Canadian Crossing

NHL the week in preview December 29, 2017

Connor McDavid can work some miracles. NBCSN welcomes in the new year with a rare Edmonton home game that isn’t in the last week of the regular season. The channel will carry the Oilers hosting Los Angeles Tuesday night. Let's hope NBCSN shows up with a better attitude from the last telecast.

The game will likely be delayed due to the early NBCSN game; otherwise, the U.S. audience will join in progress.

CBC will be free of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday with the Montréal Canadiens hanging out with the snowbirds in the Sunshine State. City TV will carry the simulcast of the early game. The Los Angeles Kings are in Vancouver in the CBC nightcap.

Rogers Sportsnet jumps in on Saturday with the Boston Bruins in Ottawa. The channels will have a Sunday doubleheader starting with the Toronto Maple Leafs at Gary Bettman’s new favourite desert team. Hometown Hockey from Spruce Grove, AB features the Winnipeg Jets in Edmonton.

Wednesday Night Hockey has an "Adams" divisional battle with the Ottawa Senators in the Motor City.

Rogers Sportsnet One follows the Chicago team to Edmonton Friday night along with SNE, SNO, and SNP. Rogers Sportsnet 360 picks up that Chicago road trip to Western Canada in Calgary on Sunday.

The Vancouver Canucks hosting Anaheim on Tuesday will be on SNE, SNO, and SNP.

NBCSN

Tuesday
Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 9:30p

NHL Network

Tape delayed
Wednesday Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 2p

CBC

Saturday
Montréal @ Florida, 7p
Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10p

City

Saturday
Montréal @ Florida, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Saturday
Boston @ Ottawa, 7p
Sunday
Toronto @ Las Vegas, 3:30p
Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 7p
Wednesday
Ottawa @ Detroit, 7:30p

Rogers Sportsnet One

Friday
Chicago @ Edmonton, 9p

Rogers Sportsnet 360

Sunday
Chicago @ Calgary, 9p

---

Bob Cole hasn't worked in awhile so he could have taken his time getting from St. John's to Vancouver. Cole worked the Canucks game late on CBC. That late game finishing at about 2:30 am back in Newfoundland.

Cole reportedly has family in Vancouver so that would explain the move. Dave Randorf worked his first Saturday game in the early slot this season to make way for Cole.

The pregame had a nice tribute to Dick Enberg. Turns out Enberg had a lot of love for Foster Hewitt. Ron MacLean told the story of Enberg sneaking out to listen to Hockey Night in Canada. Back then, the radio coverage didn't start until the 2nd period. Enberg talked about not listening to the 3rd period as to not risk getting in trouble.

We noted online that Enberg was part of NBC's coverage of the CFL in 1982 during the NFL players strike. Enberg made a couple of trips to Edmonton back when the U.S. didn't know much about a quarterback named Warren Moon. Deadspin has a good look at the blowouts that limited the NBC experiment with the CFL.

Mike Myers opens Hockey Night in Canada

Mike Myers outs Ryan Gosling as Canadian

Mike Myers is easy to spot when the Toronto Maple Leafs are in New York City, whether that is Manhattan or Brooklyn. The CBC cameras spotted Myers a few times at Madison Square Garden last Saturday. Myers was prominent in 2016 at holiday time with his new book, Canada. In 2015, Myers outed Ryan Gosling as a Canadian on Saturday Night Live and introducing Americans to bonhomme de neige.

The telecast did spend some time with former NFL legend Boomer Esiason, a fan of the New York Rangers and father of Sydney, girlfriend of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matt Martin.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

CBC is pounding home the new Wednesday night winter lineup in the promos. This is a smarter strategy than playing up the holiday specials.

The returning Tuesday night comedies were the highlights of the 2nd period promos.

The lone 3rd period promo threw a curveball marketing the current Monday dramas as #MysteryMonday. Frankie Drake Mysteries comes from the producers of Murdoch Mysteries and has had some good buzz. We will be curious, assuming the program comes back, whether CBC keeps them together or uses the newer show to open a new block on the 2018 fall schedule.

Early game: Burden of Truth; The Detectives (1st); Schitt's Creek; Workin' Moms; 2018 Winter Olympics (2nd); Murdoch Mysteries/Frankie Drake Mysteries (3rd)

photo credit: NBC

2018 World Juniors preview

2018 World Juniors Schedule for Canada

Date	Opponent	Time	Home/Away
December 26	Finland	4 pm	Away
December 27	Slovakia	7 pm	Home
December 29	United States	3 pm	Away
December 30	Denmark	8 pm	Home
Times are Eastern.

 

Happy Boxing Day!!

You can see Canada from the 2018 World Juniors in Buffalo, NY. Most of the games will be at the KeyBank Center, home of the NHL Buffalo Sabres. The Canada-U.S. game will be held at the home of the NFL Buffalo Bills in suburban Orchard Park. That will make for some great TV.

Canada gets to avoid Russia in its opening round bracket. The team will play 4 games in 5 days, including the outdoor hockey game. Canada gets New Year's Eve off, a day traditionally reserved for playing the United States. Canada plays every other country in Group A in the opening round. The countries in Group B are Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Belarus.

The United States beat Canada 5-4 in a shootout for the gold medal in the 2017 World Juniors in Montréal and Toronto.

Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro will call the tournament for TSN with a simulcast on the NHL Network in the United States. The NHL Network provides its own feed for Canada versus the United States.

By playing in North America, the NHL Network blows off NHL telecasts and even matinee rebroadcasts in favour of the World Juniors.

photo credit: Buffalo World Juniors

NHL the week in preview December 22, 2017

The NHL will take off Sunday-Tuesday thanks to the upcoming holiday.

