The pretty good and pretty bad of Grey Cup weekend

The 2009 Grey Cup will go down in history for no other reason than for demonstrating the importance of mathematics. Counting to 12 apparently isn't something that should be taken for granted.

As for counting, I kind of lost count of how many hours TSN's Grey Cup coverage lasted. Or was it days?. Some of it was very good and some not so much. Here are the observations that didn't make the cut for my Monday dead-tree column.

THE PROUDFOOT STORY: Rogers Sportsnet's Arash Madani's piece on former CFL defensive back Tony Proudfoot and his battle against ALS was one of the most touching and inspiring reports I've seen. It covered all the bases and never tried to tug at your heart.

YA GOTTA LOVE HIM: ESPN's Chris Berman can be a bit over the top at times (no more baseball, please) but you have to like an American who's got a soft spot for the CFL. He included the Grey Cup in Sunday's NFL Countdown segment on picking the winners and the panel played along, except for Mike Ditka. Da Coach showed as much disdain for the CFL as he did to defensive backs when he played and kickers when he coached.

GREAT STUFF: TSN's piece on a 108-year-old Stampeders fan was one of those feel-good features that a Grey Cup needs. ... Loved those Moments With The Cup spots on TSN, especially Sandy Annunziata and his wacky home videos. ... Inducting late TSN producer Paul McLean into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame reporters wing was a great move. ... Calgary quarterback Henry Burris showed some promise as an interviewer. He wasn't Mike Wallace, but he was entertaining. ... TSN got some pretty good moments from the coaches' pre-game speeches, though these things aren't quite the same as Hollywood portrays them. ... Thank God TSN avoided doing that annual story on the old Baltimore Stallions fans who trek to Grey Cup.

NOT-SO-GREAT STUFF: You know TSN's  pre-game show has gone on too long when you hear a report on how much sleep Anthony Calvillo usually gets and how much he's getting prior to the big game. (Obviously, it was not enough as he didn't wake up until the second half.) ... Rod Smith and Darren Dutchyshen spent far too much time talking during Sunday afternoon's endless pre-game show. And who decided to put the studio in a space that had no more than a couple of dozen fans milling about? ... Maybe it was overload, but TSN didn't cover itself in glory with its Vanier Cup work. The worst moment came at half-time when TSN abandoned the CIS to promote the Grey Cup.

 PLEASE BE GENEROUS: I have had the pleasure of deliving Star Santa Claus Fund gift boxes, something that opened my eyes. Just seeing the kids' reactions to getting something, anything, for Christmas was something I'll never forget. If you can afford anything, please make a donation. Go to http://www.thestar.com/santaclausfund and give generously to The Star's Santa Claus Fund.

Can TSN survive the Grey Cup?

It might be overkill to call this the worst week in TSN's history, but it certainly has been seven days of nightmarish events for the sports channel.

Last Sunday, a technical glitch with a satellite uplink in Regina caused TSN to miss the first five minutes of the West final. Now, these kind of things happen but they seldom happen to TSN, especially in one of its biggest broadcasts of the year. Or so we thought.

On Saturday, disaster struck again as TSN viewers missed chunks of the Vanier Cup. The channel called ot a ``last-minute technical malfunction with transmission equipment at the stadium."

``It was a supplier issue beyond our control," said TSN spokesman Greg McIsaac. Hmm, TSN is victimized two weeks in a row by events beyond their control.

But here's one that was under TSN's control. During Sunday morning's TSN The Reporters with Dave Hodge, a graphic popped up promoting the rest of the channel's lineup for the day. Included was the following: ``2009 Grey Cup, Blue Jays vs. Tigers."

What's going on at Canada's biggest sports channel and how many bottles of Tums were being gobbled before Sunday's Grey Cup game? That would be the one between the Alouettes and Roughriders, not the Jays and Tigers.

A couch potato's guide to the Grey Cup weekend

Stop if you've heard this already, but the Grey Cup game is on TSN Sunday evening. You may have seen a promo or two on TSN, which is setting some sort of record with 17 hours of pre-game buildup starting Saturday morning.

