en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/837270 Comments by canadiansportsfan http://fangsbites.com/2012/01/pac-12-conference-releases-2012-football-schedule/#IDComment255598592 Presumably some (or all) these are ESPN Thursday night games... Thur., Sept. 27 - Stanford at Washington Thurs., Oct. 4 - USC at Utah Thurs., Oct. 11 - Arizona State at Colorado Thurs., Oct. 18 - Oregon at Arizona State I'd imagine the 9/27, 10/11 and 10/18 games are for sure. Arizona St-Colorado isn't exactly a great matchup. Thu, 5 Jan 2012 04:53:56 +0000 http://fangsbites.com/2012/01/pac-12-conference-releases-2012-football-schedule/#IDComment255598592 http://fangsbites.com/2011/07/espn-signs-12-year-agreement-for-wimbledon/#IDComment170018025 So basically, main ESPN will have live coverage for the entire 2nd week. Not too bad. I think tennis fans are getting a great deal here, especially with the concurrent coverage on ESPN/2 for 3 of the busiest days. This means every quarterfinal will be aired live in its entirety. I see why Wimbledon couldn't turn this down, especially with the extra money ESPN threw at them. Tue, 5 Jul 2011 18:01:41 +0000 http://fangsbites.com/2011/07/espn-signs-12-year-agreement-for-wimbledon/#IDComment170018025 http://fangsbites.com/2011/06/tnt-airs-wide-open-coverage-from-daytona-on-saturday-night/#IDComment167772393 If I lived in the United States, I'd love this. Living in Canada, TSN still has to take commercial breaks (well they usually do "side-by-side") and they always manage to screw it up. Let's hope they don't this year. Next to BBC's commercial free coverage of Formula 1, this is probably the most watchable race coverage on TV though. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:16:38 +0000 http://fangsbites.com/2011/06/tnt-airs-wide-open-coverage-from-daytona-on-saturday-night/#IDComment167772393 http://fangsbites.com/2011/06/the-3rd-annual-fangs-bites-nhl-tv-awards/#IDComment164559812 I agree with much of this, but Duthie is certainly better than Patrick. I know you really, really hate Pierre, but there is a reason every network wants him, he is quite possibly the best (not the worst) NHL analyst out there. I understand that people in the US who only hear him talking over Emrick and Edzo don't really understand this, but when he works with Chris Cuthbert there is no better tandem in hockey (including Doc/Edzo and Hughson/Simpson). Whenever Glenn Healy retires you should create a new award in his name for the most bitter analyst. He'd certainly win it this year. No way he deserves a mention for inside the glass. Kevin Weekes is a pretty bad game analyst too. He is good in studio though. Mark Lee deserves a very honourable mention for being the worst play-by-play. Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:46:13 +0000 http://fangsbites.com/2011/06/the-3rd-annual-fangs-bites-nhl-tv-awards/#IDComment164559812 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/06/21/good-world-cup-coverage-despite-tournament-woes/#IDComment88823730 The 5 best football leagues in the World are in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. Last time I checked four of those made up the European contingent of the G8. Yep soccer is mostly played in countries with no money. The two best leagues in South America are in Argentina and Brazil, both of those countries are in the G20. Nobody is saying that MLS isn't a terrible league, everyone knows it is. That certainly doesn't mean that there aren't soccer fans in Canada and it far from proves that soccer is a boring sport. That would be like saying hockey is boring because nobody watches the British League (yes one exists). Of course football is big in poor countries, so is baseball. The reason is simple, they are fairly cheap to play. Is baseball boring because it is huge in the Dominican, Cuba and Venezuela? Football is played by pretty much EVERY country, so it isn't mostly played by poor countries, it is mostly played by EVERY country. Pretty much every country on the planet enters World Cup qualifying. Oh and of the 32 teams at the 2010 World Cup, 12 are in the G20, and Canada and Russia were the only G8 members who weren't there. Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:12:26 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/06/21/good-world-cup-coverage-despite-tournament-woes/#IDComment88823730 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/06/21/good-world-cup-coverage-despite-tournament-woes/#IDComment81713978 There are no assists in soccer, at least its not an important stat if there are. Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:29:51 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/06/21/good-world-cup-coverage-despite-tournament-woes/#IDComment81713978 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/06/21/good-world-cup-coverage-despite-tournament-woes/#IDComment81275928 Nice shot at Rooney, as a Manchester United fan I disagree, but you may be correct. He certainly hasn't played like the world's best for England recently. Ronaldo actually played really good today for once. Actually I think the World Cup has been much better the last few days, albeit partially because of France. The Cameroon-Denmark game on Saturday was great. I agree on CBC's coverage, Collins and De Vos are as good as CBC is going to get I guess. ESPN's coverage has been better, I enjoy hearing the likes of Martin Tyler, Ian Darke, Ally McCoist and Efan Ekoku when ABC has coverage on the weekends. ESPN is employing analysts from at least 5 different countries on their studio show as well, it provides a different perspective. Just wondering, why do you mention the hockey/NBC thing now? It happened over two weeks ago. Have a good summer Bill. I think that your first piece back should be about how good of a hockey writer James Mirtle is, and maybe you can follow that up with one on Brian Burke being the best GM in hockey. Just kidding of course. Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:32:04 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/06/21/good-world-cup-coverage-despite-tournament-woes/#IDComment81275928 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/06/09/the-cbcs-world-cup-panel-will-make-an-impact/#IDComment79787623 I'll never understand why people find football, er sorry soccer, boring. There are so many things going on at once on the pitch that it just can't be boring if you enough about it. The thing that I love about both hockey and soccer is watching a play develop away from the puck/ball that results in a goal. Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:41:58 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/06/09/the-cbcs-world-cup-panel-will-make-an-impact/#IDComment79787623 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/06/09/the-cbcs-world-cup-panel-will-make-an-impact/#IDComment79349493 John Helm, David Woods, Steve Banyard, Gary Bloom and Kevin Keatings. Most of these guys are terrible. Remember, working for the international feed means you aren't good enough for BBC and ITV. Just because they are British, doesn't make them good. Keatings and Banyard are good and Woods is decent, but I can't stand the other two. ABC will be using Martin Tyler, Ian Darke and Derek Rae, all of whom work for British TV channels (Darke and Tyler for Sky Sport and Rae for ESPN UK). I really wish CBC would use the BBC/ITV commentators, but otherwise their coverage should be very good. I like John Collins a lot. Wed, 9 Jun 2010 20:06:59 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/06/09/the-cbcs-world-cup-panel-will-make-an-impact/#IDComment79349493 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/05/20/rogers-communications-how-it-muscles-the-competition/#IDComment77924834 We don't have Rogers Cable and that's it. BellAliantTV is also available in Fredericton, plus there is always Shaw Direct and Bell TV satellite. I switched from Rogers to Shaw Direct a few years ago and couldn't be more happy. TSN and Sportsnet are both in the basic package, so you don't lose anything there. Mon, 31 May 2010 17:01:33 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/05/20/rogers-communications-how-it-muscles-the-competition/#IDComment77924834 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/05/20/rogers-communications-how-it-muscles-the-competition/#IDComment77924699 Because TSN was committed to game 7 of Celtics-Magic (which wasn't necessary) and TSN2 was committed to the Coca-Cola 600, which moved over to TSN when the Celtics ended Orlando in 6. Mon, 31 May 2010 16:59:45 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/05/20/rogers-communications-how-it-muscles-the-competition/#IDComment77924699 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/05/24/is-this-englands-year-dont-rule-it-out-says-world-cup-voice/#IDComment77924520 I like Argentina and the Netherlands as well, like kev said the Argentines have a very good top 3 (or even 4 if you throw in Milto) forwards, but I feel that they are weaker than some of the other teams elsewhere. If Ferdinand or Terry can play as good as they are capable of, then I really like England's chances. Spain may be the only team that is very solid at every position. Torres and Villa are world class upfront, their midfield is amazing with the likes of Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Fabregas; their defense may be the deepest in the tournament with Albiol, Pique, Puyol, Capdevilla and Ramos and in net they have 3 world class goalkeepers Brazil is very good on defense, and they may have the best goalkeeper in the World, but the question will be can Kaka and Fabiano carry them. I don't think they will get past Spain in the quarters. My top 5 in order would be Spain, England, Netherlands, Argentina and Brazil. Mon, 31 May 2010 16:57:44 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/05/24/is-this-englands-year-dont-rule-it-out-says-world-cup-voice/#IDComment77924520 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/30/don-cherrys-movie-rocked-with-tv-viewers/#IDComment68441004 Considering that the last two posts disappeared, I'm going to assume that someone had hacked Bill's website. If this is what happened, then please inform us Bill. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:01:25 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/30/don-cherrys-movie-rocked-with-tv-viewers/#IDComment68441004 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/30/don-cherrys-movie-rocked-with-tv-viewers/#IDComment65856281 I can't believe that 130, 000 people watched racing in the middle of the night. That has got to be one of the highest 2:00am ratings ever. Even on the west coast that's an 11:00 start. I was one who stayed up (until 6:00am AT) to watch the race. William, can you include the Aussie Rules ratings for TSN2? I'm interested to see how it does in Canada compared to other sports. Sun, 4 Apr 2010 02:23:22 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/30/don-cherrys-movie-rocked-with-tv-viewers/#IDComment65856281 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/25/don-cherry-the-movie-is-it-worth-four-hours-of-your-time/#IDComment64248991 The good news is that ABC is airing a number of weekend World Cup games, so we should get to hear the likes of Tyler and Darke a few times during the tournament, including the final (which will likely be Tyler and Andy Gray). While I'd prefer the BBC guys, it doesn't surprise me that we are getting the international commentators. I can't remember the last competition where CBC or TSN hasn't used them. I doubt it is any cheaper to get the international guys, just probably a lot easier considering two networks are airing coverage in the UK. The AFL thing isn't entirely new for TSN2. TSN has held AFL rights since last August, and they aired a game of the week for games from August on last year. The only difference this year is that the games will be live. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:01:24 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/25/don-cherry-the-movie-is-it-worth-four-hours-of-your-time/#IDComment64248991 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/17/olympic-channel-deserves-an-answer-from-crtc/#IDComment63104229 CBC is also the most widely available channel in Canada. You can really only compare them with the other two OTA channels available nationally. To say that CBC gets better ratings than a channel like TSN (which isn't true on some nights) or Showcase isn't fair. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:33:36 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/17/olympic-channel-deserves-an-answer-from-crtc/#IDComment63104229 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/12/sources-ctvs-star-executive-keith-pelley-set-to-walk/#IDComment61779474 I think it airs on all stations that air Prime Time Sports. It even airs on the three Rogers news stations in Saint John, Moncton and Halifax during PTS. Sometime you hear the very end of it when watching the show on Sportsnet as they come back from commercial too. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:32:30 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/12/sources-ctvs-star-executive-keith-pelley-set-to-walk/#IDComment61779474 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/12/sources-ctvs-star-executive-keith-pelley-set-to-walk/#IDComment61779254 Personally I'd like to see Martinez as the main analyst, with Rob Faulds as the play by play. Why they ever replaces him with Campbell in the first place is beyond me. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:30:45 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/12/sources-ctvs-star-executive-keith-pelley-set-to-walk/#IDComment61779254 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/08/maclean-came-to-praise-ctvs-olympic-coverage-not-bury-it/#IDComment60894457 Its not Sportsnet that makes the games blacked out, the NHL does to protect Centre Ice. Sportsnet buys regional rights to games, it would bring down the value of TSN and CBC's packages if they had national rights (TSN has exclusive national cable rights). The same thing happens with in the US for NHL, MLB and NBA. The channels aren't blacked out most of the time either. Around 40 times a year x3 hours for each = 120 hours of the year. There is almost 9000 hours in a year. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:14:30 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/08/maclean-came-to-praise-ctvs-olympic-coverage-not-bury-it/#IDComment60894457 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/08/maclean-came-to-praise-ctvs-olympic-coverage-not-bury-it/#IDComment60788458 I think that TSN2 would willingly take on those broadcasts once the CBC contract is up, if CBC doesn't want them. Unlike Blue Jays and TFC coverage the Raptors games are produced by Raptors TV, so it doesn't take a CBC production crew/HD truck to do the games. If the Raptors want to sell CBC games for a cheep price (which if they want an OTA presence they will) then CBC might stick around. I could see them not re-newing the contract as well though. I know it probably wouldn't happen, but the other option would be CTV. I'm sure that they could do a 5-8 game package on Saturday and Sunday afternoons late in the season (after the NFL season). I doubt they'd be interested though because CTVGlobemedia would rather the games be on TSN/TSN2. Tue, 9 Mar 2010 19:30:29 +0000 http://www.truthandrumours.net/2010/03/08/maclean-came-to-praise-ctvs-olympic-coverage-not-bury-it/#IDComment60788458