The NHL Network carries its last game in 2017 with a Canadian-based team with a CBC simulcast of the Toronto Maple Leafs among the bright lights of New York City at Madison Square Garden.

The CBC late game has St. Louis in Vancouver.

City TV will have one of Florida's largest crowds with the Ottawa Senators in a warmer place on Saturday.

Rogers Sportsnet chimes in with an all-Canadian matchup as the Montréal Canadiens finish their Western Canadian trip in Edmonton. After the break, the regional channels will have the Edmonton Oilers in Winnipeg against the Jets. Ottawa and Montréal will have local feeds on Wednesday.

Rogers Sportsnet 360 helps out over the holidays as the Chicago franchise will be in Vancouver Thursday night. That game also airs on SNE, SNO, and SNP.

The NHL Network feed in New York City will have Montréal-Edmonton on Saturday.

The NHL Network matinee rebroadcasts are also going on holiday starting tomorrow.

NHL Network

Saturday
Toronto @ NY Rangers, 7p

Tape delayed
Friday Vancouver @ San Jose, 2p

CBC

Saturday
Toronto @ NY Rangers, 7p
St. Louis @ Vancouver, 10p

City

Saturday
Ottawa @ Florida, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Saturday
Montréal @ Edmonton, 7p
Wednesday
Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 8p

Rogers Sportsnet 360

Thursday
Chicago @ Vancouver, 10p

Happy Birthday NHL: Born in Canada 100 years ago

If you missed our initial coverage of the NHL100 Classic, click here.

While the active NHL players didn't get to skate on Parliament Hill, the Ottawa Senators alumni got to play there Friday night. Team Alfredsson easily handled Team Phillips 12-3.

Alexandre Daigle scored 4 goals for Team Alfredsson. Chris Neil, who had retired just before the NHL100 Classic, scored a late goal for Team Phillips.

The local Rogers TV feed carried the game and the broadcast was streamed on Facebook. For those who missed the highlights, you can click here.

The rink at TD Place was also used on Sunday by the OHL Ottawa 67s playing their cross-river rivals, the QMJHL Gatineau Olympiques. Les Olympiques got the best of the home team 4-1 before 11,671 on a cold Ottawa late afternoon/early evening.

---

The Montréal Canadiens have served the outdoor game well, providing an opponent for Edmonton, Calgary, and Ottawa as well as a Winter Classic opponent for Boston. But Montréal has never hosted a NHL outdoor game.

Every Canadian city with a NHL team has now hosted an outdoor game except for Montréal. The closest an outdoor game has come to Quebec was the screens set up at the rink at Parliament Hill a long stone's throw from Quebec.

Montréal does not have the same logistical options for an outdoor game. Molson Stadium (25,012) and Stade Saputo (20,801) are relatively small in terms of capacity. Olympic Stadium in a transition to getting a new roof would be an amazing adventure. Elliotte Friedman mentioned Edmonton as a future team if/when Canada gets another outdoor game. But the NHL should work to place an outdoor game in Montréal.

What would Saturday nights look like if CBC didn't carry Hockey Night in Canada

Any speculation that City TV would take over as the primary over-the-air outlet for Rogers' version of Hockey Night In Canada is completely gone. CBC will be a part of the Rogers deal through the end of the contract in 2026.

CBC, which hasn't negotiated any of this well since Rogers took over, gets the rights to stream all national NHL games on the CBC Sports app, the new premium CBC TV app, and on CBCSports.ca. To this point, CBC had only been able to stream games airing on its own network. The new streaming rights will start in the near future.

In the above story, we painted a picture where the CBC could run other programming on Saturday nights and make money off ads. CBC has the power over Rogers but hasn't used this power to date. The streaming rights will be nice, though Rogers Sportsnet will also be streaming those same games, so there isn't a built-in advantage. The difference is that Canadians don't need a cable password to watch the CBC Web site.

By giving away the option to not carry the games, CBC has no more leverage in a contract that runs until 2026.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The CBC promos got some extra love from simulcasts from Rogers Sportsnet and NBCSN. Murdoch Mysteries traveled to Victoria, BC for the show's special holiday episodes this year. The Great Canadian Baking Show is wrapping up its run. The Workin' Moms airing is a special flashback episode just before the winter return of the show. The 3rd period promos went to the new shows in the Wednesday night winter lineup on CBC.

Early game: Murdoch Mysteries: Home for the Holidays; Great Canadian Baking Show (1st); Kim's Convenience; Workin' Moms (special flashback episode) (2nd); Burden of Truth; The Detectives (3rd)

photo credit: Julie Oliver/Postmedia

Happy Birthday NHL: Born in Canada 100 years ago

Jean-Gabriel Pageau gets the scoring started and the #Sens lead the 2017 Scotiabank #NHL100 Classic 1-0 after two periods. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/xhP3ZBx7Xq

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) December 17, 2017

Happy 100th birthday NHL. Born in Canada on December 19, 1917, the original teams — 2 in Montréal as well as teams in Toronto, Quebec, and Ottawa — played the first games. The Montréal Wanderers beat the Toronto Arenas 10-9 and the Montréal Canadiens downed the Ottawa Senators 7-4.

The current Toronto Maple Leafs will celebrate that anniversary today with a matinee game at 2 pm hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. The Leafs will dress in throwback Toronto Arenas sweaters. The Leafs are trying to get as many children to come since ticket prices are usually rather expensive. The team has been encouraging season-ticket holders to donate the ticket to the MLSE Foundation to then be given to a child.

