The World Cup is Coming

I hope to have some more FIFA World Cup coverage coming soon, but this was too good to pass up.

Running Again

Prior to last week, it had been a long time since I had seriously run. As a kid, I had a little because my father is an avid runner. I remember doing the kids’ “Fun Run” at some of the local circuit races he attended and even doing a 10k with him for charity.

As I got a bit older, I tried out for the track team, more for the day off of school than anything else though. The “goal” of running was not always apparent to me, aside from getting from one place to another. I have typically preferred to get my physical activity through competitive team sport like hockey, basketball, volleyball, softball, etc., etc. Recently I began running again and it feels good.

Canada’s Next Sportscaster

The combination of sports and TV have been a big part of my life for a long time. As I write this, I’m flicking between two NHL playoff games, an NBA playoff game, and a baseball game.

I like to think that I know a fair bit about sports; If I didn’t think so this blog would make even less sense. I’ve spent many an hour debating all kinds of topics with my friends over the years. I’ve put so much time into it, at times it it’s seemed like my job. Yeah, I wish.

Who Do You Watch?

Ever since my small rural town got cable, I have been watching sports news/highlight shows. Back in those days TSN’s Sportsdesk was the only one on the landscape. In a way I feel like I grew up with TSN; as the network matured, I got taller.

Over the years others joined the 24 hour sports network ranks to fill in any gaps in the broadcast sports market.

What we now recognize as The Score was the first to present a challenge to TSN nationally, though it was not much of a challenge. At the time, Headline Sports, as it was known, was simply a 15 minute sports highlight loop offering no live sports action. It wasn’t until 2000 when, rebranded as The Score, the network was granted an amendment to their CRTC license allowing limited live sports coverage that they truly began to compete in the broadcast sports market.
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Sportsnet came on the scene in 1998, originally owned by CTV prior to a forced sell-off to Rogers and immediately provided some competition to TSN in terms of live sporting events. There was now a choice when it came to where you watched your sports. I remember initially being a fan of Sportsnet. They were the new kid on the block and were free of the “this is the way we’ve always done it” frame of mind.

Over the past few years we have seen a move from sports highlight desk jockeys trying to live up to the professional standards of Kronkite to taking a lighter approach. Based solely on my recollection, I want to say Sportsnet seemed to start this trend in an attempt to differentiate itself from TSN, but The Score refined it even further.

Sid Seixeiro and Tim Micallef used this approach when they took over the nightly highlight package on The Score Tonight. Sid and Tim offer the days highlights like they were sitting in your basement with you. Since, their success others have followed suit. we have seen personalities like James Duthie and Jay Onrait (sorry O’Toole) gain greater and greater recognition largely due to their style of humour. James Duthie was most recently the host of Canada’s Olympic coverage, as position traditionally held by news anchors such as Brian Williams.

So I want to know who it you watch and what you enjoy about different sports programs. Give me your two cents or more