Canadian Crossing

Canadian film notebook: Season 3 of the Maple Popcorn podcast

We have a Season 3 of the Maple Popcorn podcast thanks to Telefilm Canada. Each season has had 6 episodes as does Season 3.

As we have previously noted, Maple Popcorn is about the world of Canadian film as opposed to actual Canadian films.

Canadian entertainment reporter Marriska Fernandes is the host. Fernandes is candid in her observations.

Season 3 gives us encounters with Atom Egoyan, Cody Lightning, Kari Skogland, Karen LeBlanc, Mark O’Brien, and Mary Walsh.

The release notes Egoyan's work in Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, and Chloe. Egoyan shares about the time he and Bruce McDonald screened their short films on a wall during TIFF.

Lightning got a lot of acclaim for his directorial debut Hey, Viktor!. Skogland is known for her contributions to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and The Handmaid’s Tale.

LeBlanc talks about her career, "feeling seen by Charles Officer when filming Nurse.Fighter.Boy," a beautiful Canadian film. Mark O'Brien may be known broadly for his work on Republic of Doyle though his recent work shows different sides of the actor and filmmaker. Mary Walsh has had a legendary career in Canadian film besides her amazing television work with CODCO and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

Here are the 6 podcast episodes:

• Filmmaker Atom Egoyan
• Cree actor and filmmaker Cody Lightning
• Filmmaker and showrunner Kari Skogland
• Actor, singer, and performer Karen LeBlanc
• Actor and filmmaker Mark O’Brien
• Actor, comedian, writer, and even director Mary Walsh

You can look into more about the Season 3 episodes. You can find out more details about the podcast.

Canadian film notebook: Season 2 of the Maple Popcorn podcast

Maple Popcorn podcast offers insight into those who make Canadian film

Looking back at Telefilm Canada efforts to promote Canadian film

There was the Quebec cinq aka the Quebec 5 — the first 5 films for Xavier Dolan. Then a shift with Juste la fin du monde | It's Only the End of the World and then the long wait for The Death and Life of John F. Donovan. Finally, we had Matthias et Maxime.

Xavier Dolan did come out and say he wants to stop making films. Now Dolan is working on a period piece (1880s France) horror film. The current timeline is for Dolan to start shooting in late 2025.

Dolan has felt a lot of outside frustration from his recent films. We feel like Dolan should do what works best for him in filmmaking, even if those films don't approach what he did early in his filmmaking career.

The Deadline article noted that Dolan talked to the Canadian cinema podcast Sans Filtre. We recognise that a Canadian cinema podcast on this level has to be in French. English subtitles are available by clicking on the CC button on the video.

We aren't wild about jumping back and forth between retiring and not retiring but we also recognise that this could happen. We want the future Xavier Dolan films to be thoughtful, entertaining, and hopefully, Canadian.

Xavier Dolan says he wants to stop making films

Canadian film review: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Tomorrow, we will explore summer travel through road trip Canadian films. You can take an early peek at the Canadian films coming to the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Opening night is September 5.

photo credit: Maple Popcorn/Telefilm Canada
video credits: Sans Filtre

NHL Network, TNT, and ESPN/ESPN+ games in 2024 season analysis

Year 3 of the new TV contract saw some odd patterns with NHL games involving Canadian teams on television and streaming.

ESPN still ran away more road games involving Canadian teams and was obsessed with only Toronto and Edmonton for most of the season.

TNT was virtually invisible through February where Canadian teams were involved. Its TBS coverage of the 2023 Heritage Classic was an embarrassment.

ESPN+/Hulu decided to experiment with a Hockey Night in Canada game late in the season. The slim portfolio of Hulu subscribers who don't have ESPN+ can't be enough to justify entering such sacred ground.

Once again, the pattern late in the season was to have the ABC/ESPN family carry games on Saturday night, kicking out Hockey Night in Canada games from the NHL Network.

The NHL Network carried 3 Ottawa games within 8 days in late January, a team invisible on TNT or any ESPN outlet.

The numbers went up a bit thanks to 2 Toronto games and 2 Ottawa games in Stockholm, Sweden in November.

The NHL Network had a light footprint late in the season but completely shut down Canadian teams in April thanks to the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship in Utica, New York.

October 14
Chicago @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
October 15
Tampa Bay @ Ottawa, 7p
October 21
Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p (HNIC)
October 23
Montréal @ Buffalo, 7p
October 28
Toronto @ Nashville, 7p (HNIC)

November 4
Nashville @ Edmonton, 3p (Showcase)
Buffalo @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
November 6
Tampa Bay @ Toronto, 7p
November 11
Boston @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
November 16
Detroit @ Ottawa, 1p (Sweden)
November 17
Toronto @ Detroit, 2p (Sweden)
Buffalo @ Winnipeg, 8p
November 18
Minnesota @ Ottawa, 11a (Sweden)
NY Islanders @ Calgary, 7p (HNIC)
November 19
Toronto @ Minnesota, 8a (Sweden)
November 25
Toronto @ Pittsburgh, 7p (HNIC)

December 2
Boston @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
December 5
New Jersey @ Vancouver, 10p
December 9
Nashville @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
December 16
Vancouver @ Minnesota, 2p (Showcase)
December 17
Vancouver @ Chicago, 3p (Showcase)
December 23
Pittsburgh @ Ottawa, 7p (HNIC)
December 30
Carolina @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)

January 6
Calgary @ Philadelphia, 1p (Showcase)
NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
January 13
Colorado @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
January 20
Montréal @ Boston, 7p (HNIC)
January 21
Ottawa @ Philadelphia, 1p (Showcase)
January 27
NY Rangers @ Ottawa, 7p (HNIC)
January 29
Nashville @ Ottawa, 7p

February 10
Edmonton @ Los Angeles, 10p (HNIC)
February 19
Ottawa @ Tampa Bay, 7p
February 24
Toronto @ Colorado, 7p (HNIC)

March 2
Winnipeg @ Carolina, 12:30p (Showcase)
March 3
Winnipeg @ Buffalo, 7p
March 9
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
March 18
Washington @ Calgary, 8:30p
March 24
Winnipeg @ Washington, 12:30p (Showcase)

 

Team	Overall	HNIC	Showcase
Toronto	13	10	0
Montréal	6	5	0
Ottawa	8	2	1
Winnipeg	4	0	2
Calgary	3	1	1
Vancouver	3	0	2
Edmonton	2	1	1

NHL Network, TNT, and ESPN/ESPN+ games in 2023 season analysis

NHL Network, TNT, and ESPN/ESPN+ games in 2022 season analysis

NHL Network, NBCSN, and ESPN+ games in 2021 season analysis

ESPN went a little bit forward while TNT went backward in the 2023-2024 schedule. TNT fell from 16 games to 12 games, excluding the required telecast of the 2023 Heritage Classic, which was buried on TBS.