2017 NHL 100 Classic preview in Ottawa

The NHL celebrated the anniversary on Saturday with the current Ottawa Senators hosting the Montréal Canadiens. In a battle of teams that can't score to save their seasons, Ottawa did pull out the 3-0 win at Lansdowne Park.

One for the ages. #NHL100 pic.twitter.com/w5hOhc0kSS

— NHL (@NHL) December 17, 2017

Here are some of the highlights:

• The crowd was really energized mostly due to being the second-coldest outdoor game. The first outdoor game in Edmonton rarely gets any credit south of the border. The precious Winter Classic was born out of that experience and deserves some praise.
• Gary Bettman was shown in the crowd once. When Bettman is in Canada, there is an assumption that he is lost. Justin Trudeau was only shown once in the crowd. But even Conservatives in Ottawa probably like Trudeau better than Bettman.
• Justin Trudeau did have a nice interview on the pregame show with his son Xavier along with Ron MacLean. The segment was filled with Pierre Trudeau stories from MacLean. In a cold outdoor setting, snowball questions fit the bill. Trudeau tied the game as a final way to celebrate Canada 150.
• Kyle Bukauskas took us back to the 2017 Grey Cup at the top floor of the condo building in the west end of the stadium. The TSN telecast showed the Grey Cup trophy traveling down from that top floor. Bukauskas gave us the view of the ice rink from that top location. Spectacular, though probably easier to see football than hockey from that distance. Ever since the RedBlacks have joined the CFL, we wondered how much you could actually see from up there.
• Guy Lafleur and Daniel Alfredsson stepped up to represent their respective franchises. We didn't get to see the alumni game and the Canadiens alumni weren't even involved. For the NHL 100 theme, bringing back legendary players was wonderful. Both Lafleur and Alfredsson participated in the ceremonial puck drop and were on the pregame show along with Trudeau.
• Both Coach's Corner and Saturday Headlines had to deal with the concern over Ottawa needing a downtown arena. The Senators have traditionally not drawn as well because Kanata is so far away from downtown and the city not even having a light-rail system to deal with the transportation issues. The timing has been tough given the love for Ottawa over the weekend but Senators owner Eugene Melnyk may have timed his thoughts because there was so much of a spotlight on the Canadian capital. A downtown arena in Ottawa has made sense for some time for entertainment, not just the NHL. Factor in that the NHL100 Classic was the first NHL game in the city of Ottawa in the modern era. The game drew 33,959 on a very cold night; those fans deserve a nearby arena.
• They actually interrupted the game to give away the Greatest NHL Moment. Louis Jean of TVA Sports handled the presentation, likely because they needed someone bilingual. Mario Lemieux beat out Bobby Orr for the greatest moment in the history of the NHL: scoring 5 goals 5 different ways.
• Jim Hughson usually tosses to a commercial break with "Hockey Night in Canada" of late. The tradition would be to say "Hockey Night in Canada on CBC." A few times Saturday, Hughson went back to saying "Hockey Night in Canada on CBC." Nice, especially since the game was also on Rogers Sportsnet and NBCSN.

NBCSN did carry the CBC feed during the game. However, the sense that the crew had back in Stamford, CT was a disconnection to the pageantry of the spectacle. NBCSN blew off Coach's Corner and only brought us a single Bryan Adams song Heaven in the 2nd intermission. The NBCSN commentary wasn't horrible but was too brief and not worth missing the pageantry. When Cuts Like a Knife came on as NBCSN went to break, the audience became sad.

Kathryn Tappen took some classes at the John Forslund School of "always call Ottawa Canada's capital no matter how annoying that sounds." yes, Ottawa is the capital of Canada bit don't use every reference as "Canada's capital."

Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson referred back to the Matt Duchene interview in the 1st intermission. That would have been helpful to the U.S. audience but the need to run extra Discover Card ads was more important to NBCSN.

For those who missed Coach's Corner, click here to watch the video. Saturday Headlines can be found here. The show open can be found here.

The NHL Network would have run the open and the full intermissions. The show was in Ottawa, not Stamford, CT. The NBCSN reach may be wider than the NHL Network reach but the laissez-faire NHL Network coverage is greatly preferred.

NHL the week in preview December 15, 2017

Seeing a CFL game in Ottawa

Ottawa impressions over a 3-day trip

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Canadian NHL teams in outdoor games

Year	Date	Stadium	Result
2003	November 22	Commonwealth Stadium	Montréal 4, Edmonton 3
2011	February 20	McMahon Stadium	Calgary 4, Montréal 0
2014	January 1	Michigan Stadium	Toronto 3, Detroit 2 (SO)
2014	March 2	BC Place	Ottawa 4, Vancouver 2
2016	January 1	Gillette Stadium	Montréal 5, Boston 1
2016	October 23	Investors Group Field	Edmonton 3, Winnipeg 0
2017	January 1	BMO Field	Toronto 5, Detroit 4 (SO)
2017	December 16	TD Place	Ottawa 3, Montréal 0

 

The Canadiens are now 2-2 in outdoor games. The Habs won in Edmonton, lost in Calgary, won in Boston, and lost in Ottawa. Ottawa is now 2-0 in outdoor games, though the game in Vancouver wasn't very outdoors.

There have been 4 shutouts in NHL outdoor games: 3 of them belong to all-Canadian outdoor games (Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa).

Twitter captures: @Senators
photos credit: CBC/Rogers/NHL

Canadian notebook: Newfoundland time is not the crime

As we enter the slow time of the year, a few stories slipped through the cracks. We thought this would be a good time to share them. The first two are about the unconventional stories that make Canada unique. The last story is a sad indictment of where journalism, especially in Canada, has gone.

