Canadian Hockey Television Hit by a Nuclear Bomb

Although this news has flown under the radar more than I expected, the news that Rogers Communications has been given a monopoly over NHL programming in Canada is going to have a huge impact on the game in our country. Rogers is paying $5.2 BILLION for this 12-year contract. Big bucks!

If you want to know the nitty gritty details about how this will affect the various stakeholders, William Wolfe-Wylie has put together a pretty good run down over at Canada.com.



For the Cliff Notes version, here is what is going to happen.

• TSN will have *NO* rights to any NHL games. Remember, TSN is the prime sports network in Canada, and has always been #1. This will change. 


• The CBC, the original broadcaster, will have no rights to NHL games. A special agreement between CBC and Rogers will allow Hockey Night in Canada to run for four more years, but after that? *poof*?


• The CBC will get NO advertising revenue during that time, simply being paid to cover its costs. Given that hockey ad revenue is about 50% of the CBC's total revenue, Stephen Harper must be cackling with glee.

---

Who wins when monopolies exist? Hint: IT IS NEVER THE CONSUMER!

The media in this country is already consolidated amongst a very few parties, and Bell (TSN) and Rogers (Sportsnet) have a disproportionate share of the media pie. This deal just consolidates things even further, leaving consumers with less quality and choice.

Even as I watch less and less hockey than I used to, this deal still pisses me off. Here is why this deal is not good for the consumer.

1. Hockey Night in Canada is dying. Yes, it'll have four more years, but Rogers will exercise full editorial control. HNIC has always been a high-quality broadcast, and CBC gives hockey a lot more respect than Sportsnet ever has.


2. This may also help kill the CBC, which the current Canadian government would just love to happen. People will be laid off, and other programming will suffer. Hockey ad revenue helped the CBC produce other shows.


3. More expensive for us? TSN is purely a national broadcaster, while Sportsnet does break up some of its programming into regional networks. If you want to see more games, you may have to pay for the other Sportsnet region channels. Ugh.


4. On-Air Talent: Sportsnet's 'talent' is piss poor compared to TSN and CBC. Nick Kypreos is a buffoon, and Doug MacLean should have stuck to coaching. TSN has, by far, the best panel, and CBC is a close second, apart from Cherry. We might expect Sportsnet to hire some of TSN's talent, however.


5. Less variety of broadcasts. It's great to see different productions and different viewpoints. With everything controlled by one broadcaster, you lose that. The lack of competition may also lead Sportsnet to stagnate with their on-air product, as they don't need to worry about what TSN is doing.


6. Don Cherry: Yes, Rogers will likely pay him millions to pollute your eyeballs with his ugly suits and his Bobby Orr ass-kissing. Ugh.

---

The NHL is making an amazing amount of money off of this deal, and Rogers does have the infrastructure to bringing content to people that doesn't involve the TV. This deal shows, at least, that the NHL is still a player in the business world.

Still, shame on the NHL for choosing just one provider for the Canadian airwaves. Less choice is never good for the consumer, and this smacks purely of Bettman's one-dimensional thinking.

Blockbusted: Blockbuster Shuts Down for Good

(c) AP

It seems that video rental chain Blockbuster is finally set to have the plug pulled and have the remains cremated.

Blockbuster LLC, the video-rental company now owned by Dish Network Corp. (DISH), will close its remaining 300 U.S. stores, ending an era for a retail chain that was once a hallmark of shopping centers across the country.

I didn't know Blockbuster still had 300 stores opened, did you?

Unlike most of the hipsters on Twitter who are laughing at the corpse, braying "I told you so! OMG NETFLIX KILLED YOU HAHA!", I prefer to have fond memories of Blockbuster Video.

Yes, Blockbuster failed to adapt to the new digital age, but it doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the role it had in my life.

It is quite strange to see such a large company just completely disappaear. Blockbuster outlets were pretty much EVERYWHERE, and Blockbuster was one of North America's biggest entertainment companies. Before the internet, filing sharing, rampant PPV usage, and easy CD copying, Blockbuster (or Rogers Video) provided the go-to place to get some at-home entertainment.