Edmonton dominated the TNT lineup with 7 indoor appearances. There were more late games on the schedule. TNT showed 5 Edmonton home games at Rogers Place.

8 of the 12 regular games on TNT were on Canadian soil, a lesson for ESPN. There were as many games (5) before March 1 as there were in March.

Calgary had 3 games in the 2022-2023 season while the Flames only had the Heritage Classic. TNT isn't afraid to cover playoff team Vancouver yet hasn't carried a regular season game involving playoff team Winnipeg. ESPN has carried the Jets once though as a joke.

The Toronto love came in the calendar year of 2024 with a home game and road game in March and a very late add for a road game in April.

The Calgary Flames went from 3 TNT telecasts last season to just the Heritage Classic.

Vancouver had 2 home games about 4½ months apart. Ottawa didn't even have a token appearance.

Montréal and Winnipeg were not scheduled and did not appear on TNT. The Winnipeg Jets are the only Canadian team not to appear on TNT in the first 3 seasons.

October 29 Calgary @ Edmonton, 7p (2023 Heritage Classic)
November 15 NY Islanders @ Vancouver, 10p
December 6 Carolina @ Edmonton, 9:30p
February 21 Boston @ Edmonton, 10p
February 28 St. Louis @ Edmonton, 8:30p
March 6 Buffalo @ Toronto, 7p
March 10 Edmonton @ Pittsburgh, 1p (Sunday)
March 13 Washington @ Edmonton, 10p
March 20 Toronto @ Washington, 7:30p
March 31 Anaheim @ Vancouver, 3:30p (Sunday)
April 3 Edmonton @ Dallas, 9:30p
April 10 Las Vegas @ Edmonton, 8:30p
April 17 Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p

NHL Network, NBCSN, and ESPN+ games in 2019-2020 season analysis

NHL Network, NBCSN, and ESPN+ games in 2018-2019 season analysis

NHL Network and NBCSN games in 2017-2018 season analysis

NHL Network games in 2016-2017 season analysis

NHL Network games in 2015-2016 season analysis

The ESPN group embraced Edmonton and Toronto slightly more, including more games on Canadian soil. Not a lot of them but more. The drawback was that the other 5 Canadian teams couldn't get on ESPN or ESPN+/Hulu (until a token ESPN+/Hulu appearance in the final week).

3 home games on Canadian soil, 2 of them in Toronto, a city where the networks have been reluctant to go visit (until a token ESPN+/Hulu appearance in the final week).

There was the lone ABC game: Edmonton on the road in a start that got bounced.

ESPN will cover Canadian teams in the NHL playoffs. Teams they think they know (Winnipeg, Vancouver) without carrying them once on the schedule. Arrogance and ignorance don't make good partners in postseason coverage.

ESPN+/Hulu experiment that worked: The Edmonton Oilers 3-game road trip in the greater New York City area wasn't as horrible as feared. Having Ray Ferraro in all 3 games helped a lot. Getting a sense of a team over 3 games is a grand experiment.

ESPN+/Hulu experiment that didn't work: I normally don't care if ESPN+/Hulu takes over a game, except when Saturday night is involved. Don't take a Hockey Night in Canada game, especially when the NHL Network can't carry a game opposite of that. It's like wearing muddy shoes in someone's home or kicking their cat (don't kick cats).

The 23 games is a sharp increase from 14 games (2022-2023) and 8 games (2021-2022).

This irrational fear of doing a game on Canadian soil still prevails: Ray Ferraro, Leah Hextall, and Cassie Campbell-Pascall would welcome you to Canada.

Calgary and Vancouver get a token appearance in the final week of the season. This is the first Vancouver home game on the ESPN family in the 3 years (so far) of the contract. Vancouver had an ironic appearance in year 1 for the Seattle Kraken first ever home game. Needless to say, this is the first all-Canadian matchup that ESPN has covered in the modern contract.

Montréal and Winnipeg were shut out again. Ottawa still has not been on ESPN or ESPN+/Hulu.

ABC schedule
February 17 Edmonton @ Dallas, 3p

ESPN schedule
October 24 Toronto @ Washington, 6p
October 31 Los Angeles @ Toronto, 8p
December 12 Chicago @ Edmonton, 10p
January 11 Toronto @ NY Islanders, 7p
February 19 Toronto @ St. Louis, 1p
April 16 Toronto @ Florida, 7:30p
April 18 Edmonton @ Colorado, 9:30p

ESPN+/Hulu schedule
October 19 Edmonton @ Philadelphia, 7:30p
November 2 Toronto @ Boston, 7:30p
November 9 Edmonton @ San Jose, 10:30p
December 19 Edmonton @ NY Islanders, 7:30p
December 21 Edmonton @ New Jersey, 7:30p
December 22 Edmonton @ NY Rangers, 7:30p
January 2 Toronto @ Los Angeles, 10:30p
January 9 Edmonton @ Chicago, 8:30p
February 6 Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p
March 14 Toronto @ Philadelphia, 7:30p
March 24 Toronto @ Carolina, 6p
March 26 New Jersey @ Toronto, 7:30p
March 30 Toronto @ Buffalo, 7p (HNIC)
April 1 Edmonton @ St. Louis, 9p
April 16 Calgary @ Vancouver, 10p

ESPN and ESPN+ need to have more games and a majority on Canadian soil in the 2023-2024 season to try and make up for the first 3 years. No one is holding their breath.

Tracking the NHL 2023 media changes

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

 

Team	Overall	TNT	ABC	ESPN	ESPN+
Edmonton	19	8	1	2	8
Toronto	14	3	0	5	6
Vancouver	3	2	0	0	1
Calgary	2	1	0	0	1
Ottawa	0	0	0	0	0
Winnipeg	0	0	0	0	0
Montréal	0	0	0	0	0

photo credits: NHL Network; TNT; ESPN

Getting Canadian news directly through apps

Saw this message quite often while on Canadian soil. Canada isn't being denied just Canadian news on Facebook but news from sources all over the world. That would be problematic like if there was a significant conflict in the Middle East these days. Oops.