The charm of Newfoundland time is being on the half-hour, the only spot in North America that isn't on the hour. What I didn't realize until I was in St. John's is that Labrador is 30 minutes behind Newfoundland, on the same time zone as the Maritimes.

I found out this detail by a bus ad for Republic of Doyle, the CBC show shot in St. John's. The fine print pointed out that the show aired in Labrador at 9 pm as opposed to the larger print noting a 9:30 pm starting time.

Turns out that instead of Newfoundland being the outlier, Labrador is the one not following the rules.

James McLeod, a reporter for The Telegram in St. John's who reported the story, said to CBC Radio One's As It Happens, "For the last 82 years, there's been a law on the books that formally says what the standard time in Newfoundland and Labrador is. And at no point in that history has the government gotten around to acknowledging that most of Labrador doesn't observe the same time as Newfoundland."

Newfoundland and Quebec had a border dispute over Labrador long before the province joined Canada. The British ruled in 1927 that what is now Labrador is part of Newfoundland.

As you can tell from this picture, there is a section of southeastern Labrador that follows along with Newfoundland similar to a variety of regions, including Lloydminster, Saskatchewan keeping the same time as Lloydminster, Alberta as opposed to the rest of Saskatchewan.

The longitude of Labrador lines up with its Maritmes cousins in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Labrador's neighbour Quebec lies to its west and south; that province lies within the Eastern Time Zone. Labrador also shares a time zone with far eastern Quebec, defined as east of 63 degrees west longitude.

The places where you can be naked are limited. Your own home is a really good example, though you are encouraged to draw the blinds or drapes. Nudity is allowed in bathrooms though with some limitations and decorum.

Changing rooms seem to be the only bastion of pseudo public nudity that remains. But not in Brossard, QC on Montréal's South Shore.

The city banned nudity in municipal sports facilities in response to citizen complaints. You can change into a bathing suit in a toilet stall but you have to shower in your bathing suit when you are done swimming.

The city said the new rule is not a bylaw so no fines are being handed out. Brossard aquatic activities director Eric Leuenberger said recurring complaints have revolved around people saying, "I don't want my son to be in front of naked women."

One more example that French-Canadian is not French.

The city is building a new aquatic complex with an universal locker room. That transition to a unisex changing area might have been the motivation but the transition would be easier inside the new structure. The new structure would ideally have more room than the limited space inside a toilet stall to do the task with some grace.

Relaxed nudity would make Canadian films stand out

Women allowed to go topless in Ontario, not all of Canada

It's been a while since I was 6, but there usually is an age limit where boys can't follow their mothers into the changing room. Then again, I think nudity is a healthy thing.

TorStar Corp. (think Toronto Star) and Postmedia Network Inc. (National Post, a lot of major city dailies) are giant newspaper companies. These days, large newspaper companies often own smaller papers, especially papers with long histories.

Large newspaper companies are also shutting down a lot of papers, not necessarily because they are losing money but because they don't make enough money. So there would be no surprise if TorStar Corp. and Postmedia Network Inc. randomly closed newspapers. How they did close a bunch of newspapers would have made Ebeneezer Scrooge so proud.

The companies traded a bunch of newspapers to each other for $0 and then proceeded to announce the closing of most of those papers. Scrooge indeed.

Postmedia says the company will close 21 of the 22 acquired community newspapers as well as the Metro Winnipeg and Metro Ottawa free dailies. Torstar will close 3 of the 7 daily newspapers in Ontario and all 8 community newspapers. The company will also close 24Hours Toronto and 24Hours Vancouver.

Postmedia newspaper cuts mean even fewer Canada journalism voices

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

Postmedia acquisitions that will close: Belleville News; Brant News; Central Hastings News; Frontenac Gazette; Kanata Kourier-Standard; Kingston Heritage; Meaford Express; Metro Ottawa; Metro Winnipeg; Nepean/Barrhaven News; Norfolk News; Orleans News; Ottawa East News; Ottawa South News; Ottawa West News; Our London; Quinte West News; St. Lawrence News; St. Mary’s Journal-Argus (and the St. Mary’s Weekender); St. Thomas/Elgin Weekly News; Stittsville News; Stratford City Gazette; and West Carleton Review.

Torstar acquisitions that will close: 24 Hours Toronto; 24 Hours Vancouver; Barrie Examiner; Bradford Times; Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin; Fort Erie Times; Innisfil Examiner; Inport News (Port Colborne); Niagara Advance; Northumberland Today; Orillia Packet & Times; Pelham News; Thorold Niagara News.

The major free dailies closing is also designed to reduce competition for the large newspaper companies in that category.

Journalism is suffering but particularly in Canada thanks to misguided management practices.

photos credit: Educational Technology Clearinghouse - University of South Florida; me; The Telegram; Sabrina Marandola/CBC; Stratford Gazette

NHL the week in preview December 15, 2017

The NHL100 Classic brings the Montréal Canadiens to Landsdowne Park for an outdoor game in Ottawa with the Senators. CBC will handle the game in Canada with a simulcast on Rogers Sportsnet and game-wise on NBCSN as the U.S. channel makes a rare appearance in Canada.

CBC has P.K. Subban and the Predators in Calgary in the nightcap.

City TV will run the Winnipeg Jets opposite the big game in St. Louis.

Rogers Sportsnet gives us Hometown Hockey from Airdrie, AB on Sunday with the very nearby Calgary Flames in Vancouver. Wednesday Night Hockey has the Toronto Maple Leafs in Columbus.

