DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

Its the worst time of year for sports isn't it?  Hockey is but a distant memory and training camps are weeks away and that goes double for the NBA.  Baseball is at all the All Star Break and it is not like the Jays are lighting anyone's fire in a meaningful manner anyways.  The team is mired in mediocrity. The tease of an 11 game win streak is long gone as they limped into the all star break losers of 4 of the last 6 on the road and not even the great  Kawasaki can save them as he has been dispatched back to Buffalo. Tiger Cats?  Next.  Toronto FC?  I can honestly say that I do not recognize one single name on their roster this year and this years group of no names is heading towards another non-play off season.   

That said here are some random bullet points from past and present:  

• Make sure you check out my good buddy Ed Burkholder's sit down interview with Off the Record's Michael Landsberg.  It is scheduled to air all across Ontario on TV Cogeco Channels in September.   Landsberg has had a well documented battle with depression and social anxiety and I know that was the main topic of discussion.  

• Congratulations to Waterdown's Carter Verhaeghe who managed to pot a hat-trick during Leafs prospects camp.  Verhaeghe does not turn 18 until August and will be the centre piece of the IceDogs offense this year.  

• A bit dated but finally happy to see the Phoenix Coyotes saga settled for at least the next five years.  What the league and Glendale have poured into this abyss is staggering, and even now they are only being kept afloat by generous loan payments, revenue sharing and a 15M gift from an already bankrupt city.  Will a little stability pay off in terms of filling the seats?   Only time will tell. 

• That Dwight Howard sure is a piece of work.   He whined and dithered his way out of Orlando and did the same with the Lakers.  Now he is Houston's problem.  The formerly named "Superman" has a lot of growing up to do.  He's Houston's problem now. 

• Leave it to the Leafs to ramp up the cheese factor.  It's a well known fact that marquee signing David Clarkson is a big Wendel Clark fan and there was a groundswell of support for him to take #17, which would have been just terrible.  Instead he is wearing #71, which is just as bad.  An ode to Mike Foligno perhaps?  Maybe a Foligno Jump is in the offing when Clarkson scores.  Still, a nice off-season haul for the Buds as they grabbed Jonathan Bernier, and Dave Bolland along with Clarkson.  Not too shabby

Till next time when there is hopefully something more meaningful to toss about!  

Steve Clark

THE IDEA OF REBRANDING...

Damn it!   

Such was an accurate paraphrased reaction to my Dad's recent e-mail outlining the "new" home uniform of Ipswich Town, my chosen English soccer team.  For those dazzled by Man U or Liverpool, or Man City, Ipswich has been entrenched in mediocrity one step below the Premiership in the Championship division.  Yet their biggest splash so far has been that of aesthetics.  Now the new uniform is not bad, in fact it is sharp, but it is only one or two years removed from the last home uniform, which I luckily got as a birthday gift last year.  Now if I want the new uniform, I'm expected to shell out upwards of 45 pounds ($90) for the latest uniform.  Sad thing is that myself, along with many other ardent fans will fall hook, line and sinker for this branding strategy and Portman Road will be adorned with the blue uniform with the white piping.   

The notion of re branding is not a new one.  Heck all companies and teams do it. Even I as a freelance broadcaster have done it.  No, this does not mean a radical new look, complete with plastic surgery that would make Bruce Jenner nod with approval.  More so it means freshening up my on-air demo, trying new sports and roles, and marketing myself as a personal brand.  I even changed up the dynamic of my on-line demo:  CHEAP PLUG ALERT.  You can view it here:  

CLARK24/7(NOT A REAL NAME)

 Some are very careful when they do it, not wanting to mess with success.  I cannot imagine the day that Nike decides that the swoosh has had its day in the sun. Some though mess it up big time.  At this point, I cannot imagine what marketing genius came up with the Ottawa RedBlacks, the rumoured name for the latest Ottawa CFL reincarnation.   Not sure if it was leaked as a joke, but the reviews are in and they are not kind.   Mostly companies and teams play off the notion that a fan cannot be without the latest big thing, be it a great new innovation or product all a team uniform.  

