The Tribune

It wouldn’t be fair to say that the National Hockey League has failed in every way possible at marketing its product. It is true, however, that the National Football League is the gold standard. After all, the NFL has a $3.3-billion per year television deal and the NHL has a $70-million deal.

After a disappointing Saturday, the McGill Martlets were certainly not lacking in motivation for their clash with Concordia on Sunday. A draw against Laval denied McGill its bid for a perfect season and the cross-town rivals were the prefect targets on which to vent.

To say the Redmen were slumping heading into this weekend’s contest with Mount Allison University would be a gross understatement. Going into Saturday’s clash with the Mounties, McGill hadn’t tasted victory since Sept. 24, 2005, a whole 364 days earlier. Despite rainy conditions at Molson Stadium, quarterback Matt Connell led the charge, tossing five touchdown passes in front of just 1,441 fans, defeating Mt.

On Saturday, Sept. 29, the McCord Museum will be hosting the “Sports and Diversity Symposium: Marking the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s breakthrough in sports,” a vital conference on sports and diversity in Canada. Presented by the Association of Canadian Studies (ACS), the goal of this one day event is to raise awareness of the evolving face of Canadian sports and to highlight the impact that sports has on the diverse ethnicities and minorities in Canada.

The Redmen have struggled to put together a full 60 minutes of football this season, in recent weeks having held the lead at halftime against top-ranked Laval and keeping the score close at the break against Université de Montréal. Last Saturday, the story was no different.

Not that there was a contest, but with its new high-definition studio, TSN has solidified itself as the superpower of Canadian sports. In all realms of sports broadcasting, TSN is superior to its rivals at the CBC and Rogers Sportsnet. But what does having sports-broadcasting hegemony mean for the Canadian market? Most significantly, it means that CBC and RSN might as well kiss the NHL goodbye after 2007-2008.

This past Thursday, Hockey Night in Canada kicked off its 54th season on the CBC. This year’s edition features a few fresh faces in former San Jose Sharks colour commentator Drew Remenda and former Canadian women’s national team captain Cassie Campbell as well as a new feature called “Think Hockey.

Despite key personnel losses, the McGill Redmen hockey team is set to make a run at their third straight OUA East division title. More importantly, the Redmen hope to get another shot at the CIS Nationals after last year’s campaign ended in heartbreak. Although the loss of star forward Doug Orr and last year’s captain Pierre-Antoine Paquet stings, Head Coach Martin Raymond remains optimistic.

A year off may have cured many of the ills that plagued McGill’s football program last season, but not quite all of them. Last year, the team’s Achilles heel was an inability to stop the running game and, judging by their performance on Saturday against Bishop’s, not much has changed.