By the time the game is over, TSN will have dedicated almost an entire day to the 97th handing off of Earl Grey's mug. That might be a tad excessive, but it's all part of TSN's master plan to promote the heck out of what will probably be its biggest show of the year. (The world junior hockey tournament is the other contender.)

But if you're looking for a break from three-down football, there are some interesting alternatives that aren't part of the sports mainstream:

FIGHT NIGHT, OR FRIGHT NIGHT: The Fight Network is airing a couple of documentaries that have created a bit of a stir elsewhere. On Saturday (8 p.m.), it will show Strictly Baby Fight Club. It's a British documentary about parents who start training their kids to box at -- get this -- age 4. Nothing like toughening them up early. Next Saturday, it will show Bum Fights, which isn't quite as suggestive as it sounds. Sounding suspiciously like that episode of The Simpsons in which Homer takes on a bunch of skid-row types, the documentary looks at a group of California entrepreneurs who filmed fights between derelicts and then sold about 300,000 DVDs to people who apparently have very little in their lives.

HOCKEY SHOWDOWN: As part of its relentless promotion of all things related to the Vancouver Olympics, CTV is airing a two-part special entitled Sid The Kid V. Alexander The Great. It's a look at what drives these two hockey stars and what makes them so good. It's well-done, but you have to wonder who'll be watching because Part I airs at 7 p.m. Saturday, just when most hockey fans will be watching Hockey Night In Canada.

OLYMPIAN STUFF: The CTV-Rogers Olympic consortium continues rolling out its pre-Vancouver stuff with a one-hour documentary on how athletes are training for the Games. It airs Sunday at 7 p.m. on OMNI1. If you miss it, the consortium will show it again on seven other channels.

 

CFL tops 2 million, Leafs keep rolling, the other blades battle scores big

A look at the weekend sports ratings produces a couple of revelations and at least one surprise.

First, the CFL is turning into a ratings juggernaut. Sunday's West final topped the 2 million mark and the East still hit 1.35 million despite being all but over at the half. If anybody left the game to watch the NFL, the ratings sure didn't show it. 

Maybe CFL fans enjoy a good slaughter once in a while. 

Those CFL ratings are the kinds normally the exclusive property of Hockey Night In Canada, which brings us to our second revelation.

In spite of what you may be hearing, the deranged army of Maple Leafs supporters is not abandoning the leaky ship. HNIC drew 2.1 million for Saturday night's regional tripleheader.

Then there's figure skating, long given up for dead as a TV ratings hit. Sunday night's dance finale on CBC averaged 955,000 viewers. Now, it's possible many of them tuned in to watch Battle of the Blades by mistake and wondered just what NHL team Canada's Scott Moir used to play for. Or maybe figure skating is making a comeback.

 Here are the most-watched weekend sports events in English Canada, as calculated by BBM overnight ratings:

1. NHL, Capitals-Leafs/Wings-Habs/Sabres-Senators, Saturday, CBC: 2,101,000

2. CFL, Stampeders at Roughriders, Sunday, TSN: 2,002,000

3. CFL, Lions at Alouettes, Sunday, TSN: 1,350,000

4. Figure skating, Skate Canada dance free, Sunday, CBC: 955,000

5. NHL, Blackhawks at Oilers, Saturday, CBC: 725,000

6. NHL, Canadiens at Capitals, Friday, TSN: 658,000

7. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 657,000

8. NFL, Early games, Sunday, CTV: 533,000

9. NFL, Pre-game show, Sunday, TSN: 510,000*

10. NFL, Eagles at Bears, Sunday, TSN: 502,000*

11. Figure skating, Skate Canada men's free, Saturday, CBC: 477,000

12. Figure skating, Skate Canada dance, pairs, Saturday, CBC: 373,000

13. Basketball, Magic at Raptors, Sunday, CBC: 287,000

14. NFL, Late games, Sunday, Citytv: 287,000

15. Figure skating, Skate Canada women's free, Sunday, CBC: 286,000

16. Bobsleigh, World Cup, Saturday, CBC: 270,000

17. CIS, Laval vs. Queens, Saturday, TSN: 264,000

* NBC viewers not calculated

THE EPL LIST: The early bidding process for English Premier League rights has begun, with several players involved. The Rogers-Setanta group is considered the favourite, but TSN and The Score are also involved. GolTV has decided to sit out this round. ... The Grey Cup will be heard on the Corus network this year, that's 640 in Toronto. 

