Thursday's Thoughts: TSN, Mats Sundin

by Jes

Americans have every right to be envious of our televised hockey coverage, especially that provided by The Sports Network (TSN), which has supplanted CBC as THE station to watch hockey on a regular basis, especially since they stole the frickin' theme song.

Unfortunately, the producers at TSN don't seem to have heard of the credo "too many cooks spoil the broth". While the network has always prided itself on getting well-known experts to be analysts on their hockey shows, it has long gotten past the point where there are just too many talking heads.

Look at the TSN roster of talking heads ...
James Duthie (studio host who tries too hard to be funny)
Bob McKenzie (The Insider and draft expert)
Darren Dreger (a former host who is suddenly an insider. Too stuck in MSM clichéd way of looking at the game)
Dave Hodge (Old man still kickin around. Likes to rant)
Keith Jones
Matthew Barnaby (surprisingly OK)
Darren Pang
Glenn Healy (utter crap and Leaf apologist)
Pierre McGuire (MONSTER!!!)
Mike Milbury (as bad as he ever was)
Scruffy, the janitor (more insightful than Healy)
Maggie the Monkey (psychic mammal)
Plus other special guests they get during the playoffs and D-day. In the past, they had Neil Smith, Jeremy Roenick, and Mike Keenan.

All too often, these "experts" (Mike Milbury is an expert, but on sucking) get very little screen time, and TSN is constantly switching from one face to another to get in a sound bite. It feels hurried and sporadic, and you can tell that they are trying their damndest just to fit people in, rather than provide in-depth analysis and insight the consumers demand.

So, the TSN solution appears to be to bring in MORE talking heads ... John Tortorella and Ray Ferraro.

On the positive side, I think both of these guys will be a huge benefit to TSN's roster. Tortorella is always a great quote, and unlike Milbury, actually knows what he is talking about and has actually had some actual success. Ferraro has proven himself to be well-spoken and a cool customer. He's worked hard to become an off-ice analyst and provides a lot more insight than the likes of Glen Healy and Greg Millen.

If TSN really wanted to improve their product, they'd get rid of some of the fat and trim off Milbury, Healy, Pang (he can go back to ESPN or Versus), and keep McGuire to the play-by-play booth.

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Want to know where Mats Sundin head is these days? It's certainly not on hockey, since he's not even doing on-ice training.

Nope, the big lug is going to be playing Poker for the near future, leaving you wonder if any team ought to bother chasing the guy for much longer. His head obviously isn't in the game, and he certainly doesn't seem to have the FIRE that you'd want out of him.

Looking at what is left on the UFA market, however, can give you an idea why Gillis and his peers are still offering their first-born daughters to Sundin for his sacrificial fodder supply.

Other than Shanahan, no other uncommitted UFA is really worth the Canucks bothering with. Matvichuk and Murray might be able to play decent roles, but the rest is crap.

10. Nolan Pratt, 32, D. Slow, crappy.

9. Stephane Yelle, 34, C. Just signed with Boston. The Canucks don't need another Byron Ritchie failure.

8. Jeff Hamilton, 30, C. Who?

7. Geoff Sanderson, 36, LW. Soft, unproductive, and useless. Why does any team bother with this guy?

6. Bryan Smolinski, 36, C. Been there, done that.

5. Martin Gelinas, 38, LW. Again, the Canucks don't need another gritty 3rd-4th liner. Canucks fans still love the guy, but he's not that useful any longer.

4. Richard Matvichuk, 35, D. I wouldn't mind having him around in a 6th-7th defenseman role, especially over Nolan Baumgartner.

3. Jassen Cullimore, 36, D. Sloooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

2. Glen Murray, 35, RW. A decent sniper, but has serious health concerns. Canucks ought to give ice time to a prospect.

1. Brendan Shanahan, 39, LW. I'd like to see him on the Canucks, as he could provide 25-30 goals and take some heat off of the Twins and Pavol. Unfortunately, I doubt he'll come to a West Coast club.

TSN Delivers Groin Shot to CBC

If TSN and CBC were in a UFC-style fight, TSN (via CTV) would be young strapping utilizing the ground-and-pound technique on the old over-the-hill 'ceeb'.