Off the top of my head the Dallas Stars and the Carolina Hurricanes have already rolled out new uniforms for the upcoming season.  The Raptors with new CEO Tim Liewecke in charge have already talked about building a national brand, and there is no better time than to get rid of the ridiculous and childish dinosaur logo and replace with something a little more sleek or traditional like the Huskies.   Still it is hard to keep up with all the changes, and while the hard core fan can ill-afford to be caught in outdated garb, those same fans can be priced out of the market.   I'm not sure on what the statute of limitations is on what is "retro" and what is not, but I'm pretty sure my Wendel Clark and Felix Potvin Leafs jerseys are beyond retro, and just old.   

Television networks also get in on the re branding game.  Rogers, with their recent acquisition of The Score, will re brand as Sportsnet360 as of July 1st and tweak their programming, likely maintaining some of the spirit of the irreverent Score but adding the Rogers personal touch, and more importantly resources.  It is clever business in the world of media convergence and Rogers is already one of the major players in the sports media game.   Unlike the notion of the cost of uniforms the benefit to the consumer is the fact that this  financially negligible.  Sports media and broadcasting is huge business and one of the main reasons are the advertising benefits. It has been reported that live sports are the ones that not PVR'd as often, meaning that the live consumption of the event means less fast forwarding through commercials, something that advertisers obviously like.  

Everyone can rebrand themselves, be it person, team, or network.   Be careful when you buy that uniform for your favourite team though.  By the time you get home they may have rolled out a new logo.   

MEMORIAL CUP AWARDED TO LONDON....AGAIN

It's not exactly breaking news.   London got awarded it's second Memorial Cup in the last four Ontario bids.  What could have been a competitive bidding process became something of an inevitability as the awarding of the event came closer and closer.   No secret that London, and its solid facilities and great support of junior hockey played a role, but it also is no secret that the almighty dollar guarantee played a significant role in this decision.   Followers of university basketball will empathize with the current plight of the Barrie Colts and Windsor Spitfires who were the two competitors for London in the recent round of Memorial Cup bids.  

 You see for upwards of a quarter century the fine city of Halifax had a stranglehold on men's university basketball's Final Eight Tournament.  No doubt that the city did a tremendous job in hosting the tournament, often packing the place when local teams played.  That said elite basketball never got exposed to the rest of the country.  Sure there might of been not as many venues available, but year after Halifax bid against it self, offering the university sports body a nice return on investment.  One year Hamilton leapt into the fray and a lot of people felt that the time had come to move the tournament to Southern Ontario and at least expose the tournament to other parts of the country.  At the time Hamilton had an elite basketball university in McMaster good facilities at Copps Coliseum which had already hosted a lot of great basketball, university basketball included.  Yet for murky reasons unknown the tournament went back to Halifax where for the first time the word "stale" got tossed around.  As time passed the murky reasoning basically became defined under a financial guarantee.  At least, I think that is how it was decided.  I'm not sure eloquent feedback was the order of the day.   

The point is that don't say that you invested in growing the game when you keep going back to the hand that feeds you time and again.  Even today in the university basketball the Final 8 bounces back and forth between Ottawa and Halifax.  Hopefully another significant bid will be on the horizon. However, the bid process is an exhausting one on both political and sporting levels.  People devote a plethora of time on top of their regular job lobbying for the tournament, finding corporate support putting on bid presentations, locating the appropriate amenities and on and on  For the Memorial Cup committee to award a tournament to the same city for the second time in four bid processes is not exactly sharing the wealth and likely makes cities a little hesitant to exhaust their resources in a process with a low guarantee of success. .  

London, no doubt, will welcome the CHL with open arms and run a first class tournament with sell out crowds cheering, while the cash registers ring with equal joy, but you know what?  Other cities could have done just as good a job, but we will not get to find that out until next time around, and if you are small or mid market team it likely will be an  exercise likely born into futility, especially if the likes of London, Kitchener or Ottawa jump into the bidding pool. 

THE BROADCAST BOOTH

Aah the joys of having your own blog. Because in the creative sense, a blog can be an extension of your own personal Freedom of Expression, you can use it to gratuitously plug your own self-absorbed, ego maniacal projects! 