The filters weren't 100% accurate but pounced rather quickly to deny news links to Canadians.

We get that the Canadian government overreached, perhaps with good intentions, with Bill C-11. We get that Facebook is throwing a tantrum that the company feels like is necessary, like a 3-year-old who wants candy and isn't getting any.

A toddler with a tantrum is annoying but isn't dangerous. A lack of information, especially these days, can be dangerous. Let's hope for a solid solution and soon.

CBC News is fighting back in its Hockey Night in Canada promos with the message: "get the news you need when you need and without any restrictions."

You might not want 20 apps on your phone but the CBC News app serves most of that need for Canadian news. You can set the area you want as a local focus, whether that is where you live, where you are from, or some other connection.

Loading individual apps is helpful if you have a subscription to The Globe and Mail or the Toronto Star. Those apps are pretty much useless without a subscription. The CP24 app is good if you live in Toronto or care about Canada's largest city.

The Canada Newspapers app, only for Android users, is a marvelous resource. You can find Canadian newspapers all across Canada. There are links to cable and broadcast, such as CTV, Citytv, and CP24. You can read French language newspapers in Montréal and VOCM in St. John's in Newfoundland.

Sports fans can even catch up on sports with links to Rogers Sportsnet and TSN.

Apple gets the cooler apps most of the time. Those users deserve this app as well. Here's hoping that changes soon.

We do suggest putting all your Canada related apps in a folder. My clever Canada folder has the CBC News app, CBC Listen app, and the Canada Newspapers app. Having one place for my Canadian content is huge when I need to access those apps.

Getting news from podcasts such as Canadaland can steer around having to go through Facebook. The frustrating part is not being able to share those links on social media, such as Facebook, which you can't do for now in Canada.

Technology is supposed to help improve our world, not to have internal tantrums that disrupt our worlds.

Even if Facebook and potentially Google stop the tantrums, news consumers need a multiverse strategy to access what is happening in Canada.

This isn't as convenient, which is the idea, but being informed is what truly matters these days.

A guide to quality Canadian journalism in lieu of Meta and Google being childish

How to save news media from our tech overlords (Canadaland)

Pascale St-Onge is the new minister of Canadian heritage

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian society coverage

Our guide to quality Canadian journalism is a helpful resource. Maybe you need to have a few too many apps on your phone to keep up with Canadian news. We can't let Facebook, Google, or any other tech lord be better or smarter than we are as news consumers. When they win, we all lose.

Let us know in the comments section if you have a good solution, especially for Apple users, where others can benefit.

photo credits: Facebook; CBC/NHL; Canada Newspapers

A guide to quality Canadian journalism in lieu of Meta and Google being childish

We sadly get that Canadians get a lot of news from Meta (Facebook and Instagram) as well as Google. We know Canadians are frustrated to have their news sources cut out thanks to a childish reaction to Bill C-18.

Habits are hard to break, especially when relying on social media to get headlines on what is happening. Even if this gets settled like we saw in Australia, the idea of a page with strong, quality Canadian journalism links is a worthy project.

The idea of a page with links is not a new concept. We love rewarding great Canadian journalism but haven't gone to a 1-page idea to help Canadians find out what is really going on in their country.

Our first list is filled with quality Canadian journalism that has no connection to Postmedia and its domination by American hedge funds.

• The Narwhal
• The Tyee
• APTN News
• The Walrus
• The Conversation

There are very few mainstream papers in Canada worth a whole lot. Maclean's is a magazine.

• Toronto Star
• The Globe and Mail
• Maclean's

Canadaland has a lot more than just Canadaland and Short Cuts. There is The Backbench, Commons, Détours (avec Emilie Nicolas en Francaise), Wag the Doug, canadaLANDBACK, and more.

• Canadaland

Unlike most Canadian newspapers, CBC News doesn't have restrictions on reading its news. You can set CBC News to get the news from a specific city.

• CBC News

We don't focus too much on TV news in Canadian journalism because TV news usually has other agendas. Still, The Fifth Estate (CBC) and W5 (CTV) go more in-depth and are worth noting. Marketplace (CBC) has its moments though not on the same level as the other shows.

• The Fifth Estate
• W5
• Marketplace

The Canadian Press is a wire service. Often, you will see a story on The Globe and Mail from the Canadian Press that you can't read on their Web site. You can find other outlets to read a Canadian Press story.

• The Canadian Press

Sports counts as news so we will add links to Sportsnet and TSN for sports news.

• Sportsnet
• TSN

How to save news media from our tech overlords (Canadaland)

Pascale St-Onge is the new minister of Canadian heritage

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian society coverage

Facebook and Instagram users in Canada won't be able to access news on those platforms soon, after parent company Meta said it would shut out news in the country over the next few weeks.

Why is this happening again? What will I notice as a user?
https://t.co/cltG2mhmrx

— CBC News (@CBCNews) August 3, 2023

This guide is for national news sources. The Winnipeg Free Press is one of the few independent daily newspapers in Canada.

You could create a document in Google Docs (ironically enough) where you could list your local and national news sources. Maybe you live in Atlantic Canada and Saltwire is helpful for you. Toronto has a few alternative local news sources that are relevant if you live in Toronto.

Montréal is a strong newspaper city en Francaise with Le Journal de Montréal, La Presse, and Le Devoir.

This is an extra step to find news in Canada. If you can develop a better habit, then you won't have to rely on social media to get your news.

We are including a link to this article that will appear in the Info About Canada entitled Canada Journalism Guide on our front page on the right-hand side. Since CanadianCrossing.com is based in the United States, Canadians won't get shut out of our news and analysis.

If you think we missed an outlet worth noting, please let us know in the comments section. We want to make this last as thorough as we can humanly manage to do.

photo credit: About That/CBC News
Twitter capture: @CBCNews

2023 CFL preseason schedule

 

Date	Game	Time
May 22	Edmonton @ Calgary	4p
May 26	Montréal @ Ottawa*	7:30p
May 27	Winnipeg @ Edmonton	4p
May 27	Toronto @ Hamilton	4p
May 27	BC @ Saskatchewan	7p
June 1	Ottawa @ Toronto	7:30p
June 1	Calgary @ BC	10:30p
June 2	Hamilton @ Montréal	7:30p
June 2	Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg*	8:30p
All times Eastern Daylight. * TSN broadcasts.