Here is how I'll remember Blockbuster:

• When I was first dating my wife, we'd often go to the nearby outlet and rent a movie or two for the night, or get the occasional video game. It gave us a chance to go for a nice walk and cozy up on the couch for a night in. We somewhat homebodies, so a Blockbuster night, especially on a cold, rainy Vancouver night, was just perfect.


• When I was a kid, I couldn't afford to buy too many video games. I could, however, afford to rent many games for a couple of days. I'd often rent RPGs and just plough through them in the short time I had to rent. These were the days a RPG could be finished in about 20 hours, and not 100.


• Blockbuster, especially near the end, often had sales on used games and movies. This was a good chance to get some really good deals that you couldn't get elsewhere.


• The Tangible: I find it much more satisfying and easier to browse through a physical inventory. Sometimes, you'd come across a movie you hadn't seen or heard of before, and it may turn out to be a hidden gem. It's much harder to browse online than it is in person.


• The Pain: Spoiled kids these days don't know what it is like to have the movie or game you want OUT. Yes, we had to experience the pain of not always getting what we wanted. It made us appreciate what we did have.


• Try before you buy: For video games, it's often hard to get demo versions. Renting a game was a good chance to try it out before plunking down $60 on it. Of course, these were the days before free/freemium games came about. 


• The Con: My friend and I really wanted to rent Final Fantasy, but were a bit short on cash. Blockbuster tagged certain games with different colours, with one colour being the premium games (more expensive) and others being older games. 
  
  In order to be able to rent the game, my friend changed the tag on the Final Fantasy to be marked as an older game. The clerk said that the game was marked as premium, but, since the game was clearly tagged as an older game, she changed it in the system and we *just* managed to afford the rental. I felt so dirty, yet so devious.

Farewell, Blockbuster, and thanks for the good times.

Monday Munchies: Chicken L'Aurian

My wife makes some very wonderful meals for me, and I figured I should share some of them with my friends and family, or other random people that might happen upon this space.

On a random reddit thread, a question was posed about "What is your favourite meal?". For me, it was a tie between my wife's lasagna and her special stuffed chicken recipe.

When I first met my wife, and she invited me over to her place for dinner for the first time, she made me a wonderful dish she called "Chicken Manicotti." It was baked chicken, which was stuffed with cheese, and covered with a cheesy sauce, served with pasta.

A way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so it's no wonder I fell in love with her so quickly. :)

This dish has everything a man could want: It's warm, meaty, savoury, cheesy, and filling! You hit all of the major food groups, and it's not too difficult to make. 

The problem? This dish isn't actually a Manicotti, which is basically tube pasta stuffed with cheese and other edible matter.

So, when my wife made the dish last night, she christened it with a new, proper name: Chicken L'Aurian.

---

My wife graciously documented her preparation and recipe for the world to see.

Step 1: The Ingredients!

• 2-4 Chicken Breast Halves (depending on number of people being served. 1 half per person is more than enough for even big appetites).
• 1 Jar of Pasta Sauce (or you can make your own)
• 1 tbsp of garlic
• 125 g of cottage or ricotta cheese per breast half. Other soft cheeses also work well. For this one we tried some goat cheese.
• 1 tbsp of chopped oregano
• 1 tbsp of chopped sun dried tomatoes (optional)
• 125 g of grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese per breast half.
• Misc chopped vegetables to taste, for the sauce - for this one I added 1 zucchini and a handful of chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Diced onions, carrots, and broccoli also work well.

** This is the 'basic' version. If you want the deluxe dish, buy some bacon, or turkey-bacon, and wrap it around the chicken. 

Step 2: Preparation!

1. Turn oven to 350 degrees and find a baking dish (must be approx 9"x16" or bigger)
2. Sauce: Make or heat up pasta sauce over the stove. Add garlic and any of the optional vegetables. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, use a tenderizer to pound the chicken breasts to approx 1/2 cm thick. Cover with the cottage/ricotta cheese, add some oregano and sun-dried tomatoes. 
4. Pour half of the sauce into the baking dish.
    
5. Next, roll up the chicken pieces like a jelly roll. Set into the baking dish seam-side down (gravity should hold it closed). Pour remainder of the sauce over the chicken, ensuring it is coated. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top.  (If using bacon, wrap it around the rolls)
    
6. Bake for 45 minutes. Boil pasta at appropriate time to serve on the side.

Step 3: Put it in the oven!

