30 minutes in Edmonton on July 28. The oddity was that all 3 games were on U.S. television. Weather in the Canadian prairies can be challenging, especially in the summertime.

photos credit: NHL/Rogers Sportsnet

2016 MLS playoffs preview

Date	Game	Time	U.S. TV	Canada TV
October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	7:30p	ESPN2, UniMas	TSN2
October 27	Montréal @ Houston	7:30p	UniMas	TSN 1/5, RDS2

Toronto FC and the Montréal Impact both play in the knockout round of the 2016 MLS playoffs. Unlike last year, the teams won't play each other.

The Reds host the Philadelphia Union at BMO Field. The Impact travel to RFK Stadium to play D.C. United. This is the first home playoff game for Toronto FC and only the second MLS postseason game at BMO Field, the first since the 2010 MLS Cup.

ESPN2 will show the Reds Wednesday night. UniMas will show both games. To watch the Impact with the English language feed, you need to convert your SAP options so that English is the secondary language. Hopefully Canadian fans have all the TSN channels.

ESPN to show all-Canadian MLS regular season game

2016 MLS season preview

2015 MLS Playoffs preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

Toronto FC finished 3rd with a 14-9-11 record for 53 points. Montréal finished 5th with a 11-11-12 record for 45 points.

The Reds went 1-0-1 against Philadelphia in the regular season. Toronto FC won 3-1 on August 20 in Philadelphia and played to a 1-1 draw at BMO Field on September 24. The Reds have a 8-3-6 record at BMO Field.

The Impact played a pair of 1-1 draws against D.C. United: July 31 at RFK Stadium and August 24 at Stade Saputo. Montréal has a 4-6-7 record away from La Belle Province.

A Toronto win means a home-and-home with NYCFC in the next round. A Montréal win would give the Impact a home-and-home with the New York Red Bulls if the Reds win and a date with NYCFC if Toronto FC loses.

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"If this part scares you, then you're in the wrong business." -- Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley

The Reds have a longer path to the MLS Cup than might have been thought earlier in the season. The win over Chicago was the first for Toronto FC at BMO Field since August 6, going 0-2-3 in the home streak. Toronto went over a month without a win, going 0-1-4 in the previous 5 games. If the Reds had converted one of those ties into a win, Toronto FC would have had a bye; if 2 of those ties had become wins, the team would have been tied with the New York Red Bulls for the top spot.

This is the part where we say that Portland finished 3rd last year and won the MLS Cup. Toronto FC has great potential to be that hot team in the MLS playoffs.

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Didier Drogba may not play for the Montréal Impact on Thursday. Drogba was fined by MLS after refusing to come off the bench in the match against Toronto FC. He did not play in Foxborough, MA last week citing his back and the artificial turf.

The Impact need to tune him out and not let him be a distraction. Drogba scored 10 goals in the 22 games he played, but the Impact had a better record in games he missed (6-3-3) versus the games where he played (5-8-9). 

Montréal has played 2-2-4 since September.  The players who were rested last week against New England are ready to go, even with Drogba.

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The Vancouver Whitecaps finished 8th in the Western Conference with a 10-15-9 record climbing over San Jose on the final day with a 4-1 win over Portland. Despite the overall miserable season, the Whitecaps have made the MLS playoffs 3 of the last 5 years, a mark no other Canadian team can claim.

The 4-1 win over Portland also gave the Whitecaps the 2016 Cascadia Cup. The Cascadia Cup is based on success in games between the Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders, and Portland Timbers. The Whitecaps needed every goal on Sunday since Vancouver won the tiebreaker on goal differential.

Each team went 3-3 with Vancouver goals at 11-10 for a +1 goal differential. Portland was 14-14 for a 0 goal differential. The Seattle Sounders went 10-11 for a -1 goal differential, though the Sounders are the only Cascadia team to make the 2016 MLS playoffs. The Whitecaps win denied Portland a playoff spot for the 2015 MLS Cup champions.