 

The 2023 CFL preseason is relatively normal, though you could be confused as to what normal is. A preseason that starts on time, one where they play most of the games in their home stadium (not the Toronto Argonauts).

The 2022 CFL preseason had a brief strike, the first for the league since 1974. A preseason game was pushed into the following week. The 2021 season started late without a preseason. The play on the field suffered as a result. There was no 2020 season. 

A normal preseason has been 4 TSN preseason games. The network announced 4 preseason TV games: the 2 marked on the list above and the May 27 games in Hamilton and Regina. Those games are missing on the revised schedule. The chance to show Bo Levi Mitchell in black and gold feels like a waste by TSN.

The new CFL+, which was announced yesterday, is a bit confusing. Let's confine this just to the preseason schedule. 2 games air on TSN and 1 game (June 2 in Montréal) airs on RDS. Those run in Canada on those channels. The other 6 CFL preseason games in Canada (and all 9 in the United States) will air on CFL Preseason Live via CFL+. "The CFL will work together with the host club of each game to broadcast the in-stadium video feed, while play-by-play and analysis will be provided by local crews."

The good news is the service is free. You do have to register. The bad news is you are out of luck if you can't watch the games live.

There are simultaneous games on May 27 and June 2 so you literally can't watch all of the CFL preseason games.

The 3 Down Nation podcast noted there should be streaming options if TSN won't show those preseason games. Now we have them.

2022 CFL preseason schedule

2019 CFL preseason schedule

Each team plays 2 preseason games: home and road. Games reside within the division so no crossovers.

The Toronto Argonauts are back in Guelph, Ontario for training camp and will play its "home" preseason game at Alumni Stadium. You might recall that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats played its home games in Guelph in 2013 during the construction of Tim Hortons Field.

The Argos had played recent home preseason games at Varsity Stadium at the University of Toronto in the daytime at 11 am. Varsity Stadium has hosted more Grey Cup games than any other structure in Canada.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

The regular season starts June 8. Our league preview will run on June 7. Let's hope for a relatively uneventful CFL season where the excitement is only on the field.

logo credit: TSN/CFL; CFL

NHL Network, TNT, and ESPN/ESPN+ games in 2023 season analysis

Year 2 of the new TV contract saw more NHL games involving Canadian teams on television and streaming, as compared to Year 1. ESPN finally discovered Canada was a country with 2 produced games, both in Alberta, within a week in January. Otherwise, Canadian teams were only shown in games based in the United States.

TNT hasn't been afraid to go to Canada and even show all-Canadian matchups.

Having most games on ESPN+ made the NHL Network less of a priority. The pattern late in the season was to have the ABC/ESPN family carry games on Saturday night, kicking out Hockey Night in Canada games from the U.S. outlet.

No more Hometown Hockey games meant the Monday games weren't as significant. The NHL Network had stripped the intermissions in the last year of the concept.

The Showcase games went really well, even if they stopped showing Canadian teams in mid-January. The NHL Network can't run Saturday matinees during ABC windows. The difference is that Canadian teams could be on the Showcase but not on the ABC telecasts.

The Alex Ovechkin obsession altered the NHL Network to chase the Washington Capitals in mid-December. The Toronto game in the U.S. capital switched from Hockey Night in Canada to the worst NHL local announcers. A jolt on a Saturday night to go from a porterhouse steak to dog food.

Ottawa got an extra home game on the U.S. channel schedule (December 22) but they took the NBC Sports Washington feed and also did so for a Winnipeg road game (December 23). This was for the goal for Ovechkin to pass Gordie Howe for second on the all-time list.

Switching to a local feed can be noble but those announcers were terrible.

October 22
Dallas @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
October 24
Pittsburgh @ Edmonton, 8p
October 30
Toronto @ Los Angeles, 7p (HNIC)

November 5
Boston @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
November 12
Ottawa @ Philadelphia, 1p (Showcase)
Pittsburgh @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
November 19
New Jersey @ Ottawa, 1p (Showcase)
Calgary @ Florida, 4p
November 22
Buffalo @ Montréal, 7p
November 26
Edmonton @ NY Rangers, 1p (Showcase)
Toronto @ Pittsburgh, 7p (HNIC)
November 27
Winnipeg @ Chicago, 7p

December 3
Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p (HNIC)
December 10
Los Angeles @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
December 17
Toronto @ Washington, 7p
December 18
Ottawa @ Minnesota, 2p (Showcase)
December 22
Washington @ Ottawa, 7p
December 23
Winnipeg @ Washington, 7p

January 7
Detroit @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
January 9
Nashville @ Ottawa, 7:30p
January 13
Winnipeg @ Pittsburgh, 7p
January 14
Calgary @ Dallas, 2p (Showcase)
Toronto @ Boston, 7p (HNIC)
January 15
Arizona @ Winnipeg, 7p
January 20
Ottawa @ Pittsburgh, 7p
January 21
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
January 29
Washington @ Toronto, 5p
January 30
St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 8p

February 25
Ottawa @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
February 27
Boston @ Edmonton, 8:30p

March 4
Toronto @ Vancouver, 7p (HNIC)
March 11
Edmonton @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
March 13
Colorado @ Montréal, 7:30p
March 17
Carolina @ Toronto, 7p
March 26
Toronto @ Nashville, 6p

April 2
New Jersey @ Winnipeg, 7p

 

Team	Overall	HNIC	Showcase
Toronto	13	9	0
Montréal	7	5	0
Ottawa	7	1	3
Winnipeg	6	0	0
Edmonton	4	1	1
Calgary	3	0	1
Vancouver	1	1	0

NHL Network, TNT, and ESPN/ESPN+ games in 2022 season analysis

NHL Network, NBCSN, and ESPN+ games in 2021 season analysis

TNT was in love with Connor McDavid and covering more Western teams with a full season of doubleheaders. The Edmonton Oilers were on TNT 7 times in the 2022-2023 season. TNT showed 3 Edmonton home games out of those 7.

The Toronto love came in the calendar year of 2023 with 2 home games in January, 1 home game in February, and 1 home game in March.

The Calgary Flames were mostly neglected in the first year of the TNT deal. The Flames had 3 telecasts on TNT, 2 of them at home.

