Calling Out TSN... Again!

I know that the Olympics are option one-through-100 right now for coverage on TSN.ca.

I get that. I wasn't looking for front page coverage.

But when I flip to the MMA page of "Canada's Sports Leader," I was hoping to see some coverage of Victoria native Sarah Kaufman.

Without a mention of the tiny terror on Monday or Tuesday, I took to passing along a link to one of the two feature-length pieces I penned on my fellow Islander earlier in the week, offering up more than 600 words for free simply to see a friend and worthy fighter get the coverage she had earned.

Still nothing, not even a "thanks but no thanks" email from TSN.

Friday, Sports Illustrated's MMA & Boxing page not only featured Ms. Kaufman as the main story by their head writer Josh Gross, but also ran a link below that to a Q&A with Kaufman courtesy of a certain someone who moonlights as a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report.

Saturday, both pieces were still up there, logging time and getting Kaufman some press coverage in our neighbor to the south.

Here at home? Nothing.

Waking this morning, I thought for sure they'd have something on Kaufman up at TSN.

I mean, all she did last night was put on a dominant technical display against Takayo Hashi to claim the Strikeforce Women's Welterweight title and extend her record to 11-0.

Sports Illustrated covered the event, with Kaufman as the poster child for the post-fight coverage.

TSN? Not a word.

They've got a two-day old story on Brock Lesnar's response to Frank Mir's stale comments from last week, a subsequent piece about Mir's apology to Lesnar from earlier in the week, and a blurb about Ben Rothwell, a fighter recently scratched from UFC 110 who will now be facing Gilbert Yvel at UFC 115 in Vancouver this summer.

Not one of those fighters is from Canada.

Here's what I don't understand - and hope to one day have answered by TSN:

How can you have a dedicated MMA page that gets updated fairly frequently and not have a single reference to the Canadian girl who just extended her winning streak to eleven and won a championship?

Yes, the UFC is the biggest name in the business, but they're not the only game in town. It's not like TSN has some kind of exclusive deal to only talk about the UFC, at least not that I know of anyway.

They show highlights of Canadian golfers in each PGA Tour event on the calendar, show the stats on every Canadian kid on an NCAA roster on the ticker during college basketball season, but a Canadian fighter goes out and wins a title in a major organization and "Canada's Sports Leader" doesn't even mention the achievement?

Kind of disheartening that at a time when national pride is riding high and we're trumpeting the accomplishments of Canadians to the world, a newly-crowned world champion can't get a single sentence put down about her successes.

Congratulations Sarah.

C'mon TSN... get with the program.

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TSN Comes Through Again

And by comes through again, I mean "gives all the more validity to the letter I sent them last week being critical of their lack of coverage of Mixed Martial Arts, furthering my hopes of being hired to cover the sport for Canada's Sports Leader."

I understand not being a haven for Breaking News in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.

I can deal with the general lack of coverage the sport receives over Canadian staples like curling and the CFL.

What I can't comprehend and fail to understand is how an historic event like tonight's Strikeforce main event between Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg does not receive a single shred of mention on the entire site?

I'm not talking about no coverage on the main page; no, this is click through to the MMA section and find the square root of SFA about what is easily the biggest fight in the history of Women's MMA and one of the biggest moments the fastest growing sport in the world has produced in some time.

What's earning time instead?

Thales Leites and company getting dropped by the UFC is the feature story, even though that broke on Thursday and today is Saturday, while the top three headlines are Miguel Torres' loss to Brian Bowles, UFC 101 results and Vitor Belfort being Rich Franklin's opponent at UFC 103.

Two of the three mentions of Strikeforce on the entire page are still about Fedor, including the earth-shattering revelation that the Russian superstar signed with the company... some fourteen days ago now.

Let's see if we can't get something done about this, as fans of Mixed Martial Arts, as fans and supporters of TSN and as loyal followers of yours truly that want to see me succeed, if only so I stop whining like a kid with skinned knees for once in my life.

Email TSN expressing your frustration and let them know there is a marginally talented Canadian MMA writer willing to help them out that they should contact. His name is E. Spencer Kyte.

You can hit up the Audience Relations department at the following address:

audiencerelations@tsn.ca

Chances are it won't amount to anything - much like my letter / resume / portfolio trio that they've already received - but there is no harm in trying, right?