Vancouver has won 6 Cascadia Cups going back to 2004, including 3 of the last 4 years.

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2015	November 8	Portland @ Vancouver	Portland	2-0
2015	November 8	Montréal @ Columbus	Columbus	3-1 (OT)
2015	November 1	Vancouver @ Portland	Tie	0-0
2015	November 1	Columbus @ Montréal	Montréal	2-1
2015	October 29	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-0
2014	October 29	Vancouver @ Dallas	Dallas	2-1
2013	October 31	Montréal @ Houston	Houston	3-0
2012	November 1	Vancouver @ LA Galaxy	LA Galaxy	2-1

 

ESPN brought in Chicago Fire TV voice Dan Kelly to work with Taylor Twellman and Katie Witham on the Toronto FC game in Montréal. The game drew 161,000 viewers with 96,000 in the 18-49 demo. The other ESPN MLS game that day drew the same number in the 18-49 demo but 178,000 overall viewers. Pretty good numbers without a home market in the States.

Dan Kelly is definitely pro-Canada from his time as a NHL announcer and the legacy of being the son of one-time Hockey Night in Canada play-by-play guy Dan Kelly. The senior Kelly also worked for CTV and Global in Canada.

The broadcast treated the game like any other MLS game, a very good sign.

2016 Toronto Raptors NBA preview

2016-2017 Toronto Raptors U.S. TV schedule
Date	Game	Time	U.S. TV
October 28	Cleveland @ Toronto	7p	ESPN
October 31	Denver @ Toronto	7:30p	NBA TV
November 15	Toronto @ Cleveland	7p	NBA TV
November 16	Golden State @ Toronto	8p	ESPN
December 8	Minnesota @ Toronto	7p	TNT
December 28	Toronto @ Golden State	10:30p	NBA TV
January 10	Boston @ Toronto	7:30p	NBA TV
January 24	San Antonio @ Toronto	7p	NBA TV
February 12	Detroit @ Toronto	6p	NBA TV
February 27	Toronto @ New York	7p	TNT
March 19	Indiana @ Toronto	6p	NBA TV
March 21	Chicago @ Toronto	7p	ESPN
March 31	Indiana @ Toronto	7p	ESPN
April 9	Toronto @ New York	Noon	NBA TV

 

Last year, the Toronto Raptors were on U.S. TV 10 times with 8 of them on NBA TV along with a single appearance on ESPN and TNT. How does reaching the Eastern Conference final help the Raptors on U.S. TV?

The Toronto Raptors have 14 U.S. appearances on U.S. TV: 8 on NBA TV with 4 on ESPN and 2 TNT games. 10 of the 14 games are at Air Canada Centre.

The Raptors have a home-and-home TV appearances with Cleveland (victor in the Eastern Conference Final) and Golden State (Western Conference winners). The schedule has 2 home games with Indiana and 2 road appearances at Madison Square Garden.

2016 Toronto Raptors preseason schedule

CanadianCrossing.com NBA coverage

The team had its most successful season last year, bringing plenty of pressure to climb even higher. The Raptors kept together the starting background of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.

The Toronto Raptors will have fewer distractions. No game in London. No All-Star Game at the Air Canada Centre. But this team does have expectations, very high expectations.

The Raptors start out with a 3-game homestand welcoming Detroit, Cleveland, and Denver. Those last 2 games are on U.S. television. The first road game will be at Washington on November 2. Toronto plays 5 of the first 6 games in Canada.

TSN and Rogers Sportsnet will split the Raptors games again this season. Truly, check your local listings.

The new Q with Tom Power makes its debut

The litany of guest hosts is done. Tom Power makes his debut this morning as the permanent host of Q on CBC Radio One.

Power replaces Shad aka Shadrach Kabango, who had the difficult task of following original host Jian Ghomeshi. Power is the third permanent host of Q since the show's debut in 2007.

