On his blog, he talks about the Habs and recounts rumours (though at least he describes them as such).
Fanatique.ca is owned by Branchez-Vous, and while not the most spectacular poaching in journalistic history (talk to me when you’ve convinced François Gagnon or Red Fisher to come on board), it is a step toward making BV a serious media outlet in the city.
For those who think Radio-Canada hasn’t been doing enough to fulfill its mandate as a broadcaster of sports since the last Soirée du Hockey, the Queen’s network has announced that it will air live telecasts of Quebec University Football League games, including the annual Shaughnessy Cup matchup between the McGill Redmen and Concordia Stingers, and playoff games including the national Vanier Cup championship game.
Last year, these games aired on RDS.
The schedule includes two other games involving Concordia University, but no others involving McGill.
Just when you thought the ex-Expos couldn’t embarrass themselves further, quickly grabbing the worst record in baseball by losing their first seven games of the season (and 10 of 11), they made themselves into even more of a laughing stock by misspelling their own name.
Though scarier than the thought of Céline Dion being the permanent national anthem singer or the Journal de Montréal getting exclusives on everything related to the Canadiens is this:
This trio of potential buyers is said to be contemplating a dedicated pay-TV channel in Quebec that would carry Habs games and other hockey-related content as one way to increase revenues from the team.
It’s just an idea, but it’s an idea that would be devastating to RDS.
Sportnographe spots that RDS’s Canadiens page doesn’t have Montreal in the playoffs. (Montreal and Florida had identical records, but the tiebreaker is points against each other, and the Canadiens prevailed there 6-3 with two wins, a loss and an OT win)
And if public sentiment is any indication, our team is going to need all the help it can get. This time they’re No. 1 and we’re No. 8, we’re the ones plagued with injuries and will face each playoff round with the other team having home ice advantage.
In compiling this year’s list, I noticed quite a different tone from last year. In April 2008, the Canadiens were expected to finish out of the playoffs but surprised everyone with their strong season and first-place finish in the East. This year, the expectations were high (especially with the centennial) but a post-All-Star meltdown nearly put the Canadiens out of the playoffs. Some of the songs below reflect that.
I’ll start us off with Annakin Slayd, who produced a very popular video last year. This time he’s back with a French version, which thankfully removes obscures the Journey sample and adds a reference to Alex Tanguay to show it’s current. The production values (thanks to Aviva) are also noticeably better. But the song – and its magic – are still essentially the same.
A similar list is compiled on the Bébé Habs blog, though I’m doing my best below to respect copyright. Links to MP3s are on radio station or artist websites and YouTube links are to official videos only. Please let me know if I screwed up somewhere there or if there’s an iTunes link I should add.
The broadcast schedule for this year’s Impact games has come out, and it’s exactly the same as last year:
Radio-Canada will broadcast nine home games and one away game, as well as all playoff games
CKAC and the Team 990 will broadcast all 15 home games, two Canadian Championship games at Saputo Stadium (against the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC) as well as all playoff games
Both press releases talk about how the Impact has become more mainstream in Montreal and has attracted a lot of fans, especially thanks to its CONCACAF Champions League run this year.
But the news is still disappointing to me. None of the broadcasters has increased its commitment, and none of them will be broadcasting regular-season away games (besides the one on RadCan). Choosing only to broadcast home games during the regular season no doubt saves a lot of money, but it sounds pretty half-assed.
For those wondering, RDS had the scoop (and more importantly, the Twitter scoop) on Bob Gainey firing Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau. They’ve cut scheduled programming of extreme winter sports on RDS and replaced it with a feed from its RIS all-sports-news network. A press conference is scheduled for 7pm.
