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.

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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.


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Change has come

Disclaimer: The NHL is referring to these four new groups as "Conferences". Now as a North American bred sports fan, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of four "conferences". Four "divisions" I understand, but I had always imagined "Conferences" were something you had a pair of. So with that in mind, I will slip back and forth between the two terms, but I think you will get my point regardless.

Firstly, and as it relates to the Leafs' division, it is pretty funny that the league just said "**** it" and blew up the Southeast division. It was definitely the right move regardless of any geographical inconsistencies. Through no fault of the individual teams involved in the Southeast division, they all collectively received significantly less media exposure and less public cache because their divisional opponents all lacked any sort of history. Putting Tampa and Florida in the current NE division makes no sense geographically, but I think of it as "the cradle of hockey" taking one for the team. The added trips through Florida can only help those teams increase revenues, and it isn't like Florida and Tampa Bay will cause NE division fans to stay away from the arena in droves.

Its sort of an inconvenience I suppose for the current NE teams, but I personally don't have a problem with the added travel (granted I aint doing said travelling). This move was obviously motivated by the fact that the Florida teams draw so well when the Leafs and Habs are in town (and presumably the other NE teams as well), so it is hard to argue with the logic behind the decision. And personally I am happy to have more opportunities to catch the Leafs in Florida for cheap.

And of course, this division is the logical landing spot for the new Quebec Nordiques when the Coyotes inevitably move.

The other "Eastern Conference" division is basically perfect in my opinion. You keep all those established rivalries from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, while rescuing Washington from the sinking ship southeast, returning them to their rightful spot among the old Patrick Division, and more still, the division gives Carolina their best possible chance at achieving long term, financial stability by placing them in the NHL's marquee division.

The new "Western Conference", with its more time-zone friendly alignment seems to make a lot of sense, and solves a lot of individual team complaints in the most practical way possible. The two new divisions seem to lack any "Northeast division" like geographical anomalies and solve the problem of time zone differences in the best way possible.

While the makeup of the "Pacific conference" doesn't really provide much room for creativity, but the new "Central division" is a really well thought out grouping that should really please all of the teams. Detroit and Chicago don't have to deal with so many late night games, and Minnesota, Dallas and Winnipeg finally get put into a geographical grouping that makes sense.


The best part of the changes however is the introduction (or re-introduction) of divisional playoffs. All this nonsense with endless regular season games versus divisional opponents is over and the NHL is finally accepting the fact that the playoff matchups are what creates rivalries. You can play a team 8 times in the regular season for decades and you won't ever create the same kind of hatred that 2 consecutive playoff meetings will.

The only scary thing about this re-alignment is that it opens the door wide for the possibility of expansion. In the long run, it really isn't fair that half of the league's teams have a statistically better chance at making the playoffs than the other half, and I suspect the NHL might be looking to solve this problem by adding two more teams. There don't seem to be any real obvious candidates for expansion, but the NHL appears to be getting it's ducks in that row regardless.

My baseless prediction, Phoenix moves to Quebec City (and the East division), a Seattle expansion team replaces Phoenix in the West division. A Kansas City expansion team moves into the Central division, and Columbus gets bumped over to the Atlantic division. And there you would have a perfectly balanced 32 team league.













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The Case for Canadian Exceptionalsim or the Evolving Landscape of Canadian Sports

As times change, economies and societies change with them. From a time in the mid 90's, when it appeared professional sports in Canada was on life support, to today, where professional sports in Canada seems as strong as it ever was, Canadian sports fans have been riding a roller coaster of mild success and seemingly prolonged failure for quite some time now. In some ways, traditional, Canadiana in our sports scene is going stronger than ever, and still, the global nature of sports (as has oft been predicted for the last 20 or 30 years) is making a real impact on the Canadian landscape. Canada's historical favourite sport is thriving, Canada's only exclusive professional league is seeing its first wave of new construction in decades, and Canada's favourite "World's game" is seeing a huge boom in infrastructure and professional expansion.

More hockey, hockey, hockey...

I suppose the best place to start is with Canada's first love (and fuck lacrosse). The game of hockey, particularly at the highest professional level, is experiencing a bit of a renaissance in the wake of the US economic downturn. All of a sudden the real money of fans in markets like Winnipeg and Quebec City seems a lot more enticing than the theoretical money of fans in markets like Atlanta and Phoenix. Canada has already re-claimed one team from the wave of southern expansion and it seems entirely possible that a second could be on its way. With the prospect of new, NHL caliber arenas in Toronto and Quebec City, it seems only a matter of time before Canada sees an eighth (and if we dare to dream, ninth) NHL team.

