THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE
1. THE BRIER: Nice to have something to entertain us in this gap between the Super Bowl and March Madness. There’s so much strategy in today’s curling game and the sport is stronger than it’s ever been. The Leon’s Centre in Kingston has been packed for most of the draws I’ve seen so far which proves it’s much bigger than just the Maritimes or Western Canada. The NHL could learn a thing or 2 from the Brier and the Scotties. When the game became boring and too defensive, they made changes that have worked. The NHL has made changes too, but not enough of the right ones.
2. TEAM SASKATCHEWAN: The TSN turning point for Matt Dunstone’s rink came midway through their 2nd draw Sunday, when with an 0-1 record and trailing 5-3, New Brunswick’s James Grattan tossed his draw to the button through the rings, gift-wrapping a game-tying steal of 2, and ultimately a Saskatchewan win. Coming out of Monday with a 3-1 record, they could ultimately look back on that moment as the shot that saved their tournament, and maybe snaps this ridiculous 40-year drought for Saskatchewan at the Brier.
3. REGINA’S NEW ARENA: Anthony Marquart says the Brandt Centre needs a touch-up. I’m not sure there’s anything wrong with the ‘ol Agridome but if the city pumps a bunch of money into a new hockey arena/concert venue, then it really should be in the same spot it is right now. Cities all around North America dream of having a multi-sport complex, the way we do. This idea of ‘economic revitalization’ by moving an arena to a different part of downtown is all hot air and always has been.
4. CFL’S TV DEAL: The League has built a pretty loyal friendship with TSN and since TSN has propped the league up in times when no-one else would, I’m okay with this. It’s a dog-eat-dog world and if the CFL ever turned its back on TSN for a bigger payday from someone else like Sportsnet, there’s no guarantee that TSN will come back to bail the league out again in the future. Though I do think the league should be pushing Bell media to put more games, including the Grey Cup, on network television channel, CTV.
5. DON’T MESS WITH OUR ROUGE: On ‘Randy’s Road Trip’, Randy Ambrosie is pushing the idea of missed field goals sailing out the back of the end zone not counting for a single point. Can anyone remember a game where this determined the outcome? Talk about solving a non-existent problem!
6. WHAT THE CFL COULD LEARN FROM XFL: Spice up the converts. Give teams the option to go for 1, 2 or 3 points.
7. WHAT ELSE THE CFL COULD LEARN FROM THE XFL: Absolutely nothing. They (the XFL) have an inferior game and inferior product.
8. WCBL EXPANSION: Sylvan Lake is expected to join the league in 2021 and maybe one day Calgary, too. Would be nice to see Saskatoon back in one day and maybe Yorkton-Melville to merge and make a comeback, also.
9. CFL EXPANSION: Halifax, Quebec City and London, Ontario. An even 12 franchises would be ideal and touch regions not currently all that into the Canadian Football League. This would grow the TV money for the league, too. A long-term goal I know, but something the league should push for.
10 .FILM OF THE WEEK: LOSERS is the Netflix series showcasing Canadian curler Pat Ryan and how his boring, knock all the rocks out style, nearly sunk the great game before the Canadian Curling Association introduced the free guard zone and made the sport what it is today.
(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)
1. THE BRIER,
Let’s get things straight here right off the bat McGiure. CURLING IS NOT A SPORT!
Repeat, CURLING IS NOT A SPORT!
Have you ever Curled Noopsie?
Yes, on occasion I’ve Curled up in bed to have a good snooze.
The Olympics disagrees with you
It has a beginning and an end, you score points, there’s a winner and a loser, there’s great athletic skill involved. It’s a sport.
Pat Ryan simply did what the rules allowed him to do and he did it better than anybody at that point in time. To blame him for what the game became is ridiculous. And, YES, Curling is very much a sport.
I enjoy Brendan’s view points and just the amount of content that goes into an idea with very little evidence or thought process. It’s highly entertaining. 1) First – There is absolutely nothing wrong with the NHL. The game has never been better, and the talent is off the chains. The bottom line is if Auston Mathews rings up 46 goals to this point it’s because he is just that good. There are no more 50 goal NHL scorers who make a living standing in the crease banging in rebounds – I enjoyed Dino Cicarrelli, Pat Verbeek, and Dave Andreychuck,… Read more »
Jerry’s weekly negative thoughts.
Lots wrong with the NHL starting with officiating which is as bad as the NFL. Vince is rich because he’s smart but will prove once again he should stay out of football. Baseball is boring but spring training is fun & beats watching minor league football in NFL cities who are imvested in the NFL product. Plus March Madness, NBA & hockey compete for the $. XFL not much more than a curiosity until the money runs out. I lost interest ptetty quick after watching a QB consistently throw behind receivers even on short passes. When one guy as of… Read more »
Come on McGuire. Claiming you are in media then you should know that even though they are owned by Bell, CTV and TSN are two independently run entities. The whole point of having the league on TSN from a broadcast perspective is so viewers go to TSN! Splitting games would actually mean less advertising for the people at TSN and drive the value of the contract down.
And what is the rationale behind putting games on CTV anyways? TSN is included in the basic cable package of every major provider across Canada. Access to the channel is not a problem.
A 65 6ear old man is playing the Brier!
Repeat, CURLING IS NOT A SPORT!
Case closed you old prude nitwits who think otherwise.