TO Sports Fan

February 20, 2014

How the NHL and IIHF can make the most of hockey

I have long been a proponent of a World Cup. Not neccesarily the NHL's World Cup, but the idea of a World Cup. I wish the NHL, the NHLPA and the IIHF could all get together and see the light, but they all just seem unwilling to compromise.

So I will now do their work for them. Consider this whole setup free advice for those incompetent multi million dollar organizations.

Do both. Go the Olympics and stage a World Cup. Do them both in February, and put the World Cup opposite the Olympics, every two years. None of this 2015 garbage.

It isnt just about the gold medal, it is about the matchups. People remember playing the Russians because they are always great games, not simply because there were medals on the line, and not even because it was Olympic competition. People just want to see the heavy hitters go at it.

A world cup could give us all those matchups that the Olympics tournament doesn't always provide. There is too much filler in the Olympic tournament. Nobody wants to watch Canad-Norway; that isn't entertainment. We want to see Canada-Russia, and Russia-USA, and every other meeting of hockey super powers. An 8 team round robin tournament would ensure we get to see the greatest matchups on earth at least once every four years.

Sure its a dumb trophy, but they can replace it

As far as "growing the game" is concerned, a World Cup allows all involved parties (NHL, NHLPA, IIHF) to maximize their return by putting the games where they will work best; as opposed to having the venue for hockey's greatest showcase restricted by the relative proximity to large mountains. Hockey fans are affluent. They will travel to a semi-final and/or final played in London, England, or Cologne, Germany. The World Cup can be meticulously located in cities that will maximize immediate returns (North America) or capitalize on potential markets in Europe.

As far as qualification goes, I think you just say nuts to IIHF rankings and make it straight up invitational (in all likelihood that will just mean taking the top 8 ranked teams anyway), the event can't risk having an important hockey nation fall into spot #9 because their juniors might have shit the bed and their World Championship team is garbage. Also, if the tournament is going to have a final in a nation with a weaker host (like Germany or Switzerland but maybe not Great Britain or Italy), you want to make sure the host takes part.

So here is the basic setup for the World Cup tournament...

-Canada
-USA
-Russia
-Sweden
-Finland
-Czech Republic
-Slovakia
-Latvia/Switzerland/Germany (I am thinking the bottom two or three would be your highest ranked teams, and/or the host nation of the finals)

-Single round robin preliminaries
-After round robin the top 4 teams advance to the semi finals
-Single game elimination, continuous 5-on-5 OT, semi-final and final

-Round robin games are played around the world, with many teams playing true "home" games
-Tournament "finals" are scheduled long in advance, like a Super Bowl or Winter Classic, and rotate between North America and Europe (and also influenced by where the Olympics are).

Just imagine the possibilities! USA-Russia at Madison Square Garden, Russia-Canada in Moscow, Sweden-Findland in Stockholm! The NHL and the IIHF can make these games happen! And when we are watching them, nobody is going to care that it is a "made up tournament".

Here is a fantasy NHL Olympic/World Cup Cycle. The Olympic hosts are based on speculative bids and the World Cup hosts (cities that would host three games, the semis and the final) are based on what I would think would be ideal places to maximize both profit and exposure. I think traveling fans could become a big part of this tournament. Hockey, particularly NHL fans, are an affluent bunch. I think American and Canadian fans would absolutely travel for a World Cup final in London, or Paris, or Cologne, or Davos, or even Moscow (presumably more accessible than Sochi). So you can strike a balance between "growing the game" in new markets like wherever the IOC decides to put an Olympics, while also being able to cash in on international play by hosting tournaments in lucrative (Toronto, Montreal, New York, LA) or fertile (London, Paris, Germany) markets.

2016 World Cup - New York City, United States

2018 Olympics - Pyongchang, South Korea

2020 World Cup - Montreal, Canada

2022 Olympics - Oslo, Norway

2024 World Cup - England/Germany/France

2026 Olympics - Barcelona, Spain

2028 World Cup - Toronto, Canada

2030 Olympics - Denver, United States

2032 World Cup - Moscow, Russia

2034 Olympics - Quebec City, Canada

2036 World Cup - England/Germany/France

Imagine Germany hosting Canada and the USA in this building.