TNT showed 5 NHL games from Alberta in 2022-2023 while ESPN has only had 2 games in Canada for 2 whole seasons, though both in Alberta.

Vancouver had 2 games: 1 home, 1 road. Ottawa had a token road appearance, 1 more than the 2021-2022 season.

TNT kept to its original schedule, except for a Calgary add at Seattle on the last week of the 2022 calendar year.

Montréal and Winnipeg were not scheduled and did not appear on TNT. The Winnipeg Jets are the only Canadian team not to appear on TNT in the first 2 seasons.

TNT had 16 games, up from 13 last season. 10 were on Canadian soil, 4 of them in Toronto and 3 in Edmonton. There was a single all-Canadian matchup.

November 8 Edmonton @ Tampa Bay, 7:30p
November 16 Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 10p
November 23 Ottawa @ Las Vegas, 10p
November 30 Edmonton @ Chicago, 9:30p
December 14 Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p
December 21 Edmonton @ Dallas, 9:30p
December 28 Calgary @ Seattle, 10p
January 11 Nashville @ Toronto, 7:30p
January 25 NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p
January 25 Columbus @ Edmonton, 9:30p
February 15 Chicago @ Toronto, 7p
March 8 Anaheim @ Vancouver, 10p
March 15 Colorado @ Toronto, 7p
March 22 Arizona @ Edmonton, 10:30p
April 5 Edmonton @ Anaheim, 10p
April 12 San Jose @ Calgary, 10p

NHL Network, NBCSN, and ESPN+ games in 2019-2020 season analysis

NHL Network, NBCSN, and ESPN+ games in 2018-2019 season analysis

NHL Network and NBCSN games in 2017-2018 season analysis

NHL Network games in 2016-2017 season analysis

NHL Network games in 2015-2016 season analysis

Let's start with good news. ESPN bumped up the number of games involving Canadian teams to 7 from 2. The U.S. network even carried games before April. Brace yourself: ESPN showed a regular season game from Canada for the first time ever on January 19.

The divide for the ESPN games were Edmonton (3, 1 at home), Toronto (3), and Calgary (1). ESPN ignored the Calgary Flames during its successful run last season.

ESPN+/Hulu had 14 games involving Canadian teams, including a Calgary home game. That was the second game any ESPN property has carried on Canadian soil, all in Alberta. Winnipeg got a road game but more as as joke for the Arizona home opener. A joke is better than being shut out otherwise by TNT and the ESPN family.

The 14 games is an increase from 8 games in 2021-2022.

This irrational fear of doing a game on Canadian soil is really ridiculous, especially with Ray Ferraro, Leah Hextall, and Cassie Campbell-Pascall on the payroll.

Edmonton (7) and Toronto (5) road games made up the other ESPN+/Hulu telecasts.

Montréal (2) and Vancouver (1) were shut out from ESPN appearances this season despite being on in 2021-2022. Ottawa still has not been on ESPN or ESPN+/Hulu.

ESPN schedule
November 6 Toronto vs. Carolina, 5p
January 12 Toronto @ Detroit, 7p
January 19 Tampa Bay @ Edmonton, 9p
February 23 Calgary @ Las Vegas, 9p
April 4 Edmonton @ Los Angeles, 10:30p
April 11 Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p
April 11 Edmonton @ Colorado, 9:30p

ESPN+/Hulu schedule
October 28 Winnipeg @ Arizona, 10:30p
December 1 Edmonton @ Minnesota, 8p
December 6 Toronto @ Dallas, 8:30p
December 30 Edmonton @ Seattle, 10p
January 23 Columbus @ Calgary, 9:30p
February 7 Edmonton @ Detroit, 7:30p
February 19 Edmonton @ Colorado, 3p
February 19 Toronto @ Chicago, 6p
February 21 Toronto @ Buffalo, 7:30p
March 6 Edmonton @ Buffalo, 7:30p
March 9 Edmonton @ Boston, 7:30p
March 21 Toronto @ NY Islanders, 7:30p
March 28 Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p
April 10 Toronto @ Florida, 7p

ESPN and ESPN+ need to have more games and a majority on Canadian soil in the 2023-2024 season to try and make up for the first 2 years.

Tracking the NHL 2022 media changes

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Team	Overall	TNT	ESPN	ESPN+
Edmonton	17	7	3	7
Toronto	12	4	3	5
Calgary	5	3	1	1
Vancouver	2	2	0	0
Ottawa	1	1	0	0
Winnipeg	1	0	0	1
Montréal	0	0	0	0

photo credits: NHL Network; TNT; ESPN

Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays is available on Netflix in the U.S.

A few readers were surprised that Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays made our Top 10 list of the best Canadian television during the 2010s. This included the 12 episodes in its original form in 2011 as well as 6 more episodes in 2017 under the title Michael: Every Day.

The roots of some of the program can be found in Slings & Arrows. Bob Martin, who co-created Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays, co-created the Shakespearean inspired show with Susan Coyne and Mark McKinney. The latter 2 wrote episodes of Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Don McKellar, the other co-creator, directs 6 of the 12 episodes of the original incarnation and all 6 episodes of the 2017 version.

The neuroses of Matt Watts, who was prominent in The Newsroom, the Ken Finkleman show and not the American program with a similar name, figure prominently in Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays. Watts plays Michael, who has been going to David (Martin), his therapist for 15 years. David is trying to write a book based on Michael, who has named him Miguel to protect his identity. At the start, David hasn't asked Michael for permission for his story to be in a book.

Claire (Tommie-Amber Pirie) is David's incompetent receptionist. Carlos (Pablo Silveira) is Michael's rival at work who tries to take advantage of Michael's insecurities. Jasmina (Martha Burns) and Samantha (Jennifer Irwin) are David's book publisher and editor.

The surprising co-star in the program is Ottawa, the relatively boring federal capital of Canada. The Nicholas Hoare bookstore, Parliament buildings, city buses are just some of the scenery in the background. Don't know of too many other Canadian television shows shot in Ottawa.

The joint fragile nature of Michael and David is what makes the show work. The therapist can be seen as the all-knowledgeable yet therapist and patient have significant issues.

David sees Claire as incompetent but she turns out to be more complex. Samantha has her own insecurities, managing sex within a professional relationship with David. The female characters aren't throw-away people.

We see guest appearances from Canadian icons such as Ottawa are native Sandra Oh as well as Samantha Bee.