Gary Roberts tees off on Leaf fitness regime

 

One of the more intriguing radio interviews of the week was supplied Thursday by Leaf icon Gary Roberts, who told 640's Bill Watters Show that he wonders if the team isn't going in the wrong direction as far as fitness goes. The man makes some good points. http://www.640toronto.com/HostsandShows/BillWatters/Audio.aspx

RAPTORS GET NEW SOUND: The Toronto Raptors and CBC are pairing up to broadcast eight games in Punjabi, starting this Sunday afternoon. The CBC tried this last spring and obviously believes it can be as successful as its Punjabi hockey broadcasts. It's even using its Punjabi hockey announcers, Parminder Singh and Harnarayan Singh, to call the games.

BEST TV MOMENT:

You wonder how many similar moments have been missed because TV cameras seldom stay with the three-stars selection any more. Here's what happened when Scott Niedermayer decided to give his stick to a little girl in the stands. All that was missing was Mike Milbury and a shoe.

Nothing to see here folks: CFL playoffs score again

At risk of sounding like a broken record (I know, way too late) it was another big ratings weekend for the Canadian Football League.

Sunday's divisional semifinals both hit more than 1 million viewers, finishing just behind perennial leader Hockey Night In Canada. The East game even managed to hit a peak of 2.1 million viewers during the thrilling final 30 minutes.

That bodes well for a good Grey Cup audience, unless the CFL's worst nightmare comes true and the B.C. Lions represent the East. Nothing against the Lions, but an all-west Grey Cup won't set too many hearts beating east of Regina.

Here are the top-rated sports events in English Canada, according to BBM overnight calculations:

1. NHL: Flames at Maple Leafs, Saturday, CBC: 1,808,000

2. CFL: West semifinal, Eskimos at Stampeders, Sunday, TSN: 1,550,000

3. CFL: East semifinal, Lions at Tiger-Cats, Sunday, TSN: 1,360,000

4. NHL: Canucks at Avalanche, Saturday, CBC: 876,000

5. NHL: Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 632,000

6. NFL: Patriots at Colts, Sunday, TSN: 621,000*

7. NFL: Early games, Sunday, CTV: 593,000

8. NHL: Rangers at Senators, Saturday, CBC: 579,000

9. NFL: Late games, Sunday, Citytv: 485,000

10. Curling: Road to the Roar (afternoon), Saturday, TSN: 455,000

11. Figure skating: Skate America pairs, Saturday, CBC: 399,000

12. Curling: Road to the Road (evening), Saturday, TSN: 378,000

13. Figure skating: Skate America free programs, Sunday, CBC: 293,000

14. NFL: Late games, Sunday, Sportsnet: 208,000

15. Figure skating: Skate America men's short, Saturday, CBC: 204,000

16. NBA: Raptors at Suns, Sunday, TSN2: 191,000

17. CIS: Yates Cup, Saturday, Score: 130,000

* Viewers for NBC not calculated

Milbury's mouth often bypasses his brain

For the most part, Mike Milbury is an excellent studio analyst. He's outspoken, not afraid to say what he thinks and, despite a love for hockey's distasteful blood lust, is right about a lot of things. But sometimes the guy forgets to turn on his brain filter.

Take last Saturday, for example, when he mocked Pierre Lebrun's backing of a new helmet designed to protect players from suffering head injuries in fights. When Lebrun replied that ``some guy died last year" from a head injury incurred in a fight, Milbury retorted: ``Some guy's going to die every day."

