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Another philosophical sports entry from Dr. Russ. Theologian, philosopher of religion, expert on the problem of evil and theodicy. This evening recovering from my third recent eye injection in my continued quest for greater 'beauty' and bionic vision: Blackedout
6;22 pm (Pacific Standard Time)
Telus
TSN 3: Winnipeg @ Dallas (Blackout)
TSN 4: Toronto @ Saint Louis (Blackout)
TSN 5: Ottawa @ Tampa Bay (Blackout)
Sportsnet West Edmonton @ Nashville (Blackout)
Sportsnet Ontario: New York Rangers @ Buffalo (Available)
Sportsnet East & Sportsnet 360: Montreal @ Philadelphia (Blackout)
7: 00 pm (Pacific Standard Time)
Sportsnet West: San Jose @ Vancouver (Available)
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By 7 pm, I was watching +Knowledge Network and now I am here on +Blogger.
Those hashtags just showed up today, by the way.
But I could have been watching one of the Canadian teams play; I do watch on some Saturdays and Sundays.
Some observations on this National Hockey League blackout.
It is as if Canada and all its 35+ million persons are treated like one huge hockey market. There is an element of truth to that concept. Montreal and Toronto are the only 100 (Montreal even older, Toronto debated by scholars) year old original members of the League and at 37 combined Stanley Cups have very significant historical and cultural followings in Canada and somewhat in North America. All of the present seven Canadian teams, in my opinion, have to varying degrees significant historical and more importantly, cultural relevance both regionally and nationally. Quebec City, without a team, also being significant historically and culturally on a national level.
It seems to me a sign of financial weakness that each Canadian franchise is not willing to attempt to successfully compete against each other on television. It happens on Saturday night during the national broadcasts, but not during regional broadcasts. Again, despite the growth of the game, I seriously question how the League is run. I could provide a large list for improvements, but this entry is long enough.
In summary, while I can support revenue sharing and salary cap for smaller markets in North America, in general, I would prefer a significantly libertarian approach in Canada where the market determines where the clubs are and the market determines which clubs are viewed on TSN, Sportnet and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
But this would force clubs to be better if they wanted to survive, or at least if they wanted to prosper. Financially successful franchises would win more Stanley Cups if these franchises were well-managed.