Power said in a radio interview with CBC in St. John's that the updated version of Q will have 30% more music. "It's going to be a lot of arts, a lot of entertainment, a lot of music stories."

Tom Power to replace Shad on Q

Shad is new host of CBC Radio's 'Q'

Rosewater and its Canadian connections

CBC parts ways with Jian Ghomeshi

Helping CBC Part III: Filling programming holes

Billy Bob Thornton questions Canadian blandness in bizarre radio interview

Power promises not to be the "voice of God" as host. "What's really missing right now is context," he told CBC News. "I think that I'm excited to learn with the audience."

In that same interview, Power noted that the show will also contain segments from contributors across the country.

When Power spoke with Candy Palmater on Q on Friday, he mentioned the concept of the "inclusive record store clerk" who could recommend something to improve your knowledge and "why you should care about it."

Power was the host of Radio 2 Morning on CBC Radio 2 since November 2011. Raina Douris takes over as the new weekday host.

Q airs on CBC Radio One at 10 am local time and on radio stations in the United States via Public Radio International. You can also listen to Q on Sirius/XM Channel 169 and on the CBC Radio app. For the TV version, check your local listings.

photo credit: Twitter/TomPowerCBC

NHL the week in preview October 21, 2016

The Heritage Classic with Edmonton at Winnipeg will be on Rogers Sportsnet with a simulcast on the NHL Network. A bit unusual to have this game not be on NBCSN but we get a Canadian feed in this scenario.

The Heritage Classic shines NHL spotlight on Winnipeg

Rogers Sportsnet will also have the Calgary Flames in Chicago on Monday. That game will also be on the NHL Network.

As for Saturday night, the CBC doubleheader starts with an Original 6 matchup with the Maple Leafs in Chicago. Vancouver goes to the Staples Center to battle the Los Angeles Kings in the nightcap.

City TV also draws an Original 6 game as Les Habs are in Boston.

The other Rogers Sportsnet game this week is the Vancouver Canucks traveling to Anaheim for the Hometown Hockey game from Saint John, NB.

Rogers Sportsnet One steps in with a Saturday doubleheader with Tampa Bay in the Canadian capital followed by Calgary hosting St. Louis.

The channel is just getting started with a Toronto home game against Tampa Bay on Tuesday and the Wednesday doubleheader with the Montréal Canadiens in Brooklyn early and Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals in Edmonton late.

Rogers Sportsnet 360 will have Tampa Bay in Montréal on Thursday.

NHL Network

Sunday
Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 3p
Monday
Calgary @ Chicago, 8:30p

Tape delayed
Monday Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 3p
Tuesday Philadelphia @ Montréal, 1p
Calgary @ Chicago, 2p
Wednesday Tampa Bay @ Toronto, 2p
Thursday Montréal @ NY Islanders, 1p
Washington @ Edmonton, 2p

CBC

Saturday
Toronto @ Chicago, 7p
Vancouver @ Los Angeles, 10p

City

Saturday
Montréal @ Boston, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Sunday
Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 3p
Vancouver @ Anaheim, 8p
Monday
Calgary @ Chicago, 8:30p

Rogers Sportsnet One

Saturday
Tampa Bay @ Ottawa, 7p
St. Louis @ Calgary, 10p
Tuesday
Tampa Bay @ Toronto, 7:30p
Wednesday
Montréal @ NY Islanders, 7p
Washington @ Edmonton, 9:30p

Rogers Sportsnet 360

Thursday
Tampa Bay @ Montréal, 7:30p

NHL Center Ice

Saturday Montréal @ Boston, 7p
Tampa Bay @ Ottawa, 7p
Toronto @ Chicago, 7p
St. Louis @ Calgary, 10p
Vancouver @ Los Angeles, 10p
Sunday Vancouver @ Anaheim, 8p
Monday Philadelphia @ Montréal, 7:30p
Tuesday Tampa Bay @ Toronto, 7:30p
Calgary @ St. Louis, 8p
Winnipeg @ Dallas, 8:30p
Ottawa @ Vancouver, 10p
Wednesday Montréal @ NY Islanders, 7p
Washington @ Edmonton, 9:30p
Thursday Florida @ Toronto, 7:30p
Tampa Bay @ Montréal, 7:30p
Dallas @ Winnipeg, 8p

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NBCSN carried a Hockey Night in Canada game and the event went pretty well. The logistics didn't allow for CBC in the intermissions but the game coverage was smooth.

