A couple of days ago I remembered how a former leading broadcast executive sent me a lengthy message last year after reading one of my LinkedIn posts. The person said he'd been looking at my profile and reading what I was posting LinkedIn and felt compelled to reach out. There was a lot of sage advice in my message and I revisited it a couple of days ago and took the message and some of his suggestions about broadcasting and where sports broadcasting was going to heart. The big picture question was "Why should a broadcaster hire you?" and "What do you bring to the table?". He went on to talk about a couple of people that he hired that bought a number of intangible skills on top of their sports broadcasting acumen to the table. It's a great question for anyone trying to find a foothold in any career or academic pursuit. With competition in the workplace bigger than ever, what are you doing to set yourself apart from the rest of the people pursuing. Certainly not new and novel, but a great reinforcement idea if you're looking at elevating yourself from your current position.
Ok, so enough of the advice portion of this post, lets move onto other things.
OHL SEASON BEGINS THIS WEEK
You have to go back to March 26th of this year for the last hockey game I called on TV. No playoffs for the IceDogs meant one long season in the booth finished with a record scratch/screech and a 12 win season for Niagara that is best left in the rear view mirror. Hope springs eternal and for the IceDogs, they have their coach for a full year, a few more targeted acquisitions rather than a volume of trades for the sake of trading as well as some new young talent that promises to flourish over the next two years. I'm looking forward to the likes of Ryan Roobroek, Kevin He and Ethan Czata growing over this year, and I'm looking forward to a tougher, fiercer team with the likes of rugged OA'ers like Ryan Humphrey and Danill Sobolev. Will it equal playoffs? Hopefully, but realistically it will be a battle in the lower portion of the conference for the IceDogs to get back to the playoffs, a spot they haven't been since 2019. Many prognosticators and pundits have the IceDogs finishing 9th or 10th in the conference. Here' hoping the Dogs show them that there is a reason to play the games.
TSN CHANGES STRUCTURE OF CHL COVERAGE
Respected media commentator Adam Seaborn tweeted out that TSN will not provide any network coverage of the CHL regular season, but will cover the league finals in their entirety along with the Memorial Cup. It also looks like the well-regarded Top Prospects Game will be covered live as well. TSN cited low ratings for their Friday broadcasts, and those who follow the CHL should not be overly surprised. The CHL is a regional property, not unlike the NHL. Unless there's a generational talent like a McDavid or Bedard to showcase the national interest in the teams just is not there. Regionally, a locally the broadcasts draw well. Fans are attuned to their team along with a casual following of their league. The league as a national entity just has not resonated and that's not TSN's fault. It has always been that way with the CHL. Go to a CHL arena and you will see dedicated fans and anolder demographic. This is not like NCAA or U Sports in which the market trends younger just because the athletes are younger. I'll admit that as a broadcaster I care very much about the OHL, and will track the other two leagues in passing. I will spend an inordinate amount of time checking the merch from other leagues which is why I have a Saint Johns SeaDogs, a Calgary Hitmen and a Kamloops Blazers hat. That collection will grown this year by the way.
The one question that TSN will have is how to bridge the gap in coverage between the regular season and the Memorial Cup if they are only covering league finals. In a perfect world CBC would get back on board and broadcast select regular season games, but that was tried two years ago and CBC did not pursue games last year. That leaves regular season selected games on TSN+, the upgraded subscription streaming service in which the league takes local broadcasts. TSN usually hand-picks a a game or two to feature on the streaming service I wish TSN would work more with the local teams and seek content from them to help bridge the gap, but all I can offer is that you support and follow your local broadcasts and local league, and follow the myriad of draft content that will be produced this year. The radio and TV broadcasts are quite good, and yes my bias is fully noted given that I call games on TV for Niagara. TSN does do a good job with the games, but with 60 teams to consider as well as geographic considerations it really is difficult to feature the leagues and its great players in a macro sense. At this point TSN is focused on the higher profile finals and Memorial Cup so it is incumbent on the fan, the network and the local product to help fill in the gaps in order to not forget that the CHL exists.
THE BLUE JAYS ARE FADING
Two straight shutouts versus the Yankees this week during the final push of the season. Jordan Romano with two straight extremely subpar outings in games the Jays led or tied in the 9th innings. This is not the way to close out an uneven season in which the talented squad has shown only flashes of the potential they were brimming with at the start of the season. They might miss the playoffs, and if they do, the finger pointing will begin and it might be time to trade a core piece and maybe have a new manager. I'm not sold on John Schneider, but I also don't outright think he should be canned the moment the season ends either. If they squeeze into the playoffs, they go to the atmosphere death trap Tropicana Field to face the Rays, and really anything can happen, given how the Jays lost in two straight last year vs Seattle at home, blowing an 8-1 lead in the process.
NHL SEASON
Not much to report here. Training camps have started, exhibition games have been played, coaches seem to be a lock to make it through camp and start the season and no one is gifting or taking away the Stanley Cup from the Leafs yet. Remember, friends don't let friends tweet out or overreact to training camp and exhibition games lines.
OUA FOOTBALL
The other sport I call games for is OUA football. McMaster University games on 900 CHML is my beat and that season could come to an end sooner than expected. The Marauders are 1-4 on the season and spiralling in the wrong direction having lost two straight. With three games left they need to run the table and even at 4-4 might need mathematical help to get in. The games are at Toronto and vs Waterloo and those are winnable games. The season in all likelihood comes down to a week eight match up in Ottawa against the Gee Gee's. Since winning the Yates Cup in 2019 the team is 6-13 and in uncharted territory, given they had a track record off success. My glass is half-full on this one. The Marauders run the table, get into the playoffs, and then any and everything is possible including a likely trip to Western, Laurier or Windsor the three leaders of the conference.
Until next time, keep stylin' and profilin'! (Wooooo...!)
Steve Clark
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