Rogers Sportsnet 360 carries Calgary in a late Wednesday games as the Flames host St. Louis.

NBCSN

Saturday
Montréal @ Ottawa, 7p

NHL Network

Tape delayed
Friday Toronto @ Minnesota, 1p
Nashville @ Edmonton, 2p
Sunday Montréal @ Ottawa, 1p (2-hour)
Monday Calgary @ Vancouver, 1p
St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 2p
Wednesday Minnesota @ Ottawa, 2p
Thursday Toronto @ Columbus, 1p

CBC

Saturday
Montréal @ Ottawa, 7p
Nashville @ Calgary, 10p

City

Saturday
Winnipeg @ St. Louis, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Sunday
Calgary @ Vancouver, 8p
Wednesday
Toronto @ Columbus, 7:30p

Rogers Sportsnet 360

Wednesday
St. Louis @ Calgary, 9:30p

2017 NHL 100 Classic preview in Ottawa

For those who missed our NHL100 Classic preview, you can click here to read that story.

---

From invisible to adulation, the Rogers pregame promoted the Winnipeg Jets to the top spot in the pregame itself and the roundabout just past 7 pm Eastern. The Jets game featured the 5th best team (Winnipeg) and the top team (Tampa Bay). That adulation could also be related to the presence of the Florida-based team but the Jets deserved more and better time. A significant contrast to being left completely off the pregame late last season.

The extra attention didn't translate to positioning. Winnipeg was on City TV, the #3 placement on Hockey Night in Canada.

In Canada, we are arguing nuance about pregame placement. In the United States, a hot team will only be covered with live games if they are one of the preset teams of note.

All 7 teams were in play on Saturday but the pregame blew off the 3 Canadian teams in the late games. The Mario Lemieux segment was okay but given how often Pittsburgh is on Hockey Night in Canada, that feature could have waited for a different week.

---

We finally got an acknowledgment at 7:37 pm Eastern that Toronto FC won the 2017 MLS Cup. The mention noted the similarity of the Reds 2-0 win and the Maple Leafs then 2-0 lead.

Rogers Sportsnet and the NHL Network carried the Maple Leafs salute to Toronto FC. The top executives and players came onto the ice in Toronto Maple Leafs sweaters. The Leafs also had a video tribute to the MLS champions.

The TV outlets got a defensive matchup and Connor McDavid but no Auston Matthews thanks to a hit from his fellow teammate late in the game on Saturday.

---

Saturday night had 5 HNIC games. The pecking order for the 5th play-by-play person is 1) Rick Ball; 2) John Shorthouse; 3) John Bartlett; 4) Bruce Rainnie; 5) Dean Brown;6) Kevin Quinn; 7) R.J. Broadhead. Rogers went with Quinn for the Ottawa Senators in the southern Bay Area. Quinn is the weak link in the Edmonton team but yes kilometres ahead of John Forslund.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Got to see Mike Johnson call the game on the NHL Network rebroadcast of Calgary at Montréal. Rogers' loss is definitely TSN's gain. National broadcasts should strive to have the best but Rogers doesn't comprehend that logic.

---

Rogers only ran 5 CBC promos this week. I combed back over the broadcast to see if there was a 3rd promo in the 2nd period or a 2nd promo in the 3rd period. We didn't even get a holiday promos though The Goods promo did talk about upcoming holiday episodes.

We did get a bonus Murdoch Mysteries promo during the NHL Network matinee rebroadcast.

Early game: Murdoch Mysteries; Frankie Drake Mysteries (1st); Great Canadian Baking Show; The Goods (2nd); Kim's Convenience (3rd)

---

photo credit: NHL

2017 NHL 100 Classic preview in Ottawa

Outdoor hockey comes to Ottawa in the 2017 NHL100 Classic with the outdoor game at Lansdowne Park on Saturday with the Ottawa Senators hosting the Montréal Canadiens.

Landsdowne Park is the generic name for the site but is also in use because of conflicting bank sponsorships. This is the place where the Ottawa RedBlacks play and the site of the 2017 Grey Cup.

The idea of the classic is to celebrate the 100th anniversary (on the closest Saturday) to the first NHL game on December 19, 1917. On that day, the Montréal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators 7-4 and the Montréal Wanderers edged the Toronto Arenas 10-9. The Quebec Bulldogs had the night off.

The crowd at the football stadium will be enhanced by the crowd watching the game on two big screens on Parliament Hill. I remember watching the history of Canada shown on the side of the Parliament in Ottawa. That is a beautiful area to take in the event, provided you can keep warm.

The rink will also be the site of an Ottawa 67s home game against its cross river rival Gatineau Olympiques on Sunday at 3 pm. The NHL Network carries a number of minor league games, but that one isn't on the schedule.

The 67s normally play in the arena underneath the north grandstand at the football stadium.

The other major event will be the Senators alumni game with Team Alfie (Daniel Alfredsson) versus Team Phillips (Chris Phillips). That game will be on the temporary rink at Parliament Hill on Friday night. As Paul Romanuk and Garry Galley noted on Saturday night, the missing element is the Montréal alumni.

Both of those games will be visually spectacular, however, neither of them are scheduled to be televised. The NHL Network carried the alumni game in Winnipeg last season.