This is what the dish will look like before it is cooked.

Step 4: Take it out of the oven!

Mmmm...so savoury!

Step 5: Dish it out!

The sauce is already cooked in the dish, so you can spread it all over the pasta. It's piping hot, too.

Step 6: Get husband to deal with the aftermath!

I guess this is one way to burn off a few calories! *sad trombone*


If you are looking for a chicken dish that is a bit fancy, but not too elaborate, give Chicken L'Aurian a try. It's a great meal on a cold night.

Thursday Thoughts: Jowls, Howls, and Scowls

Today's random ramblings...

(Jerry Seinfeld voice): What is the deal with right-wing/conservative politicians and big jowls?

Does greed, corruption, and selfishness cause swelling of the goiter, or do big jowls cause those traits? It seems to be fairly consistent.

(I apologize, in advance, for the disturbing images)

---

I have been enjoying Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. a lot more the past three weeks, after the warm up laps were completed.

The writing has become much stronger, they've actually used *some* less-than-perfect-specimen actors, and some of the characters are being well developed. I especially enjoyed the eye-camera episode, and the whole chain-of-control it suggests. It's a solid show that we've been looking forward to watching every Tuesday night.

I just wonder when/if we'll see the return of Graviton, the newly created villain.

---

If you want one reason why North Americans haven't warmed up to soccer, how about crap like this?

"Arturo Vidal had an evening to forget in Madrid last night, his biggest contribution to the game arguably one of the worst dives of all time.

Juventus' poor European campaign continued with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, but it was their Chilean midfielder who stole the headlines with a ludicrous penalty appeal in the second half. Vidal who was attempting to square a pass across the area as he approached the byline, completely missed the ball and got his boot stuck in the pitch.

However instead of simply looking foolish as the ball trickled out of play, the 26-year-old made matters far worse by launching himself into the air and appealing for a penalty as he flopped to the turf.

Unfortunately for Vidal there wasn't a Madrid defender within two feet of him so all he succeeded in earning was the scorn of the footballing world for such a blatant and poorly executed dive."

It's bad enough that soccer refs often fall for dives, but why don't they hand out more red and yellow cards for 'simulation'? This kind of crap won't stop if there is no disincentive to do so. Penalties are so valuable in soccer than players will flop quite easily in order to draw them.

Thankfully, most of the MLS doesn't resort to this...North American soccer is a far cry from the Italian league, that's for sure.

---

For the Magic: the Gathering geeks who read this, here is a link that shows just the 51 new cards coming out in the Commander decks, and which deck(s) they'll be in. If you want a specific card, and plan to buy a deck, now you have more info.

It looks like the True-Name Nemesis I was drooling over is already pre-selling for about $30-40. Yikes. Good thing the deck I plan to get will have one in it.

Am I a Glymphomaniac?

I'm one of those crazy people that absolutely *loves* sleeping. Yes, napping is one of my hobbies, and I'd sleep 12 hours a day, if I could.

Sadly, I just don't get to nap as much as I should, especially on the weekends. Without my weekend naps, I found myself a bit more tired than I used to be, especially during the middle of the work day.

Where am I going with this?

Scientists have long been baffled as to WHY, exactly, we need to sleep. Yes, sleeping helps our muscles relax and recover, but that is generally just a function of the human body over time. Human bodies don't simply overheat with us, like a car engine.

Well, a landmark study seems to help pinpoint one major reason why we do need to sleep, after all.

The US team believe the "waste removal system" is one of the fundamental reasons for sleep. Their study, in the journal Science, showed brain cells shrink during sleep to open up the gaps between neurons and allow fluid to wash the brain clean.

They also suggest that failing to clear away some toxic proteins may play a role in brain disorders.

It has been shown to have a big role in the fixing of memories in the brain and learning, but a team at the University of Rochester Medical Centre believe that "housework" may be one of the primary reasons for sleep.

"The brain only has limited energy at its disposal and it appears that it must choose between two different functional states - awake and aware or asleep and cleaning up," said researcher Dr Maiken Nedergaard.

