No shortage of hockey on TV in 2010-11

The NHL announced its national television schedules for the 2010-11 season on Wednesday and, as usual, there will be no shortage of hockey on Canadian TV.

Hockey Night In Canada has an 87-game lineup, including two pre-season match-ups and 29  all-Canadian tilts.

Toronto Maple Leafs fans can rest easily, knowing their team will be on almost every Saturday night -- in Ontariio, at least, and probably nationally. The only two Leaf-free Saturday nights are Oct. 16 and Jan. 8, because those are the only two Saturdays the Leafs don't play.

TSN and TSN2 will combine for 124 games: 76 on the main network and 48 on TSN2. For its big investment, TSN will have 70 games featuring Canadian teams. It will also air 10 doubleheaders.

The NHL Network is offering 31 games, including the Boston-Phoenix game from Prague on Oct. 10.

South of the border, Versus released its 78-game schedule -- 13 more than it aired last year.

U.S. hockey ratings must have Bettman smiling

Maybe Ron MacLean doesn't have to feel so sorry for Gary Bettman after all.

The Hockey Night In Canada host told The FAN 590 last week after his uncomfortable interview with the NHL boss that he felt sorry for Bettman because of all the pressure he was under, what will all those franchises in trouble and everything. Well, Bettman's probably feeling pretty good these days thanks to surprisingly good TV ratings in the U.S.

NBC recorded a 4.0 rating for Sunday's Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final, a 54 per cent increase over last year and the best overnight rating in eight seasons. Add to that the fact that the Versus broadcast last Wednesday topped all other cable channels, and Bettman's month is getting a lot better.

On this side of the border, CBC continues to score some pretty big numbers. Ratings are up 64 per cent over last year, though how much the new ratings system plays into that is unknown.

Regardless, they'll only get better if this series goes the distance.

Not to sound repetitive, but the Blue Jays continue to ride high on television. Their three-game weekend series with the New York Yankees averaged more than 600,000 viewers.

Here are the top weekend sports audiences on English-language television, according to BBM Canada overnight calculations:

1. NHL, Flyers at Blackhawks, Sunday, CBC: 3,396,000*

2. NHL, Blackhawks at Flyers, Friday, CBC: 2,439,000*

3. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Sunday, CBC: 1,117,000

4. MLB, Yankees at Blue Jays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 671,000

5. MLB, Yankees at Blue Jays, Sunday, Sportsnet: 640,000

6. MLB, Yankees at Blue Jays, Friday, Sportsnet: 584,000

7. Auto racing, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Sunday, TSN: 502,000

8. NBA, Celtics at Lakers, Sunday, TSN: 291,000*

8. PGA, The Memorial final round, Sunday, Global/CBS: 249,000

10. Tennis, French Open men's final, Sunday, TSN: 185,000*

11. Horse racing, Belmont Stakes, Saturday, TSN: 165,000*

12.. PGA, The Memorial third round, Saturday, Global/CBS: 154,000

13. MLB, Red Sox at Orioles, Sunday, Sportsnet: 150,000

14.. Tennis, French Open women's final, Saturday, TSN: 145,000*

* Viewers for U.S. channels not calculated

TOTH IS BACK: After leaving the Rogers family on what he called a mutual decision, Mike Toth is now officially a Newstalk 1010 (CFRB) guy. He has signed on as sports director and will work the morning show. ``I'm really enjoying working full-time on radio," Toth says. ``In television, you're under such strict time requirements and radio offers a much better outlet for expressing opinions and telling stories. The only downside is that unless you're a big star, such as Bob McCown, television pays better than radio so I'm not eating at too many restaurants these days. But I'm having lots of fun, saving a few bucks and even dropping a couple pounds I needed to lose." He obviously hasn't lost his sense of humour.

Advice to Bettman: Stay away from TV cameras

There are always many questions surrounding Gary Bettman's annual appearance during Hockey Night In Canada's playoff coverage. For example, there was the time he kept trying to grab interviewer Ron MacLean's hand, which made you wonder if he was trying to get his attention or steal his watch.