Links and Twitter handles: @FadooBobcat @FriedgeHNIC, @DamoSpin, @JeffMarek, @michaelgrange @GloBlair @GordStellick @darrenrovell @Paul__Jones @Wilnerness590 @keithlaw @sportsnetsoccer @bgnewf @LukeWileman @Nigel_Reed @TimSidizen @TSNProducerTim @DShulman_ESPN @gareth_wheeler @_Joe_Ross @tsnotoole @Sid_Seixeiro @JayOnrait @GloBlair @tsnjamesduthie @dshoalts @GregSansone @tim_micallef @jamessharman @bruce_arthur @DarrenDreger Listen Here - http://www.fan590.com/onair/primetimesports/

April 10, 2012

Tim and Sid: Not Cut Anymore, on Fan 590

Tim is smiling like he just ate the last cookie

After a brief feeling out period, it certainly seems as if Tim and Sid have hit their stride on the Fan 590. They have gotten away from athlete interviews with guys who have nothing interesting to say (so...hockey players), and have established a good rotation of guests who "get" what they are doing, and understand that the show isn't just about spouting off stats and 'analysis' that any dummy with an internet connection could provide. In the way that Tony Kornheiser always likes to refer to his show as not a sports program, but an adult talk radio program (but with an obviously strong emphasis on sports nonetheless), Tim and Sid have managed to create sort of a "young adult" talk radio program, with a heavy emphasis on sports. The music, movies, weather, politics talk, it all contributes to the vibe of the show, and I think to the connection it creates with the listeners. Rapid Fire has also improved a ton since the first few weeks. I wonder if they ever caught flack for the rapid fire sound effects from people who might think it glorifies guns.

It seems Tim and Sid have made a successful transition from podcast to radio. Which really, they ought to have anyway. I mean you’re still just yak, yak, yaking, fuck.

Why are Toronto Sports fans so angry?

With all the idiocy on display at the Rogers Centre on Monday night, one might characterize it as a sense of entitlement; a sense of being entitled to get drunk and obnoxious. I wonder though, if it isn't more about a sense of resentment. There is a sense of resentment in this city that draws fans to games that don't actually feel connected (of the irony!) to their teams. Professional sports in Toronto isn't just big business, it is big, EXCLUSIVE, business. The people in control aren't just intent on growing their own profits; they are intent on cutting off anybody else that might also stand to gain. The Southern Ontario/GTA market is GIGANTIC, and just like our transit infrastructure, it is criminally underserviced. Especially when it comes to the numbers 1, 2 and 3 sports in this area, hockey, hockey, and hockey.

The faces of pro sports in Toronto

Not only are the Maple Leafs perennially terrible, but their resistance to a second NHL team in the GTA has single handedly prevented more GTA residents from seeing NHL hockey than they could ever possibly provide. The sports fans of Toronto, who almost all love hockey, don't get to create a connection to the team because the closest they get to interacting with the franchise is their TV bill with Leafs TV on it.

The environment among Toronto sports fans right now is one of pure resentment and cynicism. The fans don't expect to be rewarded for their support, so they behave as such. The fans don't expect to win, so they behave as such. The fans simply don't care. The crowds of young, obnoxious, drunk idiots are, to use internet speak, saying "IDGAF". They aren't invested in their teams because the teams are just a business. They're just a brand, like Sobey's and Metro. They are just there to get drunk and give a big middle finger to "the man". Toronto's sports teams have come to embody everything that is wrong with corporate America. They are "the man"; faceless entities taking our money and providing nothing in return.

This is what happens when all of your sports franchises (but especially your most important one) are run by a faceless, earless, voiceless entity. Larry Tannenbaum can apologize all he wants but everybody in Toronto knows that the Leafs are going to be run by yet another unaccountable consortium.

It’s like a sense of pure nihilistic cynicism has set in with a fairly significant portion of Toronto sports fans; enough so that these incidents keep happening anyway. And not that I am about to start spouting off and throwing my beer at people in the Rogers Centre crowd, but I understand where it is coming from.

Face palming his own team...

I have been a died in the wool Maple Leafs fans since I was old enough to understand sports. And to me, choosing a pro sports team to root for has never been about rationalism. It has been about where you were born, where you were from. That is the essence of sports in my view. If everyone just cheered for the best team than sports wouldn't be all that much fun. But even I am moving away from the Leafs. And it isn't necessarily a rational choice. It is just a slow emotional drift. I don't detach easily, and I have never seriously considered switching NHL allegiances, but I have just become so disillusioned not just with the poor play of the Leafs, but with the fact that MLSE are limiting the supply of NHL hockey to a starving consumer base.