New Winnipeg Bluebombers Stadium

Canada's lone, exclusive professional (or more specifically, relevant) sports league, the CFL, is also on a tear of new development. With BC Place already refurbished to nearly NFL caliber levels, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats set to move into new buildings in the next couple years, and the Ottawa Roughriders still trying (although somewhat uninspiringly) to return to the CFL in a refurbished Frank Clair Stadium, the league might look like an entirely different animal by the end of the decade. Throw in the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who are in the very preliminary stages of trying to get a new stadium built, and pretty soon the majority of CFL teams could be playing in brand new venues. For a league that spent the last couple of decades playing in dilapidated and neglected stadiums that could be seen, at best, as high in "character" while low in just about everything else, this could be a real turning point for the league. If the Toronto Argonauts could ever get their shit together and move out of the soul sucking cavern that is the Rogers Centre football configuration, and into an outdoor, 25-30K, CFL specific stadium, that franchise, and by-proxy the league could be on a real roll.

A big part of what made Toronto's newest franchise such a success was the character of the stadium. Torontonians wanted a change from indoor sports, and BMO Field (along with Toronto FC), offered fans that chance. I think a similar Toronto Argonauts stadium would probably have the same effect on the fanbase.

A stadium like this would save the Argos

BMO Field

Speaking of Toronto FC, the third aspect of Canada's evolving pro sports scene starts with them. People have projected for decades that soccer was "the next big thing", both in Canada, and the United States, but it seems that finally, in Canada at least, that soccer may finally, actually be “the next big thing”. After Toronto FC's initial success (at the box-office, not on the field, obviously), Major League Soccer saw potential. In conversations after that initial success commissioner Don Garber drew comparisons to the NHL. He saw that the NHL was able to not just sustain itself, but grow by being a big player in Canada (not to mention off put some of the losses of American franchises with the profits of Canadian ones). Garber saw that the Canadian market seemed to be more accepting of Major League Soccer as a professional league, and decided to act. Soon enough, both Vancouver and Montreal would be given franchises and Garber's plan to cash in on Canadian soccer fans was underway.



Big, beautiful, soccer specific-ish stadium



Not that there is anything wrong with that. As a Canadian soccer fan I am happy to be taken advantage of (to a point. I won't pay TFC's ever inflating ticket price, but I am happy to have more teams in Canada). To look back at the difference in soccer infrastructure in this country over the decade is almost unbelievable. From a nation with zero soccer specific stadiums, to a nation with three-ish (okay, two but BC Place isn't that bad) in just over 5 years time is incredibly impressive. BMO Field, while barebones when it comes to amenities is a SSS with natural grass, and a primary tenant, something Canadian soccer fans could have only dreamt of ten years ago. Throw in the great location and Canada (and specifically Toronto) has got something that could now be called a true home field for the national team. Toronto FC and Canadian soccer fans have really hit the jackpot with BMO Field. It can be hard to look past the dismal performance of the home team, but in the grand scheme of things, the progress is astounding. August nights at BMO Field, with the sights and sounds of the CNE midway as a backdrop to a Toronto or Canada home game, have become a real special atmosphere. One that Canadian sports fans ought to be proud of, and one that sports fans anywhere in the word ought to be jealous of.

Concept for renovated Stade Saputo

With new teams and new arenas sprouting up all across Canada, I think it is safe to say that professional sports in our country might be entering a golden age. It would be great if the success of the teams could match the success of the businesses, but I suppose we shouldn't expect everything all at once.


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/

On the Blue Jays New/Old Uniforms

Some fine looking ball players

 So the Toronto Blue Jays held an "invitation only" unveiling at the Rogers Centre recently, but with the advent of social media and instantaneous communications, anybody who wanted to be there, could be there (in a virtual sense, of course). If nothing else, the fact that these uniforms were kept under wraps and never really got leaked, that the Jays were even able to keep the secret up until their press conference, is quite an impressive feat. Yes, the logo was leaked a couple months ago, but it was anybody's guess what their plans were for the uniform.

Hopefully we never see any of these things again.

Since their release, the response has been almost overwhelmingly unanimous. The uniforms are great! The subtle adjustments to the classic "World Series-era" uniforms do a terrific job of bringing that iconic look up to modern standards.

Personally I am a huge fan of everything the team did with the re-rebranding. The sleek logo looks just enough like the old logo to be instantly recognizable, while making just subtle enough changes to it to avoid looking like the gaudy and over the top, 1997 "tweaking" of the original logo.

The uniform design doesn't need much exposition. The home whites and road greys are classic baseball, and the slight "sharpening up" of the iconic double stripe font for the numbers and front letters look great.

A nice effort, but ugly logo

Most importantly, the BLUE Jays will wear a BLUE jersey for the first time in several years. The tacky, trendy, black jersey is mercifully retired and the Jays new alternate shirt is the exact jersey I have been waiting for for years. The Jays had a blue jersey for a short while in the early 2000's, but combined wth the huge font and terrible logos of the time, it left much to be desired. Now, with the classic rebranding and a solid blue shirt, the Blue Jays finally have, what I would consider to be, a perfect set of uniforms.

I wouldn't mind the team making subtle tweaks going forward, maybe a new alternate on occassion, but this is a uniform set that the Jays should settle on for a long time. Their motto at the unveiling was "logo for life", and from a personal aesthetic preference, I really hope they're serious about that.

Perfection



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/