Thanks in advance for your support faithful followers.

If this doesn't work, I'm pledging my undying allegiance to Showdown Joe and Rogers Sportsnet!

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Dishonour Roll: TSN - The "Sports" Network

You can't rightfully call yourself "The Sports Network" anymore.

Why?

Just like MuchMusic is no longer "The Nation's Music Station" because of the no-longer-surprising lack of music videos that are actually shown, TSN is no longer just a home for sports.

Poker is not a sport.

The championship ping pong that was on yesterday morning is borderline.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is certainly not sports.

Of course, what cements my frustrations even more is the networks decision to pay absolutely zero attention whatsoever to the sport I am most passionate about - Mixed Martial Arts.

While some will certainly think this attack on TSN is that of a biased and hurt MMA fan - and that is of course partially true - it is also a valid point of contention from a long-time TSN viewer who doesn't understand current programming decisions.

I mean really, how can you devote an hour of your midday broadcast to showing Ping Pong?

Has there been a massive groundswell of support and outcries from a frustrated public who have demanded more network of a miniature version of tennis that I don't know about?

And don't even get me started on the ridiculousness of all the poker that runs on The Sports Network, though for what it's worth, all the sports networks are equally at fault on this one.

How do I get to watch repeat after repeat of the 2008 World Series of Poker, but barely a shred of MMA programming can work it's way into the rotation?

TSN occasionally carries the WEC, with episodes of WrekCage popping up from time-to-time and broadcasts of major cards from Versus appearing shortly after their completion.

Personally, I'd love to see what kind of numbers those WEC shows do on TSN, because something tells me that they do a lot better than spelling bees, ping pong, 467 poker tournaments that all look the same and the other dead-weight programming TSN carries.

I won't even get started on the TSN website MMA page, what with it's finger far removed from the pulse and everything.

You would think that a major network like TSN would pay attention to the trends of sports and keep an eye on the competition.

While Sportsnet and The Score have ramped up their MMA coverage in accordance with the sport's progression into the mainstream and upper echelon of the industry, TSN has done next to nothing.

Hard to call yourself "Canada's Sports Leader" when you're behind the rest of the pack on the fastest growing sport in the world.

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For Love of the Game ... And Other Reasons

A day after channeling Jerry Maguire, I'm back in the sports movie business becoming Billy Chapel, Kevin Costner's aging pitcher in the horrible For Love of the Game, minus the perfect game.

While I would most certainly still accept cash payment from just about anyone for doing what I do, yesterday yielded three new opportunities and I've taken up each offer despite the fact that they pay a grand total of zero dollars and zero cents annually.

Mostly, I'm doing it because I absolutely love spending my days pounding these keys talking about Mixed Martial Arts. Mostly ...


Added to the resume yesterday were dedicated MMA sites Watch Kalib Run and MMA Ratings, as well as my man Goldie's site The Other Fifteen. All three will give me the opportunity to rant and rave about the sport I love to a wider target audience than I currently have at Keyboard Kimura. That being said, K2 isn't going anywhere.

While the majority of my decision to take on these offers pro bono was made out of my sheer passion for writing, especially about MMA, there certainly was a part of the decision made for selfish reasons. After all, what better way to carry on The Shameless Self-Promotion Tour than by adding three more venues to the itinerary?

The only way to get noticed is to put yourself out there and expressing my opinions and insights on all things MMA on four sites is far better than one. The fact that other people want to have me penning my points for their sites has to account for something, right? Maybe there is a complete lack of writers willing to work for pocket lint or maybe these guys actually think what I'm doing has merit.

Who knows, one of these opportunities could lead to something bigger, like say, I dunno, becoming TSN's voice on MMA (they're getting a letter this week ...) or maybe they just become further outlets for my opinions and outbursts.

Either way, I get to do what I love more frequently than I was and more people will have the opportunity to get to know me as a writer.

Outside of a little cash, I couldn't ask for anything more ...

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The Plan of Attack

I make a lot of lists.

In fact, I have a white board in my office that is designated specifically for that purpose, to write down all the shit that I want / need to do in the future.

Right now it's blank; I'm on pre-holiday holidays and not doing anything much above the daily requirements until we get back from getting hitched. Then it's on.

See, I know I've talked a lot of shit over the years about all the grand schemes and ideas and plans I've had of how to make it in this business and get myself to the next level, but like 95% of the people out there, I haven't been so good with the follow through.