Nobody has seriously questioned the validity of a second GTA team for nearly two decades now, and yet we still don't have one. Instead we are stuck with perennial losers who price out more and more GTA residents every season. It is so crass and so calculated that it doesn't seem logical for me to continue supporting the team. I can drive to Ottawa, Detroit or Buffalo for games any time I like. It just seems stupid on my part to continue giving money (or even just the intangible "support") to an organization that clearly does not care if I am a fan.

It has come to the point where I (and I bet a lot of other Leaf fans) have to ask myself, "why am I a fan of this organization?” There are other organizations that are working harder to give back to their fans, and are more successful at creating a winning team. Why shouldn’t I support Buffalo? They may not win it all, but they won’t treat me like a wallet that needs vacuuming.

With all that said, I probably haven't been to a Leafs game in five years. $80 for a nosebleed seat to see the worst organization in hockey? I don't think "no thank you", is a strong enough response. $80 to get in the door to see the Leafs? Go fuck yourself.

April 01, 2012

The Pitiful State of the Toronto Maple Leafs

The embarrassing state of the franchise rests in large part on two judgements made by Brian Burke in his first summer on the job. The fallout from which has created a chain of events hurting the team more and more each time.

Poster boys

Brian Burke’s first mistake was thinking that he had anything other than a bad hockey team. His second mistake was thinking that Phil Kessel was anything more than a complimentary player. From those decisions onward, the team’s fate was all but sealed.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were a team without an identity, and Brian Burke sold the farm to acquire a player who barely had one himself. Phil Kessel is a terrific goal scorer, but he was never going to lead the Maple Leafs. It has always been pretty clear by his demeanor that he was never really going to lead any team. He is the kind of player that makes a good team great and a great team damn near unstoppable. But he is not the kind of player who you can build a winning identity around.

All this left the team with the horribly clichéd “leadership vacuum”. Kessel brought no identity, and the likes of Bozak, Stajan or Komisarek would never be taken seriously as a captain, so Burke went out and traded garbage for garbage. He got a big shiny piece of garbage from Calgary in exchange bunch of gungy little pieces of garbage.

Is it so fucking hard to tie?!

Phanuef came in and did the first thing every jackass does when they want people to think they’re a “leader”; get loud. Enough jokes have been made about Burke’s dressing room music comment, but suffice to say, that sounds more pushy and dickish than “leaderly” to me.

So Dion came in, made a lot of noise, had a “brand name” from the WJHC and the 2004 Cup run, fast forward to the summer and Brian Burke uses the opportunity to fill that leadership void. Burke is brash and somewhat bullyish himself, so why wouldn’t he identify with Phanuef?

I was skeptical of the decision, but I realized it was definitely a horrible mistake at the press conference for his captaincy.

I know public speaking can be difficult, but this is a person who is clearly reading that piece of paper for the first time. I might think a person who understands and appreciates the meaning and value of that press conference, of the Leafs' captaincy, might have attempted to read over, if not full on practice at least the opening of their statement! This is not the mark of an intelligent, thoughtful man. A man who cares about his word, his good name, and his career doesn't just show up to something this important and stare down at the podium reading from a piece of paper.

Now I am not saying that to be a good hockey player you need to be articulate or intelligent but they're a great asset to a good leader. There is a reason people admire (or maybe I should say 'admired') Brian Burke as a GM, and it isn't because of results. It is because of the confidence and gravitas with which he carries himself. His personality and demeanor in press conferences, in any public speaking role, is the reason why he is where he is today.

Bottom line is, when Phanuef is not on the absolute top of his game (which is usually) and "leading by example" he brings nothing to the table. Players like that are not suitable captains.

Leader of men.

So now the Leafs are stuck with a defensively incompetent captain with an albatross contract who, if you believe reports, is not all that popular in the dressing room; a star player who may not be all that inclined to re-sign; and zero goaltending depth. The few nice moves Burke has made can’t even begin to compensate for the colossal shit storm he kicked up during his first summer as GM.

Not that I trust him to change direction and start doing things properly at this point anyway, but hopefully all this embarrassment has taught him something. If he can spend the next couple seasons hoarding draft picks, he just might be able to set this franchise up for a nice run just in time for him to fail upwards and name his own successor as GM.

Though what I more genuinely expect to see is him double down on this "quick rebuild" nonsense and set the franchise up for another 3 or 4 years of purgatory before he gets fired and gets a job at TSN where he can rant about league issues at will without hurting the Maple Leaf franchise.

This is why Leaf fans have such great senses of humour.