But the one that mystifies most is: Why does he do it?

Why does the NHL commissioner, who has all the television skills of an end table, continue to do interviews that serve only to make him look petulant, defensive, condescending and more like a cornered animal than a league executive?

Wednesday night's second-intermission session with Ron MacLean was yet another example of Bettman doing himself no favours. Now, MacLean will never be confused with Edward R. Murrow or Peter Mansbridge or even Larry King. And he certainly didn't do himself any good by opening the segment by crooning ``Happy Birthday" to the NHL boss. (At times, HNIC looks more like the theatre of the absurd than a hockey broadcast.)

But once he stopped singing, MacLean did ask some relevant questions and Bettman, as usual, didn't handle them very well. Still, he didn't look too bad until he started challenging MacLean's entire line of questioning on the issues of finances and franchise values.

"What I'm amazed, now that we've run the gamut of this, we've had a great season, hockey has been terrific, these playoffs are great, we're seeing a wonderful game — and you just want to tick off franchise after franchise?" he said. "What inside of you compels you to want to go in that direction? Because I don't believe the viewers are really that interested in the franchise status."

MacLean said he was representing the players' interests, not mentioning that maybe he should be representing the fans' concerns, but stayed on topic. Bettman then asked him where he got his information, accusing him of ``making this up."

MacLean didn't exactly sound credible when he said he got most of his information from Forbes magazine and the Sports Business Journal, but he did ask some tough questions and certainly got a reaction from his subject.

But the subject may want to consider lying low for a while, or at least learning how to handle a TV interview.

BIG NUMBERS: Wednesday's game drew 2.96 million viewers to CBC, an impressive audience even in this age of big sports ratings. That's about a million more than CBC drew last year, though the new ratings system has consistently produced much larger numbers. In the U.S., Versus followed Monday's 5.89-million audience on NBC by drawing 3.6 million viewers Wednesday. That was the largest hockey audience on a cable channel in eight years. NBC's 5.1 million average over two games is the highest in 13 years. So answer this: Why aren't all the final games on NBC? It seems odd to disrupt a pretty good run by sending viewers to Versus and losing 1.5 million of them in the process.

How about those Blue Jays? Ratings match team record

Returning from a European vacation is always a bit of a shock, though no more shocking than learning that Rogers Sportsnet has now cornered the market on all Toronto Blue Jays games -- a dream the late Ted Rogers had the moment he bought the team.

Though the reasons for  Sportsnet claiming rights to all  Jays games  aren't quite clear, the weekend ratings do provide a few clues. 

Outside of hockey, nothing else produced the kinds of audiences that the Blue Jays did -- averaging around 500,000 a game in the second month of the season. Certainly nothing else on Sportsnet came close, which is a pretty good reason for cornering the market on baseball games in Canada.

While those numbers could certainly collapse if (or is it when?) the Jays do, the team is Sportsnet's only biggest summer asset. Now if only the Jays can figure out a way to get some of those viewers off their couches and into the Rogers Centre seats.

At the same time, hockey is working wonders for both CBC and NBC. The new Canadian ratings system has to be taken into account, but audiences in the 3 million neighbourhood for the opening two games of the Stanley Cup final are always welcome at CBC -- especially when no Canadian team is involved. 

The big surprise is that this series is selling south of the border. Its 3.5 average rating (meaning the games were seen in about 3.5 million homes) is the biggest in 11 years and helped NBC win the ratings battle on Saturday and Monday nights.