You don't have to be in therapy or a therapist to get the show. The humour is subtle and dry, which is also true of the other shows we have mentioned.

The U.S. audience can see for themselves whether they think the show belongs on our list or is just a good show that should have been an honourable Canadian TV mention.

Top 10 best Canadian TV shows in the 2010s

Netflix picked up Season 1, which are the 12 episodes from 2011 but not the 6 episodes from 2017 (as Michael: Every Day). Hopefully, all of the episodes are available in Canada via CBC Gem.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Speaking of Canadian TV shows on U.S. streaming outlets, we had been complaining for some time that Hulu hadn't picked up Season 3 of Jann. That complaint feels insignificant now that Hulu no longer carries Jann in any form. If we hear news about Jann south of the 49th parallel, we will pass on that information.

video and photo credit: Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays/CBC Comedy

Happy Holidays 2022 includes Season 11 of Letterkenny

The holiday tradition continues in 2022 with a new season of Letterkenny debuting on Crave on Christmas Day and Hulu on Boxing Day. Makes me wish I was back in my Airbnb where I stayed in Windsor, watching Letterkenny on Christmas Day. Those on the U.S. side have to wait an extra day to get their present.

The trailer mentions several themes for the upcoming season. We only mention 2 words: chip flavours. Sounds like that would go well with the Caesar episode from Season 10. Canada has way more interesting chip flavours than the United States. Watch and learn.

The pattern has been to have 6 episodes with an extra episode coming within months.

Our happy holidays message also applies to Hanukkah, which started on the evening of December 18 and runs through the evening of Boxing Day on December 26.

As we wind down 2022, here are some random thoughts for our holiday notebook.

Carey Price is one of our favourite NHL players for a lot of reasons. Talented goalie, his amazing resolve (especially on Saturday nights), a Canadian goalie who stayed in Canada.

This made his social media appearance on Bill C-21 all the more surprising. The weapon Price is carrying isn't being banned. Indigenous people, of which Price is one, are exempt.

Bill C-21 is going after assault rifles, not hunting rifles. There is this nuance of assault vs. hunting yet most weapons are distinct.

Hunting is a part of the Canadian landscape. Having guns for hunting is not and should not go away. Quite frankly, the handguns pouring into large Canadian cities, a lot from the United States, is the larger concern.

One of the changes that came after the École Polytechnique shooting was a long-gun registry. Stephen Harper dismantled that long-gun registry after he became prime minister. Many of Justin Trudeau's supporters hoped he would bring back that registry.

This isn't just about Bill C-21 and the potential loss of guns. The MontréalCanadiens sent out a response saying Price didn't know about the history of the mass shooting. Price came out with his own response and said he did know about the mass shooting in Montréal in 1989. The fact that the right-wing gun group Price was supporting had a coupon code that said POLY has a lot to do with why people are upset.

Canadian film review: Polytechnique

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

CBC News Explore is a new online approach to news from CBC News. This is only available on Canadian soil. With a nightly 1-hour newscast and a 24-hour news network, many stories fall through the cracks or don't have enough context.

Hopefully, CBC News Explore is a way to get some guidance on some of those news stories. The channel can be streamed for free, again on Canadian soil.

We also recommend Canadaland and its offspring podcasts as an option to learn more behind Canadian news stories. Watching a 30-minute TV newscast just before you go to bed doesn't give much insight into what is happening in Canada.

Happy Holidays 2021 includes Season 10 of Letterkenny

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Canadian TV programs have dominated Sunday nights in the U.S. on the CW Network. The U.S. network finished up Season 1 of Family Law on December 11. Season 4 of Coroner finished up Sunday with back-to-back episodes. That marks 10 episodes for Family Law and 12 episodes for Coroner.

Global has renewed Family Law for Season 3. The CW status of any show is up in the air due to new ownership i.e., Nexstar. Hopefully, a show where production costs are already paid for will help in that decision process.

Family Law has been a pleasant surprise in terms of character development. Jewel Staite is very comfortable playing a lawyer who is a recovering alcoholic.

There were some amusing Easter eggs in Episode 5 of Season 1, Until Death Do Us Part.

A guest of one of the main characters is watching TV. That show turns out to be Jann. Later in the show, one of the women in a lesbian couple is watching Wynonna Earp.

You might expect an Easter egg to tie back to programs on that network. While Global airs Family Law, Bell Media (CTV) produces Jann and Wynonna Earp.

The fun for the American audience is that both shows within the show can be found in the United States. Jann is on Hulu in the States, though only the first 2 seasons (where the bleep is Season 3?). Wynonna Earp airs on Netflix in the U.S.

Looking back at the last 20 Canada Oscars entries for international films

Eternal Spring misses the Oscars shortlist cut for Best International Feature Film

Eternal Spring was worthy of making the Academy Awards shortlist for Best International Feature Film but missed the cut. There are a lot of good films on the shortlist.

You can draw inspiration from our look back at previous nominees. Well, maybe not Chien de Garde. Such a terrible film.

Jason Loftus and his crew should be proud of the film they made.

Your Favorite Woman Tour pre-sale tix are live Wednesday, 12/14 at 10am your local time!
✨ code: WITCH ✨ at https://t.co/vBO6SRZZuT pic.twitter.com/leOkT9Yel5

— Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (@FullFrontalSamB) December 13, 2022

Samantha Bee is having a U.S. tour with a stage show entitled Your Favorite Woman starting in April. Her Full Frontal with Samantha Bee was cancelled by Warner Brothers Discovery after 7 seasons on TBS. 

"Many of the best segments we did on 'Full Frontal' focused on making complex issues more accessible," said Bee in a prepared statement. "And I am called to do that once again. Not sure why. Nothing much is happening in the world of women's bodily autonomy, so I am taking it upon myself to teach the parts of Sex Ed that should’ve been taught by your gym teacher."

This will be a boost after not having a live audience for the show since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We still miss the TV show. The Daily Show has an opening and CBC late night could use a take on the news.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The NHL looked very different 12 months ago with postponements of games due to the latest COVID-19 variant. Glad for a sense of relative normalcy.

CBC and Citytv have New Year's Eve programming instead of Hockey Night in Canada on December 31. The league takes off for a holiday December 24-26.

We don't cover the World Juniors as part of our hockey coverage anymore. We do provide the basic information before the tournament begins. The 2023 version runs from Boxing Day (December 26) through January 5 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick.