Long Time, No Post

Well, I have not posted for a couple months and I bet there are millions of loyal readers dying to know what happened. I moved (basically just to the other side of Toronto), so I didn't have time to sit down and write anything. Now that I have, I will vent about the Maple Leafs, and be done with them for another years. Useless shitheads haven't made the playoffs since I was in high school.....

Funny, I haven't seen this part of London yet.

December 21, 2011

MLSE's Emerging Military Obsesion

Now first thing, this is a topic that is very touchy. People often feel very strongly about ANYTHING that has to do with the armed forces. In particular, people feel very strongly about how criticizing any undertaking done in the name of "supporting the troops" is something that ought not be done. So for that, I apologize in advance for an article that will undoubtedly be interpreted as an "attack" on our brave men and women of the armed forces. So with that disclaimer out of the way, on to my thoughts...

The creeping obsession of MLSE with the Canadian armed forces is something that bothers me for a couple of reasons.

One, I think it is cheap public relations. It is one of the easiest things any corporation looking to deflect criticism can do; wrap themselves in the flag. Not that MLSE has done anything scandalous to deflect from (aside from arguably establishing a monopolistic stranglehold of sports and telecommunications in Southern Ontario), but, metaphorically, it never hurts to throw a symbolic yellow ribbon on your car bumper. Society tells us it is unpatriotic and ungrateful to criticize something that has tied itself to the troops, so associating yourself with them is a useful PR move. For example, Brian Burke deflecting criticism of his July 1 non-activity by citing his Afghanistan trip. Not that there is any connection, but any discussion of his efforts was conveniently stunted as soon as he mentions the troops.

Two, I don't think sport is the place for so much blatant and outright militaristic jingoism. It is why the Olympics (for all of its cynical commercialism and economic blood sucking) pushes the idea that sport unites the world, and that political hostilities ought to be put aside during athletic competition. It is why nations/continents that have actually had war on their doorstep (and in most cases, barge in the door and start smashing stuff up), don't play national anthems before games (i.e. European football teams). They realized long ago that mixing sports with politics and warfare isn't really a good idea. Conversely, those of us who live here on "Fortress North America" have never really had to learn that lesson. To us, warfare is something that happens elsewhere. It is heavily sanitized, so many of us view it as merely a token gesture, without giving much thought to what it really means to have the military seeping into so many facets of our daily lives..

Last week @MLSEPR was tweeting about the Toronto Maple Leafs' annual Christmas visit to Toronto Sick Kids Hospital. Obviously, visiting sick kids in hospital for Christmas is a GREAT gesture by the city's biggest stars. Kid's love sports, they idolize the players, and they are undoubtedly thrilled to see their heroes in person (bearing gifts nonetheless!).

What I didn't understand, was why Tom Anselmi needed to be flown onto the roof of the hospital in a military helicopter. I didn't understand why, instead of wearing the iconic blue and white of the Maple Leafs, Anselmi chose to wear a camouflage version of the Leafs' jersey. I don't understand why the entire endeavor needed to be wrapped in the "flag" of our military. These are children. Sick children (if the hospital name didn't convey the point). Christmas is one time of the year when they get to forget about their disease and enjoy all the trappings of being an innocent, wide eyed child. Do these children, laid up in a hospital bed, really understand the significance, or meaning of our armed forces? But more importantly, do they need to? What purpose does it serve? Why do these children, trying to enjoy their temporary respite from life in a hospital, need to be reminded of war, and the sacrifices our armed forces are making? Why can't they just be innocent, oblivious children, meeting Santa Claus and getting presents on Christmas?

Who was that military regalia really for? Was it for the kids, or was it for MLSE and their corporate image?

And now today, MLSE unveils the NBA's first military inspired uniforms. The lone Canadian franchise beat all 29 American teams to the punch in "honoring" our troops with a camouflage uniform.

Of course, this "honour" that MLSE is bestowing on the troops, will have the ancillary effect of making MLSE money on jersey sales, and of course, if MLSE really wanted to show their appreciation for the troops they could fill the arena with free seats for Canadian military personnel (as opposed to the incredibly crass move of asking season ticket holders to "donate" their tickets to service men and women), but as I suspect, "honouring" the troops isn't really priority #1 here. As it is for any large corporation, money and "goodwill" for the brand are what really matters.