Year	Date	Stadium	Result
2003	November 22	Commonwealth Stadium	Montréal 4, Edmonton 3
2011	February 20	McMahon Stadium	Calgary 4, Montréal 0
2014	January 1	Michigan Stadium	Toronto 3, Detroit 2 (SO)
2014	March 2	BC Place	Ottawa 4, Vancouver 2
2016	January 1	Gillette Stadium	Montréal 5, Boston 1
2016	October 23	Investors Group Field	Edmonton 3, Winnipeg 0
2017	January 1	BMO Field	Toronto 5, Detroit 4 (SO)

 

For the big NHL100 classic, the NHL Network coverage is surprisingly bare. The channel didn't originally schedule a matinee rebroadcast, but eventually corrected that mistake. NBCSN is not airing a pregame show, though the NHL Network simulcast of the Rogers pregame will help.

The Saturday game will air on CBC in Canada with a Rogers Sportsnet simulcast and NBCSN in the United States. The 2-hour matinee rebroadcast will be 1 pm Eastern Sunday on the NHL Network.

NBCSN is not listing announcers. so that might mean a CBC simulcast on the game action. U.S. viewers will have to deal with studio coverage from Kathryn Tappen, Keith Jones, and Brian Boucher. Hope their studio time is limited to a brief introduction and postgame analysis.

The Rogers studio crew and Don Cherry will be on site at Lansdowne Park. An intriguing note for the game coverage: Garry Galley will join Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson on the telecast. Rogers has rarely gone to 3 announcers since forcing out Glenn Healy.

Ottawa's Byward Market: more than just a building

Seeing a CFL game in Ottawa

Ottawa impressions over a 3-day trip

There will be plenty of music to guide you through the outdoor game: Tim Hicks will be the pregame concert artist. Serena Ryder handles O Canada. The legendary Bryan Adams will play outdoors during the second intermission. The presentation of the Greatest NHL Moment should happen during the first intermission.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Leading up to Saturday, if you want to follow the hype straight from the NHL, click here. Seems a little sad that the whole league is celebrating but hardly a peep from south of the 49th parallel.

photos credit: NHL

Beverley McLachlin to retire as Canada Supreme Court chief justice

The Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin sat on 19 benches with 29 judges during almost 29 years of service on the #SCC. In that time, she heard over 2,000 cases and became Canada’s longest-serving Chief Justice. pic.twitter.com/sqOHFwGQ6x

— Supreme Court Canada (@SCC_eng) December 8, 2017

If you are looking for a political difference between Canada and the United States, the Justin Trudeau pick of Richard Wagner to be the next chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada would be a prime example.

Wagner replaces Beverley McLachlin, who has been the longest serving Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, having been in the top seat since January 7, 2000. McLachlin has been in the Supreme Court since March 30, 1989.

Trudeau picked Sheilah Martin to replace McLachlin on the court. Martin is Justin Trudeau's second nomination to the court since becoming prime minister in 2015. Malcolm Rowe, the first judge from Newfoundland and Labrador to sit on the Supreme Court, was Trudeau's first selection in 2016.

Wagner, 60, has the potential to be chief justice until the mandatory retirement age of 75. That requirement is the reason why McLachlin is stepping down. McLachlin had to retire by September 7, 2018 but chose to leave now.

"With all of that experience, his commitment to legal education, to be involved in work internationally, he has the integrity, the wisdom and the collegial spirit and co-operation that a chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada needs," Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said.

Tradition would have suggested that the next chief justice from Quebec; Wagner is the senior member on the court from Quebec. Wilson-Raybould said that tradition was a factor along with his "flawless bilingualism" and his abilities to play a leadership role to the nine-member court.

On Monday, Wagner will be sworn in as 18th chief justice in the history of the Supreme Court of Canada.

McLachlin was appointed to the court by Brian Mulroney but elevated to chief justice by Jean Chrétien. Wagner was appointed to the court in 2012 by Stephen Harper.

In the United States, the idea of appointing a chief justice from another party would be almost impossible. Trudeau didn't have much choice; when Trudeau won in 2015, 7 of the 9 justices had been appointed by Harper. Rosalie Abella, appointed by Paul Martin, could have served as chief justice by only until July 1, 2021.

McLachlin had been the first female Supreme Court chief justice in Canada. Abella would have been the second.

Trudeau could have made the new appointment chief justice but that has been rare in Canada. Other than the first chief justice when the court was formed in 1875, the only chief justice to be appointed from outside the bench to that position was Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, who was appointed chief justice by Wilfred Laurier and served from 1906-1918.

The current prime minister instituted as new approach to selecting Supreme Court nominees to encourage more openness, transparency, and diversity as well as being functionally bilingual.

Supreme Court justices by recent prime ministers

Prime Minister	Justices	Chief justices	Party
Justin Trudeau	2	1	Liberal
Stephen Harper	8	0	Conservative
Paul Martin	2	0	Liberal
Jean Chrétien	6	1	Liberal
Kim Campbell	0	0	Progressive Conservative
Brian Mulroney	9	1	Progressive Conservative
John Turner	0	0	Liberal
Joe Clark	1	0	Progressive Conservative
Pierre Trudeau	10	2	Liberal

 

As for McLachlin's legacy, here is an excerpt from a Toronto Star editorial from June:

"As chief justice, she managed to maintain a harmonious court, avoiding the schisms and factions that had cast a shadow on previous iterations. She encouraged judges to be less aloof, to explain their decisions and help media cover the technical complexities of the law. She started to broadcast Supreme Court proceedings on the Internet as a gesture of openness. Her public image was strengthened, too, by her status as Canada’s first female chief justice – a source of inspiration to many, though she said her role as symbol never ceased to surprise her."

McLachlin was confronted politically when in 2014, Harper suggested McLachlin had inappropriately intervened in the process over appointing Justice Marc Nadon to the Supreme Court of Canada. Her response was to rise above and not sink to Harper's level.