Punch by punch, TSN continues to pound away at CBC's hold on hockey in this country and the CBC doesn't appear to know how to use 'the guard' to defend properly in this fight. The CBC is still alive and kicking, but seems incapable of stopping TSN's offensive tide.

Another big blow was dealt this week as TSN purchased the rights to Canada's other national anthem, the song formerly known as the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. This comes after TSN signed a deal giving them more games to broadcast, featuring more Canadian content.

Watching TSN last night, they spent a LOT of time bragging about their new purchase, and how they delivered an elbow to the face of CBC.

I mean, look at the headline: "CTV SAVES 'THE HOCKEY THEME' SONG". As if TSN is the saviour protecting hockey fans from the evil cheapness of CBC.

Brilliant PR, methinks.

Toronto, ON - CTV Inc., together with Copyright Music & Visuals, today announced that CTV Inc. has acquired all rights to 'The Hockey Theme' in perpetuity, preserving the song's legacy and ensuring it will be heard on national television for years to come. 'The Hockey Theme' song will now live on CTV Inc. properties TSN, RDS and across Canada on CTV during coverage of the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympics as outlined below.

"The song has a long and storied history in Canadian sports and has become ingrained in the hearts and minds of hockey fans across the country. It is an iconic tune, embraced by Canadians everywhere, and we felt it was imperative to save it. We know we will be in hockey forever, so there's no doubt this acquisition will create value for us," said Rick Brace, President, Revenue, Business Planning and Sports, CTV Inc. "It's an honour and a privilege to own such a cherished piece of Canadiana

The problem, as I see it, is that the song will always be known as the Hockey Night in Canada theme song, and part of CBC's Saturday night coverage. The song can never be truly owned by TSN, because folks like me will always associate it with CBC, Don Cherry, Ron MacLean, and so on.

The song is classic, strong, and ... not modern. TSN is all about the fancy graphics, state-of-the-art technology, and being 'cool'. The song just doesn't fit TSN's theme, and is akin to having your 55-year old step-mom go to the mall wearing a pink Hannah Montana t-shirt.

It just doesn't seem right, does it?

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DJ Gallo, a funny writer (and part-Slovak!) over at ESPN's Page 2, 'found' a letter that the NHL wrote to Tiger Woods after the golfer/corporate whore slagged the NHL.

Good stuff!

(Original Link)

Video of the Day: Jennifer Hedger's Experimental Daze

Mention the name Jennifer Hedger to any Canadian male hockey fan, and they'll likely get that 'special feeling' in the nether regions that is triggered by the thought of a hot female.

To an American hockey fan? They have no idea who this blonde bombshell is, so let me introduce you to Canada's cutest sports broadcaster, who is somewhat our equivalent of your Erin Andrews.

Jennifer Hedger is best known to Canadians as the female face of our version of SportsCentre, the most-watched sports highlight show in the country. If we're watching highlights of Andrew Raycroft letting in another soft goal, it's probably Hedger doing the honors.

She's no blonde bimbo, either, and clearly knows her stuff. While she might appear, at first glance, to be some ratings-generating eye candy, but frequent appearances on "Off the Record", a popular sports talk show, showed her to be a knowledgeable and enthusiastic sports fan.


Of course, that's not the only thing she seems to be enthused about, as the video below will show you. (Probably not safe for your workplace. You've been warned).


Thanks to my pals, especially JP, over at FanHouse for the pointer.

Before Hedger got her nightly broadcasting gig, she was chosen, in 2001, to be a part of "U8TV: The Lofters", a crappy Canadian reality show where eight strangers lived together in a Toronto loft while also producing and hosting their own online television shows. It lasted only a year, and was watched by about four people.

I'm guessing more people would have watched if they had known Ledger was engaging in some hot girl-on-girl kissing, as seen in the video.

It's sloppy, but Hedger is clearly enjoying herself as much as you are enjoying watching the video.

Now, when is TSN going to make this their "Highlight of the Night", or at least the "TSN Turning Point"?