I don't necessarily think there is anything wrong, in and of itself, with the Raptors wearing a special camouflage uniform; this is nothing new to the Raptors. They have worn uniforms to honour other countries like Spain, Italy and Ireland; but taken as a whole, the endeavors of MLSE as a corporation to wrap themselves in the armed forces is becoming a bit much for somebody with even just a mild skepticism of militarism.

When the Winnipeg Jets returned to the NHL and wrapped themselves in the armed forces (and specifically the Royal Canadian Air Force) there were people who complained about the overt militarism of it all. I wasn't one of them. The Jets, and their association with the RCAF, was a completely logical and understandable connection. The pomp and circumstance that surrounded the uniform unveiling was all part and parcel with any team launching a new brand.

But I find the efforts of MLSE to involve the military in almost everything their teams do to be completely overboard. At best, its all just a braggadocios effort to show gratitude to the troops , at worst, it is a crass attempt to cash in on the public goodwill for the military while deflecting from the persistently terrible performances and overpriced tickets of their franchises.

December 19, 2011

Tim and Sid: Cut - On Fan 590

So after an extended hiatus, Tim and Sid are back on the air. It is certainly good to have them back on the podcast rotation, but there have been some considerable changes. A lot of the "window dressing" is still there. The Famous theme song, the rapid fire intro/segment, unfortunately though, a lot of the stuff that isn't window dressing, .i.e. the stuff that actually matters, just isn't the same.

Now I understand that regular radio is different from satellite radio; very different. But the problem here is that what made Tim and Sid so successful (on sat radio & podcast), and what helped them develop their following, has been drastically altered to make them better fit into a prototypical, Toronto sports radio program.

I listened to Tim and Sid (a podcast, that I would have had to seek out), because I was sick to death of listening to puckheads on the radio fill time by droning on and on about the Leafs' pathetic penalty kill, or the problem of concussions in hockey. I heard Tim ask the question "so what do we do about concussions" about three times last week, which is three times more than I ever wanted to hear it. There are other people, hosting other shows, whose job it is to ask that question every fucking day (as if somebody is ever going to actually have "the answer" anyways), I never listened to Tim and Sid in the first place to hear this topic lamented for 20-30 minutes a day. I am sure Millard and Kypreos are nice guys, but I don't listen to Hockeycentral for a reason; because, living in Toronto, and watching every Leaf game, I get my fill of hockey talk through any number of avenues; I don't need to seek it out on radio.

I am definitely not surprised to see these changes, but I am disappointed. Tim and Sid: Uncut was such a successful podcast because they didn't do what every other program was doing. They were the alternative to the incessant white noise of TSN and Sportsnet, and unfortunately, they have now been taken in by that white noise. I understand it is just business, and I certainly don't begrudge Tim and Sid for "getting theirs", and making the jump to Sportsnet, but I am not convinced this strategy is going to work, long term.

The people who want to hear interviews with Dion Phanuef and Luke Schenn, the people who want to hear special teams and concussion talk every single day, they think it is serious business, and they won't appreciate Tim and (especially) Sid's irreverent approach to the topic. The people who don't want to hear interviews with hockey players and who don't want to hear about concussions all day, that is Tim and Sid's wheelhouse, and they will be turned off by the, as Bob McCown would put it "hockey hockey hockey hockey" talk.

The best segments of last week were when they brought in the writers (people with eloquence and forethought like Brunt and Grange), and the absolute worst, were the ones where they brought on Sportsnet's "Hockey Experts" to ask them the same tired questions they just finished asking each other during the previous hour of radio. Maybe next week, with Bobcat on vacation, they can poach some of his better guests. I think Darren Rovell would be a perfect guest for Tim and Sid. The three of them talking hot-dog eating competition could be comedy gold.

It is good for Tim and Sid that they made the jump, and I hope they succeed. But as an original "Tim and Sid-izen", I really hope their show evolves, back in to the irreverent, light-hearted and fun program that it used to be.

Links and Twitter handles: @FadooBobcat @FriedgeHNIC, @DamoSpin, @JeffMarek, @michaelgrange @GloBlair @GordStellick @darrenrovell @Paul__Jones @Wilnerness590 @keithlaw @sportsnetsoccer @bgnewf @LukeWileman @Nigel_Reed @TimSidizen @TSNProducerTim @DShulman_ESPN @gareth_wheeler @_Joe_Ross @tsnotoole @Sid_Seixeiro @JayOnrait @GloBlair @tsnjamesduthie @dshoalts @GregSansone @tim_micallef @jamessharman @bruce_arthur @DarrenDreger Listen Here - http://www.fan590.com/onair/primetimesports/

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