With that in mind, happy to say that my initial foray into the world of hosting, producing and creating my own TV Sports Show has continue to define itself, and has returned this year for brand new episodes.  Last year we experimented with a half-hour format and felt a little constrained with content, and the time seemed rushed.  Plus, some shows were better than others.  As a guy used to play by play, it does take a while to define your own personality on-air when you are in the hosting realm, as opposed to commenting as to what is happening on the field/ice/court.   I sure had my good days and bad days.  What I did not realize is that every single minute detail from the set, to the camera placement, to the placement of your guests to what you wear become equally as important as the content you are providing.  My most egregious error was showing up too casually, actually wearing a golf shirt, khaki pants and sandals.  Unfortunately due to camera placement my sandled feet were on display far too much, and it was far from a pleasing visual.   Overall, the shows were effective and gave us a solid foundation with which to build upon. 

This year we expanded to one hour, kept the panel format, though I will be experimenting with a couple of one on ones, and tried to tackle a lot more issues oriented shows.  So far we have tried to define Hamilton as a sports town, and tried our hand at marketing Canadian university sport. In the works is a show featuring local basketball legendary coach Mark Walton, and what one of his ex-players is doing, a hopeful 1 hour sit-down with a prominent member of the sports media, who just happens to be from the Hamilton area.   In fact, what we have found is that there are a lot of great stories from Hamilton out there just waiting to be told.   There is a new summer basketball league playing out of Redeemer College, Dundas is hosting the Allan Cup next year, there are Hamiltonian's excelling in both the amateur and professional field.  For myself, gone are the sandals and golf shirts, and I feel more, and more comfortable each week in the hosts chair.  I have utmost respect for journalists like Michael Landsberg who do this each and every day.  In fact, I would say that the Off The Record template is the one I look to for guidance.   We choose our guests carefully because guest dynamic is likely as important a factor as the host, or any of the other aesthetics.  So far we have struck gold as the guests have been eager to discuss, debate and clarify. 

There are many great stories that have been told, and are yet to be told.  We are always scouring the newspapers for good stories!  Maybe someday, yours is the one that we will tell.  Stay tuned...

EPISODE GUIDE SEASON TWO: 

Episode 1:  Hamilton as a Sports Town- guests Scott Radley (Hamilton Spectator, CHML Sports Lounge), Doug Farraway (Former PD of The Fan 590)- Aired April 26th

Episode 2:  Marketing the CIS- guests Robert Hilson (Athletic Director Brock University), Parrish Offer (Marketing Officer McMaster Athletics and Recreation)- Airs May 3rd 4pm and 10pm

Episode 3:  Basketball:  Achieving the Next  Level- guests Mark Walton (longtime coach at high school/elite/NCAA) Mihai Raducanu (NCAA Athlete/Founder No Limit Sport- Airs May 10th 4pm and 10pm 

Episode 4: TBA, Airs May 17th 4pm and 10pm

CONFERENCE FINAL PREDICTIONS

Must admit that I have been following the OHL playoffs intermittently since the IceDogs were eliminated.  It's not like I have completely lost interest but as this is my second job, the break from broadcasting the OHL gives me time to focus back on family and the main career job.   Plus, I am producing and hosting a sports show that I created called *cue cheap plug* The Broadcast Booth, which you can catch starting Friday April 26th at 4:00pm and 10:00pm on Cable 14 if you are in the Hamilton area. *end cheap plug*

I went 4/4 in the second round in terms of my predictions, but was way off when it came to number of games.  I had Barrie and Oshawa going the limit, and was surprised to see the Generals get dusted in a sweep.  Lack of scoring was the Gens downfall.  I had Belleville over Sudbury in 5, so I was pretty bang on there.   Overall it was very surprising to see both series end in a sweep as all season long we had been talking about parity in the East on our OHL broadcasts.  In the West, I had London in 6 and they won in 5, and I picked Plymouth over Owen Sound in 6 correctly. 