Here are the top weekend sports TV ratings on English-language television, according to BBM Canada overnight calculations:

1. NHL, Flyers at Blackhawks, Saturday, CBC: 3,164,000*

2. NHL, Flyers at Blackhawks, Monday, CBC: 2,775,000*

3. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 989,000

4. MLB, Orioles at Blue Jays, Friday, Sportsnet: 581,000

5. MLB, Rays at Blue Jays, Monday, Sportsnet: 535,000

6. MLB, Orioles at Blue Jays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 527,000

7. NBA, Suns at Lakers, Saturday, TSN: 435,000

8. Auto racing, Indianapolis 500, Sunday, TSN: 356,000*

9. NBA, Magic at Celtics, Friday, TSN: 348,000

10. MLB, Orioles at Jays, Sunday, Sportsnet: 334,000*

11. Auto racing, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Sunday, TSN: 315,000*

12. Auto racing, F1 Turkish Grand Prix, Sunday, TSN: 312,000

13. NHL, Stanley Cup preview, Saturday, TSN: 243,000

14. PGA,The Colonial final round, Sunday, Global/CBS, 201,000

15. MLB, Rangers at Twins, Sunday, Sportsnet: 187,000

* Viewers for U.S. channels not calculated.

NBC bails on hockey, producing a good-news weekend for Canada

A busy weekend produces a lot of stuff not quite ready for prime-time publication on dead trees. Thank heaven for the web.

GOOD STUFF:  NBC's commitment to The Players Championship meant that the NHL got reduced exposure on one of the biggest weekends of the season. But the good news was that Canadians didn't have to suffer through afternoon hockey games this weekend and got our constitutionally protected Saturday night game. (Okay, there's nothing in the constitution about hockey, but maybe there should be something to protect us from being forced indoors on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. ...  Kudos to Toronto 640's Greg Brady, whose tribute to late Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell last week touched all the bases. It was personal without being self-indulgent and a lot more in-depth that most radio stuff. ... Love that Star Trek TV screen on the Hockey Night In Canada pre-game show and love the way Kelly Hrudey breaks down plays, like he did Saturday with an assessment of Pittsburgh's power play. ... Don Cherry was bang on Saturday in decrying the amount of diving going on in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He called Friday's dive-filled Vancouver-Chicago game, ``a disgrace." ... Great work by HNIC to catch Pittsburgh defenceman Hal Gill in a suit after suffering a mysterious leg injury.

BAD STUFF: During Sportsnet Connected on Saturday, a cheesy-looking commercial for something called Pardon Services Canada appeared on the screen, promising help in erasing criminal records. Just who do they think is watching Sportsnet? ... Just what the NHL needed: another summer of Phoenix Coyotes speculation and skeleton-uncovering. ... Cherry reminded viewers not once, but twice, Saturday night that he's a bit of a hockey genius. If you're really a genius, do you have to remind people that often? While we're at it, who is that ``Lalongo" guy he keeps talking about? Is he a friend of ``Havlak?"

SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Not that there’s a dearth of hockey on television, but if you’re looking for hockey with a little difference, TVO is offering a documentary called Blood, Sweat and Beers (Wednesday, 10 p.m.) It provides a fascinating look at the Bentley (Alta.) Generals and their drive for the Allan Cup under coach Brian Sutter.

TIME OUT: Vacation time calls, which means no blog until next month, unless that Icelandic volcano messes up my plans. See you then.

Surprise ratings for NBA, boxing and the CFL draft

It should surprise nobody that this year's Stanley Cup playoffs are producing huge ratings in Canada. There are two home teams involved and the hockey has been as good as any and better than most.

But CBC, TSN and RDS aren't the only ones enjoying the benefits of all this. Both Versus and NBC are reporting double-digit ratings jumps. Even  the presence of a Canadian team on Sunday afternoon didn't stop NBC from posting a 14 per cent increase over last year.

Big numbers for hockey in Canada are nothing new, so let's take a look at some of the surprises. There were some good ones -- namely the NBA, boxing and the CFL -- and one bad one -- Toronto FC.

The NBA hasn't been treated very well by Canadian television, with playoff games bouncing from channel to channel and being relegated to the likes of Raptors NBA TV, TSN2 and The Score. Nothing wrong with those channels, but they don't have the reach of TSN or Rogers Sportsnet.

Regardless, two weekend games still managed to score some decent audiences. Friday's Lakers-Thunder game hhit 246,000 on TSN while Sunday's Bucks-Hawks showdown drew 194,000 to TSN2.