This is the third straight year the tournament has been held on Canadian soil, mostly due to the pandemic. Edmonton had the tournament by itself in 2021 and that city shared the tournament with Red Deer, Alberta in 2022. Halifax and Moncton took over from Novosibirsk and Omsk, Russia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Halifax will host Group A, featuring Canada, at the Scotiabank Centre. Moncton will host Group B, featuring the United States, at the Avenir Centre. Halifax previously co-hosted the 2003 tournament with Sydney, Nova Scotia.

TSN covers the tournament with the NHL Network showing the TSN feed unless the United States is involved.

Canada scored 2 goals in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, so there was some progress

2022 FIFA World Cup preview for Team Canada

Canada did really well in the World Cup qualifying through CONCACAF and made its first World Cup (for the men) since 1986. Yet the Canada team drew a really tough group in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Sometimes, such things get exaggerated. Croatia and Morocco, the teams that advanced out of Group F, finished third and fourth, respectively, in the whole tournament. Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1 in the third place game. Canada looks better as a result of how the other teams did in the rest of the tournament.

Montréal's Morocco community embraced their home country's success in the World Cup. Morocco was the first African country to reach the World Cup semifinals.

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2022

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The fine folks at CanadianCrossing.com are taking a holiday break. The CBC winter schedule preview runs on December 28. The NHL month in preview for January will run on December 30. The year to come in travel and politics will run that first full week in January. Breaking news will run as needed, such as if a famous director passes away over the holidays. Schedules are subject to change. We have a lot of archive material to read over the holidays, including many film reviews.

video credit: Letterkenny/Hulu
photo credit: cpoo31/Instagram
Twitter capture: @FullFrontalSamB

Touchdown Atlantic 2022 showcased Nova Scotia and its love for the CFL

There's a saying in Atlantic Canada that if you're not of this place then you're from away, but if you come to this place, come to stay.@TSNScianitti takes a closer look at the CFL's Touchdown Atlantic tradition, and what makes this CFL event and Atlantic Canada so unique. pic.twitter.com/zukf1Nljmt

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 16, 2022

Wolfville was not Halifax; the CFL finally played a regular season game in Nova Scotia with Touchdown Atlantic 2022. The wind off the Atlantic Ocean played havoc with some of the kicks, not unlike the wind at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.

The streets of Wolfville and Halifax were filled (mostly) with the green of the Saskatchewan Roughriders fans who made the trip. There were a number in double blue, rooting for the Toronto Argonauts.

The Argos, a seafaring team based on the nickname, were victorious 30-24 at Raymond Field in Wolfville, home of Acadia University. Sure the cliche is true: everyone involved were winners on Saturday.

Football is family 💚🏈

A special moment for @brettlauther in front of the home crowd 🙌#CFLGameday | #TDAtlantic @sskroughriders pic.twitter.com/DPgy9jdDwR

— CFL (@CFL) July 16, 2022

Brett Lauther's family and friends represented 180 of the 10,000 fans. Lauther is from nearby Truro, Nova Scotia and played university football at St. Mary's Stadium in Halifax (where the 2020 Touchdown Atlantic was scheduled).

This is one of the selling arguments to having a presence in Atlantic Canada. Players from the region making the CFL and either playing for the Atlantic Schooners or coming as a visiting player. The TSN crew interviewed Acadia University head coach Jeff Cummins, a former CFL player.

We know the NHL uses this as a theory for keeping a particular team in a city where the maximum capacity next season will be 5,000 because of Auston Matthews. The theory in Atlantic Canada and the CFL is a lot stronger.

Lauther made 3 of 4 field goal attempts for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Remembering an amazing grilled sourdough bread in Halifax

Celebrating advantages of the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market

Searching for a good lobster roll in Nova Scotia

The seafood is amazing on the East Coast. TSN used part of the halftime to talk seafood. The Bar Down segment was a bit baffling. 3 Saskatchewan players looked at pictures of seafood. Their reaction was mostly negative based on pictures, especially the player in the centre who wasn't into seafood.

The seafood is way better than what was portrayed in that segment. We needed to see them eat Atlantic Canada seafood.

Wolfville is normally a town of 4,000 people. There were 10,886 fans plus the TSN personnel and other relevant people. That is a lot to ask on a place without that kind of infrastructure. Credit to Wolfville for rising to the occasion.

We were glad to see Halifax get some of the celebration for Touchdown Atlantic 2022.

2022 CFL Week 6 preview: Touchdown Atlantic comes to Wolfville, NS

CFL finally puts a regular season game in Nova Scotia

CanadianCrossing.com Nova Scotia coverage

McLeod Bethel-Thomson played for Toronto in Moncton in 2019. Boris Bede played for the Alouettes in 2019 and the Argos in 2022 for Touchdown Atlantic. Brandon Banks signed with Hamilton in 2013 after the Touchdown Atlantic visit to Moncton.

We noted Brett Lauther's local roots earlier in this story. Toronto linebacker Hénoc Muamba played his second Touchdown Atlantic, having played for Montréal in 2019 in Moncton. Muamba played for St. Francis Xavier University in nearby Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

.@ESPNPR @ESPN WTF? Show the @CFL game from @TSN. Huge game in terms of the league and you won't show us the feed. We literally pay your salary. Give us what you promised.

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) July 16, 2022

We hate to mention the major blemish on the U.S. streaming side. ESPN+ picked a horrible time to be asleep at the wheel. The U.S. fans lost the pageantry and the first 2:01 of the game.

Who knows how many American viewers left because the game wasn't on their screen.

ESPN made things even worse by refusing (at press time) to carry the rebroadcast of the game. Every other CFL game is available, except for Touchdown Atlantic 2022.

TSN lost its own feed and missed the first Toronto Argonauts touchdown live.

2020 Touchdown Atlantic in Halifax: What would have been

If CFL plays in 2020, have all the games in the Maritimes

As for the actual game itself, Toronto linebacker Wynton McManis picked a great time for a Pick 6, returning an interception from Cody Fajardo to give the Argos a 30-24 win. Saskatchewan had won 8 straight over Toronto dating back to 2016.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 26 for 37 for 276 yards with 2 TDs and an interception. Fajardo was 24 for 34 for 284 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

Andrew Harris passed TSN panelist Milt Stegall and is now 4th all-time in yards from scrimmage. Stegall finished with 15,209 yards.