“Given the potential impact on the court, I wished to ensure that the government was aware of the eligibility issue. At no time did I express any opinion as to the merits of the eligibility issue. It is customary for chief justices to be consulted during the appointment process and there is nothing inappropriate in raising a potential issue affecting a future appointment.”

The appointment of Martin keeps the gender ratio of 4 women and 5 men on the court. Canada now has had 10 women serve as Supreme Court justices, 1 as chief justice.

Women on the Canadian Supreme Court

Justice	Dates served	Appointed by
Bertha Wilson	3/4/1982 – 1/4/1991	P. Trudeau
Claire L'Heureux-Dubé	4/15/1987 – 7/1/2002	Mulroney
Beverley McLachlin	3/30/1989 – 12/15/2017	Mulroney/Chrétien
Louise Arbour	9/15/1999 – 6/30/2004	Chrétien
Marie Deschamps	8/7/2002 – 8/7/2012	Chrétien
Rosalie Abella	10/4/2004 – present	Martin
Louise Charron	10/4/2004 – 8/30/2011	Martin
Andromache Karakatsanis	10/21/2011 – present	Harper
Suzanne Côté	12/1/2014 – present	Harper
Sheilah Martin	12/15/2017 - present	J. Trudeau

Brian Mulroney appointed McLachlin to the Court on March 30, 1989;
Jean Chrétien appointed McLachlin chief justice on January 7, 2000.

As we saw in the Harper days, just because you appointed a judge to the court, you won't necessarily get them to agree with you. Often times, the Harper Government would push through legislation and meet a 9-0 defeat at the Supreme Court. Besides poor legislation, McLachlin takes some credit for those rulings. But Friday is her last day.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

I met McLachlin at a reception back in 2011. McLachlin was delightful and engaging. I was curious to get some perspective on Canadian law, though I strayed into an Ontario case about women being able to go topless. McLachlin wanted me to make sure I had my facts. I respected that take.

Have a really nice and very long retirement.

Twitter capture: @SCC_eng

Film review: Alias Grace

Alias Grace has been shown as a film (first 2 episodes debuted at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival), TV series (as 6 episodes on the CBC in Canada), and as a mini-series (Netflix outside Canada).

Since even Barry Lyndon fans won't sit through 270 minutes of content in a dark theatre, Alias Grace may not qualify as a pure film experience. However, given the work that has gone into this project, Alias Grace is more than worthy of a film review.

Even if you have not dived into numerous interviews and stories about the makeup of Alias Grace, you'll recognize that immigration and feminism are the dominant themes in the story. The period setting makes finding moments of feminism difficult, but Sarah Polley's adaptation of the Margaret Atwood novel brings sunshine to those moments.

The friendship between Grace Marks and Mary Whitney feels familiar to the bosom friendship in a well-known Canadian novel Anne of Green Gables with Anne Cuthbert and Diana Barry. Unlike the heroine of the story in Prince Edward Island, Grace Marks is the more shy of the two.

So how could this person who seems shy and timid be the murderer of 2 people? That is the story that Grace tells to Dr. Simon Jordan (Edward Holcroft).

2017 TIFF Canadian film wrapup

TIFF 2017 Canadian films preview

Margaret Atwood getting new appreciation thanks to TV revivals

Grace's story starts on the trip from Ireland to Toronto. For those who has fantastical imagery of the voyage to the new world, Polley's adaptation destroys any such visions. Life doesn't get any easier for Grace after the family arrives in Toronto. Indentured servant is the unmentioned term. Grace earns $2/month at her first house. The new employer graciously offers a raise to $3/month.

There are points of fantasy between Grace and Dr. Jordan, though we aren't sure as to whose fantasy is involved. But these points also tie into the idea of memory loss in that Grace has no memory of the murders.

The other theme in the story revolves around the Rebellion of 1837. While the story takes place a few years after the failed rebellion, the topic of uprising lingers in the air, especially from Mary Whitney. Canadians may or may not this part of their history but certainly most non-Canadians, including your humble narrator/blogger, had no idea of this element of Canadian history.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Sarah Gadon keeps up the Irish accent and has a lot of her shoulders in this adaptation. Gadon has come a long way from playing Zoe Kessler, the daughter of Major Michael Kessler on The Border on the CBC. Gadon has to play a wide range of ages for her character. The Grace Marks character is supposed to be 16 at the time of the murders yet be in her early 30s as the story is being told.

Rebecca Liddiard does a splendid job as the upbeat and hopeful Mary Whitney. Liddiard is now making waves as the 3rd lead in Frankie Drake Mysteries, finishing up the Alias Grace timeslot in the CBC fall lineup.

The biggest names in the adaptation belong to the characters who are murdered: Paul Gross as Thomas Kinnear and Anna Paquin as Nancy Montgomery. They are surprisingly human, flawed characters for their status in the world. David Cronenberg is ideally cast as Reverend Verrenger, who leads the group trying to free Grace by bringing in Dr. Jordan.

Since the story is told in flashback, the early episodes end by stopping the session for the day. in the first 2 episodes, the same dark-haired woman interrupts the proceedings to make sure the doctor doesn't need anything. Small details such as this bring a literary device to give the audience a break before concluding the episode.

Period pieces are not my favourite genre by any stretch, but I did honestly find the story intriguing to find the conclusion.

Listening to Canadian women in film and TV on sexual harassment

Sarah Polley has said in interviews that she has wanted to adapt this novel for the last 20 years. The novel itself came out in 1996. And yet, you do watch this story through the prism of #MeToo. For some, this may ruin the adaptation but for most, this perspective should enhance the storytelling of a long ago time that sometimes, doesn't feel that long ago.