The death of boxing has been predicted for years now, but obviously those reports have been premature. A pre-fight special on the Mosely-Mayweather bout hit 433,000 viewers for TSN on Saturday night -- up against hockey. Not bad.

And how about the CFL draft. In only its second year on TV, it doubled its audience to 119,000 on TSN Sunday afternoon. Imagine what it could do if the show went beyond talking heads and commissioner Mark Cohon's smiling announcements.

A few more cameras in a few more war rooms and a few more players would be welcome.

As for Toronto FC, who can explain the fact its game against Real Salt Lake on Sunday evening drew a paltry 25,000 viewers. Yes, the game was on only two Sportsnet channels (Ontario and Pacific) and it was up against hockey, but Slap Chop infomercials draw better than that.

 Here are the top weekend sports offerings, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:

1. NHL, Canucks at Blackhawks, Saturday, CBC: 2,887,000

2. NHL, Canadiens at Penguins, Friday, CBC: 2,476,000

3. NHL, Canadiens at Penguins, Sunday, CBC: 1,666,000*

4. NHL, Red Wings at Sharks, Sunday, TSN: 1,460,000

5. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 1,045,000

6. NHL, Flyers at Bruins, Saturday, TSN: 833,000*

7. NHL, Sharks-Wings pre-game show, Sunday, TSN: 502,000

8. Boxing, Mayweather-Mosely special, Saturday, TSN: 433,000

9. Golf, PGA Quail Hollow Championship final round, Sunday, Global/CBS: 305,000

10. MLB, A's at Blue Jays, Friday, Sportsnet: 275,000

11. Auto racing, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Saturday, TSN: 257,000*

12. MLB, A's at Blue Jays, Sunday, Sportsnet: 251,000

13. NBA, Lakers at Thunder, Friday, TSN: 246,000

14. MLB, A's at Blue Jays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 243,000

15. OHL, Barrie at Windsor, Sunday, Sportsnet: 208,000

16. NBA, Bucks at Hawks, Sunday, TSN2: 194,000

17. Soccer, Tottenham at Bolton, Saturday, Sportsnet: 123,000

18. CFL, College draft, Sunday, TSN: 119,000

* Viewers on U.S. channels not calculated

Soccer, TFC at Salt Lake, Saturday, Sportsnet: 25,000**

** Ontario and Pacific channels only

OTHER STUFF: A tip of the cap goes to Rogers Sportsnet reporter Arash Madani, who created a stir around the CFL Saturday by breaking the Toronto-Saskatchewan pre-draft trade. Madani has obviously benefited from the contacts he established while working for CFL teams a few years back. ... You never know what The Score is going to do next. The channel has struck a partnership with entertainment paper t.o.night. Under the deal, Score on-air types will write for the paper while promoting it on the air. It seems like a rather unusual pairing, but you can't say The Score doesn't think outside the box.

TSN gets both Game 7s, but CBC sitting pretty for round 2

As the first round of the two-month National Hockey League odyssey nears an end, it's still not clear whether CBC made the right call in choosing the Pittsburgh-Ottawa series over the Montreal-Washington one.

A glance at this week's TV listings sure points to a victory by TSN, mainly because it has ended up with both Game 7 showdowns. Those will produce huge ratings in what has been a pretty successful playoff run for TSN.

But CBC didn't fare too badly. While taking the Vancouver series was pretty much a no-brainer, the Canucks certainly haven't disappointed in the ratings. CBC's Pens-Sens broadcast Saturday night drew upwards of a million viewers more than TSN's carriage of the Habs-Caps game on Friday, though CBC pretty much had the hockey world to itself Saturday night. Still, an audience of almost 3 million is not to be dismissed lightly.

Whoever wins this round, there's no doubt that CBC has the upper hand in the next. It gets the first two picks, which means it could end up with both Canadian-based teams should the Habs survive Wednesday's game in Washington.