Harris had 39 yards rushing, 25 yards receiving for 64 yards for the day. He only needed 46 to pass Stegall.

The veteran running back is still short of 10,000 rushing yards. When Harris reaches that mark, he will be the first Canadian and the 6th CFL player to hit that mark.

Rod Smith and Glen Suitor called the game on TSN with Matthew Scianitti on the sidelines and in the crowd.

The panel made the trip with Kate Beirness, Davis Sanchez, and Milt Stegall there on Friday and Saturday. Matt Dunigan made the trip from Winnipeg on Friday to be there on Saturday in Wolfville.

Stegall talked about how this was his first trip to Atlantic Canada. Sanchez says he thinks Stegall would be someone from Atlantic Canada if he were Canadian.

CFL once again comes to Moncton for 2019 Touchdown Atlantic

Analysis: Could Moncton host a permanent CFL franchise?

CFL hits Moncton, showcasing New Brunswick

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

We know the idea of building a stadium in Halifax to house a team got sidelined during the pandemic. We know the decades-long uphill battle this has been. Let's hope Touchdown Atlantic is a CFL game every year until the Atlantic Schooners start playing for real.

Twitter captures: @TSN_Sports; @CFL; @canadian_xing
photos credit: TSN/CFL

2022 CFL Week 4 preview

Editor's note: The story has been updated to reflect a second starting Canadian quarterback in the CFL this week.

Happy Canada Day weekend!! For the first time since 2019, we have Canadian football on and around Canada Day.

The week starts out on Canada Day eve in the nation's capital as the BC Lions travel really far to Ottawa. ESPN2 will simulcast the TSN feed.

Edmonton goes to Hamilton on the actual Canada Day.

The Alouettes complete a home-and-home with the Roughriders with Montréal traveling to Regina on Saturday night. ESPN2 will show this game.

The CFL also plays on the U.S. national holiday with a Monday night game where the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are in Toronto. Andrew Harris will compete against his former team.

The Calgary Stampeders get to enjoy Canada Day weekend without playing football.

ESPN2

Thursday
BC @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Saturday
Montréal @ Saskatchewan, 7p

TSN

Thursday
BC @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Friday
Edmonton @ Hamilton, 7:30p
Saturday
Montréal @ Saskatchewan, 7p
Monday
Winnipeg @ Toronto, 7:30p

Bye week: Calgary

The price of groceries is a talking point in Canada and around the world. The Save-on-Foods promotion gives an opportunity to a selected person who could win a year's worth of groceries. A year's worth of groceries defined as $5,200 in Save-On-Foods gift cards.

"Skill testing required." The reason that could is in bold lies in the fine print. In Canada, you could win a prize but there is no guarantee.

From what we've heard, the skill testing is pretty simple, a math question. The idea is that you don't win just from luck; there must be skill.

Chandler Worthy's 88-yard opening kickoff return for Montréal could have given Celine Hicks of Saskatoon a year's worth of groceries. Chances are Hicks was rooting for the Roughriders but will be glad to get thousands of dollars in groceries, provided Hicks answered the skill testing question.

2 kickoffs returned for a touchdown could win someone $1,000,000. That is also subject to skill testing and is paid out in equal installments for 20 years.

Karen Kuldys just missed out on $1 million but gets prizes from CFL and sponsors

Karen Kuldys of Winnipeg was a illegal block in the back away from possibly winning that $1 million jackpot. Worth a look back to that story.

2022 CFL Week 3 preview

The Alouettes win snapped a 5-0 streak the West had over the East to start the 2022 season. The West teams had gone 3-0 at home and 2-0 on the road.

Thanks to Winnipeg and BC wins, the West is now 7-1 over the East. Every game this week is West-East.

2022 CFL Week 2 preview

2022 CFL Week 1 preview

The Winnipeg leap has been missing since 2019. We saw Willie Jefferson take the stairs in Winnipeg to greet the fans after he ran in an interception for a touchdown against Hamilton. Can't say that was the first leap since the pandemic started but a reminder of how cool that was in the before time.

Also sparking memories of Winnipeg in the before time was a lightning-related weather delay that moved up kickoff by 30 minutes. At least the game itself wasn't interrupted.

It was a historic night for @nathan_rourke 🇨🇦

436 passing yards the most ever in a game by a Canadian quarterback 🦁#RoarLikeNeverBefore pic.twitter.com/S5VPkJyFvf

— BC LIONS (@BCLions) June 26, 2022

Canadian QB Nathan Rourke set a record for most passing yards for a Canadian quarterback with 436 yards. The BC Lions have blown out Edmonton and Toronto by 40+ points in each game.

Gerry Dattilio had the previous mark of 427 yards in 1981.

The BC Lions have won 2 games at home. There could be doubts about how well this will go east of Vancouver.

The potential for 4 strong teams out of the West (every team but Edmonton) is there but divisional games can change that dynamic. The East has to realize that only 2 teams will make the playoffs unless this dynamic changes.

Late news: Edmonton is listing Tre Ford as the starter at quarterback. That makes 2 starting Canadian quarterbacks in the same week. Ford will be the first Canadian quarterback to start for Edmonton since Frank Cosentino on October 30, 1968.

2022 CFL preview

Edmonton is improving. Calgary really shows up in the second half of their games. The Elks get to experiment with Hamilton before the return of the Battle of Alberta in Edmonton.

Why the Canadian ratio is so important in the CFL

2022 CFL preseason schedule

As we've learned, the ESPN hierarchy is that if one thing gets bumped, everything gets bumped. The College World Series (ESPN) bumped UFC to ESPN2 so the CFL game in Vancouver got bumped to ESPNews. ESPN claimed the game was on the ESPN app, which eventually became true.

Your humble narrator was watching live (ugh). As much as getting CFL games on ESPN cable channels is important, sometimes watching is easier on ESPN+ since there are no random interruptions. 

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Rod Smith and Duane Forde were with John Lu in Montréal on Thursday and Sara Orlesky in Calgary on Saturday evening. Dustin Neilson and Glen Suitor were with Orlesky in Winnipeg on Friday night and Farhan Lalji in Vancouver late on Saturday.

The rules are very different in the post pandemic era. Forde doesn't often get to cover the Battle of Alberta but those old norms are gone. A 2022 trend is that Orlesky will cover any and every game in the West outside of Vancouver.

logo credit: CFL
photo credit: TSN/CFL
Twitter capture: @BCLions