On with the predictions: 

PLYMOUTH OVER LONDON IN 6

Might be going out on a limb a bit here, but I had touted Plymouth from the start of the playoffs and see no reason to deviate from that.  London is playing very, very well but Plymouth has been matching them so far.  Mike Vellucci had an interesting quote that you take many different ways.  Velluccci compared the Knights to the New York Yankees, a quote that is fairly accurate.  London gets their lions share of the great prospects in the OHL and like it or not, there is a buzz when the Knights come to town.  Plus the Hunters, while outstanding hockey men, don't exactly give everyone the warm and fuzzies.  This will be a great series, but I'm sticking with Plymouth. 

BARRIE OVER BELLEVILLE IN 6

To me, looking from the outside, Belleville is just starting to hit their stride in the playoffs and Malcolm Subban is playing lights out, having captured a number of individual honours during the post season.  Barrie is  playing even better.  They dismantled a very, very good Oshawa team in 4 in a series that turned in Game 1 when Barrie came back from 3-1 down and won 4-3 in OT.  They are unbeaten in the playoffs and at some point during the series Ryan O'Connor, the Nelson Mandela of the OHL will be liberated from OHL incarceration.    Belleville is built for the playoffs with big aggressive forwards and outstanding goaltending.  Barrie is built for a championship appearance and I give them the slight edge in talent and depth. 

'Till the Finals!

Steve Clark

ROUND TWO PREDICTIONS...OHL

Just some quick thoughts, including Round 2 predictions.  I went 6/8 in my actual predictions, missing out on Guelph/Kitchener (Had Guelph in 7) and Sudbury/Brampton (had Brampton in 6).  Others I missed on the number of games it took to vanquish the opposition, but I did nail Owen Sound in six over Sault Ste Marie and Barrie to sweep Kingston.  

As I am somewhat IceDog-centric, I will a post more comprehensive season in review at a later date, perhaps waiting until Saturday's draft to see how the IceDogs fill out their roster.  Marty Williamson has already made a smart move, grabbing a couple of 3rd round picks for the upcoming draft in return for some futures down the road.  Having four picks in the first 53 will add some depth that should come to fruition just in time for the new arena. 

2ND ROUND WESTERN CONFERENCE

LONDON IN KITCHENER IN 6

Make no mistake about it, Kitchener was very impressive in round one in dispatching a very good Guelph team in five games, as John Gibson played very, very well in net.  He could steal a game, or perhaps even a series. London looked equally good in their four game sweep over Saginaw.  They survived a real scare in Game 2 when they won in double overtime and took care of business in Games 3, and 4.   While the edge may go to the Rangers in net, I like London's depth and experience over all. 

PLYMOUTH OVER OWEN SOUND IN 6

Gotta stick with my pick to win it all in what should be a raucous affair.   Plymouth had little trouble with Sarnia, romping 11-2 in game one and essentially coasting from there while Owen Sound had a real battle on their hands with a talented Soo team.   Owen Sound has that mix of talent and aggression, while Plymouth has great team defense and a wealth of offensive talent.   This will be a great series and it would surprise to see it go 7.  I still like Plymouth though.

2ND ROUND EASTERN CONFERENCE

BARRIE OVER OSHAWA IN 7

Almost wrote Oshawa down as talent wise they do match up well with Barrie.  Oshawa had their hands full with a young IceDog team and it was no coincidence that the one game they lost was the one game they came unglued in terms of team discipline.   They got a dominant performance from Scott Laughton in round one, and Boone Jenner came alive in Game 5 versus the IceDogs.  The only real disappointment was Tyler Biggs who was held goalless versus the IceDogs.  Barrie easily took out Kingston in four straight and are at the top of their offensive game, though they will miss Ryan O'Connor, their captain who received a 10 game suspension in a decision that left many scratching their head.   Give it to Barrie over a long and grueling series. 

BELLEVILLE OVER SUDBURY IN 5

The Bulls got a legitimate scare from Mississauga in their series, prevailing in 6 games. After a dominant 8-1 thrashing in Game 1, the Bulls might have taken the foot off the pedal before righting the ship in Games 5 and 6.  Sudbury looked very good in beating Brampton and sending the moving vans off to North Bay, but they were aided by some divine PP help in Game 2 that led to Stan Butler getting tossed and suspended.  In a year in which the Wolves traded away more established talent than they got back, they are doing awfully well for themselves.  Belleville is a team built for this year and in the second round they will show it.