Liam McHugh and Jeremy Roenick cancelled their Saturday night plans to go to Stamford, CT. The intro segment was a bit jingoistic — apparently, Auston Matthews is from the United States. The first intermission gave some nice perspective as the focus shifted to Mitch Marner. The fear was that Matthews would be the only focus for NBCSN but they were generous to the process. Roenick noted that he watched the Maple Leafs opener and picked up on Marner. McHugh made a nice remark about how the parents in the stands are the focus, not wives or girlfriends, to demonstrate how young the new Maple Leafs are.

The coverage was surprisingly pro-Toronto; the Boston Bruins didn't really get mentioned, though the NBCSN feed didn't go into Boston.

If NBCSN wants to do more of this on a Saturday night, especially on weeks where the NHL Network's attention is below the 49th parallel, we would welcome that coverage. The U.S. coverage got to see Canada's #1 crew with an energetic Maple Leafs crowd at the Air Canada Centre.

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Ron MacLean was back in the chair and the pregame vibe shifted. No one got up and did anything goofy. We even learned things about the upcoming games. The show was definitely less funny or trying less hard to be funny but that is a nice tradeoff.

Nick Kypreos was far less annoying but still the weak link on the panel. Kelly Hrudey could have used a bit more screen time. And Elliotte Friedman, who seems comfortable no matter the circumstance, seemed more comfortable now that MacLean is back.

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Saturday night means being able to see the anthems. NBCSN even gave us the anthems from Toronto. The 3 anthems on Canadian soil said "thy sons command." The only thing consistent in the anthem presentation is there is inconsistency. The gender-neutral change is not even close to being universally accepted.

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When the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers play each other not on national TV, there has been a single feed, usually from the home team. For the Calgary home opener, the Flames feed was on Sportsnet One while the Oilers feed was on Sportsnet 360. NHL Center Ice only offered the Oilers feed; the NHL Network rebroadcast had the Flames feed.

Rogers has complained about costs and having two crews cover a game is more expensive. But hockey fans got an extra treat by having a choice.

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One huge drawback to NHL Center Ice with cable is that you get very few games in HD. This year's HD feed is rather messed up. The 16:9 ratio is compressed into a 4:3 box. That isn't good on the eyes after awhile and the puck is harder to find.

Also, this year, the rebroadcasts are gone. If you miss an amazing performance, the charm of NHL Center Ice was you could tape the rebroadcast overnight or the next morning. If you want to tape a bunch of feeds, now you have to compete against prime-time programming and Toronto Blue Jays playoff games.

These are 2 very good reasons not to buy the package.

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The NBCSN exposure gave the CBC on-air promos a wider audience. They might be curious as to what they are missing.

The pun in the Kim's Convenience promo is that laughs are "in store." All but the Rick Mercer Report are new shows this season, though This Is High School is a short-term program.

Early game: Kim's Convenience; This Is High School (1st); Rick Mercer Report; Kim's Convenience (2nd); Shoot the Messenger; This Is High School (3rd).

Late game: Kim's Convenience; (1st); This Is High School; Rick Mercer Report; (2nd); Kim's Convenience; Shoot the Messenger; This Is High School (3rd).

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photos credit: CTV News Winnipeg

2016 Toronto Blue Jays season wrapup

0, 1, 2, 5, 0. Even if you have Bob Gibson pitching every night, you won't win too many playoff games with such an anemic offence. The team that lives by the home run certainly can't do much without that home run.