If not, the Corp. still gets Vancouver, which guarantees high ratings for at least one series. If the Habs should die on Wednesday, expect CBC to stick with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. They did nothing in the first round to merit being dropped.

Here are the top-rated weekend sports events on English-language television, according to BBM Canada overnight calculations:

1. NHL, Penguins at Senators, Saturday, CBC: 2,948,000

2. NHL, Canucks at Kings, Sunday, CBC: 2,826,000

3. NHL, Kings at Canucks, Friday, CBC: 1,953,000

4. NHL, Canadiens at Capitals, Friday, TSN: 1,629,000

5. NHL, Avalanche at Sharks, Saturday, CBC: 1,359,000

6. NHL, Predators at Blackhawks, Saturday, TSN: 747,000*

7. NHL, Coyotes at Red Wings, Sunday, TSN: 715,000*

8. NHL, Bruins at Sabres, Friday, CBC: 593,000

9. NHL, Hockey Night In Canada pre-game, Saturday, CBC: 570,000

10. NHL, Red Wings at Coyotes, Friday, TSN: 521,000

11. Baseball, Blue Jays at Rays, Friday, Sportsnet: 452,000**

12.  Baseball, Blue Jays at Rays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 374,000

13. Baseball, Blue Jays at Rays, Sunday, Sportsnet: 279,000

14. NHL, Pre-game show, Sunday, TSN: 263,000

15. Figure skating, world synchronized championships, Saturday, CBC: 201,000

16. MLS, Seattle at Toronto FC, Saturday, CBC: 188,000

17. Auto racing, NASCAR Aaron's 499, Sunday, TSN2: 175,000*

18. NBA, Mavericks at Spurs, Sunday, TSN: 130,000

19. EPL, Sunderland at Hull, Saturday, Sportsnet: 110,000

20. NBA, Lakers at Thunder, Saturday, TSN: 106,000

* Viewers on U.S. channels not calculated

** 3 channels only

LOOKING SOUTH: There's nothing like a great playoff round to stir up interest, even south of the border. The NHL reports that Sunday's events produced the busiest day ever on NHL.com. The weekend was a good one for NBC, too. Its weekend games earned 1.3 overnight ratings, up 8 per cent over last year.

Does Don Cherry need a remedial reading course?

We know that Don Cherry can't pronounce names very well based on his frequent Hockey Night In Canada verbal manglings of just about anything beyond Smith or Jones. But it was always assumed that he could read. Based on Saturday's Coach's Corner rant, that assumption may be wrong.

Cherry was in high dudgeon, as always, about something I wrote last week. (I'm grateful that he didn't use my name, based on the last time he tried to pronounce it on air.) According to Cherry, I didn't know who Warren Rychel and Bob Boughner were and therefore wasn't worthy to write anything about hockey. Well, just to set the record straight, here's what I wrote:

... CBC dipped into mystery - or theatre of the absurd - thanks to Ron MacLean and Don Cherry. During the late-game intermission, MacLean asked Cherry if he was going to apologize to Warren Rychel and Bob Boughner, assuming viewers knew who they were.

"They beat them again ... and they played the clip before the game, " MacLean added with no further explanation. "So, poor Spitfires."

"Anyhow, " Cherry responded, "I didn't mean to do that. I'm not getting on to it again, but they lost again today. I don't know, Warren's ..."

And that was it. We'll assume at least Rychel and Boughner knew what they were talking about.

I know who Rychel and Boughner are, though I had no idea what he and MacLean were referring to.

My point, which I thought was obvious, was that he and MacLean assumed viewers had watched the previous edition of Coach's Corner and knew what they were talking about. MacLean usually attempts to translate these things for the average viewer, but this time didn't even make an effort.

It's all part of a disease that seems to afflict the denizens of HNIC: an assumption that everybody in the country is following the game as closely as them and they've all watched every minute of every broadcast.