The ``guy" referred to was Donald Sanderson, who was only 21 when he suffered fatal head injuries in a senior hockey game. His father was not pleased with he heard from Milbury.

``That hockey player who died was my son Donald .. and it was only 10 months ago," Michael Sanderson wrote in an e-mail to me. ``The comments were a lack of respect to Donald and our family .. as we all are fans of hockey and we will watch the leafs as fans. To have someone on national television make such  comments makes we wonder if the producers of Hockey Night in Canada have any respect for there viewers."

CBC Sports head Scott Moore said Milbury didn't intend any offence.

``I am sure that Mike's comment on Saturday was not meant to be insulting or to diminish Don's tragic death," he said.

I'm sure it wasn't, either. But that's not how it came off.

Next time, think before you speak Mike.

WHAT'S GOING ON: Setanta Sports Canada has secured rights to the top northern hemisphere rugby club competitions for the next four years. That includes the Heineken European Rugby Cup, Magners League and Guinness Premiership. ... Mike Toth is officially divorced from the Rogers family. After he took a buyout from Sportsnet, the FAN 590 decided against renewing his deal to work with Mike Hogan on the Bullpen. Hogan is flying solo, which might lead one to assume this is part of the wave of cost-cutting at Rogers Media. ... Don't forget the kids who often wake up on Christmas without gifts. Go to http://www.thestar.com/santaclausfund and give generously to The Star's Santa Claus Fund.

 

World Series hits ratings homer

While many out there have been predicting the death of baseball for some time, the fact is that all the sport needs are a couple of marquee teams and a competitive series to draw huge audiences.

Now, we are talking relatively huge here. Huge huge is what Hockey Night In Canada drew Saturday for the Leafs-Habs game: 2.45 million viewers. In this country, nothing tops hockey. Nothing ever will.

And imagine how big those numbers would be if the Leafs could ever ice a good team, or the Canadiens could play consistent hockey. By the way, if there are any thoughts that a bad start will cause Leaf fans to break ankles jumping off the bandwagon, Sportsnet drew the weekend's seventh-highest audience, for a Leaf game shown only in Ontario.

Relatively huge was the audience Rogers Sportsnet attracted for Sunday's World Series game: 840,000. That doesn't include all those who watched on Fox, which I'm guessing was at least another 800,000. That's not hockey huge, but it's huge.

Not so huge were the Toronto Raptors. They got off to a great start last week, drawing a record audience of 420,000 on The Score. But that fell to 240,000 Friday and only 190,000 on Sunday.

Here are the top English-Canadian sports ratings for the weekend, as supplied by BBM overnight calculations:

1. NHL: Leafs at Canadiens, Saturday, CBC: 2,453,000

2. MLB: World Series Game 4, Sunday, Sportsnet: 840,000*

3. NHL: Red Wings at Flames, Saturday, CBC: 809,000

4. NFL: Early games, Sunday, CTV: 786,000

5. NHL: Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 781,000

6. CFL: Roughriders at Tiger-Cats, Saturday, TSN: 775,000

7. NHL: Leafs at Sabres, Friday, Sportsnet:  692,000**

8. NFL: Falcons at Saints, Monday, TSN: 679,000

9. NFL: Vikings at Packers, Sunday, Citytv: 673,000

10. MLB: World Series Game 3, Saturday, Sportsnet: 633,000*

11. CFL: Blue Bombers at Alouettes, Sunday, TSN: 537,000

12. CFL: Stampeders at Lions, Saturday, TSN: 519,000

13. CFL: Argonauts at Eskimos, Friday, TSN: 515,000

14. NHL: Thrashers at Senators, Saturday, CBC: 499,000

15. Figure skating: Grand Prix of China, Saturday, CBC: 338,000

16. Auto racing: F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sunday, TSN: 243,000

17. NBA: Raptors at Grizzlies, Friday, TSN: 240,000

* Viewers on Fox not included

** Ontario only