JUSTCAWS

Last post explained how parity through a strict salary cap has contributed to NFL media dominance. Now will look at some of the other reasons they rule over all sport and entertainment properties.  First off, as any television sport broadcasting expert will tell you, football is made for TV.  Plays begin with all participants on screen and usually last under 5 seconds. The remainder of time allows for a good number replays of past plays and close ups to build up to the next.  The basic rules of the game and lines on the playing surface are easy to follow.  There are plenty of embedded stoppages in play for sponsors and casual phone glancing. The game can also be easily manipulated by officials (if desired) to keep scores close. I could go on and I am sure you have your own, but I want to get into what I believe are the more meaningful factors. A short, meaningful regular season and playoff matchups decided in one game.  All the other three majors pro sport leag...

In case you still had any doubts, the television placement of this weekend’s playoff games once again proves the NFL is the king of sport leagues.  Of the four time slots for this weekend’s NFL playoff games, the most watched time slot will be Sunday primetime. This marquee time slot is reserved for teams who league and tv execs believe will deliver the biggest audience. For most leagues this slot would be given to large market cities with their significant fan bases ie. New York and LA. The NFL, however, is not most leagues. While a small market play off matchup between Buffalo and Kansas City would depress other league executives, the NFL places this game between two star quarterbacks in its favoured time slot.    This year’s MLB’s World Series between Arizona and Texas was a ratings dud . Oh, how happy the league and tv partners were that Ohtani signed with LA and not Toronto.  In the no salary cap league of Major league baseball, only the big market, high sp...

  Trust but verify, was a line from former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. I have heard it being used more now as there seems to be an erosion of trust in global affairs. It is a line I believe our news media needs to follow in a world where deciding between what is fact and fiction is only going to get more difficult. I have been an avid consumer of news for decades. Whether it be from watching a nightly newscast or getting the daily paper to now streaming and digital subscriptions - I will follow. Obviously, the evolution in the distribution model is what people will point to when discussing change in the news media, but I believe a more profound transformation has taken hold. Some argue that once the U.S. News became a profit centre for networks that the decline in journalism began. Just take a look at this prophetic article from 1986 in the LA Times that predicts pending doom . The onslaught of social media was the next salvo to hit the news as more people discovered they could b...

As I write this, all the top seeds in the MLB playoffs have been bounced early and teams with good, but not great seasons that barely made it into the playoffs are advancing.  Winning a division and getting home field advantage doesn’t seem to provide much of an advantage.  Just getting in is all you need to do.  Does this matter?  To some, not at all, but if your regular season doesn’t matter - why watch. I know plenty of sport fans who now only watch the playoffs - “when it matters”.  Leagues and their broadcast partners should be concerned.  Fandom is about passion not apathy.  Upsets do happen - and they’re not necessarily the issue.  Having a compelling regular season where every game matters is key. The NFL, the gold standard league gets it right.  With only 17 games and  only 44% teams who qualify, it makes game matter.  Due to the grueling nature of football - a bye is really an advantage and the top seeds usually win. ...

Are you really surprised?  If you're reading this I doubt it. Hard core Blue Jays fans saw this movie all year.  Wasted starts, questionable managing, bad base running, and an inability to hit with runners in scoring position.  What made this season, so frustrating - is there is a lot of talent on this roster.  Rogers has told me so. Okay, maybe not as great as the baseball heads at Sportsnet and the organization put out there, but still on paper good.  So yeah it's frustrating watching a team play well below expectations. If not for the other pretenders in the American League choking themselves, this team doesn’t even make the playoffs.  The fanbase doesn’t need answers as to why this happened.  They want to know is who going to be let go?  Sorry fans, but don’t expect major changes. The team really did what it’s supposed to do in Shapiro’s model - contend.  The stadium was full and ratings were solid.  Yes, fans are angry right now - b...

As June begins I thought it would be appropriate to have a discussion about the pride flag being flown at Ontario schools. Recently, I opined publicly that the Canadian flag should be the only flag flown at schools as it should represent all of us. It is our symbol of unity, pride and progress.  That opinion, however, was liked and commented on by people who were not sharing my enthusiasm for the maple leaf, but liked the exclusion of anything pride. Their derogatory, inflammatory rhetoric made me realize we have not progressed  as far as I had thought or hoped. The importance of the Pride movement hit me more this year than any other. Some comments did give me pause though, to wonder if progressive voices were losing the room.  Even my own support of progressive causes and awareness campaigns is not absolute or without hesitation,  I’ve tried not to become numb to the constant awareness campaigns being pushed at schools for a variety of worthy causes and movements. ...

Another tragic mass shooting in the United States has Greg address the divisive issue of gun control. Sadly, the time for federal gun control in the States has come and gone. Too many rational citizens want guns to protect themselves from guns. This leads to escalation in madness with no apparent end in sight.  Only hope now resides at the state and local levels to enact their own common sense regulations. Time for progressives to get creative as lawmakers have done with abortion laws in conservative states. Perhaps with clear evidence of reduced gun violence in gun controlled jurisdictions a pathway out of this madness can be found.  My hope is for Canada to avoid this vicious cycle altogether. Canada’s superiority complex to the U.S. is deserved - on this file, but we haven’t done much lately to address the increase in gun related crimes. Most Liberal government initiatives are symbolic, and used to exploit divisions. Ban handguns - fine - but without  increasing penalt...