If this is true, it would explain why people can die from sleep deprivation, or why a lack of sleep can cause your body to do funny things, or simply just not function at optimal levels.

So, the next time my wife complains about my napping, I can just found her to this and state that I need to take my Glymphatic System for a long trip to the bathroom. I get grumpy when my brain is still dirty!

I COMMAND You to Read this MTG Post!

The new Commander (formerly EDH) product comes out on November 1st, which gives me another chance to blow some more of my hard-earned money on cardboard crack.

While the wife and I don't really play Commander, many of the cards are still good and useful for our format. I do have 5 EDH decks, just in case...they also make good free-for-all 60-card casual decks.

In the five pre-constructed decks being released, there are 51 new cards for us to drool over. Here are my favourites.

There is already a multiplayer variant where you can attack only to one side. This card is basically forcing that format, which makes for some cool politics. I can't see myself playing it, but I like that it exists.

Another card that lets me 'borrow' my wife's great creatures. Marriage is about sharing, right? :)

Wow, protection from a PLAYER? That is strong. This might even see Legacy constructed play, basically being a 3-power nigh-unkillable creature.

In our environment, it'll still be quite powerful, and I'd love to stick this in my little Merfolk deck.


The cycle of curses allows for some unfair ganging-up-on-one-player shenanigans. "EVERYBODY, ATTACK JES!"

Still, these two are the most powerful, by far. Getting a zombie just for attacking? Getting your creatures bigger just for attacking? Yes, I'd love my Birds of Paradise to get a +1/+1 counter. Why the hell not?

This is an old card, but I love the new art? Barfing coins? What did he eat for dinner?

Tempting Offer, indeed! Yes, I'll reanimate my guy, for sure, but do you want to do the same, while allowing me ANOTHER? The art is also bad-ass, too.

A fixed Doubling Season that doesn't allow Planeswalkers to ultimate right away is a *good* thing, Martha Stewart says.

The set also has 10 new commanders (2 for each deck), all of which are quite powerful, in their own way.

I know the guy with the Kobold deck might be tempted to splash in green to play this dragon. He brings his own Scoobie Snacks, and those snacks also get pumped up by the old kobold lord.

Blink on a stick. How can that *not* be powerful? My wife is going to abuse this like bath salts!

---

I've managed to pre-order the Grixis deck, and my wife has the Jund deck. Looking at the decklists, the Esper deck is, by far, the most powerful and goody-laden. The Jund deck actually looks like crap, compared to the others...

Wednesday Wonderings

I haven't blogged much as I haven't really had any inspiration. Unlike my hockey blogging days, I'm never going to force myself to write just to get some content out. It's not like I'm getting paid :)

So, in order to keep some creative writing juices flowing, I might as well muse about some random things.

---

I saw this picture floating on my Facebook feed. It's nothing new or spectacular...

What amuses me is that the poor 90% of Americans get the crappy Southern US states, while the rich people get the beautiful northwest states. Talk about insult to injury!

---

Over to Marketing... When you bought a car, or considered buying a car, did you look to see how many Industry awards the car won?

Car makers seem to think the following is true...

For all we know, Chevrolet paid this J.D. Power and Associates for the awards. Nobody really knows much about this group, or even cares. I'm sure the car makers wet themselves over the awards, but car buyers care about tangible things, like reliability, fuel economy, and handling.

 For all I know, I'm just ignorant about what they do and they actually serve a useful purpose. That said, I'd still suggest that when car makers flash these awards around, most people don't really care.

---

Here is Edmonton Oilers assistant coach Keith Acton telling Canucks coach John Tortorella what everybody else wants to say to him. An amusing .gif that brings me a smile. 

---

If Magic: The Gathering started offering shirts with this logo on it, I'd buy one in an instant!

 c/o Starcitygames.com

 

---

From Johnny Fontaine, aka Mr. Misspelling, we finish off with a goofy story about Tard, aka "Grumpy Cat" getting a lifetime achievement award for the very act of being a cat.

  

Yup, Mr. Grumpy is just thrilled to have won a bunch of free food and a trophy to knock over.

Kudos to the owners of the cat for taking their odd-looking feeling and making tons of money off of it. Why the hell not?