Michael Saunders homered in Game 3. Josh Donaldson homered in Game 4. Both HRs were solo shots. The one game where the offence showed life was the single game Toronto won in the American League Championship Series.

Reaching the ALCS 2 years in a row is laudatory success for the Toronto Blue Jays. But fans are wondering why the team couldn't get to the World Series.

2016 Toronto Blue Jays playoffs scoreboard

2016 Toronto Blue Jays ALCS preview

2016 Toronto Blue Jays playoffs preview

2016 Toronto Blue Jays wild card preview

CanadianCrossing.com MLB coverage

Sometimes leaders take the flak to spare teammates. Jose Bautista danced around whether the umpires weren't as fair to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS. We heard this last year in both playoff series but not during the 2016 ALDS. 

Bautista was correct but the problem is in saying it out loud. The best revenge is on the field. Whining, even when it's true, is not a good character trait.

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In the heyday of the Toronto Blue Jays success, the team would lead baseball in attendance. In 1987, 1989-1994, the Blue Jays had the best attendance in the American League.

After the 1994 strike, attendance fell. In 2010, the team had the 3rd worst attendance in the American League.

In 2016, the Blue Jays drew 3,392,099, the highest mark since 1993. The 2016 mark is the 5th highest in team history. The increase from the 2015 mark of 2,794,891 was 597,208, a 21% increase over last year.

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Douglas Cardinal had a really nice point. Cardinal wasn't after the Cleveland MLB franchise to change its name, though he and millions would love that change. His application wanted the Cleveland team to not display the nickname and truly horrible logo on the Cleveland uniforms and for Rogers to avoid showing either during the telecast.

The team has a C for Cleveland on its cap. You can have Cleveland across the jersey. Logos aren't required on uniforms and seriously, "Chief Wahoo," is the worst. To have the offensive logo on the hat is inexplicable.

The application would have only applied to the games in Toronto and would have no impact outside Ontario.

An Ontario Superior Court judge dismissed the application for an injunction before Game 3 at Rogers Centre.

Rogers had a point in that the company can't control what is in the crowd and the TBS feed, which Rogers shows in Canada, is out of Rogers control.

Cardinal's argument was that the name and logo amounted to racial discrimination in violation of Ontario's Human Rights Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act. The chances were not significant that the attempt would work but we did have a conversation as a result.

U.S. collegiate sports don't have this issue as much because several U.S. universities changed their nicknames: Marquette, Miami of Ohio, and Stanford are some of the universities that changed their nicknames.

While racism is racism in pro sports, there are varying degrees. The Washington NFL franchise has the worst nickname. The Cleveland issue is about the nickname but the logo is far more offensive. The Edmonton CFL franchise has shown some sensitivity but also referring to the club as the Esks. But we know what that is short for in the nickname.

Toronto Blue Jays Playoff History

Year	Opponent	Series	Result
1985	Kansas City	ALCS	3-4
1989	Oakland	ALCS	1-4
1991	Minnesota	ALCS	1-4
1992	Oakland	ALCS	4-2
1992	Atlanta	WS	4-2
1993	Chicago (AL)	ALCS	4-2
1993	Philadelphia	WS	4-2
2015	Texas	ALDS	3-2
2015	Kansas City	ALCS	2-4
2016	Texas	ALDS	3-0
2016	Cleveland	ALCS	1-4

 

We know that innocence until proven guilty reigns in both the United States and Canada. Ken Pagan has been charged with mischief in the beer can throwing episode during the American League wild card game.

Thanks to The Globe and Mail, we also know that Pagan no longer works for Postmedia. Postmedia owns the Toronto Sun that offered a $1,000 reward for information on the beer-thrower’s identity.

Besides justice in this case and for the racial slurs that allegedly came from the crowd, we would love to see justice serve as an incentive to not keep having trouble with Blue Jays fans in the playoffs.

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photo credit: MLB/TBS