Alias Grace is also significant because of Sarah Polley. She wrote and directed 3 amazing films: Stories We Tell; Take This Waltz; and Away from Her. For the last few years, Alias Grace has been the project she has been working on in lieu of traditional films. If you enjoy the storytelling powers of Polley, see Alias Grace. We do hope Polley returns to the true big screen in the near future, but this is what we have in the interim time.

Alias Grace is now available outside Canada on Netflix and Canadians can access episodes through the CBC Web site.

photo credit: CBC

Toronto FC completes season of triumph with 2017 MLS Cup championship

At long last.@JozyAltidore gives @torontofc the lead at #MLSCup. https://t.co/CSUcnC5EWV

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 9, 2017

A bevy of well-timed passes with the last one from Sebastian Giovinco. Jozy Altidore drove down with the ball. Altidore tapped the ball slightly to the left. Stefan Frei pulled out a bit. Altidore drove the ball with his left foot in the 67th minute and Toronto FC finally scored a goal in the MLS Cup.

Victor Vazquez added a goal off a rebound from Armando Cooper's shot off the right goalpost in the 94th minute. Toronto FC got revenge over 2016 with a 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders in the 2017 MLS Cup at BMO Field.

In 2015, Toronto FC made the playoffs for the first time. In 2016, the Reds came a crossbar away from possibly winning the MLS Cup. In 2017, Toronto FC won the Supporters' Shield, the Canadian Cup, and the 2017 MLS Cup.

The 30,584 fans at BMO Field and a few thousand at Maple Leaf Square saw what ESPN even said was a perfect game by Toronto FC. They also got to see Toronto FC accept the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy. Alex Bono posted a 2-save shutout compared to 11 shots for Toronto FC. Toronto outshot Seattle 22-7.

2017 MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Date	Teams	Winner	Score
December 9	Seattle @ Toronto	Toronto	2-0
November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	Toronto	1-0
November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	Tie	0-0
November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0

 

The 2 Toronto FC goals were extraordinary given Seattle' defence prowess. Here are the streaks that were snapped when Altidore scored in the 67th minute:

• 714 minutes since Seattle had given up a playoff goal (MLS record), all the way back to the second leg of the 2016 Western Conference final against Colorado Rapids.
• 609 minutes since the Sounders conceded a goal, going back to a 2-0 loss in Philadelphia on October 1. The Sounders had posted 12 shutouts in their last 18 games.
• 624 minutes since Stefan Frei had given up a postseason goal (MLS record) with 5 straight playoff shutouts.

This is why the Altidore goal was so huge for Toronto FC.

The MLS Cup Champion Toronto FC Reds will have their parade today starting at Maple Leaf Square at 11:45am and ending at Nathan Phillips Square at 12:30 pm. The ceremony will then take place at Nathan Phillips Square.

Based on the crowds at BMO Field and the folks watching at Maple Leaf Square Saturday night, there should be a huge turnout today.

Seba is 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ED55b5aC4T

— Toronto FC (@torontofc) December 9, 2017

For such dominance in the regular season, the playoffs had been a struggle. Winning the first round on an away-goals tiebreaker. A lone goal in 2 games in the Eastern Conference final. And a long scoreless streak in the MLS Cup. Toronto FC did play better defence in the 2017 playoffs at perhaps a sacrifice to the offence.

Toronto FC went into the MLS Cup 4-3-2 since mid-September with only a 14-13 scoring difference.

The Toronto FC Reds made it count when it counted in the 2017 MLS Cup. When Altidore scored, a lot of people figured Toronto would win the Cup.

Toronto FC Reds 2017 MLS Cup preview

Toronto FC wins Eastern Conference title and will host 2017 MLS Cup

Toronto FC faces Columbus for chance to go back to MLS Cup

Toronto FC advances in ugly fashion; Vancouver Whitecaps out of MLS playoffs

Vancouver Whitecaps FC win first ever MLS playoff game

2017 MLS playoffs preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

Like in 2016, ESPN made an issue of a lack of Toronto championships in major sports. This ignores the fact that the last Toronto championship happened 13 days before in the 2017 Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts. Feels odd having British people explain on American television that Canadian football does not count.

Ricky Ray gets 4th Grey Cup win; Toronto Argonauts comeback winners in 105th Grey Cup

By the ESPN definition, which to be fair is a lot of Toronto, the last Toronto championship belonged to the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays. Let's hope the 2017-2018 Toronto Maple Leafs can add to this bandwagon of winning.

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2017	December 9	Seattle @ Toronto	Toronto	2-0
2017	November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	Toronto	1-0
2017	November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	Tie	0-0
2017	November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
2017	November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
2017	October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
2017	October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
2017	October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0
2016	December 10	Seattle @ Toronto FC	Seattle	0-0 (5-4 PK)
2016	November 30	Montréal @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	5-2 (OT)
2016	November 22	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-2
2016	November 6	Montréal @ New York Red Bulls	Montréal	2-1
2016	November 6	Toronto FC @ NYCFC	Toronto FC	5-0
2016	October 30	NYCFC @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	2-0
2016	October 30	New York Red Bulls @ Montréal	Montréal	1-0
2016	October 27	Montréal @ D.C. United	Montréal	4-2
2016	October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	3-1
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

 

Toronto FC won the 2017 MLS Cup. Vancouver Whitecaps won their first MLS game. Montréal Impact had an off year but could easily bounce back. A really nice year for the MLS in Canada.

Twitter captures: @MLS; @Toronto FC
photo composite: Toronto FC