That changes once we get back. In fact, it already has started, as one of the things on my list was a return to iBlog with the same passion and daily drive that made it your favorite place to stop by for the first year.

I've also gotten the go ahead to pitch any ideas I have to that MMA magazine I was telling you about earlier in the week, so that's a start. While I certainly will continue being the MMA guy at The Love of Sports, getting my name in print in the industry is always priority number one.

But there is more and I'm not aiming small.

I'm going to keep pushing the MMA side of things, hopefully lining up a big interview for when we take our trip to Albuquerque in November and exploring any interest TSN might have in ramping up their coverage of the fastest growing sport in the world.

TLOS is going to get a major jolt as well, as a chunk of each day will be spend promoting the site everyone and anywhere possible, not to mention my return to Bugs & Cranks and hopefully, the unveiling of a little project that has been in the works for some time.

But for now, I'm heading back to the couch. It's Final Four time kids and I don't start work for another three hours ...

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Dishonour Roll: Steve Downie & Bobby Clarke

These two really do deserve each other.

One is a jackass forward for the Philadelphia Flyers, the other is a former jackass forward for the Philadelphia Flyers who has been involved with running the team pretty much since he hung up his skates. Neither has any business around the NHL.

Let's start with Steve Downie.

He was a pest and a shit disturber in junior, getting shipped out of Windsor because one of his rookie teammates wanted to beat the living daylights out of him over a hazing incident. Fine, he was a kid. Kids do some stupid things.

During the pre-season this year, he laid out Ottawa Senator forward Dean McAmmond with one of the worst hits I've seen in all my years of watching hockey. He took a big, premeditated run at a guy who didn't have the puck and was coming around the back of the net. Plus he left his feet, which is an absolute no-no. McAmmond didn't stand a chance and was carted off the ice on a stretcher. Somehow, not a single Senator managed to get a shot in on Downie. The league suspended him 20 games, a penalty that some saw as too harsh, others saw as too lenient and I thought was just about right.

So what does he do when he finally finishes serving his suspension and gets into an actual NHL game? He gets in a little skirmish with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake and when the linesmen have grabbed a hold of both guys to break up the wrasslin, Downie pops Blake in the face one more time for old time sake.

Then we have Flyers Senior VP Bobby Clarke. This guy is a first class jackass; always has been, always will be. He must have pictures of Flyers owner Ed Snider, a donkey and a can of Cool Whip or something because Clarke never accomplished much as a General Manager over the years and somehow still gets to collect a pay cheque from the Flyers.

Anyhow, Clarke's slash to the ankle of Valeri Kharlamov in the '72 Summit Series and his asshole treatment of Eric Lindros at the tail end of his Philly tenure aside, Clarke gets this honour for his bullshit comments on TSN's Off The Record earlier this week.

For those of you outside of Canada, TSN is our version of ESPN, except the hosts are annoying for totally different reasons.

Back to Bobby... when asked about the Downie sucker punch, Clarke said that he loved it and that Blake should have expected retribution for opening his mouth about Downie's hit on Dean McAmmond. He also said that he thought Downie's initial suspension was unfair and likened his hit to those doled out by bonecrushing New Jersey Devils Captain Scott Stevens over the years.

I didn't watch the whole Q&A because I was already yelling at the TV too much and needed to make dinner, but I'm guessing that Clarke also saw no fault with Jesse Boulerice's crosscheck to the face of Ryan Kessler, Randy Jones' hit from behind that left Boston's Patrice Bergeron out cold and still on the shelf or Riley Cote's hit on Dallas defensemen Matt Niskanen either. Yes, all these guys are Flyers and all of this has happened this year...

The bottom line for both of these jaggovs to use a favourite of my one Philly friend Meech is that no one - and I mean NO ONE - in the NHL with an ounce of respect for their colleagues sucker punches a guy like Downie did the other night. Fighting is a part of the game and that is why you'll see guys give each other a pat on the head after a good tilt - they know they were both doing their job. Downie suckering Blake is akin to Albert Haynesworth stepping on Andre Gurode's head last year or Andrew Golota repeatedly smashing Riddick Bowe in the nuts for fight fans. It was just plain dirty.

These two douchebags deserve each other... and they deserve their place on the Dishonour Roll.

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