Skate Canada broadcast rights change over to CTV | Golden Skate

Skate Canada broadcast rights change over to CTV

CTV is where Rod Black (I think that's his name) was color commentator, right?
 
The above link didn't work for me .Let's see if this works...

http://www.skatebuzz.com/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?id=a4998727-5257-4672-b7ac-871a16b302cc

Sounds like they have the capability and implied intention of at least of providing much the same type of coverage as we've been getting with CBC..I do want to see skatebuzz continue , though. The Canadian Jr. championships were great fun.

I have some trepidation about their on air personnel..some of their Olympic commentary didn't really float my boat.
 
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Crap. They probably won't have as complete coverage as we've been getting with Bold. The commentating team will be interesting. I like Black. He seems to have a real love for skating. Their other commentators were pilfered by CBC and Skate Canada when CTV lost the rights a few years ago. I hope they get a quality team in. I also didn't enjoy all of their skating commentators from the Olympics.
 
:unsure: I'm waiting to see before I get too bummed..with TSN and TSN2 they should be able to replicate the Bold coverage we've been getting...and with Debbie Wilkes leading the way on the Skate Canada side , I'm sure she'd be pressing for the best deal possible..According to her comments on Skatebuzz at Canadian Jr's, SC, with Deb leading the way ,are on a mission to expand coverage, through Skatebuzz and in general , to promote the sport.

Back in the day when she was with CTV, she talked them into letting her cover more of the World Jr's than CBC ever agreed to, and she had her own show ( using, I think , her own archives ) that delved into the history of skating , which was excellent .So I have faith that Deb will be fighting the good fight..just remains to be seen how much SC will get of what they want.( Besides money );)

If CBC will still be doing World's and the GP, CTV probably won't be able to have Kurt or Tracey..( at least until their contracts are up ) ..But David Pelletier is really good..intelligent ,insightful and witty, and we have a number of former ice dancers who might make good commentators..I wasn't at all thrilled with Jennifer Robinson...

But the thought of seeing Toller back on Off the Record , and perhaps talking skating (please ?) has me grinning from ear to ear.
 
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Antilles said:
Crap. They probably won't have as complete coverage as we've been getting with Bold. The commentating team will be interesting. I like Black. He seems to have a real love for skating. Their other commentators were pilfered by CBC and Skate Canada when CTV lost the rights a few years ago. I hope they get a quality team in. I also didn't enjoy all of their skating commentators from the Olympics.
Click to expand...

I like Rod, too. He's very much like Terry Gannon in his style, at least the bits and pieces I've heard over the years.
 
You are right, Toni. Black and Gannon are similar. People like to dump on Black for his love of Stojko and sometimes over enthusiasm, but I like that he actually cares about the sport and tries to learn about the technical side.
 
I have always loved Toller's commentary! I do hope he will be there in some capacity!

Please tell me when you know for sure whether he will be doing some part of the broadcast! (I will have to go troll youtube to find it)
 
:biggrin:Oh,doris..I'm sorry to say I know nothing about Toller.

I was sad when CBC let him go ,all those eons ago. He could be blunt ( always in an entertaining way ) but he was completely even-handed about it. There's a quote of his that's become a maxim in my family..when pointing out some flaw a dance couple had to overcome, he said " No. No. This must be lanced." ( if they wished to move up ). It springs unbidden to my mind and my lips every time I see something that really needs fixing.
:laugh:

But when the article said they would be including skating on CTV's sports magazine shows and Michael Landisberg's Off the Record ,I got excited. If you don't know the show , it's a sports talk round table with 3-4 guests that include sports personalities ( not necessarily connected to the sport in question ), maybe other entertainment personalities who happen to be sports fans, etc. Then they all sit around and discuss a chosen sports topic ( often controversial ).Football, baseball , boxing , officiating..and so on.

A few years back they had Toller on a number of times and he was definitely a hit . Everyone else would look all sporty and T-shirty, like they were hanging out in a sports bar and Toller would be looking all groomed and dapper , as if he just stepped out of an art gallery ( which he probably did ) . He always had something interesting to say, and wasn't afraid to say it...but they were never discussing figure skating .

So I read the announcement , and for me , a fond hope was born. If the program is going to focus on FS occasionally , it will not be in a PC-only-mention-the-positive-ignore-the-negative way. It's not their style.

ETA; I think this kind of "Hands Off Criticism" attitude of the last few decades has contributed to FS not being considered a true sport in the eyes of many.
 
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Pros and Cons to both. I'll be happy as long as the coverage is similar and zero fluff pieces. ;)

Toller - my favorite line of his: commentary on pairs and G&G were skating and not well. Katia kept falling (growth spurt year). Their costumes were green and Toller mentioned that one should never wear green in a competition as it falls down a lot. Bad Toller. :biggrin:
 
colleen o'neill said:
There's a quote of his that's become a maxim in my family..when pointing out some flaw a dance couple had to overcome, he said " No. No. This must be lanced." ( if they wished to move up ). It springs unbidden to my mind and my lips every time I see something that really needs fixing.
:laugh:
Click to expand...

OMG that brings back memories! Once, after a rough skate from Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler (back when they first started) Toller said something to effect that Isabelle's weak jumping was an abscess that had to be "lanced". I almost died laughing! Does anyone remember that?

Also, when Tracy Wilson first started doing commentary, she was partnered with Toller for dance coverage....she was waffling with her comments, so Toller told her she had to say what she really thought! He was always entertaining. :p
 
Thanks for the link, Doris. I like the line about being naked by 1992. I wonder what is thoughts were on all of the costuming to come in the 90s and 2000s.
 
Ahh. I've often wondered what he'd make of some of the illusion fabric costumes with strategically placed spots, like this one of Liashenko's (some were even more pseudo revealing)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Liashenko_04_NHK.jpg

Or what he would have said when the strap of Rubleva's costume broke in the CD.

Probably, "I told you so back at 1988 Europeans."

His comment in 1988 was screamingly funny, given that he had some pretty outrageous costumes for the era he was skating in himself.
 
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