It is said that, in men's curling, the biggest honor... sorry, honour.... is not to win the World Championship, but the Canadian National Championship, known as the Tim Hortons Brier, because the level of competition is higher.
That statement is less true than it used to be, but it's not entirely wrong. Recall that last year's Olympic and world champions were different teams.... from Canada. The world champion (Kevin Koe) wasn't even strong enough in his provincial tournament to MAKE the Brier! The silver medalist both times? Thomas Ulsrud from Norway. A look at the World Curling Tour standings shows that the top five teams are Canadian - two of them did NOT qualify for the Brier!
Naturally, I want to watch this tournament, despite the fact that that there are no fun pants allowed.
Showing posts with label Canadian Curling Association. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canadian Curling Association. Show all posts
12 March 2011
22 February 2011
Help Us Out, TSN!
My Canadian readers already know about TSN. Others might not. For those who don't (from Wikipedia):
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the second group of Canadian specialty cable channels. TSN is owned by CTV Specialty Television, a joint venture of CTVglobemedia (80%) and ESPN (20%).
So, for those in the US, think of TSN as Canadian ESPN. They have a SportsCentre - I do love the r-before-e spellings used in Canada! - and they rebroadcast a lot of ESPN programming, including Pardon The Interruption, a show that focuses heavily on professional sports in the US.
They also broadcast a lot of curling. A LOT of curling. The Canadian Curling Association - the CCA, as I will be cavalierly abbreviating throughout this little post - has an exclusive broadcast agreement with TSN and CTVglobemedia. This means that other networks, such as the CBC (a traditional strong partner of curling in Canada) are shut out. CCA events include the Continental Cup, the Tim Hortons Brier (which are the men's championships) and the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (the women's championships), the last of which is currently being contested.
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the second group of Canadian specialty cable channels. TSN is owned by CTV Specialty Television, a joint venture of CTVglobemedia (80%) and ESPN (20%).
So, for those in the US, think of TSN as Canadian ESPN. They have a SportsCentre - I do love the r-before-e spellings used in Canada! - and they rebroadcast a lot of ESPN programming, including Pardon The Interruption, a show that focuses heavily on professional sports in the US.
They also broadcast a lot of curling. A LOT of curling. The Canadian Curling Association - the CCA, as I will be cavalierly abbreviating throughout this little post - has an exclusive broadcast agreement with TSN and CTVglobemedia. This means that other networks, such as the CBC (a traditional strong partner of curling in Canada) are shut out. CCA events include the Continental Cup, the Tim Hortons Brier (which are the men's championships) and the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (the women's championships), the last of which is currently being contested.
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