That was in evidence during Saturday's Hotstove panel discussion, in which references were made to something happening in Edmonton and somebody named ``Sparky". If you'd been combing the Internet or reading Alberta newspapers, you might have known they were talking about the fact that the Oilers had axed their longtime training staff.

If not, you probably had no idea what they were talking about. Even if you did, this was hardly front-page news. Neither was the rather arcane discussion that followed, which focused on who might occupy executive chairs with some of the U.S. franchises.

Canadiens become Canada's team for a while

It's long been assumed that the Toronto Maple Leafs, for reasons apparently not connected to logic, are Canada's team.

They consistently draw the highest TV ratings, thanks mainly to a large Southern Ontario populace that bleeds blue and white regardless of the team's ineptitude. (Maybe the bleeding comes from being kicked in the wallet repeatedly for the better part of 40 years.)They also have a huge following across the country, as witnessed by the number of Leaf jerseys worn in Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa.

But maybe, just maybe, the Leafs' hold on Canadian hockey fans is slipping. Maybe, just maybe, their legion of slavish fans are noticing that other Canadian teams are worthy of their loyalty.

The evidence lies in the returns from the first round of the National Hockey League playoffs, where the Montreal Canadiens have been drawing huge ratings. Saturday's game against the Washington Capitals drew an average of 2.1 million viewers to TSN, a strong but not an overwhelming number and one the Leafs have topped during the regular season. 

But another 1.3 million watched the game on French-language RDS -- an impressive  39 per cent of the Quebec French market.

This attention will probably pass if the Habs fail to come back in the series and Quebecois interest  dissipates. But with a Saturday night audience focused on the Canadiens, it's possible that some viewers will have noticed that there's at least one other team worth cheering for in this country.

On the other hand, things will probably return to normal the first time the Leafs score a pre-season goal.

 Here are the top weekend sports ratings on English-language television, according to BBM Canada overnight calculations:

1. NHL, Kings at Canucks, Saturday, CBC: 2,135,000

2. NHL, Canadiens at Capitals, Saturday, TSN: 2,100,000

3. NHL, Senators at Penguins, Friday, CBC: 1,912,000

4. NHL, Penguins at Senators, Sunday, CBC: 1,690,000

5. NHL, Red Wings at Coyotes, Friday, TSN: 877,000

6. NHL, Coyotes at Red Wings, Sunday, TSN: 829,000*

7. NHL, Predators at Blackhawks, Sunday, TSN: 815,000

8. NHL, Devils at Flyers, Sunday, TSN: 788,000

9. NHL, Avalanche at Sharks, Friday, CBC: 784,000

10. NHL, Bruins at Sabres, Saturday, CBC: 722,000*

11. NHL, Sharks at Avalanche, Sunday, CBC: 708,000

12. NHL, Flyers at Devils, Friday, TSN: 599,000

13. Curling, Grand Slam men's final, Sunday, CBC: 484,000

14. Baseball, Angels at Blue Jays, Sunday, Sportsnet: 481,000

15. Swimming, World synchronized championships, Saturday, CBC: 447,000

16. Curling, Grand Slam women's final, Saturday, CBC: 427,000

17. Baseball, Angels at Blue Jays, Saturday, Sportsnet: 354,000

18. Baseball, Angels at Blue Jays, Friday, Sportsnet: 324,000

19. PGA, Verizon Heritage final round, Sunday, Global-CBS: 292,000

* Viewers on NBC not calculated

OTHER STUFF: Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which basically runs the NBA's broadcast operations in Canada, has managed to find homes for all playoff games this week. But you'll need a pretty comprehensive cable/satellite package to see them all. Raptors NBA TV has nine games, with TSN2 airing eight this week. The Score has another six while TSN managed to find room for three. ...  If you don't have the NFL Network and really want to watch the NFL draft Thursday night, you're going to have to do some work. TSN2 will show the first hour at 7:30, before going to the Chicago-Nashville playoff game. Now here's where it gets really complicated. When the 7 p.m. NHL game between the Flyers and Devils ends (let's say around 10 p.m.), the Chicago-Nashville game will migrate to TSN and TSN2 will pick up what's left of the draft. TSN3, anyone? If you do have the NFL Network, it will have every excruciating moment. By the way, the next day's picks will be carried live on TSN2. ... When the Rogers Sportsnet has added a couple of ex-NHLers to its playoff editions of Hockeycentral. Recently fired Tampa Bay general manager Brian Lawton appears Tuesday (6 p.m.) while retired defenceman Marty McSorley will be on Wednesday's show. McSorley will also do other work during the Canucks-Kings series. ... If real sports news isn't enough for you, try out this ``report" on Saturday's mixed martial arts fiasco: http://etruesports.com/index.php?page=article&articleId=400 At least, I think it's not real.

CBC takes a gamble on Sens and Pens

You have to admire CBC's courage, if nothing else.

Under the National Hockey League's Canadian broadcast deal, CBC gets the first two picks of playoff series in the first two rounds with TSN choosing third. After that, they alternate selections.

CBC's first pick was a no-brainer, what with the Vancouver Canucks expected to have a long playoff run and the team having a pretty strong following, especially left of the Rockies. As for the second pick, nobody would have blamed CBC if it had chosen the Montreal Canadiens-Washington Capitals series over the Pittsburgh-Ottawa matchup.

After all, the Habs have a much bigger following than the Senators and CBC's been trying to mend fences in Quebec for a few years. But instead, the public network chose to go with the Sens-Pens and risk a torch-and-pitchfork revolt in La Belle Province.

Why?

CBC Sports head Scott Moore explains:

``It was a tough, tough choice. We have spent a lot of time cultivating Montreal Canadiens fans and the fact they're playing against Ovechkin made it potentially interesting. But we couldn't see walking away from opening with the Stanley Cup champions.

``We think it may be a more competitive and longer series and there's potential for an upset."

The deciding factor was Sidney Crosby, coming off his Olympic moment.

``One of the major reasons is that Sidney Crosby is the Gretzky of his time and we felt pretty strongly that this is a big year for him," Moore said. ``His stock may never be higher and we felt he was the guy to follow."

There were other factors at play. In Quebec, CBC has to split its audience with RDS, the network of choice for many bilingual hockey fans.

That's a pretty big gamble for CBC. I'm not sure Crosby has enough drawing power to make up the difference in the teams' fan base. Ottawa has the smallest legion of fans among the Canadian teams and Montreal's is right up there with the Leafs and Canucks. 

Either way, TSN is happy. It gets a built-in audience with the Habs and should enjoy some pretty solid ratings in the first round. But that will probably be it for TSN's playoff Canadian content since it's unlikely all three will make it past the first round.

In addition to the two aforementioned series, CBC will also have San Jose-Colorado and Buffalo-Boston.  Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson will call the Vancouver-Los Angeles series while Bob Cole and Greg Millen get Ottawa-Pittsburgh. Dean Brown and Garry Galley will handle the Buffalo-Boston matchup with Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes doing the San Jose-Colorado series.

TSN has the Devils-Flyers, Blackhawks-Predators and Coyotes-Red Wings series in addition to the Habs and Caps. Gord Miller and Pierre McGuire will take the Montreal series while Chris Cuthbert and Ray Ferraro will do most of the New Jersey-Philadelphia and Chicago-Nashville series with help from Miller and McGuire.

TSN will pick up most of the Phoenix-Detroit series from Versus.

Three of the first-round games are scheduled for TSN2 because of conflicts, though obviously none of Montreal's games will end up on the secondary channel.

VIRK ON THE MOVE: Adnan Virk, who left The Score last year to join MLSE's broadcast team is moving again. He's been hired as an anchor for ESPN. He heads to ESPN's Connecticut headquarters on May 1. ... Rogers Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino had some troubles judging fly balls (The George Bell Syndrome) but otherwise did a commendable job handling the Blue Jays play-by-play on the weekend. He was filling in for Buck Martinez, who has TBS commitments that conflict with his Jays work about a dozen times this year.